Dream Weavers #1 is a comic written by JD Calderon and illustrated by Matthew Lunsford. The appearance of otherworldly threats forces three opposing groups to work together. This is a science fiction supernatural comic with a large cast, plenty of humor, and a lot of action. There aren’t any specific leading characters here but there are three groups that play prominent roles: Cekurity officers Sugr and Spyce, corporate heroes Stronghold, Speed, and Ultimatum, and the Mystics Mouze, Snowflake, Armourdillo, and Acrobatt. The story is primarily driven by these varied interactions. The story begins with Spyce getting angry about the fact that she has to do a large amount of time-consuming paperwork while being reprimanded by Sugr. Her complaining is interrupted by the arrival of Stronghold, Speed, and Ultimatum who were in the area and decided to drop in. This takes place in a semi-futuristic world with familiar modern trappings. The violence here can be hard-hitting and destructive but there isn’t any blood or gore. The pacing is steady with some moments of slowdown as there can be a lot of talking. There are many tones here from modern fantasy to futuristic police drama to even a superhero flick. A lot of the intensity here is due to unknown danger and violence. The dialogue is mostly conversational with near constant back-and-forth and some narration from an unknown source. There are many misspellings and improper grammar that will have you rereading lines. When it comes to word-heavy pages there are more than a few as well as thick text bubbles. This is a comic that tells us an exciting and mysterious story while starring a varied, humorous, and large cast that we’ll get a close and proper look at.
The art here is drawn in a detailed style that is a sort of blend between 80’s/90’s comics and manga. The color palette is realistic when possible with a wide range as well as well-done shading and lighting. The scenery here is of the urban variety with a lot of buildings from skyscrapers to homes. The location changes frequently with plenty rooftop scenes, corporate interiors, dark undergrounds, and the city streets. The backgrounds usually show the surroundings from starry skies to building lights with gradient colors being rare. The expression level here is high as most of these characters show how they real feel at all times. The main emotions are annoyance, anger, happiness, shock, pained looks, terror, and fear. The faces are decently detailed and can get animated which helps the different expressions come across clearly. The creatures here are furry and look like were-animal/anthropomorphic versions of familiar creatures. The mystical effects tend to be bright or cloudy. The violence here is mainly physical with unique and brutal attacks, but no blood or gore. The action scenes tend to come in bursts with some frequency and a usually smooth flow. A lot of the outfits are skin-tight on both men and women with some suggestive design choices on the ladies.
“Is this worth reading?”
Yes, if this is up your alley.
“Would I like this?”
If you futuristic sci-fi supernatural stories that star a large mixed-gender cast with anthro-like creatures as well as featuring violence, humor, and drama then this is for you.
“What would this comic’s film rating be?”
PG-13. Violence.
“Could I get a quote from the comic?”
“These creatures are not from this place.”
Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/85533120/dream-weavers-issue-1/description
***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***
Probably Contains Spoilers
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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 48
Violent Pages: 18, for 38% of the comic
Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic
**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**
Violence Level – 3
“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”
“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”
“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”
“This was a tournament arc.”
“All my life I had to fight.”
Gore Level – 1
“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”
“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”
“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”
“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”
“This is a slaughterhouse.”
Death Level – 1
“And everybody lived happily ever after.”
“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”
“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”
“Yeah this was a tragedy.”
“Think Gettysburg.”
Porn Level – 1
“Everybody kept their clothes on.”
“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”
“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”
“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”
“Oh. This is porn.”
