Reviews

The Dreaming Vol. 1: Pathways and Emanations by Bilquis Evely, Neil Gaiman, Simon Spurrier

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wedgelovespizza's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nikogatts's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

2.5 stars, rounded up a tiny bit because of the sheer magnificence of the artwork.

What worked for me: As stated above, Bilquis Evely's artwork, especially the many glorious two-page spreads. The Judge and the idea of a nightmare created from fears of trial, judgment, and execution at the hands of an unjust system. The reinterpretation of Cain's symbolism and

the reversal of Cain and Abel's roles

. The exploration of questions left unanswered in Gaiman's original series -- namely, why Destruction's realm didn't decay or negatively affect the human world the way the Dreaming did when Dream was held prisoner. There are a lot of really great ideas here, and I'd like to see them explored a bit more.

What didn't work for me: The incredibly clumsy allegory for real-world xenophobia and populism.

Merv Pumpkinhead is transformed from a goofy side character to a caricature of an "economically insecure" American. With the current Dream gone, the Dreaming begins to fracture physically and metaphorically, and the cracks in the realm's sky produce "blanks" made out of some sort of magical dream energy. The blanks are empty vessels that can be made to do work, and Lucien has them help with tasks that are usually left to Merv and his team. Merv's anger at his crumbling home and the replacement of his workers by ~~illegal immigrants~~ the blanks boils over and leads to him seeking out a "firm hand" to right the sinking ship and ~~electing~~ releasing Judge Gallows. Not only is this part of the story extremely heavy-handed, with Merv making up a slur for the blanks and talking at length about how great things "used to be," but the allegory plays into the myth of "economic anxiety" as the sole or primary factor behind xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment, ignoring the ways cultural forces and preexisting discrimination contribute to these issues.

I also didn't care for the absence of the Endless, although I understand why, in a series focused just on the Dreaming and its inhabitants, those characters weren't the priority.

What I couldn't care less about: Dora, her true identity, and her tragic backstory. Her personality, unexplained powers, and rebel-without-a-cause actions are like something out of a fanfiction, and her anti-establishment stance feels like another attempt to paste a real-world issue onto an environment that exists outside of our reality.

If I see the next two volumes of this at the library, I might check them out. But finishing this series isn't a priority for me.

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