REVIEW: Stranger Things: D&D #2

Rating if this Book Were a Movie: PG-13

Writer: Jody Houser and Jim Zub
Artist: Diego Galindo
Colors: Msassyk
Letters: Nate Piekos
Cover: David Michael Beck
Editor: Spencer Cushing
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

D & D is an acronym for Dungeons and Dragons:. I don’t think there’s been a game that has sparked more creativity and camaraderie amongst nerds in the last forty years. A good DM (dungeon master) can whisk a party away to magical lands filled with amazing adventures in a campaign that can last for days.

“Stranger Things”: Dungeons and Dragons #1 took us on a time warp to see how Lucas, Mike and Will first discovered this incredible game. In that issue we also got to see how Dustin joined the party.

In the second issue we hop through time again. For this story we’re going to two weeks after Will got back from the Upside Down at the end of the first season of the tv show.

Issue #2 is told from Mike’s perspective. After everything the boys have been through he is trying come up with the perfect Dungeons and Dragons campaign. The problem is that after their adventure with the Demogorgon and Eleven Mike is worried that nothing he can come up with will compare. Will the guys like a game with miniatures and character sheets after fighting a real monster with a real wizard, in her own fashion?

Artwork:

.75 Stars

I love this cover. It’s a nice throwback to the player’s handbook for D & D from the 80’s. I would like the interior pages to be more detailed; but the artwork does mesh nicely with the story.

Story:

.75 Stars

I always like anything that helps fill in gaps in the shows I like. This book does that well. I liked seeing Mike trying to bring some sense of normalcy to everyone’s lives.

Dialogue:

.75 Stars

This issue is filled with dialogue that helps us learn more about Mike, which is nice. We know that Mike and Will are friends. We learn how much Mike really cares about Will in this issue.

Editing:

1 Star

The lettering Mr. Piekos does has always been spot on. I know it’s a little thing that is taken for granted but a lot more work goes into that part of the project than people realize. Job well done, again, sir!

In the book I saw nothing that broke canon or made me question locations.

Mechanics:

.75 Stars

I fell right into this book, but it may be more difficult to follow if the reader isn’t familiar with the tv show’s storyline.

If you’re looking for action, look elsewhere. While this story does a magnificent job of channeling Mike’s emotions there isn’t too much excitement.

All said this is a good read that’s perfect for the Stranger Things fans out there. It’s worth the cover price to get more details about what happened in Hawkins between seasons one and two.