Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire #1 Review!

Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire #1

Script – Jody Houser & Eric Campbell

Art – Diego Galindo

Colors – Diana Sousa

Letters – Nate Piekos

Cover – Magali Villanueve

“Welcome to the Game! Lets hope you survive the experience…”

The Story:

Set in two time periods, both 1985 and 1978, Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire #1 outlines the beginning of Eddie Munson’s Freshman and Senior years at Hawkins High School. With one story leading into Stranger Things Season 4 and one showing Eddie’s first Dungeons & Dragons adventure, this series looks to fulfil the promise of it’s title by showing “The Rise of Hellfire!”

I want to break this issue down by talking about each of the storylines separately.

Let’s Start With 1985:

To begin with, I want to call out the writing team of Jody Houser and Eric Campbell. This book immediately captured the tone and feel of Stranger Things. Each character has the correct “voice” and they feel true to the characters that we have come to love in the streaming series.

Eddie Munson was such a break out star from Season 4 that he was the perfect character to center a comic story around. With his short runtime in the show, it was wonderful to get to see him again here. I found myself smiling the moment he popped into frame on the first page. It works thanks to the creative team’s excellent job at dropping me back into this franchise.

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To that point, it’s time to praise the art team! Diego Galindo and Diana Sousa work together perfectly to, just like the writing, capture the feel of the show. Little facial expressions and body movements that we got from the live action characters were used to great effect in this medium.

However, the 1985 story was the easy part compared to…

1978:

This was the much riskier part of this book. The creative team was able to rely on the reader’s knowledge and love of the show to carry them through the 1985 story, with only Eddie being a carryover to 1978 that is not the case. Thankfully, 1978 was just as, if not more, compelling.

Again, to start with the writing team, the script endeared me to young Eddie right away and made me interested in his new group of friends. On top of the characters, this team captured the joy of playing Dungeons & Dragons for the first time.

Speaking of the game, the art team did amazing work by shifting from a dimly lit dinning room into a dark fantasy setting with goblins and adventurers.

Overall, I found myself more excited to see what happens to young Eddie and his party.

Overall Grade: 9.5/10

I went into this issue expecting an underwhelming story meant to hold me over between seasons of Stranger Things. So, imagine my surprise when I finished reading and immediately wanted more of this story instead of the next season. Eddie Munson is a beloved character and one that most fans of this franchise want more of. I am so happy to report that this series is poised to give us all that we want from the character and more. If you love Stranger Things, Dungeons & Dragons, or just well told stories, don’t miss out on this book!

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What’s your thoughts on this new release? Let us know in the comments below!