The Dreaming: Waking Hours - DC Comics
Written by G. Willow Wilson
Art by Nick Robles
Colors by Mat Lopes
Letters by Simon Bowland
"To sleep, perchance to dream," words from The Bard himself, which mean something different to everyone. Imagine being a single mother, trying to balance your thesis, a screaming infant and some crazy dreams. How quickly a dream can become a nightmare, and how quickly nightmare can become Ruin. Let's head into the mysterious Sandman Universe and take a look at The Dreaming: Waking Hour #1 from DC Comics.
We get to meet a woman named Lindy, who is working on a deep dive into the world of Shakespeare and his motives. She's also dealing with a baby and an interesting dream that she can't quite figure out. After a tough day, who wouldn't want to nap, right? Not much of a spoiler, since it's in the synopsis of the issue, but Lindy meets the nightmare Ruin in her dream. Ruin isn't having a much better day than Lindy, and he's about to make a huge mistake. On the plus side, Lindy might be getting the best research ever. Now the question is: how did Ruin get out in the first place?
I'll be the first to admit that these Sandman stories tend to be a bit too out there for my taste. If you've ever felt that way, this one might give you a different vibe. Wilson gives us a very relatable character in Lindy and a clear point of focus. There are still some layered and complex elements, don't get more wrong, but this book succeeds in not being weird for the sake of being weird. Robles absolutely nails the other worldly visuals and helps keep us a bit off balance in the early dream sequences. I expected this book to be visually stunning, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a story that had a clear path for not one but two different stories. How the new characters mix with the characters that Sandman fans will recognize is done extremely well. The reason I decided to give this book a shot was because I was a fan of both Wilson and Robles. I'm glad that I did, because I see how well a Sandman story can be done when you pair talent like that.
RATING: 4/5
(This one will keep you engaged and actually be relatable where Sandman books don't usually tend to be. Not to mention, the art is top notch.)