By Garrett Hanneken

Goosebumps Download and Die! reached its conclusion and as expected it gathers up the monsters placed throughout the story for its final issue. However, its execution resulted in a lackluster homage to the original series.

The comic begins with our protagonist Mitra realizing the error of her ways as she begins to delete the photos off her deadly phone. In turn, things go back to normal, but there is still the problem with the duplicate Mitra as she still exists regardless of all the photos being deleted. As a result, Mitra confronts her evil twin but not without running into various monsters along the way. As everyone is after the phone, Mitra and her friends must defend themselves from the clutches of the Goosebumps’ creatures.

What worked best for this issue was the artwork. It has been consistent throughout the series and that is especially including the colors. The facial expressions are appropriate for each moment as the characters battle off their foes, but the real standout feature goes to, as stated before, the coloring. The use of hot pink to show when there is danger added a vibrant and fun look to the comic. Therefore, the coloring provided lively features in what could have been dull moments.

Unfortunately, this issue failed to provide the monster-filled finale I was hoping for. Instead, the comic presented the duplicate Mitra as more of a threat than the other Goosebumps’ monsters. For example, the Creeps were seen for a brief moment and Slappy the Dummy was nothing more than a menacing puppet that bites. As a result, the comic fumbled to present any real peril. This lack of danger can be attributed to the inclusion of its monsters as a threat in previous issues, but in this final issue they appeared to be feeble.

As for the ending, things still felt unresolved. Mitra’s affection for her classmate Weather went back to square one since their last encounter with one another felt just as awkward when we first met them. And the reveal as to where the phone came from felt a little out of place. I felt surprised with the ending, but not every surprise is a pleasant surprise.

The final issue of Goosebumps Download and Die! presents its homage to Goosebumps’ monsters as a small threat when they deserved more. Putting my biases aside for Goosebumps, I want to appreciate this kid-friendly comic, but I can’t ignore the flaws that outweigh my admiration for the series. Therefore, I still suggest this comic for kids, but if you are looking for a nostalgic read then you might want to look elsewhere.

Score: 2/5

Goosebumps Download and Die! #3
IDW Publishing