Stranger Things Winter Special Review: Bigger Things Coming

“Stranger Things” is one of those franchises that start out as one thing but then morphs into something that you can set in any genre. One of those genres is winter specials, which is the theme for the one-shot “Stranger Things Winter Special” by Chris Roberson with artist Abel.  
 
The crew are going over to Joyce’s house in the woods when Dustin swears he heard noise that sounds like a monster in the woods. He keeps saying he hears this noise even while the crew are explaining to El what Christmas specials are.
 
For a “Stranger Things” story this is tame. Yes, there are images of monsters that El thinks the characters from the various Christmas specials look like, but that’s about as far as it goes. Don’t expect anything scary, even the “big reveal” is a letdown.
 
Of course, everyone explaining to El the different specials and seeing El’s imagination at work is fun. They don’t flat out say what the specials are called, but it’s easy to figure out what they are. The plot summery the cast give to each special is spot on.
 
The quality of Abel’s art depends on what’s happening on the page. When it’s the main characters, it’s OK. The females look a lot better than the males. The facial expressions Dustin makes are a bit off putting. The art shines when it’s the Christmas specials. The drawings are a lot more creative which can be attributed to them being El’s imagination.
 
“Stranger Things Winter Special” has a basic setup that many fans would be disappointed in seeing with a letdown payoff but the comic more than makes up for with how creative the Christmas special explanations are. The art may be OK during the normal story but shines during El’s imagination which makes the explanations that much more interesting.