Picture Credit: Netfli
Netflix’s Stranger Things officially concluded in 2025 with its fifth and final season — but the franchise continues to endure outside of the main show. We will return to the Upside Down in September 2026 with the new season of animated spinoff Tales From ’85. Plus, for fans who want to explore beyond TV screens, the Stranger Things Universe has a gluttony of tie-in novels and comic books. Wondering where to begin? Consider this your definitive guide.
Stranger Things tie-in novels and comic books date back to 2018 with the release of Stranger Things: The Other Side. At this point, there are over 10 comic books published through Dark Horse Comics, continuing the adventures of fan-favorite characters, as well as more ambitious non-canon crossover events — including a meet-up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In addition, there are 9 official tie-in novels, with the latest releasing back in December 2025. The comic books are considered non-canon, but they are officially licensed by Netflix. The novels are generally seen as soft canon — although they are not overseen by Matt and Ross Duffer. There are instances where the TV series has contradicted what happens in the prose tie-ins.
Whether you see them as canon or not, these comics and novels help to add context to events that were glossed over in the main series. They also add backstory to fan-favorite characters, and bridge gaps where the main show took time jumps. For fans suffering from Stranger Things withdrawal, these offer an escape with fresh new narratives that don’t just feel like Stranger Things, but broaden your knowledge of Hawkins and beyond. Some of these titles, especially the comics, can be difficult to find in print, but all of them can be read on digital platforms like Kindle and GlobalComix.
Every Stranger Things Comic and Graphic Novel
Stranger Things: The Other Side
4-issue series from 2018–2019
Creative team: Jody Houser (Writer), Stefano Martino (Penciller), Keith Champagne (Inker), Lauren Affe (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
The Other Side was the first-ever Stranger Things comic book series. Published by Dark Horse Comics, it retells the events of Season 1 but entirely from the perspective of Will Byers who was trapped inside the Upside Down, contending with a Demogorgon by drawing on his Dungeons & Dragons knowledge, and how he communicated with Joyce by using Christmas lights.
This series is clever in how it feels completely in line and seamless with how events play out in the series, adding context in a key, unseen perspective.
Stranger Things: SIX
4-issue series from 2019
Creative team: Jody Houser (Writer), Edgar Salazar (Penciller), Keith Champagne (Inker), Marissa Louise (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
A 1970s prequel to Stranger Things Season 1, this comic adds key context to the enigmatic history of the Hawkins Laboratory and the work of Dr. Brenner. It focuses on the experimentation of Francine, Subject 006, who has the power of precognition — being able to see the future. Trapped under the thumb of Dr. Brenner, she wages an escape alongside Ricky (Subject 009) and Marcy (Subject 009.5).
Stranger Things: Into the Fire
4-issue series from 2020
Creative team: Jody Houser (Writer), Ryan Kelly (Penciller), Le Beau Underwood (Inker), Tríona Farrell (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
Into the Fire is largely a continuation of the events that took place in SIX. It takes place in 1984 — around the time of Season 2 — and catches up with Ricky (009) and Marcy (009.5) after they escaped from Hawkins Lab, on the run and trying to manage their lives following the trauma of being controlled by Dr. Brenner. However, they soon have to face danger once more when they embark on a rescue mission to save Ricky’s twin sister from a mental asylum.
Stranger Things: Science Camp
4-issue series from 2020
Creative team: Jody Houser (Writer), Edgar Salazar (Penciller), Keith Champagne (Inker), Marissa Louise (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
Set between Seasons 2 and 3 of the series, Science Camp catches up with fan-favorite Dustin Henderson who spends his summertime at ‘Camp Know Where’ — a retreat swarming with science nerds clever enough to give him a run for his money. The story builds on his budding romance with Suzie, and sees him get caught up in an adventure of his own: an ’80s-style slasher mystery.
Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons
4-issue series from 2020–2021
Creative team: Jody Houser, Jim Zub (Writers), Diego Galindo (Penciller), Msassyk (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
The classic roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons is crucial to Stranger Things; it’s engrained in the DNA of the show. This miniseries serves as a prequel to Season 1, depicting how Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will found each other and became obsessed with playing D&D in the basement. It’s a coming-of-age comic series about their friendship and how it blossomed into nerd heaven.
Stranger Things: The Tomb of Ybwen
4-issue series from 2021
Creative team: Greg Pak (Writer), Diego Galindo (Penciller), Francesco Segala (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
This comic marked the first time that Jody Houser stepped back from penning Stranger Things comics. In stepped Greg Pak, the esteemed writer of Planet Hulk and Magneto Testament. The result was another excellent miniseries. The Tomb of Ybwen is set after Season 2 of the main show, and depicts a grieving Will Byers following the tragic death of Bob Newby after he was attacked by Demodogs. Will learns that before his death, Newby was closing in on discovering a local treasure known as Ybwen, and he gathers his friends to embark on a quest to find it.
The Tomb of Ybwen treads a little too close to being a gratuitous fan-fiction, but it’s undeniably entertaining. It’s unashamedly a love letter to classic ’80s movies, especially The Goonies.
Stranger Things: Kamchatka
4-issue series from 2022
Creative team: Michael Moreci (Writer), Todor Hristov (Penciller), Dan Jackson (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
In its fourth season, Stranger Things spent a lot of time in Russia, specifically a Soviet prison camp in Kamchatka where Jim Hopper was held. This series from writer Michael Moreci (who wrote the comic Barbaric, which incidentally is being adapted into a Netflix series) follows Soviet scientist Dr. Boris Orlov, who is captured and forced to weaponise a Demogorgon brought back from the United States. Orlov’s children attempt to save their father before the monster is unleashed.
Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins
4-issue series from 2023
Creative team: Jody Houser (Writer), Caio Filipe (Artist #1), Sunando C (Artist #2), Giorgia Gio Esposito (Artist #3), Nil Vendrell (Artist #4), Dan Jackson, Tríona Farrell (Colourists), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
Jody Houser returned to Stranger Things comics in 2023 with this 4-issue anthology series, spotlighting short stories including the investigation into Barb’s disappearance, Robin Buckley’s school years, and a feud between rival pumpkin farmers Merrill and Eugene.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things
4-issue series from 2023
Creative team: Cameron Chittock (Writer), Fero Pe (Artist), Sofie Dodgson (Colourist), Rus Wooton (Letterer)
Everyone loves a crossover, and in comics, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are involved in many of them. In 2023, the TMNT crossed paths with the kids from Stranger Things after they headed on a school trip to New York City. The school bus gets ambushed by Demodogs, and our group teams up with the Turtles to close a rift to the Upside Down that has opened up in the New York underground.
As far as Stranger Things comics go, this is the most out there concept of the lot. It’s totally out of left field, but chock-full of action-packed goodness — who’s complaining when the crossover is this fun?
Stranger Things: The Voyage
4-issue series from 2023-2024
Creative team: Michael Moreci (Writer), Todor Hristov (Penciller), Francesco Segala (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
This series continues the story that began with Kamchatka in 2022, with most of the core creative team returning. It’s a survival story in the vein of Alien, following a team of scientists who board a ship from Alaska to Kamchatka — but they manage to smuggle a living Demogorgon on the freighter for transportation. You can probably guess what happens next…
Stranger Things x Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire
4-issue series from 2025
Creative team: Jody Houser & Eric Campbell (Writers), Diego Galindo (Penciller), Diana Sousa (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
The first Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons comic series explained how Will, Mike, and Dustin became friends and became obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons. This series from 2025 explores the origins of fan-favourite character Eddie Munson and how he founded the Hellfire Club — witnessing his first-ever D&D campaign.
Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins 2
4-issue series from 2025
Creative team: Derek Fridolfs, Sunando C (Artist #1), Bradley Clayton (Artist #2), Mack Chater (Artist #3), Vincenzo Riccardi (Artist #4), Dan Jackson (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer)
This is another chapter of anthology stories, chronicling untold stories from the series. The tales in this one explore everything from Will Byers’ return to school, dealing with being labelled ‘Zombie Boy’, to a backstory for the Russian assassin Grigori from Season 3.
One-Shot Comics
There are also a number of one-shot comics, which are not part of series. These tend to be shorter, more out of left field titles, such as crossovers and holiday specials. For some of them, they were released under the Free Comic Book Day umbrella. Most of these have since been bound into graphic novel releases of the above titles. We’ve listed them down below:
- Stranger Things / Black Hammer
- Stranger Things / Minecraft
- Hellboy / Stranger Things
- Holiday Specials (these have been bound together in a Stranger Things: Holiday Specials graphic novel)
Prose novels
Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds (2019)
Author: Gwenda Bond
The first Stranger Things tie-in novel, Suspicious Minds serves as a prequel to the main series, chronicling the life of Eleven’s mother, Terry Ives, and her time as a test subject under Dr. Brenner at the Hawkins Laboratory. The novel was a breakout success, providing a dark and complex origin to one of the series’ most enigmatic characters. Ratings for the novel are mixed to positive, and it currently has a 3.6/5 rating on Goodreads.
Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town (2019)
Author: Adam Christopher
When we meet Jim Hopper at the beginning of Stranger Things, he works as a sheriff in Hawkins. We’re left relatively in the dark in regard to the extent of his story before we meet him. That’s where this novel comes into its own, chronicling his backstory prior to the events of the series.
The story picks up during Christmas of 1984, when Hopper is trying to have a relaxed holiday season with Eleven — but she can’t help but pry into his past. He recounts his experiences working as a cop in New York City, and we learn exactly why he prefers to keep his past behind him.
Stranger Things: Runaway Max (2019)
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Sadie Sink’s Max Mayfield had a gargantuan task when she joined the cast in Season 2. It’s not an easy feat to jump into an established cast and become beloved by fans as quickly as she did it. Enigmatic, energetic, and bursting with personality, Max was an instant fan-favorite. This novel plays on her popularity, taking readers back to the days before Max joined the show. Taking place in 1984, it covers her relationship with her brother, school days, and her early escapades. It all leads up to the point we meet her in the show. And if you’ve read the novel, Max’s introduction has so much more context surrounding it.
Stranger Things: Rebel Robin (2021)
Author: A.R. Capetta
Max was a popular introduction to the show, and then a season later Stranger Things introduced fans to Robin Buckley. Witty and charming, Robin won all of our hearts. This tie-in novel chronicles Robin’s sophomore year. She struggles to fit in and finds that she can’t be herself, so what does she do? She flees to Europe for the summer, in a move she calls Operation Croissant. This novel focuses on Robin, but also features cameos from other Stranger Things characters such as Jim Hopper and Steve Harrington.
Stranger Things: Lucas on the Line (2022)
Author: Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Set after the events of Season 3 and the battle of Starcourt Mall (and also covering a little concurrent to Season 4), this novel focuses on Lucas Sinclair. This novel serves as an introspective look at Lucas, telling his own story. Throughout the novel, he learns about himself and the exploration of love and identity. This is a part of Lucas’ journey where he’s lonely: his relationship with Max is strained, and Will and Eleven have moved away. How does he deal with feeling lonely?
Stranger Things: Flight of Icarus (2023)
Author: Caitlin Schneiderhan
From the moment metalhead Eddie Munson was introduced into Stranger Things, everyone became obsessed. A prequel to his introduction to the show, this novel chronicles Eddie’s ardent quest to make it big, because why should he live his life in the “Tomb of Horrors” that is Hawkins when he could be living his best life? And then he meets Paige, a record producer out in Los Angeles, who presents an oh-so-tempting opportunity for him to escape the mundane…
Stranger Things: The Dustin Experiment (2024)
Author: J.L. D’Amato
Following Dustin Henderson, this novel takes place in Fall 1985 after the events of Starcourt Mall. Dustin is ready to start his freshman year at Hawkins High School — but a simple return to school is far from what’s in store. With his friends away and others distant, he decides the best course of action is to enter a science competition. It also stars fan-favorite Eddie Munson.
Stranger Things: One Way or Another (2025)
Author: Caitlin Schneiderhan
What could possibly be cooler than a team-up between Hawkins badasses Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley? Set after Season 4 when Hawkins is under strict quarantine, this novel pits them together as they work to solve a new mystery involving classmate Joey Taft, who has been acting incredibly peculiar. Between Wheeler and Buckley, there’s no time for sneaking around, and they jump straight into questioning him. What they discover could put them one step closer to tracking down Vecna.
Of course, Stranger Things is not leaving our screens anytime soon. Next up is Tales From ’85 Season 2, which releases on September 17, 2026.
