Parasomnia, a new miniseries title, comes from a familiar team: Writer Cullen Bunn and artist Andrea Mutti. It’s from Dark Horse.
A man is looking for his son. But of course, that’s not all that’s happening. First, there are the riders, traversing that eternal wasteland on horseback. And there is what appears to be the future, where the hunt continues… fast cars in a big city, with loads of firefights and hurt feelings.
It’s a compelling ride, whether horse-led or horsepower-driven. Bunn feeds us information as we go along, which is an excellent method of keeping the story moving, and suspenseful. The pace is good, not too fast to be puzzling, instead, it’s relentlessly readable.
Who are the characters, and who is the son they are looking for? What kind of macabre cyberpunk villains and n’er-do-wells inhabit this dystopian future, where you need to make unsavoury deals in order to get somewhere?
Artist Mutti applies shadows, hints, and suggestions, keeping the art impressionist. It’s not the gleaming high-res vision of the future or past. Nope, this is a smoky, atmospheric jaunt with danger: loads of brushwork black, lit by Day-Glo yellow-green lamps. Letters by Simon Bowland, editing by Daniel Chabon.
Briefly and succinctly, this is a fun and strongly presented book, with two connected worlds, tough criminals and a porch pirate package of surprises.
Dark Horse, Parasomnia: The Dreaming God #1, $3.99 for 25 pages of content.
Newsdesk