The Dreaming #9 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Bilquis Evely, Artist; Mat Lopes, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The Dreaming is a mind-bender of a book, taking place across multiple dimensions with dozens of characters, and at times the very nature of reality is bending. That’s rarely more the case than with this issue, as residents of the Dreaming find themselves having to teach a newborn baby God how to minister to their world. This was the conclusion of the first big arc before last arc’s interlude, and now we’ve got this strange doll-headed moth creature learning how to control the dreaming as characters like Matthew, Lucien, Merv, and Abel try to guide it. Cosmic powers combined with a child’s understanding of the world is rarely a good combination and things quickly start to spiral out of control – which leads Dora and Matthew to take their own journey that takes them to the land of the faeries. There they meet Nuala, a character who has had her own unique interactions with the Dreaming – and Dream himself.
The Books of Magic has also been dealing with the Fae realm recently, and it seems like both Dream and Tim Hunter have been there before. But Dream – or Daniel, to be specific – spent a lot of time engaged in a twisted game of exchanges with the Fae queen. This story is equal parts tale of seduction and tale of betrayal, and it can be a little hard to follow the twists and turns of Dream’s tale. The book does collapse under its own weight at times, but Bilquis Evely’s art is so compelling that the lush pages are an attraction on their own. The biggest problem this series has is that it doesn’t always have Gaiman’s deft hand with broad and surreal topics – it can be a little too straightforward for its subject matter – but the segments with the newborn God are as fascinating as anything that’s come through this line so far. Looking forward to seeing how the main narrative advances.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
