Review: THE DREAMING #8
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Nick Robles
Colours: Matheus Lopes
Letters: Simon Bowland
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
The Dreaming: Waking Hours #8: “The Faerie King,” the next major arc of The Dreaming: Waking Hours, begins here! Heather After has a theory about just where Ruin’s lost love might be found…but the realm of Faerie is a dangerous place under the best of circumstances, and as Ruin, Heather, and Jophiel will quickly find when they cross between worlds, the circumstances there have changed quite a bit!
Positives
In The Dreaming: Waking Hours #8, Heather After, Ruin, and Jophiel travel to the Faerie, to keep Heather’s bargin with Auberon. Their first glimpse of Faerie is exactly as you would expect: a beautiful green forest, with sprites and pixies flitting about. However, they don’t get too far before seeing that most of the realm is a war-torn wasteland. This is due to the rebellion Nuala led to usurp Auberon’s throne.
We also see Dream deciding to take an active role in the story by deciding to investigate what Ruin has been up to. Strictly speaking, Dream isn’t the central character of the tile, but he is the central figure of the Sandman Universe line, which has been whittled down to a single title now. And this is the title that has the most direct connection to the Lord of Dreams. So, I am quite pleased to see him take a prominent role in the story.
Positives Cont.
And it’s understandable that Dream is wary of nightmares walking the waking world. And Ruin is an especially dangerous nightmare to unleash on the world. His very name implies ruination, so it’s likely his presence would spell disaster for those around him.
In The Dreaming: Waking Hours #8, we also see that the nurse Azar also knows Ben, the mysterious dreamer that is the target of Ruin’s infatuation. Heather opines that maybe he is a Faerie or some other supernatural being. However, Azar is able to recognize the true natures of Jophiel and Ruin, wouldn’t she also recognize if Ben was a supernatural entity?
I am quite enjoying Nick Robles’ artwork on this series. Even though the original Sandman series featured a wide variety of artists with different styles, Robles’ manages to evoke the feel of that series. His art and Matheus Lopes’ colours help to make this feel like a true continuation of Neil Gaiman’s original work.
Negatives
I still have a hard time believing that the unassuming Faerie Nuala from the original Sandman series would become an evil usurper of the Faerie. However, in the Faerie, not all is as it seems. And we don’t know the full story yet. I trust that G. Willow Wilson can justify this apparent change of personality in Nuala.
Verdict
G. Willow Wilson’s The Dreaming: Waking Hours is a worthy continuation of Neil Gaiman’s classic Sandman series. Wilson is doing a terrific weaving her new creations together with old friends to produce a fantastic new tale.
