Hawkins is an ordinary town on the outside but deep within houses dark secrets. Check out some paranormal adventures in Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins #1 by Dark Horse Comics!
STRANGER THINGS: TALES FROM HAWKINS #1 (OF 4)
Writer: Jody Houser
Artist: Caio Filipe
Colorist: Dan Jackson
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Editor: Spencer Cushing
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 8th, 2023
Previously in Stranger Things: Based on the hit Netflix show, this new miniseries takes us to the spooky stories within Hawkins. Using the show as the backdrop, what happened to other townsfolk? Jody Houser returns to tell us these unique stories.
Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins #1 starts with Dale and Henry going on a hunting trip. Armed with a rifle and six-pack, the two friends talk about odd happenings around town. They noticed a dead animal that seemed to have been mauled as they walked. Putting down their beers, they decide to hunt the creature in case it may be a danger to the public. Dale and Henry separate, and Henry finds himself face-to-face with the Demogorgon and is taken to the Upside Down. He sees the corpse of Dale and realizes that he is the hunted, not the hunter. Traveling through the alternate dimension, he finds himself in the woods looking at a portal back to the natural plane but is attacked by the monster. His last memory is of Will, a character in the main cast of the television series, comforting him in the final moments.
The comic starts with a simple but well-executed exposition of two friends who went hunting. They have a call to action and ultimately try to do the right thing without a second thought. However, Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins #1 didn’t foreshadow their deaths or imply that this was going to have a sad ending. I’m not upset, but I fully expected Henry to survive the whole series. I understand the television show’s tone implies no one is safe, but that tone didn’t translate here.
On top of that, we are trying to inject stories in-between moments in the television series. But the continuity isn’t believable, which further added to my disconnect. But as I reread this comic, I wonder if I am just being hypercritical for no reason. Maybe this is a great read, and I am just not in the right headspace for a story like this. Jody Houser is a solid comic writer, and perhaps she has a grander idea in the scheme of the miniseries.
Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins #1 has many good ideas, but they didn’t stick with me. Even with decent art, I couldn’t become invested in the characters. Based on my genre expectations, I didn’t feel like the story set the correct tone. With that in mind, this comic is a 3 out of 5 stars.
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Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins #1
Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins #1 fails to set the right tone for the type of story it is trying to tell.
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Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com