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Stranger Things: Graphic Novels #2.5
Stranger Things: Zombie Boys
Following the events of season one of Netflix's pop-culture sensation Stranger Things, our main characters struggle with returning to normal life after overcoming supernatural horror.
School is back in session in the normally quiet town of Hawkins, Indiana. Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will are still grappling with the traumatic encounters with the Demogorgon and the Upside Down in season one of the hit Netflix series. As tensions rise and fractures begin to form in the group, a new kid shows up to AV club with a Betamax Camcorder and an idea. The new Spielberg-wannabe friend, Joey Kim, wants to make a horror movie about a local legend, but when he sees Will's drawings, he discovers that his new friends are local legends.
Written by best-selling author Greg Pak (Mech Cadet Yu, The Incredible Hulk, Star Wars: Age of Rebellion) and drawn by Valeria Favoccia (Assassin Creed: Reflections, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor).
School is back in session in the normally quiet town of Hawkins, Indiana. Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will are still grappling with the traumatic encounters with the Demogorgon and the Upside Down in season one of the hit Netflix series. As tensions rise and fractures begin to form in the group, a new kid shows up to AV club with a Betamax Camcorder and an idea. The new Spielberg-wannabe friend, Joey Kim, wants to make a horror movie about a local legend, but when he sees Will's drawings, he discovers that his new friends are local legends.
Written by best-selling author Greg Pak (Mech Cadet Yu, The Incredible Hulk, Star Wars: Age of Rebellion) and drawn by Valeria Favoccia (Assassin Creed: Reflections, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor).
72 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2020
About the author
Greg Pak
1,664 books603 followersGreg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
February 5, 2020
A very simplistic comic taking place between seasons 1 and 2 of the show. The entire plot is Will being mopey while the boys make a horror movie. This felt like it was geared towards younger readers. I've read 2 of these Stranger Things comics now and they both felt very limited in scope, never giving me what I want. I want to see the boys investigating stranger things, not doing inane, boring things.
Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
February 28, 2020
Listen, if you are a Stranger Things fan and you have to wait several months for the new season, then you may just leap at tie-ins like this. Neither the story nor the art (by committee) are very good, but since the fam is into it, we all read it. I thought similarly about the other spin-off volume by Jody Hauser, meh. But the attraction here for me is really a kind of footnote for most readers, I think: I first encountered Pak in a book about Asian Americans and superheroes, acknowledging that many Asian Americans love comics but never see themselves represented there, so he and some friends write short stories featuring Asian superheroes. (Re)writing racial wrongs!
I recently read (Korean-American) Pak's contribution to the revisioning of James Bond, where a Korean-American (!) guy teams with Bond, and actually overshadows him for much of the book. This is Pak's fantasy, obviously, and it is fun, in keeping with his basic project, above.
In this Stranger Things spin-off we have the usual kids, post season one, after the killing of the Demigorgon, and the kids go back to trying to living their D &D middle school lives, facing some bullying. A new kid (who is, get this, Korean-American!) comes into town who figures out how to deal with this problem: Make a zombie movie! In the light of the Bond story I just read, I thought this was funny, imagining Pak adding Korean-Americans in every project he does, which may in fact be the case, and why not? This is in keeping with many revisioning projects in comics or in the arts generally, of course, the diversifying of white, straight male literature: How might I/Asians like Stranger Things better? If it had an Asian kid in it! Or how would I be able, as a black kid, to be able to relate to Macbeth better? Let's try him as black, or Thor as a woman, and so on. This one wasn't nearly as good as Pak's Bond revision, though.
I recently read (Korean-American) Pak's contribution to the revisioning of James Bond, where a Korean-American (!) guy teams with Bond, and actually overshadows him for much of the book. This is Pak's fantasy, obviously, and it is fun, in keeping with his basic project, above.
In this Stranger Things spin-off we have the usual kids, post season one, after the killing of the Demigorgon, and the kids go back to trying to living their D &D middle school lives, facing some bullying. A new kid (who is, get this, Korean-American!) comes into town who figures out how to deal with this problem: Make a zombie movie! In the light of the Bond story I just read, I thought this was funny, imagining Pak adding Korean-Americans in every project he does, which may in fact be the case, and why not? This is in keeping with many revisioning projects in comics or in the arts generally, of course, the diversifying of white, straight male literature: How might I/Asians like Stranger Things better? If it had an Asian kid in it! Or how would I be able, as a black kid, to be able to relate to Macbeth better? Let's try him as black, or Thor as a woman, and so on. This one wasn't nearly as good as Pak's Bond revision, though.
March 16, 2020
3.5
Bu çizgi roman ilk sezondan sonra geçiyor, gruba yeni bir karakter katılıyor ve korku filmi çekiyorlar. Bugün biraz kafamı dağıtmak istediğim için bir süredir okunmayı bekleyen çizgi romanlarıma el attım. Fena değildi, kafa dağıtmak için okunabilir. Zaten kısacık bir şey.
Bu çizgi roman ilk sezondan sonra geçiyor, gruba yeni bir karakter katılıyor ve korku filmi çekiyorlar. Bugün biraz kafamı dağıtmak istediğim için bir süredir okunmayı bekleyen çizgi romanlarıma el attım. Fena değildi, kafa dağıtmak için okunabilir. Zaten kısacık bir şey.
June 17, 2022
Stranger Things: Zombie Boys is a Dark Horse Comics graphic novel written by Greg Pak with art by Valeria Favoccia.
Set after the events of Stranger Things Season 1, Will is in a depressed state and expressing him emotions through art. A new kid in Hawkins finds one of Will’s zombie drawings and asks the gang if they want to make a zombie movie.
This book is geared towards a younger pre-teen audience but is still pretty fun. I wish we got the more “adult series” of comics to continue as well as doing young this adult series. I felt like the adult line was finally getting fun and interesting. But I am all for more titles to get kids into comics.
Set after the events of Stranger Things Season 1, Will is in a depressed state and expressing him emotions through art. A new kid in Hawkins finds one of Will’s zombie drawings and asks the gang if they want to make a zombie movie.
This book is geared towards a younger pre-teen audience but is still pretty fun. I wish we got the more “adult series” of comics to continue as well as doing young this adult series. I felt like the adult line was finally getting fun and interesting. But I am all for more titles to get kids into comics.
February 7, 2020
This little tale takes place between season 1 & season 2, Will Byers is still recovering from what happened to him in the Underworld. The kids on his school behave like schoolkids do and are awful. The club gets a new kid with the latest video-camera and they all decide on making a horror movie and they decide on the subject Zombies.
The making of the movie proves to be a healthy way for the boys and girl to get rid of their negative feelings.
Not quite up to the series standard but enjoyable nonetheless it feels like it is aimed at the younger generation watching the popular series "Stranger Things".
The making of the movie proves to be a healthy way for the boys and girl to get rid of their negative feelings.
Not quite up to the series standard but enjoyable nonetheless it feels like it is aimed at the younger generation watching the popular series "Stranger Things".
May 15, 2020
Set between the first and second seasons of the show, this short little tale tries to address the emotional toll the trauma of the first season must have had on the characters. And their grade point averages. Transfer student Joey Kim draws Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will into making an amateur zombie film for extra credit at school. It turns out to be more cathartic than one might expect.
October 11, 2021
*4.5
Oh, this was really good.
I'll be honest; I'm not the biggest Stranger Things fan. I like the show, but I'm not as invested in it or the characters as much as other people are. But I really do like the friendship between Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin, so I loved that that was at the forefront in here. And having Will better facing his demons was great. 4.5/5 stars.
Oh, this was really good.
I'll be honest; I'm not the biggest Stranger Things fan. I like the show, but I'm not as invested in it or the characters as much as other people are. But I really do like the friendship between Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin, so I loved that that was at the forefront in here. And having Will better facing his demons was great. 4.5/5 stars.
June 23, 2021
In einem Rutsch durchgelesen, was aber wohl hauptsächlich an der Seitenzahl lag.
Es war ganz nett, für mich jedoch die bislang schwächste Geschichte aus dem "Stranger Things"-Universum.
Rezension folgt.
Es war ganz nett, für mich jedoch die bislang schwächste Geschichte aus dem "Stranger Things"-Universum.
Rezension folgt.
December 2, 2021
An almost-insignificant episode, located somewhere between Seasons 1 and 2-- meaning, extremely limited knowledge on the Upside Down, the disappearance of Eleven, the longing of adventures past. No monsters, no heroes, no adventures: here is pure character development, a moment to check on the lovable characters from the hit show. Unessential to those looking for Easter eggs--great gift for my ten year old niece. She read it in two sittings!
November 17, 2020
This story-arc picks up right after the events in Season 1 and explores the group’s slow fracture following the recent supernatural horrors and loss. As much as I wanted to enjoy the idea, this one turned out quite unexpected, sending us on a journey of filmmaking with the introduction of a new kid who aspires to become a known director. I can’t help but find the ending so sudden and anticlimactic here, to the point that I just couldn’t see how I could even say I enjoyed my time with this one.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
May 18, 2023
it was sooo nostalgic to return to this era... the story was short but fun and i'll always enjoy more time with these characters <3
October 14, 2020
J’ai fais ma première immersion dans l’univers de Stranger Things grâce à cette bd. Je dois avouer que j’ai bien aimé. Ceux qui sont déjà fan aimeront retrouver leurs personnages favoris dans cette histoire qui se situe entre la première et deuxième saison. La complicité entre les quatre amis est bien présente et l’histoire avec sa touche de zombies rend le tout amusant. Les illustrations sont belles. J’ai aimé m’y attarder durant ma lecture.
Je compte bien lire les autres tomes et qui sait, peut-être même me plonger dans cette populaire série télé.
Je compte bien lire les autres tomes et qui sait, peut-être même me plonger dans cette populaire série télé.
January 25, 2020
This is quick, fun romp with our favorite male protagonists set between season 1 & 2. My only complaint is... where is Joey in season 2 & 3?
October 3, 2020
Fun quick read 🤷🏼♂️
May 25, 2022
This one was adorable, I'm a fan
February 11, 2021
This was fun. I really enjoyed it. The other stuff I’ve read as media-tie-in material expanding on the Stranger Things series hasn’t really been all that good. This story, kept it simple and didn’t try to add anything to the mystery. Instead the focus is on the characters and how these boys try and cope with what they’ve been lucky enough to live through. It could have been a little longer and gone into a bit more depth on their shared trauma and on Will’s particular PTSD, but it was still believable and entertaining.
April 17, 2021
my review:
"My name is Will Byers. I live in Hawkins, Indiana. I'm twelve years old. I like drawing and D&D and hanging out with my friends...but last year...last year...things got bad."
Stranger Things: Zombie Boys, Greg Pak
english version:
much too short and "in broad strokes" to bring anything interesting I’m afraid. the drawings are really nice of course but clearly it does not go far enough to be relevant and fair.
version française:
bien trop court et "dans les grandes lignes" pour apporter quoi que ce soit d'intéressant j'en ai bien peur. les dessins sont vraiment chouettes bien sûr mais clairement ça ne va pas assez loin que pour être pertinent et juste.
"My name is Will Byers. I live in Hawkins, Indiana. I'm twelve years old. I like drawing and D&D and hanging out with my friends...but last year...last year...things got bad."
Stranger Things: Zombie Boys, Greg Pak
english version:
much too short and "in broad strokes" to bring anything interesting I’m afraid. the drawings are really nice of course but clearly it does not go far enough to be relevant and fair.
version française:
bien trop court et "dans les grandes lignes" pour apporter quoi que ce soit d'intéressant j'en ai bien peur. les dessins sont vraiment chouettes bien sûr mais clairement ça ne va pas assez loin que pour être pertinent et juste.
August 16, 2020
Really well done! Great artwork, interesting story, and the characters read true to the show. There was some compelling character development and a really positive message. Overall, really cute and a great addition to the Stranger Things universe.
February 9, 2021
Good book. Boys being boys.
Last year things got bad but this year things are gonna be better.
Last year things got bad but this year things are gonna be better.
July 28, 2022
"and this year things are gonna get better" and then they DIDN'T. sobbing.
September 16, 2022
A must read for any Will Byers fan.
May 29, 2024
Cute enough for a comic I downloaded illegally from zLib 👍
December 7, 2025
This art is the best so far of any Stranger Things comics.
July 28, 2022
Stranger Things: Zombie Boys is a fun, quick read.
Zombie Boys takes place between seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix show. Will is still dealing with the trauma he experienced while trapped in the Upside Down. Although Zombie Boys is a young adult graphic novel, it gives Stranger Things fans the best glimpse into Will's emotional aftermath after season 1.
A new character, Joey Kim, is introduced. As far as I know, Zombie Boys is Joey's only appearance. He's a new student who joins Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas to make a zombie movie. I'm not sure of the reason for Joey's introduction since he's not a canon character. Any random Hawkins student would work, and using a minor, canon character would add more depth to Hawkins.
Zombie Boys' artwork is more cartoonish than the artwork in the main, Jody Houser Stranger Things comics. This style works well for the book's younger target audience. It has a more playful, comic-booky feel that emphasizes the story's tone.
Zombie Boys is a sufficient fix for those feening for Stranger Things between seasons.
Zombie Boys takes place between seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix show. Will is still dealing with the trauma he experienced while trapped in the Upside Down. Although Zombie Boys is a young adult graphic novel, it gives Stranger Things fans the best glimpse into Will's emotional aftermath after season 1.
A new character, Joey Kim, is introduced. As far as I know, Zombie Boys is Joey's only appearance. He's a new student who joins Will, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas to make a zombie movie. I'm not sure of the reason for Joey's introduction since he's not a canon character. Any random Hawkins student would work, and using a minor, canon character would add more depth to Hawkins.
Zombie Boys' artwork is more cartoonish than the artwork in the main, Jody Houser Stranger Things comics. This style works well for the book's younger target audience. It has a more playful, comic-booky feel that emphasizes the story's tone.
Zombie Boys is a sufficient fix for those feening for Stranger Things between seasons.
April 22, 2022
By this point we've had quite a few stories focusing on Will's trauma from the first season, so this OGN doesn't cover any new ground. It's pretty light on drama or danger, but it's a cute distraction. The introduction of a new character feels a bit forced, but he's mostly there to move the kids through their character arcs rather than having one of his own anyway.
Valeria Favoccia's cartoony art style is adorable, but it does mean that some of the traumatic bits, like Will's flashbacks to the Upside Down and his little breakdown in his room lose a bit of impact.
Not bad, but nothing we haven't really seen before, and better, in other Stranger Things comics - check out The Tomb Of Ybwen, for example.
Valeria Favoccia's cartoony art style is adorable, but it does mean that some of the traumatic bits, like Will's flashbacks to the Upside Down and his little breakdown in his room lose a bit of impact.
Not bad, but nothing we haven't really seen before, and better, in other Stranger Things comics - check out The Tomb Of Ybwen, for example.
May 22, 2020
This comic is set somewhere between season 1 and 2. Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will make a new friend who is very interested in making a movie with their AV club. He finds one of Will's drawings and draws inspiration from it. All of the characters are forced to face their emotions in the process of making the movie. It is definitely targeted to the younger audience of the show. I recommend if you watch the series and want to read a short side story with less of the dark things that are included in the show.
April 4, 2023
A pretty insignificant half episode that takes place between the first and second season. The group is trying to get back to normal life and decide to make a horror movie... but Will is clearly still super traumatized. It is more juvenile than I anticipated and really does not... go anywhere at all.
2.5 stars.
2.5 stars.
April 13, 2020
Rating the drawings and that soul food feeling of watching beloved tv characters in a comic. Sadly the story was very kid oriented, which is ironic since a child could never be explained "Will's odd past".
March 8, 2025
This is set right after season 1, and is very entertaining even though it doesn't have a lot of story progression. It does, however, give us more character development, which is cool. So far the comics have done a great job of capturing the essence of the TV series.
May 4, 2020
Cute little one-off with the Stranger Things characters minus the girls.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews