Review: THE DREAMING: WAKING HOURS #11
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artists: Nick Robles, M.K. Perker
Colours: Matheus Lopes, Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Simon Bowland
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
The Dreaming: Waking Hours #11: The time has come for a revolution in the realm of Faerie-but do Heather After and Jophiel have the power to make it happen by themselves if Ruin, lost in his own regrets, has fled back into the safety of the Dreaming? The Unseelie Court and their deadly allies certainly don’t think so…
Positives
With The Dreaming: Waking Hours #11, we are nearing the end of this story arc, and the threads are starting to come together. The issue begins with Ruin lamenting over his encounter with the Unseelie counsellor in the Dreaming. Although Ruin feels justified in using his power as a nightmare to protect his friends, it’s not a power he likes having or exercising.
Dream then enters the situation and an agreement between the three is reached. The counsellor is allowed to return to Faerie in return for the release of Heather and Jophiel. And Dream promises that “Ruin shall never set foot in Faerie again… though, I cannot promise that you will never encounter him here“.
I had somewhat underestimated Nuala. It is revealed that she did indeed overthrow Auberon and Titania on her own. She had done so because she felt they were unjust rulers and truly desired to bring peace to Faerie. Unfortunately, when she failed to bring peace to Faerie, she accepted the help of the Unseelie. They brought peace to Faerie, but at the price of freedom, joy, and beauty.
Positives Cont.
Nuala now enlists the aid of Heather in getting rid of the Unseelie. Heather proposes an alliance with the former rulers Auberon and Titania. Speaking of which, the whole matter seems to have done their marriage a world of good, as Auberon begs forgiveness from Titania and proposes they start again. It looks like they may be on the way to reconciliation, but Titania drops a surprise revelation, “I should never have bedded the king of dreams”. This certainly could spell trouble between Faerie and the The Dreaming in a future story.
I had been wondering what Puck was up to, and he finally resurfaces with Heather’s medical file that he stole several issues ago. The Unseelie learn Heather’s birth name from those records, and the counsellor attempts to use Heather’s true name to control her. However, this proves futile, as Heather explains that “there is no such thing as a true name”.
I love this part, as we see Heather come into her own as a magic-user. With magic power crackling around her, she scoffs at the counsellor’s attempt. She retaliates, saying, “I give you a name– and the name is Lost”. What exactly this means, we’ll have to wait until next issue to learn, but it looks bad.
Negatives
I am thoroughly enjoying both G. Willow Wilson’s story and the art from Nick Robles and M.K. Perker. I have no complaints that I would level against them. I am a bit annoyed that DC is being very vague about what this series’ future is, however. It was originally solicited as a 12 issue limited series. However, DC’s solicitations quickly dropped any mention of that, which seems to imply that it’s been upgraded to an ongoing series. But DC has not solicited any issues beyond next issue. So is the title ending after next issue, going on hiatus, or will it be rebooted again in a few months? I hope some continuation is in the cards for The Dreaming.
Verdict
The Dreaming: Waking Hours #12 is the penultimate chapter in what I hope is G. Willow Wilson’s story arc. The threads have come together, leaving us primed for next month’s conclusion. I look forward to seeing how this story concludes. And I hope it won’t be the end of her time in The Dreaming.
