The dimensions of the dreams are under attack, and all of creativity’s warriors band together to fend off the hellish nightmares that plague the realms. Ultimately, Dan has to make a choice to defend against the breach of dream and reality or succumb to the nightmarish voices of doubt that feeds off of him.
This is the most action-packed issue of this series as written and illustrated by Kudranski. Much of this issue is Dan confronting the dark forces that have sprung from his childhood fears and doubts that have come to haunt him in the land of dreams. Kudranski has a way with writing this story and this issue in layers due to the theme and paralleling it with the events of the story. As Dan struggles with his own inner conflict made manifest, it reflects what creatives struggle with in real life, trying to overcome fear of rejection, inner doubt and negativity, and fear of failure of never being good enough. The antagonist is a great manifestation of Dan’s fears and fears of all creatives, personifying the voice that breeds doubt. All of that is brilliantly reflected in the battle between Dan, the characters of the dream, and the invasive horde of nightmares. It’s difficult finding comics that have a human story within the fantastical that doesn’t get bogged down by editorial mandates in most mainstream comics.
Thankfully, Kudranski is allowed to explore and personify the struggles of artists and convey the importance of creativity within this series. Props to editors Atom Morwill and Marla Eizik for assisting Kudranski’s efforts in executing much of these themes and ideas within the book. There isn’t much to be said about the art given that Kudranski balances writing and art duties. His panel compositions, figure work, character acting, colorwork, action choreography are all well illustrated, visually displaying the story in tandem with the writing excellently. DC Hopkins is an important ingredient as the letterer due to his use of different word balloons that help to distinguish the different kinds of entities, making every character and creature distinct and easy to track. This is another good chapter in this first arc of the series, and it’s a great original comic series that’s worth checking out for creatives and non-creatives. Add this to your pull list for New Comic Book Day.
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