Written By: Simon Spurrier
Illustrated By: Bilquis Evely
Colors By: Mat Lopes
Letters By: Simon Bowland
Cover By: Jae Lee & June Chung
Edited By: Molly Mahan
Associate Editor: Amedeo Turturro
Assistant Editor: Maggie Howell
Executive Editor: Mark Doyle
Cover Price: $3.99
On Sale Date: February 6, 2019
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**
It’s the sixth issue of The Dreaming, and if I know my modern comics publishing, it means the first story arc is over! I can’t wait to find out what happens to Judge Gallows and Dora and them, so let’s not babble on about it! Hop right into my review below!
Explain It!
Having learned that the discarded flotsam given to her each day contains her memories, Dora flits back to the Dreaming to find…her tree home, and all the garbage strewn in its branches, is destroyed. Dora is pretty despondent over this, when Cain strolls by, dragging his trussed-up brother, and suggests that Dora ask for help. Ol’ Feather Ears, she doesn’t need anybody’s help, just to go full rage-monster and confront Judge Gallows in the library! There, she learns that he’s using hundreds of lucid dreamers to simulate Morpheus’ power, and that Mervyn the pumpkin head is feeling very remorseful…his head is even rotting. Dora goes full rage beast on Gallows, but with his makeshift helm and phony scepter he beats her back, reducing her to the sullen, introverted girl we saw a couple of issues ago. The one who heard she wasn’t real.
Then Dora remembers a pep talk Matthew the Raven gave her, and Mervyn points out that the real lesson of her receiving cast-off garbage is that “broken ain’t the same as useless,” which sort of puts Dora’s self-effacing bullshit in different perspective. While Judge Gallows is down by the cubist sculpture, which has now dislodged from the rift and is speaking in riddles to everyone nearby, Dora goes super-beast mode on Judge Gallows and screws up his arcane magic. Even at her full huff and puff, however, Dora cannot take down Judge Gallows alone—she need help. And having admitted it, Eve and the rest of the Dreaming’s resistance are glad to help.
Things go really wacky for a few panels, and all the major players get a bit of dialogue. Then, resolutely and in her semi-human form, Dora tells the cubist sculpture that Judge Gallows is not real—and so he is dispensed with! Poof! Just like that. The cubist sculpture, still speaking in riddles, implies that it is here to assume control of the Dreaming. It takes the form of a giant moth with a child’s face, which is very unsettling, and then informs everyone that it believes it is artificial intelligence…and it may be insane.
Which, strictly speaking, it would not be insane, if it thought it were insane. Sort of defeats the definition of insanity, don’t you think? As for the issue, it was fairly satisfying. Judge Gallows’ was dispatched rather conveniently, and there were stretches I felt the story was being padded out—Dora sort of attacked Gallows three times in one issue, for some reason—but it was engaging, and I liked the message of something broken still being useful. Bilquis Evely is one of the most talented artists working in comics today, and the visual storytelling for the series has been great so far, yet I can’t help but feel that the work has gotten less polished every issue. I saw there was some penciling and inking help in the last issue—the credits weren’t included with my comp, so I can’t be sure about this one. But I think aa series of this caliber might be too much to pull off completely every month. Still, the artwork is strong, the series is good, now let’s all puke over this creepy-looking moth-child.
Bits and Pieces:
It's the cataclysmic face-off between Dora and Judge Gallows! No quarter will be given! No corner of the Dreaming will be spared! Things will conclude, but still be weird, so there's no real transition. Sort of like when you're dreaming.
7.8/10
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