The flashbacks and killings continue to build up the mythos in “Dream Thief: Escape #2.” No one is ever truly alone, especially in the heads of past and present Thieves. This story really forces you to pay attention in all the good ways. Events shift around in the span of a nap. Sleep is dangerous here. How much? Let’s find out.
WRITTEN BY: Jai Nitz
ART BY: Greg Smallwood
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: 23 July 2014
Reviewed by: Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
Ghosts can complicate everything in all the wrong ways. John Lincoln, our resident Dream Thief, thinks he’s got it all figured out. He taps into ghosts, gets revenge for their deaths and gains their knowledge at the same time. Explaining how and what Lincoln knows make it sound too boring. Reading and seeing it all in action is a much more fulfilling way to experience how the whole kit and caboodle jives.
This book is really well crafted. Creators Jai Nitz and Greg Smallwood are in sync with every aspect of the story. Each panel shows the right balance of pacing, expression, gruesomeness, and action as it needs to. The writing sounds like it’s from the here and now as well as in 1985 when it flashes back to his daddy’s Dream Thief exploits. As ghostly as the premise of this book is, there is such a big aspect of it all cemented in reality. I’m reminded of the early seasons of the TV show Supernatural in a good way. The reality of making back-up plans in case the prison break doesn’t work is a prime example.
Lincoln’s ghosts knew some shady folks and that comes in handy now and then. I can’t recall the last comic I read where sleep was a major Achilles heel for a hero. It does fondly bring to mind how the first series got me hooked. The Dream Thief always woke up in some serious trouble. Thankfully, Nitz and Smallwood haven’t forgotten how to throw curves into this familiar tale. Whoever wears that mask isn’t in control of their lives anymore and that looks like where some more havoc will come from. I recommend you sit down and enjoy this ride, good readers.