Stranger Things: The Other Side
By Jody Houser
Stefano Martino, Keith Champagne, Lauren Affe, and Nate Piekos (Illustrators)
My thoughts:
I was super excited to read this book which contains Stranger Things: The Other Side comics #1-4. Stranger Things is one of my favorite Netflix series (all three seasons), so I grabbed this as soon as I saw it.
These four comics are basically Will’s story from the Upside Down, which is something you don’t get much of in the series. It was neat seeing some of the different events that were happening with Will, but some of it seemed like speculation to me; for instance, I don’t remember Will finding Barb’s glasses or helping her in the Upside Down. Maybe I’ve forgotten some flashbacks in season two, but I don’t think so. I also don’t remember Will having his gun in the Upside Down once he was taken from home either. Little things like this niggled me, but it’s neat to see someone else’s perspective. I may need to rewatch the first two seasons to see if I missed some things because these scenes are thought-provoking. Other parts in the book are exactly like the series.
There wasn’t any plot to this because the story starts right when Will is taken. If I wasn’t familiar with Stranger Things, I think I’d be lost and probably would’ve really disliked this book. There’s not much characterization here or any emotion between the characters. There are also important characters missing which makes this feel a bit empty and choppy, but I had to remind myself that this is meant to be solely Will’s perspective. I did appreciate the alternating time frames in between with Will and the gang playing their D&D game.
In my opinion, the artwork is good, but my absolute favorites were the full-page illustrations by Aleski Briclot, Kyle Lambert, and Jen Bartel, because it’s these that closely resemble the series.
It’s easy to overlook anything lackluster about the rest of the illustrations because quite frankly, it’s Stranger Things, and I’m going to love anything about it regardless.
I’m really glad I found this book. If you’re a fan of Stranger Things you might want to try this one.
4****
Find this book on Amazon and Goodreads :
- Series: Stranger Things (Book 1)
- Paperback: 96 pages
- Publisher: Dark Horse Books (May 7, 2019)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1506709761
- ISBN-13: 978-1506709765
Thanks for reading my review! What graphic novels have you read lately? Are you a Stranger Things fan? Feel free to share below.
❤ Mischenko
ReadRantRock&Roll 
I still have not seen this show! Ha ha. I really want to, though. I cancelled our cable about three years ago because it doubled in price and I have kept meaning to get NetFlix, but I got into the habit of not watching TV, and I have forgotten how to make time for it. I might pause reading books in January, get my 30 day free NetFlix trial, and binge a bunch of shows, this one included! Thanks for sharing your review. 👍✨
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I haven’t watched STranger things, not having netflix. Maybe some day…
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Oh, you should try it! I think you can get a free trial of Netflix to see how you like it. There’s so much nostalgia for me in the series, but it’s an excellent story too. I really think you’d like it. 🙂 Let me know if you ever watch it.
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I will! 👍✨
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I have never watched the show, but the graphics look amazing!
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You should try it, Noriko! 😉
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Quite the different and scary series on Netflix for sure. I think it would be good to see it from Will’s perspective. I may check it out. Interesting review! 👍🏻
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It is interesting! You should give it a try. 😊
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How fun! I love Stranger Things, too. Sorry that some of the writing was meh, but wow some of those illustrations are cool. 😮
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I’m ready to watch it all over again to see if there’s something I missed lol. I’ve seen season one at least 3 times though! This graphic novel is definitely worth checking out. Thanks, Lorilin!
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I love this series, and like you, I don’t remember many details from Will’s POV. I didn’t even know the graphic series existed.
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Definitely worth checking out, Teri. I know Will’s perspective was lacking in the series, but I kept questioning if I missed something. In the graphic novel she even references Will blinking his eyes to get the Christmas lights to blink on and off on the wall. I don’t remember him blinking his eyes though. Thought-provoking! 😁
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Great review! Those illustrations look fab.
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Thank you, Yesha. ❤💙❤🇺🇸
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