Knife fights, sons out for revenge and shoots outs with possessed killers. That pretty much sums up “Dream Thief: Escape” #4. Things wrap up in the conclusion to the latest story for John Lincoln and his magical mask and family business.
WRITTEN BY: Jai Nitz
ART BY: Tadd Galusha
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: 1 October 2014
Reviewed by: Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
Twitter: @mrbradysteele
The flashbacks have almost caught up to the present day story to tie things together nicely. Writer Jai Nitz knew what he wanted to accomplish here with this storyline: a legacy. Legacy heroes / villains / anti-heroes are some brilliant creations to make. Think of how much more story potential that gives a character. Every major comic company has at least one or more in their stables. It’s always fun to see different versions of characters, new or old. In this case, Dream Thief is now known to be a family business. Business that gets passed down despite parents best wishes. It’s one of the most bizarre father-son buddy tales I’ve ever read. Make no mistake, this is worth reading.
Greg Smallwood, the original artist in the first mini-series, is now only providing covers which is a shame. Tadd Galusha took over artwork for the series last month and the tone of the story has completely shifted. Gone are the gorgeous paneling and bleeding over of art from page to page. Instead, the action is more straight forward and generic. It’s not bad, but it’s not as good as it used to be. Galusha’s faces look more comical than serious or varied than they did last issue.
As I said before, this book is still worth reading. It is by far one of the darkest family bonding experiences you’ve ever seen. This is not a family fishing trip but more like a murderous rundown for revenge. Still, father and son Lincoln manages to keep me intrigued enough to see where this Dream Thief will turn up next. The premise of this story demands some better art that is more moody than run-of-the-mill. I hope next time John Lincoln wakes up, we all see how gritty and great it can be.