Dreamkeepers Vol 1

Posted: Wednesday, April 25, 2007
By: Darren Schroeder

Cover of Dreamkeepers Vol 1 Creator(s): David Lillie
Publishers: Vivid Publishing
From: USA
Price: US$ 19.95.

Mace lives with a group other children in an orphanage. He’s a young tearaway, casing trouble at the orphanage and at school, playing pranks, getting into fights, and generally giving the adults a hard time. The first day back at school for Mace and his pet... something and they decide to run away, returning only to collect Paige, a girl who looks up to him and calls him best friend. Suddenly they are all attacked, the ramifications of which link into a mystery that threatens Mace’s world.

Set in an anthropomorphic world which mixes fantasy with high technology this collection presents several plots in a way that leaves the reader with lots questions. There are hints of magic, fable, political intrigue and science fiction at work. The artwork has a very strong animated movie look, almost Disney in look about with a more stylised approach to figures in motion. Almost all the pages in this collection are striking, but it is the fight scenes where things are taken up a notch with impressive results.

The finishing technique of the art results in inking and colouring over he top of pencils with much of the rough outlines left to show through. It looks stunning, with characters infused with personality and a dynamic range of emotional expression, and some beautiful settings. On occasion the pencil remnants are jarring, but for the most part it’s a very successful approach.

Just who this book is aimed at is hard for me to pin down. In look it will attract the attention of any passing young child, but the focus on budding relationships, mild sexual references, and grim violence suggest a teen audience. The plotting of the interweaving plot lines makes for an engaging read so adults should find it holding their interest while not a challenging read.

There is an enormous amount of talent on display in this book, as such it deserves to be a success, but a little voice warns me that in creating a fusion of genre and tome David might be diluting the appeal of his work. I hope not.

In a Word: Luxuriant.



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