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To celebrate Collector Time's 6th anniversary issue, I'd like to do something very special and unusual... I'm going to write a comic review!
All kidding aside, it has been a few months since I've written a review, and the reason for this is well, it's been a few months since I've set foot in the comic shop! Now, this wasn't a conscious decision to stop buying comics for some reason, it's just that December-March is always a busy time for us and we never got around to swinging by the comic shop. As such, when we finally did make it in this weekend, we bought a large stack of comics. Mostly issues of the series we had been reading regularly, but of course I had to pick up review fodder.
Quite conveniently, I found The Dreamland Chronicles. It was an easy decision to buy this comic because 1: it had a cute pixie on the cover and 2: it had CG artwork on the inside. Since I love faeries and Chris and I are both fans of CG, we decided to give this title a try.
Before I review the comic itself, allow me to go off on a little rant. The cover has a traditional pen-and-ink sort of drawing of a pixie. It's actually a very nice drawing, fully colored against a background of sketches of the character in an assortment of cute pixie poses. However, as I mentioned before, the comic itself is done in CG. I really feel that a comic's cover should reflect the artwork that I'll find inside (although I may be in the minority here, seeing how many comics have fully painted covers, or guest artist covers). In the case of a comic that has unique artwork, such as an artist with an unusual style or say, computer graphics, the cover should definitely showcase this. I would even go so far to say that this goes doubly for a CG comic. There's a lot of interest in CG these days and some people might buy the comic solely to check out the art. If they just glance at the cover and say "Oh, it's a comic about a cute faerie, whatever" they won't know what they're missing.
But of course, I digress (I seem to do that a lot, don't I?). The Dreamland Chronicles is a cute and all-age appropriate comic (although I recommend it mostly for teenagers and adults who appreciate whimsical stories and don't take things too seriously). It tells the tale of a college student named Alex who, up until the age of 12, had these fantastic dreams where he and his friends (an Elven girl, a boy made of rock, and aforementioned cute pixie) would fly around exploring and getting into adventures. He stops having these dreams on his 12th birthday when (while in the dream realm) he finds the tomb of the kings of dreamland, draws a sword that may or may not be evil, and angers the dragon living in the tomb.
Now, we can draw several conclusions as to why Alex stopped having these amazing dreams (and indeed, any dreams at all) after that night. It could be because he entered the tomb (his magical friends couldn't follow him in). It could be because of the sword, evil or not. Or it could be because the dragon toasted him and when you die in your dreams, you can't go back. I'm sure that the reason for this will be explored in later issues, because...
Alex is now almost 20 years old and attending college, where he shares a room with his brother Dan, is failing his classes, and manages to get into some special study for extra credit because of his dreams (or perhaps, lack thereof). He and his brother receive a care package from Mom, and in it is *dramatic pause* the sword necklace he was wearing when he woke up from his last dream. He puts it on before bed that night, and he finds himself in dreamland once again. What adventures await our hero? Tune in next issue to find out!
While this first issue isn't great, it is pretty good and the story shows a lot of promise. Alex is your usual likable loser, a guy who seems to drift through life, not accomplishing much but not hurting anyone either. His brother Dan is the sensitive, artistic type. Alex used to tell Dan about his stories, and Dan would write them down. This inspired him to become a writer. Dan takes Alex's dreams very seriously, but doesn't believe that he really went to another world in his dreams. Alex, however, can't help but wonder, ever since he woke up with that sword.
The "guy from Earth who visits other worlds in his dreams" thing isn't exactly new ground, but it's still a story idea that can be done well, and I think the computer graphics will help carry this series. The characters look rather realistic (although when they're kids in the dream flashbacks, they have a kind of chibi/video game character look to them), the dream realm is bright and beautiful, the tomb amazingly detailed, and the real world, well, eh, it looks like the real world.
If you enjoy computer graphics or fantasy stories, or are looking for a cheery, inoffensive comic for a younger reader, this would be a great title to pick up. I know I'll be giving the next few issues a chance and I look forward to seeing how the story develops.
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