The end of an arc sets The Dreaming up to a world of possibilities.
Creative Staff:
Story: Simon Spurrier
Art: Bilquis Evely
Colors: Mat Lopes
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
Finally determined to solve the riddle of herself, Dora is out for blood. But Judge Gallows, the usurper, has taken precautions to protect himself. As the whole of the Dreaming trembles with the sick new power he wields, the oldest brotherly feud in existence takes a wretched turn…a blood sacrifice is made…the chrysalis cracks…and a new thing, an impossible thing, an indomitable thing, is born at last…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While I won’t say I’ve been struggling with The Dreaming I have been waiting for things to come together enough that we’re on solid ground to move forward. The series has needed that since the Dream that we know has moved onto other things and something had to go on in the Dreaming itself. Simon Spurrier has introduced some intriguing characters into the mix so far and messed with some existing ones in a good way and it’s all been pulled together in such utter beauty thanks to Bilquis Evely. I can’t say every panel is something that works because it gets a little crazy at times but the big picture here and the way at the Dreaming has morphed through their artwork has been exciting.
One of the bigger focuses as the series has taken shape has been on Dora, the one that wasn’t like all the others here in the series. She’s been kind of all over the map as one would expect as things go south but her return here is fraught with issues as she realizes that the gifts given to her every day were memories that she would be able to bring back into who she was. Or at least that’s what she believed until Merv revealed he was making them. The nods toward Dream and his intention with Dora are quite simple in that he simply wanted her to understand that broken things are not bad things and that they’re still beautiful in their own way. She’s been so broken and looking to fix it but not realizing that fixing it would make it all more broken. To compound matters, Merv has an extra distaste for her because he was making the gifts all along and had served Dream forever without receiving anything at all compared to her.
There are a number of little bits along the way that touches on several characters but the draw for me is in seeing how Cain is looking to change his story with Able through the new thing that’s being summoned which Gallows is trying to control. It is, admittedly, all over the place and some of Spurrier’s design in how the story is told doesn’t quite click for me as the narrative doesn’t feel as strong as it could be. But watching as something new is created, not a monster or a new kind of Endless, that will reshape and bring the Dreaming to a mixture of old and new with its own challenges is exciting. A Dreaming without Dream himself as a key component to it, at least in the short term, creates a place that can become so much more and delve into new avenues, both within itself and with what those are dreaming about int he real world.
In Summary:
The Dreaming caps off its opening arc and the state of The Dreaming itself very well here. It’s a little muddled at times and chaotic considering the scale of events but I suspect that with re-reads of it and the run as a whole so far that it’ll come together even better. I really like what Spurrier is doing and am excited for the potential of what’s to come as it’s open-ended. This installment also works wonderfully because of the artwork and layouts as it tries to capture that surreal aspect of the dreamscape and does so incredibly well all while handling such complex characters and situations, bringing to life this realm for a new audience.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Vertigo Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 6th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
