The first steps into new dangers.
Creative Staff:
Story: Simon Spurrier
Art: Bilquis Evely
Colors: Mat Lopes
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
There is a place where stories are born. Today its walls lie slashed and bleeding. Dream has abandoned his realm, and until he is found, its residents must protect its broken borders alone. But the most senior storysmiths are tormented by invasive secrets, the warden Lucien is doubting his own mind—and beyond the gates something horrific waits with tooth and talon.
Only Dora, the monstress, finds opportunity in madness, stealing dreams for the highest bidder. But she has no idea how deep the danger lies. Meanwhile, in Dream’s gallery, something new is growing…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The return of the Sandman world under the Sandman Universe barrier gets underway in full with the launch of The Dreaming. After the standalone that set the stage and introduced various elements, Simon Spurrier ushers in the fuller story here as we get to know the characters more.It’s one that’s certainly very dialogue-driven with a good bit of exposition but it sets things in motion well enough if you hadn’t read the other special. It also looks great with Bilquis Evely delivering a really strong looking issue with lots of detail and a sense of wonder about The Dreaming, which Mat Lopes captures very well in bringing to life further through the color design. It’s a good looking book and one that even as verbose as it is ends up being very easy to read with Simon Bowland producing another round of great lettering with diverse characters and styles of speech here.
With The Dreaming beginning to crack thanks to the prior events and Lucien having stage-played the role of Dream himself in order to ease the minds of those that reside there, the panic is on to figure out what to do next. Matthew at least makes clear that his flying around to find their Lord won’t do any good as the last time he went on walkabout and was captured ended up costing seventy years. Lucien’s doing his best to provide a sense of continuity amid all of those while Matthew knows the reality. Everyone else is just going about their business, though Merv is really struggling with all the Blanks that have shown up that he’s trying to corral. The emphasis that they’re like blank canvases is an interesting one that I can see coming back later in some way, possibly as though we’re going to see a reconfiguration (modernization?) of The Dreaming for the 21st century through this.
The heavier focus for this issue is on Dora herself, as she’s going to be key to a lot of what’s going on. There’s anger about her being in The Dreaming, though she was given specific permission by Dream to be there, but with the way she leaps into dreams, massages them and steals them, it doesn’t sit well to say the least. While some may cringe at the included sexual aspects, I like that we learn how she’s cauiqinr them and giving them to a duke of Hell named Balam and that she’s using him for sex as well. It has its quirky moments here but it provides a connection to that world and its cast while providing for something that’s a bit more tangible in a way than most of the other characters. Dora’s the one that feels the most human and seeing her seek out what she needs and getting it on her tems definitely delights.
In Summary:
It’s a quieter start for a series but one that feels very much in the Sandman vein in the way I had hoped for. It’s a very dialogue-driven book in a world where most things that I’ve seen the last few years tend to be lighter on it and filled with quips. But the mood is well-staged by the opener as Spurrier gets a handle on the characters voices and their motivations. It skims over most of them with Lucien getting a good bit of time alongside Dora while Merv and his problems with the Blanks provides for some additional fun. Bilquis Evely is a perfect presence on this series in capturing the look of this world and I can’t wait to see what creativity is in store here through it all.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Vertigo Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: September 5th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
