Review: The Dreaming #16

STORY

In lieu of the Vertigo imprint inspired by Alan Moore’s work on Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman’s take on Sandman, DC has produced a line of comics set firmly in the side continuity to the main DC multiverse. I have already reviewed one of this books with House of Whispers and this week I explore The Dreaming.

An unnamed creature from the Dreaming finds herself drawn to the house of a dying billionaire. The being in question is a Night Hag, a type of nightmare whose activities are often explained away as sleep paralysis fuels night terrors. The third player in this drama is a security AI that appears to be in charge of safeguarding both the billionaire (Keter) and his home as he slowly dies. The main focus of this issue is the journey of Keter, a man of science, logic and reason who was beset by this particular Night hag decades ago. The home AI gleefully plays Keter’s video journal as both a way of exposition and also to apparently taught the Hag as she attempts to escape her predicament. Its a very subtle set up to demonstrate that these three characters are all connected in some way, a connection that gets more strongly fleshed out by the end of the story.

Spurrier’s most interesting bit in this comic is how Keter goes from being a man of pure science to one obsessed with defeating the supernatural “threat”“ of the Dreaming. His planning and execution is reminiscent of Ozymandias in Watchmen. Its a fascinating dichotomy as this man who doesn’t really believe in the King of Dreams, ultimately plots his downfall in order to ultimately save humanity from itself. Also interesting is Keter working things in ways that he can relate to, equating the Dreaming as the origin of all stories being akin to code that one can manipulate.

The Night Hag is a passive character in this issue, being far more reactive than proactive, but this is largely Keter’s story and the AI has quite a surprise reveal waiting at the end which is very subtly teased about midway through the book.

ART

The artwork is perfect for this sort of comic. It is both will drawn and colored, balancing between being clearly rendered juxtaposed by completely surreal panels and pages. Its a fine blend of the two which the artist not only manages expertly but never lets it interfere with the storytelling of the artwork.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is really the sort of writing you want to see in a Sandman adjacent story. Its layered, subtle and complex, giving enough information to hook you in but leave you wanting more.

SCORE: 5 out of 5

Writer: Simon Spurrier
Art: Marguerite Sauvage