The “Netflix†series “Stranger Things†is still going super strong. Not only is there plenty of merchandise still being put out, but the series announced a fourth season and “Dark Horse†is still making comics. The newest incarnation is “Into the Fire†written by Jody Houser with artists Ryan Kelly, Le Beau Underwood and Triona Farrel.
Years after escaping “Hawkins Lab†Marcy and Ricky are trying to live a normal life in Boston, Massachusetts. However, Ricky got a lead that says maybe the other test subjects survived and now Marcy and Ricky are traveling to see if the lead if correct.
If you’ve been following the “Stranger Things†comic book series, then this should interest you. it sets up the new events nicely and there’s even an appearance by a character from the TV show. Of course, if you never read any “Stranger Things†comic and want to start, this is a terrible place to do that. The comic expects you know what happened in the previous stories and you will be confused.
On the other hand, the pacing of the comic seems a bit too fast. Yes, these are previously established characters, but the events just seem to start and then end a bit too quickly. There’s barely any room for the reader to fully grasp what’s going on and then the issue ends.
The artwork has some hiccups to it. While it has the look of the 1980s, and the characters also dress like it’s that decade, some of the designs are wonky. Usually, the character models do like nice, sometimes whenever the characters move in a weird way or show string emotion the facial expressions are more silly than what a real-life person would look like if they made that face. It’s not terrible, it’s just some in some panels the quality dips a bit.
The first issue of “Into the Fire†will please established readers who want to know what happens next but it’s a terrible starting off point for new readers. The artwork may have some negatives it’s still drawn well.
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