You thought Bob’s story had been told? Think again

With Stranger Things disappearing from our screens for another 2 years, what better time to dive into the books and discover those lesser known stories, from the lesser known characters in Hawkins. Taking us all the way back to season 2 is Tomb Of Ybwen from Dark Horse Books. Now one of the more outstanding aspects of season 2, was the inclusion of our favourite Goonie, Mr Samwise Gamgee himself-Sean Astin. Providing the love interest for Winona Ryder, Astin played the loveable Bob Newby, who for a short while provided some stability in the Byers household as well as something of a role model for young Will. This of course led to his demise at the hands of a couple of Demo-Dogs and that was it for Bob as far as TV appearances go.

But his legend lives on in Tomb Of Ybwen and in typical Goonies style, the Hawkins mob find an old map whilst clearing out Bob’s old stuff. Dead set on following the map to it’s end, Will defies the rest of the crew’s warning against the weather and heads out alone. But this quest has a point of no return and when the rest of the crew go after Will, it may be already too late to turn back. 

The book manages to generate the same feel as the show, with it’s thirst for adventure and the lovable characters all getting ample word count to stay in line from how we know them on the show. The artwork by Diego Galindo is classic and easy to follow and is backed with stunning “chapter break pieces” by Marc Aspinall, bringing to mind Drew Struzan’s iconic work. The story doesn’t advance the main story arc in the TV show at all, but does serve as a very interesting side story and The Goonies and Lord Of The Rings references I made earlier were more than just references, as we learn more about Bob Newby’s early years. Stories we already knew maybe?

Tomb Of Ybwen requires no prior knowledge of Stranger Things and can be enjoyed by fans and non-fans (if they exist) alike. Greg Pak has shown that he understands this world and has written an absolute belter of a story here….Chris Andrews