A most curious opening installment.
Creative Staff:
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Andrea Mutti
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
After his son disappears, a broken-down man braves a nightmarish dreamscape in order to find him–and battle the ruthless cult that seeks to rule the land of dreams as the barrier between realities starts to collapse.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
When it comes to creators that you know and have a good body of work behind them, you find yourself a lot more willing to go a bit without being sure of what’s going on than from someone you’ve never read before. I’ve enjoyed a lot of Cullen Bunn’s work over the years, and been frustrated by others, but I’ll always give him several issues to tease out what his intent is because it’s not just a simple and straightforward piece. With this series, he’s paired up with co-creator and artist Andrea Mutti, who has been on my radar in a big way since Dark Horse’s Rebels series. I adore his work and style in bringing things to life with the way he can color them and the kind of detail and overall design. That holds true here with a really great look that’s distinctive and leaves you wanting to know more of what it represents.
The premise for this is a tale of two worlds but there’s little to know about either at this point and how they connect. The main world is one that feels like it’s right out of 1700’s America with our lead riding his horse about the fog and dreary woods looking for someone, a boy, but struggling to secure a location. He’s dealing with problematic ruffians that are out there, your typical brigands looking to kill and steal in order to survive, all while looking like a Paul Revere type, basically. His journey is the main focus and we see what he’s capable of and who he’ll kill to survive, but also that he’ll walk into a trap in a tavern if it gets him closer to his goal. And that means some bodies dropping as he tries to get out once he knows for sure.
On the flip side, we also get to see what looks like the modern world. It’s a grim story here as well as it partially focuses on an old man that’s living under a bridge and isn’t able to hold onto that small bit thanks to punks in the area that beat the crap out of him. But the book also follows a woman named Greer who is living in this world and we see her initially at a building with a lot of bright blue skies and ars, retrieving a large box there, but also later seeing a homeless man and crying about that in the car. Her story doesn’t progress beyond that but you can see the easy tie-in with the old man who himself is struggling with things, notably when he sees the sign for a missing child that seems to really make an impact on him.
In Summary:
I have no idea what the intent is here. It’s a clear piece in that we’re focusing on people looking for others and that can lead to some interesting places. I expect a crossover between worlds at some point and something within that which will help to clarify things and the intent of the journey. With the first issue, it’s all about establishing some of the basics while still holding some of the cards close to the chest. Bunn drops enough hints to make you want to know more while Mutti delivers some really gorgeous pages with the designs and layouts. I’m definitely intrigued, knowing what both creators are capable of.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 30th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
