Goosebumps: Download and Die! #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Today's Family Comics Friday selection promises to give you goosebumps. That's because today I am reviewing the newest Goosebumps comic book from IDW Publishing- Goosebumps: Download and Die! #1.

Goosebumps: Download and Die! #1
Written by Jen Vaughn
Art by Michelle Wong
Published by IDW Publishing

I remember the Goosebumps series of books when they first hit store shelves. I was in high school at the time, so I considered myself too old for it. But my little sister loved the books and owned several of which I would read to her at bedtime. 

Those young adult chapter books were a perfect balance of terrifying and hilarious. Most of the kids that enjoyed them were way too young to be reading them. But that's part of growing up- getting the pants scared off you.

Goosebumps were the brainchild of prolific writer R.L. Stine. From living dummies to werewolves, creepy neighbors and everything in between, it seemed like a new scare was emitting from Stine's typewriter every month. He was a kid's Stephen King. So imagine my disappointment to learn that this book was not written by Stine. 

Download and Die! is written by comic writer, illustrator and narrative game designer Jen Vaughn (Plants Vs. Zombies.) Being so closely tied to the video game industry, you would think that Vaughn would be perfect to craft this online gaming take on the Goosebumps franchise. Sadly, Jen Vaughn is no R.L. Stine. It's not even close.

The story revolves a young girl named Mitra. He brother is her school's hall monitor. Her favorite class- the computer lab- is occupied by bullies. And her friendship with her best bud is complicated with the arrival of new girl and celeb online gamer Flip.

When the bullies break her phone, it looks like Mitra is going to have to walk a bunch of dogs to pay for a replacement. But the next day a mysterious admirer sends her an all new phone complete with apps that are aren't supposed to drop until months later. Mitra takes her frustrations out on the people who upset her by making memes filled with a slew of characters from old Goosebumps stories. Only her digital wishes are coming true and now someone is out to play a deadly game in order to get her new phone!

Writing this plot synopsis out makes the story a little more understandable and enjoyable. But that first read through was very rough. Scenes keep cutting away just a minute or two too soon. Thus instead of building suspense, everything feels a little disjointed. 

Another issue is the amount of characters in this story. There is a bunch and they aren't very well introduced to the reader. There's a character that seems like a throw away background player that might actually be Mitra's love interest. But the revelation of it comes out of nowhere and it's mentioned by one of the online Goosebumps monsters during a nightmare sequence. So, maybe that character isn't the object of the protagonist's affection. Again, it's not all that clear.

The only thing that is making this story Goosebumps is the inclusion of some characters from old Stine written adventures. I recognize all of them but other than the Living Dummy, I can't recall the stories that the other villains originally appeared in. Regardless, if it wasn't for artist Michelle Wong, I wouldn't be able to pick them up out of a line-up. Unfortunately, that's not the case with Mitra and her friends. None of them have very recognizable faces and I was getting characters very confused. If ever a Goosebumps story needed a Who's Who section at story's end, this would be the one.

Also, Goosebumps stories are supposed to be as funny as they are frightening. There's nobody laughing here. And when it comes to being scared, the amount of heart-pounding terror was so minimum, I could hear crickets chirping outside.

In the end, Download and Die! has got more cons to it than pros. The characters are not very dynamic nor individually all that recognizable. The plot pacing is fracture beyond repair. And above all, it's a Goosebumps story without the man who made it Goosebumps. Honestly, if it doesn't have R. L. Stine involved, it shouldn't be considered part of the franchise. 

I haven't done this in a while with my Family Comic Friday reviews but I am going to have to say that Goosebumps: Download and Die! is Not Worth Consuming! Because when I said this book promised to give the reader goosebumps, well sorry, but they lied!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Goosebumps: Download and Die! #1 debuted in stores on Wednesday March 28, 2018.

Recommended ages for this book are for readers 7-10 years of age. However, 7 might be a little too young and readers 11-13 might enjoy this!