Reviews
REVIEW: Stranger Things: Tomb of Ybwen #4
Book Title: Stranger Things: Tomb of Ybwen #4
Book Description: In season two of Stranger Things, we saw Bob Newby get killed by the demodogs in Hawkins Lab. His sacrifice allowed everyone else to escape to safety. When we fast forward to the following winter Will still hasn’t gotten over his death. He’s angry that Bob is gone. That’s where Stranger Things: Tomb of Ybwen begins.
Going through some of the archives for the Hawkins Middle School AV club, Will and Mr. Clarke found a treasure map that Bob had created twenty years earlier. Without hesitation, Will decided he and the guys needed to find this treasure.
Lucas, Mike, and Dustin balk at the idea. There’s a blizzard coming towards Hawkins. The forecast is calling for at least a foot of snow by morning. The guys don’t want to be caught in it.
Will is determined to go, weather be damned. The other guys decide to go after him when they realize what his plans are. They catch up with Will near the old cattle bridge. They’ve found another clue, but the weather is turning for the worse. They radio for help in hopes someone will hear them.
Mr. Clarke heard the call and heads out into the wilderness when the boys don’t respond back. They’re simultaneously seeking shelter and clues. As luck would have it they get both in the form of a nearby shack.
They find a cave underneath the shack. Mr. Clarke catches up with them in the cave. He took a fall on the way in but seems to be up for exploring the cave. It has a pathway leading to the treasure they seek.
The final installment of the series picks up with Will opening the treasure. Is it gold? Is it diamonds? No. It’s a piece of paper saying that the treasure is “Fellowship”. Anyone that was able to figure out all of the clues is truly a friend of Bob Newby’s.
Will is disappointed, but he’s going to have to put that on hold. Mr. Clarke is in worse shape than originally believed. He’s going to need medical attention. To make that happen the boys will have to work together to get him from the shack to town in the middle of a blizzard.
Book Author: Greg Pak
Book Format: Paperback
Publisher - Orgnization: Dark Horse
Publisher Logo:
Illustrator: Diego Galindo
- Story(4.1)
- Interior Art(3.25)
- Cover Art(4.1)
- Dialogue(3.5)
- Mechanics(3.9)
- Editing(3.5)
Summary
As a geek through and through I loved all of the Lord of the Rings references in this series. None was better than the treasure being “Fellowship”. When you have friends and companions to help in tough times nothing is more valuable.
This issue wasn’t as light-hearted as the first three. Given the circumstances, the party was facing it fits. The boys were literally risking life and limb to get Mr. Clarke the medical care he needed. That’s what people do for one another in a fellowship.
I liked how the series felt like a mashup of Stranger Things and the Goonies. It was only fitting with Sean Astin having played vital roles in both franchises. Mr. Aspinall took it a step further by giving us a cover that could have been a photograph of Bob or Mikey.
The artwork on the interior pages was solid from start to finish for the entire series. It played off the story perfectly, with minimal detail in the blizzard and a terrific portrait of Will and Joyce to wrap things up.
This story helps the reader have more appreciation for Will’s plight in season 3. Everyone else has a girlfriend or an adventure to go on. He just wants to keep the fellowship together and play D & D. As a geek on a budget that’s also a Stranger Things fan I’m of the opinion that this is a must-read series.
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