In Review: Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons #1

Synopsis: Epic Adventures, Lifelong Friendships! 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.

The Story

When we first met Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin in the Netflix series ‘Stranger Things’. They were all playing Dungeons & Dragons. This opening issue of what is a four-part mini-series explores how the boys first got into the game and brings a great deal to the mythology of the show. The story opens up with Mike, Lucas and Will running away from some bullies. As they round a corner they find themselves inside an old bookstore. There they meet the owner who is obsessed with a miniature reproduction of the Battle of Waterloo. The boys are impressed with the miniature soldiers and ask the man about them. As the meeting goes further the boys learn about a new game called Dungeons and Dragons and donate some of their mother’s old books in order to get a test copy of the game.

As they start to play the game. An argument springs up about the D6 dice and the odds of throwing above a certain number. This is where they meet Dustin who explains the odds to them.

The Artwork

Fans of the D&D games series will love much of the artwork featured within this issue. I really liked the illustrations of the Dragons, Dwarf’s, Wizards and the joyful expressions pasted on the boy’s faces as they enjoyed their first adventures.

Artist, Diego Galindo does some epic work here and his fine line work is brought wonderfully to life by colorist MSASSYK. Furthermore, the artist does a wonderful job of capturing the likeness of the young actors that play the four key characters on ‘Stranger Things’.

Overall

Writers Jody Houser and Jim Zub do a brilliant job of giving us the further adventures of Mike, Lucas, Will and Dustin as they learn to understand the world through D&D. I love how well written the accidental discovery of the game was. Additionally, the writing team does a brilliant job of capturing the playful banter that the group has. In Particular, Dustin’s introduction was handled very well.

Overall. This is a really fun read.

You can get hold of your own digital copy of this comic over at ComiXology.