The Stranger Things comics and novels: what the universe tells outside the series

"The Other Side": season one seen from the other world

Everything starts from a 96-page book, published in French by Mana Books on July 4, 2019: script by Jody Houser, art by Stefano Martino, inks by Keith Champagne, translation by Sarah Grassart. "The Other Side" is volume 1 of the Stranger Things comic, and the only title in the catalog that sits exactly on top of a season already seen.

The story first came out at the American publisher Dark Horse, in four issues spaced from September 26, 2018 to January 2, 2019. Its principle fits in one sentence: retell season one from the only point of view the camera could not follow, that of Will Byers, trapped in the parallel world. The boy does not know where he is; he knows a creature is prowling, and he holds on to what he knows — his house, his friends, the rules of their role-playing game.

The poster of the world hiding under the town.

In the shopMen's The Upside Down retro poster T-shirt39,90 €See the product

"Six" and "Into the Fire": the lab prequels

Volume 2, "Six" (January 2, 2020), is still written by Jody Houser, this time drawn by Edgar Salazar. The action takes place in 1978: a teenage girl is locked in the lab, where Dr. Brenner puts her through tests. Her gift is not moving objects but seeing what is about to come, and what she glimpses swarms with monsters.

Volume 3, "Into the Fire" (November 19, 2020, 112 pages, art by Ryan Kelly), takes up the story, years later: Ricky and Marcy, two former subjects of the same doctor, learn that Nine, Marcy's twin sister, is still alive, and set off to find her. The whole collection works that way: it fills the blanks in the timeline.

The standalone books: a zombie film, two bullies, a camp, a game table

"Zombie Boys" (August 27, 2020) slips in between season one and season two: the four boys try to get back to a normal life, the group cracks, and a new student, Joey Kim, offers to shoot a zombie film from Will's drawings. It is the lightest title in the catalog.

"The Bully" (February 4, 2021, script by Greg Pak, art by Valeria Favoccia) changes sides: the book follows James and Troy, the two bullies from middle school, set on understanding where the powers that broke an arm come from. "Science Camp" (June 3, 2021, 112 pages) sends Dustin to a science camp in the middle of the woods: for the first time in a long while, the publisher writes, he is far from Hawkins and from his friends. "Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons" (October 7, 2021) goes back, the other way, before the other books in this group, to the role-playing game that welded Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin together, and "Erica the Great" (June 2, 2022) gives the lead to Lucas's little sister, right after season three.

1. "Zombie Boys"

   an amateur film shot from Will's drawings

2. "The Bully"

   the story told by the two bullies from middle school

3. "Science Camp"

   Dustin at science camp, far from Hawkins

4. "Dungeons & Dragons"

   the game that welded the four boys together

5. "Erica the Great"

   Lucas's little sister in the lead

The recent books: a cave, a cargo ship, two anthologies

"The Tomb of Ybwen" (July 6, 2023) ties back to the party: Will sets off alone in the middle of a storm, the others join him too late to turn back, and a trail of clues leads them into a cave full of traps.

"Kamchatka" (May 16, 2024) opens the Russian trail: a Soviet scientist is kidnapped for a secret project and comes face to face with the Kremlin's last weapon, a Demogorgon; his children set off to get him back with a former KGB agent. "The Journey" (November 6, 2025) finds the same duo — Michael Moreci on script, Todor Hristov on art — on the same Russian trail, without being the sequel: the book reads on its own. A cargo ship leaves Alaska for Kamchatka; on board, a Russian scientist is set on bringing her shipment back, and the Demogorgon, this time, is very far from Hawkins. "Tales from Hawkins" (June 5, 2025) chooses the anthology: hunters facing a beast, Murray Bauman's investigation into Barbara Holland's disappearance, Robin's class film. A second collection is announced for October 1, 2026: Mr. Clarke facing Dart, the Upside Down as Will sees it, Grigori's Russian past.

The prequel novels: Terry, the police chief, and Max

"Suspicious Minds", by Gwenda Bond (Lumen, March 7, 2019, translation by Céline Morzelle), goes back to 1969: Terry, a student in Indiana, volunteers for a government research program and discovers what a state lab is preparing. The French trade press announced it as written in collaboration with the series' creators.

"Darkness on the Edge of Town", by Adam Christopher (Lumen, translation by Céline Morzelle and Cécile Roche), moves in two beats. At Christmas 1984, the police chief tells his adopted daughter the strangest case of his career; the story jumps to the summer of 1977, when he was investigating ritualized murders in the New York police, up to the giant blackout that shut the city down.

"Runaway Max", by Brenna Yovanoff (Hachette Romans, June 5, 2019, translation by Alice Delarbre) tells Max's life before her move, the reasons for that departure, and the place held in it by her stepbrother, Billy. It is aimed at readers from age twelve.

The poster to hang above the stack of books.

In the shopBuildable diorama Upside Down forest 359 pieces69,90 €See the product

The novels that follow a character between two seasons

At Hachette Romans, two titles take the first person. "Rebel Robin", by A.R. Capetta (2021), follows a school year of Robin's, her plans to escape to Europe, and what she still tells no one. "Lucas on the Line", by Suyi Davies (August 10, 2022), does the same work for Lucas and for the question of his place between two groups.

The same publisher puts out two lighter objects: "Hawkins Horrors", by Matthew J. Gilbert (June 15, 2022, reissued November 13, 2025), a collection of horror stories, and "Heroes and Monsters", by Rana Tahir (August 9, 2023, translation by Alice Delarbre), a book in which the reader chooses the path, with twenty-five possible endings. Those titles do not complete the mythology: they tell an ordinary adolescence in a town that is not.

• Mana Booksthe whole comic line translated into French
• Lumenthe novels closest to the lab and the writing team
• Hachette Romansthe character stories, from age twelve

The two novels written by a writer on the series

Two titles stand apart, because they come out of the same room as the episodes. Caitlin Schneiderhan wrote for the series — the episode "The Monster and the Superhero" is hers, among others — before signing "Flight of Icarus" (Lumen, January 18, 2024, 375 pages, translation by Jonathan Oriol and Laureline Chaplain), which takes place in 1984, during Eddie Munson's last year of high school.

He splits his time there between the sessions of the role-playing club he masters and the concerts of his band, Corroded Coffin. A meeting in a bar promises him a chance if he brings a demo; the recording is expensive, and he falls back on his father's schemes. The same author signs "One Way or Another" (Lumen, January 8, 2026), in which Nancy follows Vecna's trail and pulls Robin into an investigation, between season four and season five.

What is canon, and what is not

First rule: none of these books is required. The series never points to a comic or a novel, and the five seasons follow one another without opening a single one. They are not full spin-offs either: they fill blanks, which is not the same thing.

Second rule: not everything weighs the same. A book that redraws a known season, a novel announced as written with the creators, two books signed by a writer on the series: those cases are not worth the side invention, the one whose plot exists only in the book. Third rule, the most useful when a detail seems to contradict itself: the screen is the record. A book proposes, an episode disposes.

• Adaptationa book that replays a known season from another point of view
• Extensiona story written with the creators, or by a writer on the series
• Side inventiona plot that exists only in the book
• Arbitrationwhen a book and an episode diverge, the episode wins

The set that extends the reading, wall included.

In the shopThe Upside Down canvas29,90 €See the product

Frequently asked questions

Read next