| This article is about the fourth comic miniseries. For other uses, see Stranger Things (disambiguation). |
Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons is a comic book miniseries of the Stranger Things comic series published by Dark Horse Comics and IDW Publishing. It ran for four issues, starting on November 4, 2020 and ending on February 17, 2021.[1][2]
The four issues were released together as a graphic novel on July 6, 2021.[3]
Creative Staff[]
- Writers: Jody Houser and Jim Zub[1][2]
- Interior art: Diego Galindo[2]
- Interior colors: Michele Assarasakorn (a.k.a. Msassyk)[2]
- Lettering: Nate Piekos[2]
- Standard covers: E.M. Gist[2]
- Variant covers: Anna Dittmann (All Issues), David Michael Beck (All Issues), Diego Galindo (Issue #1), Max Dunbar (Issue #2), Toni Infante (Issue #3), Jess Taylor (Issue #4)
- TPB Cover: Kyle Lambert
Issues[]
| Cover | Issue | Synopsis | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
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1 | Follow the crew from Hawkins, Indiana, as they discover the legendary monsters and epic adventures of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game together. Long before the dreaded Demogorgon took one of them to the Upside Down, watch Mike, Lucas, and Will bond with Dustin for the first time over the game that would define their childhood. See the party come together as a team through communal stories and perilous quests to learn important lessons about friendship and find the courage to stand up to the bullies that challenge their everyday. | November 4, 2020 |
  |
2 | With Will the Wise rescued from the Upside Down, the party is finally back together again, but each kid has been affected by their struggle to save their town from real monsters. Mike strives to get Will and the others back into Dungeons & Dragons with the hope that they can find some normalcy in playing their favorite game. | December 2, 2020 |
  |
3 | Months have passed since Eleven defeated the Mindflayer by closing a gate to the Upside Down, saving her friends and probably the world. Life is rapidly changing for the young group of friends and despite all they have been through they are finding time to play D&D again. This time, new members are joining the party. | January 6, 2021 |
  |
4 | The young heroes of Hawkins find themselves swept up in a sea of change after saving their town from Soviet spies and horrific creatures. Their favorite bookstore has shuttered, and Will and Eleven are moving away, but before they go, the party has one last epic quest to finish. | February 17, 2021 |
Plot[]
The comic begins on September 8, 1980. Lucas and Mike duck into an alley after being chased by Troy and James. Walking inside a crowded bookstore, the boys find a man setting up a Dungeons & Dragons campaign on a large table. Lucas, intrigued due to his father serving in Vietnam, inspects miniature creatures along with Mike. Arriving at Will's house, Mike and Lucas explain what D&D is, and say they need books to trade to get credit in order to buy D&D books. Though reluctant, Will is convinced to take some of his mother's books. Walking through the woods with some books in a wagon, the boys are once again confronted by Troy and James on their bikes. Running away, Lucas chucks some of the romance novels at them. As Lucas holds them off, Will and Mike struggle to get the wagon over a hill. Escaping, Lucas catches up to his friends, but Mike loses his grip of the wagon, causing it to fall into some mud. At the bookstore, the boys present their books to the shopkeeper, who gives them a dollar's worth for the whole lot. Mike convinces the shopkeeper that they're currently fighting a battle themselves and all they want is to be like the heroes in his D&D books. Annoyed, the shopkeeper asks if he gives them a basic set, will they take the messy books out of the store. The boys happily agree. That night, the boys practice in Mike's basement. The next morning at school, the trio profusely talk about the game, and catches the attention of a boy named Dustin during lunch, who explains the possibility of rolling a 10 or higher on a 2D6. Noticing how good he is in math, Mike invites Dustin to join their party. Overtime, the boys grow closer in and out of Dungeons & Dragons, helping Will build Castle Byers, and even Mike's sister Nancy participates in their games. On April 7, 1981, Mike celebrates his 10th birthday with his family and friends. Downstairs, the boys surprise Mike with an expert D&D set they've secretly been saving up.
The comic then flash forward to November 27, 1983, two weeks after Will was rescued from the Upside Down. At the hospital, the boys visit Will to give him his homework. Will says the doctor says he can probably go home tomorrow, much to their excitement. At home, Mike struggles to create a new campaign, wondering how they'll ever be able to go back to normal after everything they've been through. The next morning, Mike visits Will with a proposed new adventure for them. But Will reminds him that Will the Wise rolled a seven and died. Mike pretends to surprise him and says that a gemstone the Proud Princess gave him shielded him from the Demogorgon, though Will is still skeptic. Back at home in his basement, Mike yells in anger and throws his D&D book. Nancy, overhearing, comes down and asks if he's alright. Though he initially tells her to go away, he then attempts to explain his struggle to design a new adventure without Will being a victim in the game. Nancy hugs her brother, and tells him that while things can't ever go back to the way that it was, it doesn't mean it has to be bad. She then tells him he should be grateful to have Dustin, Lucas, and Will as best friends and she wishes she had friends like that. Inspired, Mike goes through adding the Proud Princess' gemstone and resurrecting Will.
Characters[]
- Mike Wheeler
- Lucas Sinclair
- Troy Walsh
- James Dante
- Will Byers
- Joyce Byers
- Nancy Wheeler
- Ted Wheeler
- Karen Wheeler
- Holly Wheeler
- Eleven
- Max Mayfield
- Jim Hopper
Trivia[]
- It is established that Mike Wheeler's birthday is April 7, 1971.
- There are a multitude of errors within the comic:
- The comic begins in September 1981, where the boys meet Dustin, but later flashes forward to April 1981, where the boys celebrate Mike's birthday. This is likely just a typo, and the comic actually begins in 1980. Further references in the comic seem to support this, such as Lucas mentioning that the Alien movie (first released in 1979) has still just been newly released in Hawkins' local theaters.
- The boys are seen building Castle Byers, but the show establishes that Jonathan and Will built the fort the day their father left.
- While the boys bike through town in October 1985, Troy and James ride past them and tease Will one last time, while the comic, The Bully, establishes that Troy had already moved away in 1984.
- In 2025, the miniseries received a direct followup entitled Stranger Things x Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire.
Gallery[]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons Announced!" Zub Tales. June 18, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Now We Are Getting a Stranger Things & Dungeons & Dragons Comic" Bleeding Cool. June 18, 2020.
- ↑ "Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons (Graphic Novel)" Penguin Random House.