Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins

by Jody Houser, Caio Filipe (Illustrator), Sunando C (Illustrator)

An anthology of vibrant new stories woven into the larger tapestry of the hit Netflix series! Discover the hidden stories from Hawkins, Indiana.

On the surface, Hawkins, Indiana seems like the kind of town where nothing too out of the ordinary ever happens, but in the fall of ’83 two hunters head out into the woods with their rifles and a six-pack, and find themselves the prey of a nightmarish beast. When Barb Holland goes missing, Murray Bauman is on the case if only he can look past his own suspicious mind to solve the case. Robin Buckley’s school film project gives her a chance to work with her secret crush, but does it only make it harder to come to terms with her feelings? And when pumpkins start inexplicably rotting, the feud between two farm families reaches a boiling point.

Joining Houser on her visit to Hawkins are artist Caio Filipe ( Stranger Summer Special, Nightwing ), Sunando C ( End After End ), Giorgia Gio Esposito ( Lunar Room, Dr. Who ) colorist Dan Jackson ( The Strain, Weird Tales ), and letterer Nate Piekos ( The Umbrella Academy, Black Hammer ).

Collects Stranger Tales from Hawkins issues #1–#4.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Supernatural

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 16, 2024

Reviews

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four stories from the Netflix series feeding off characters in certain situations.
They're interesting and maybe mainly for the completists.

[Zanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

tell me why the one about the feuding farmers had me crying at the end what the hell

[exploraDora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales from Hawkins is a Stranger Things comic made up of four short stories that each offer a small peek behind the scenes of the show. We get a story about two hunters who nearly cross paths with the Demogorgon in season 1, one following Murray during season 2 as he starts looking into Barb’s disappearance, a glimpse of Robin’s life before Scoops Ahoy, and a short piece about the pumpkin patch owners from season 2.

None of the stories are particularly groundbreaking, but they’re mildly entertaining if you’re already invested in the Stranger Things universe. They mostly feel like extra background material rather than essential additions - nice little slices of life that expand the world without adding any new insights. A pleasant read for fans, just not one that left a strong impression.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

[Joseph Hamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

All four of the stories were really solid, with my favorite being Murray’s as he’s a character who’s finally given a chance to shine. I always prefer when the Stranger Things spin-offs focus on giving more obscure/secondary characters the spotlight rather than commenting on actual plot (since it usually doesn’t affect the show) so for that reason I definitely enjoyed this graphic novel!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stronger stories made up a bit for the weaker ones in the anthology-- Robin's being perhaps the strongest, Murray's perhaps edging it out for my favorite. I found Robin's small town queer youth very relatable, and loved her judgmental faces every time Steve so much as breathes in class. But, Murray is one of my favorite characters and it was just such a delight to get more of his life and to see that yes, he does actually care about finding Barb-- or what happened to her. That he even seems to relate to the girl he supposes her to be. I loved getting to see more of how he puts together the insane puzzle pieces that Hawkins provides and comes up with something that's... you know, wrong, but not weirder than what does happen in the show, and you can see how he gets there regardless of how crazy it looks

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

This is a collection of one shots that just explore different happenings in Hawkins as it relates to the events of Stranger Things. This was one of the better Stranger Things graphic novels in my opinion.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun lil quickie graphic novel read.

[Alexandra Ruiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4'5⭐ Está muy guay, sobretodo para los fans de stranger things, como yo. Me lo leí en media hora porque es un comic de 4 historias sobre varios personajes que aparecen en stranger things. Es muy entretenido porque son historias que tienen partes pequeñitas en la serie pero en este libro lo profundizan más y te cuentan que pasó. Lo recomiendo mucho para los fans de stranger things porque lo vais a entender perfectamente y os va a encantar.🧇🩸1️⃣1️⃣

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit boring. Barely features any of the heroes from Hawkins except Murray and Robin.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched the pilot for Stranger Things and it just didn’t grab me enough to keep watching. But I have friends who love it so I thought I’d try this.

Story #1
Dale and Henry go hunting in the woods with two six-packs of beer in a town called Hawkins.

What could possibly go wrong?

The soon come across a dead turkey whose insides have been ripped out. Blood everywhere. They go looking for whatever did this.

They split up to try to trap it. That gets Dave killed. Henry runs into the flower-faced-monster (which even if you’ve never seen the show is all over the place). Henry runs. But not fast enough.

As he is bleeding to death a little kid promises him that it will be all right. The kid lies.

Meh. 1 star

Story #2 starts with Murray Bauman, a journalist and karate class teacher. He is currently investigating a missing little girl. He interviews the parents about the girl. After discussing his fee with the parents he is hired.

He takes a lot of calls, some of them crank, but only one seems like it might be a lead. It tells of a strange girl in the basement, black cars parked at the house and no one knows anything ever since.

It appears that the missing girl tried to help another kid that had psychic powers. He decides this is too big for him and goes to the police. Which does not help.

He goes home and later, those two kids show up at the door.

I’ll give this 2 stars. It definitely seems like something made for just the fans of the show, though. So far this could be an X-Files comic book just by switching the heads on the characters.

Story #3 starts with a group of kids making a horror film in the woods.

Turns out that Robin the director is really winging it all the way. There’s no real story idea. No real script either. She was still writing it.

Trite derivative crap!

That was kind of fun. The existential dread of growing up in a small town. Probably very relatable and well told.

5 stars

Story #4 starts with Merrill and Eugene being friends and competitors in their pumpkin patch businesses.

A harmless prank escalated until it was all out war between them. Soon both their pumpkin patches are destroyed with each suspecting the other.

During an argument about who did what to who they fall through the ground on one of the patches into an underground tunnel.

Soon they hear strange growling in the dark. They run. They find they have to cooperate to make it out alive. They do.

Later the government (?) takes full responsibility for both their crops and compensates them as well as ‘decontaminating’ their fields.

That was a nice little Twilight Zone type of story.

3 stars

Okay, so that was fine. Overall its a barely qualifying 3 stars.

It doesn’t really make me want to see any more of the TV show or really read any or comics about it, but if you like the show it’ll probably entertain you.

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5

Sometimes, there really are happy endings. Even in Hawkins.

This is the kind of ST content I love! This is a collection of four stories from various Hawkenites, each exploring their own situations and relationships with themselves and the strange town they live in.

The first story is about two characters you probably forgot about - Benny's friends from the diner, off on a hunting trip without knowing Benny is already dead. They encounter some of the horrors of season 1, which is pretty damn freaky when you don't know what's going on! It's a dark story with a nice cameo at the end - but it makes me wonder; did no one check on these guys in season 1? You're telling me Benny AND his friends vanished in like two days and no one thought anything was going on?

Anyway, the second story is about Murray pre-season 2. It's about him being hired by Barb's parents to search for her as he follows a lot of different leads, leading right into Nancy and Jonathan's arrival. It's probably my least favorite story of the bunch, just because Murray isn't my favorite character. But hey, I like tight stories that begin at or end with established canon scenes.

The third story is a Robin-focused one. This one isn't about the Upside Down but Robin's own mental turmoil, with her sapphic yearning and distaste for Steve Harrington developing in tandem. I liked Robin's line about being trapped and feeling like a chick that dies before it hatches - damn it, now I want season 5 already! Give Robin her proper romance! (Or further establish her friendship with Steve. I'll take either!)

Our last story was my favorite. It's about two rival pumpkin farmers whose friendship turned into competition. But something's happening to both of their crops now, and they don't know what's going on...

I really liked how the final story had a happier ending and SUCH a wholesome friendship between families. Cute shit! And a nice palette-cleanser at the end of the book, lol!

4.5/5 stars!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest Stranger Things collection features four one-off stories featuring characters you know and love and characters you probably haven't given a second thought to.

The middle two stories are probably the main draw - Murray's issue is just as daft as he is, though it is enjoyable, and Robin's issue is like a speed-run of the Rebel Robin tie-in novel. The other two feature two hunters who face off against a Demogorgon with predictable results, and the two farmers from Season 2 who have to deal with the destruction of their pumpkin fields with less predictable results.

I'll devour anything Stranger Things related, and these are solid enough while we wait for more of the larger narrative.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of nice tie-ins to the series on one hand and nothing particularly memorable on the other (as I literally have this open next to me 12 hours after reading it in order to review it). There are four stories (the art is quite nice though) . The first is the friendship of two older men who 'hunt' but mostly sit in the woods and talk and what comes for them.

There is Murray and the conspiracy theories which did nothing for me whatsoever.

The last two did better with Robin's story of making a horror film school project in the woods and Eugene and Merrill and their dueling pumpkin patches. THose stories were a bit different and enjoyable.

Overall, enjoyable but still glad the library paid for it and not me.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these Stranger Things comics feel pretty forgettable. They add little tidbits to the narrative framing of the main show, but don’t radically change my view of the characters. This one is illustrated and written pretty well though — the chapter on Murray really captures Brett Gelman’s voice as the character. The final chapter, ending on a happier note, feels like a nice pivot from the doomier and gloomier tendencies within these stories. Nothing earth-shattering here, but even when the Maya story seems yawn-inducing, the bit about needing to break out of one’s shell, a bit lifted from Hesse, is a thoughtful touch that tells us quite a bit about the interests and knowledge of Maya as a character.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this collection, which filled in some of the backstory from Hawkins and even introduced two new sets of adult characters who had their own unnerving experiences with the Upside Down in separate stories. In addition to those two, there was a great story about Robin working on a film project and encouraging the lead actress (whom she has a crush on) to conquer her fears and look inside herself, and another about Murray investigating Barb's disappearance (which leads right up to the moment when Jonathan and Nancy land on Murray's doorstep in the series). Since these stories involved characters and situations I was already familiar with, I enjoyed them the most. The artwork in all four was really good and it complemented and enhanced the storytelling.

[Ben A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The entertaining Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins collects four stories that add a little bit of depth to both a couple of side characters and then add a little bit of depth to some plot elements from earlier seasons. As a big fan of the show, I found the stories enjoyable and especially well written, but I don't think they are going to mean much in the context of the show. I don't mind this as I've always been a guy who doesn't want my stories to end when the credits come up, and as we wait for Season 5, having these stories helps get me through.

Special Thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Edelweiss Plus for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

[ANTHONY FLORES · Rating 3 out of 5]

📚 Libro: Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins
✍️ Autor: Jody Houser
🗒️ Páginas: 96
🌼 Puntaje: 3

Este comic me lo terminé de a poco porque estoy en un proyecto de traducir estos comics y hoy lo terminamos después de tanto tiempo.

Esta novela grafica nos cuenta 4 historias aisladas del pueblo de Hawkins. Un pueblo donde, como ya sabemos, las cosas no son como nos pintan.

Dos historias me parecieron muy buenas la última que son de unos tipos tratando de trabajar juntos para sobrevivir en una cueva y la de un periodista tratando de encontrar la verdad.

No se nada de la serie pero este es mi primer acercamiento y fue uno muy bueno.

[Sara-Juliette Hins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trois histoires s’entremêlent dans cette BD. Il y a d’abord deux hommes qui chassent dans les bois et qui se retrouvent malencontreusement dans le monde à l’envers. Ensuite, il y a Murray, qui se joint à la galerie de personnages d’Hawkins quand les parents de Barbara l’engagent pour savoir ce qui lui est arrivé. Quand les gens lui parlent d’un enfant bizarre à la tête rasée qui aurait été aperçu en ville, il se met sur sa piste. Finalement, on découvre Robin un peu avant son entrée dans l’histoire, quand elle travaille au magasin de glaces. Le récit est plus décousu que les autres livres de la même série que j’ai lus. C’est celui qui m’a le moins plu.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Stranger Things graphic novel that contains four short stories. Hands down my favorite of the four is Robin's story. It is just so cute and sweet. I hope she is featured in future Stranger Things graphic novels. I will also say that Murray's story is a lot of fun as well, even though Murray has never been a character I particularly like. Even though these stories are not considered canon, I would still suggest this graphic novel collection to any Stranger Things fan.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the television show so my opinion is probably skewed.

Pros:
I usually hate and cannot finish a graphic novel. I read this in one sitting. It was fun to read! But it's probably because I love the television show. Read this if you love anything Stranger Things.

Cons:
There wasn't enough for my taste! I want more stories from the town of Hawkins, Indiana, please and thank you!

Please publish more stories so I can read them. Thanks!

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are some pretty inconsequential little side stories. They are made better by Jody Houser writing them. However, it doesn't remove the fact that Dark Horse has picked the Stranger Things carcass clean. Unless they actually come up with some new stories like they did in the past, they aren't ever going to be worth reading.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

Four one-off stories set around minor and major characters of Hawkins. I actually enjoyed the first and last stories more than Murray and Robin’s since they were more about what was happening peripherally around the events in the show and gave a little more depth to the world of Stranger Things. The demogorgon art is always stunning and I greatly enjoyed the narration.

[Shelby Fielding · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much of what I love about this genre or setting for storytelling is its innate ability to stretch from the midwestern American heartland, down-to-earth drama and horror, to sci-fi, 80s-ablaze genre theatrics. That blend of story and the way the Duffers, Houser, Pak, and other writers and artists wield that space for story in this old-school, new-school funhouse never gets old.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

These are overall underwhelming. Murray's story is the best, and Robin's isn't bad, but the other two issues, focusing on at-best peripheral characters, just rubbed me the wrong way. Decent art can't rescue a tale of hunters becoming the hunted, or the escalating pumpkin wars that find an unexpected third party intruding.

[Shannen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of fluff pieces that fill in gaps that didn't need to be filled in. No real development of anything the stories touch.
Makes me sad about the things they produce just to scrape a few more bucks out of a popular franchise.

[Between The Pages (Gemma M) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Managed to read this in fifteen minutes it's a graphic novel, beautifully illustrated which contains four short stories and familiar characters from the Netflix show. The illustrations and art work is amazing and this short book just made me want to read all the stranger things book. 4/5 stars.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some fun short stories to fill in the gaps in the story. Amusing at times.

[Casie Blevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice nostalgic look back on Hawkins.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best one was the last story with Eugene and Merrill, now that was really cute. The others were fine, but didn't really add much to the Stranger Things universe for me.