Advance Review — Robin Directs The Action In ‘Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins’ #3
by Tom Smithyman
The Stranger Things universe has grown to the point where it can be difficult to remember certain characters, particularly though who haven’t been with the Netflix series from the beginning. Add in a relatively small number of episodes and multi-year gaps between seasons, and it can be downright impossible to remember characters’ backstories and motivations.
That’s where a series like Tales From Hawkins can help. First it fills those gaps by giving fans a reminder of the Stranger Things world, while also adding a new layer of background for the personalities inhabiting the small Indiana town.
This third issue of the anthology series turns the spotlight – or rather the camera – on Robin Buckley. Robin wasn’t introduced until the show’s third season, wearing the now iconic Scoops Ahoy nautical costume. This book takes readers back to her high school days and has her directing a student horror film. She has a crush on her leading lady, but this being the 1980s, doesn’t dare to admit publicly.
Jody Houser’s script leaves the horror normally accompanying the streaming series to Robin’s student project. Instead, the real drama is Robin living a repressed life. She pines for Tammy and is baffled when the object of her affection ogles over heartthrob Steve Harrington. In fact, the entire reason Robin is directing the film is to get closer to Tammy.
Since Houser is fairly constrained on what she’s able to do with the character, don’t expect a grand tale. Instead, she delivers a satisfying ending that stays true to all the characters involved.
Don’t expect much more from artist Giorgia Gio Sposito. There are no demogorgons or visits to the Upside Down to illustrate, just human drama. That might normally be enough, but her illustration style is fairly undetailed.
This series scratches an itch, but it’s pretty clear that nothing will actually replace Stranger Things final season – whenever it arrives.
Stranger Things: Tales From Hawkins #3 will be available for purchase tomorrow.
Overview
If you’re missing the Netflix show, this anthology series may temporarily scratch an itch for you. This issue isn’t great – and the art is middling at best – but it does give a little background on a character who is easily overlooked with all the supernatural happenings in Hawkins, Indiana.
