Boom! Studios 2018
Created & Written by Max Bemis
Created & Illustrated by Michael Dialynas
Lettered by Colin Bell
Lucy dreams herself into the world of the dystopian novel that’s currently all the rage at her school—but instead of being the hero, she's the villain of this particular story.
So last issue Lucy experienced her first dream that wasn’t really a dream and her parents said they had something to show her. This issue opens up with that very discussion. So think about having a teenage daughter who is finally coming of age and getting female troubles and add this on top of that and well their sex talk should go swimmingly after all this! This takes the escapism of dreaming to a whole new level and I gotta say she’s handling it fairly well at least that what her parents are thinking. Of course growing up with two very mad scientist parents well that’s something she’s rather used to and while the reaction is exactly what I could have hoped for it makes the opening for this issue something that will never leave you.
The way that this book is structured is fantastic the whole slice of life aspect of storytelling has become much more popular in comics and it makes sense from a storytelling standpoint. The only thing most folks do it as a one of in-between arcs but Max takes full advantage of that here as this issue is directly after what happened last night so there is no lag time or jumping forward. So as Lucy gets to school, is self conscious about last night and can’t a hold of her best mate well it’s all done in a way to get us from point A to point B quickly and not lose any kind of story momentum.
I am also pretty impressed with not only the concept of the story but how it’s being implemented. The story itself is pretty much geared toward the teenage set though it could be considered all-ages and the language that we use is seen here but the post-it notes covering that up with other descriptive words to tell us what they say is a great way to denote swearing without showing it. Also using gaming as a format for where Lucy goes when she dreams is also another interesting factor and one where life and death aren’t permanent, very much like superhero comics. So the short attention span set can appreciate how the story flow and moves from segment to segment.
Michael’s interiors here are an interesting mix and I am not afraid to say I like the rendition of the dream world better. Still it’s remarkable work from someone to be able to do both styles and make it all coherent throughout the book. There are some incredibly good standouts like when Lucy wanted to go berserk in the living room or the detail in that mechanical hippo. The way he utilises page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a wonderful eye for storytelling. Being a huge proponent of using backgrounds it’s nice to see Michael is too as regardless the moment they used so that they expand the scene, scope and overall mood.
I am immensely enjoying the collaboration we see between these folks. It is a delightful story that weaves in and out and all around the joys and pitfalls of puberty, adolescence and how to cope with all that when you are an outsider with mad scientist parents. It doesn’t what age you are or where in life you find yourself there are innumerable ways to connect with the story and it’s characters and most of all what happens when your dreams are no longer a refuge.