Originally printed in 2011, this is a series I discovered recently - and I'm glad I did!The Dreamer: The Battle of Brooklyn (Vol. 1) reprints the first six issues in a series written and drawn by Laura Innes - and it's an impressive collection!
It tells the story of a teenager named Beatrice Whaley whose life revolves around school and friends. She loves theatre, dreams about the guy she's had a crush on for years, struggles to work up the courage to talk to him, fights with her cousin, plots with her friends - in other words, she's a real person in the real world.
But suddenly, when she falls asleep, she finds herself experiencing a completely different life as a woman during America's Revolutionary War. She has the same name, but she's a bit more... mature (she's a young adult), and she finds herself falling in love with the handsome soldier who saves her from British captivity.
Of course, when you say it out loud like that, it sounds completely improbable - but the characters and the situations seem real.
I'm certainly no expert on the late 1700s or the War for Independence, but the characters, the uniforms, the settings and the dialogue all seem authentic - and that's part of the problem Bea has. She finds herself preferring to be in her dream world, and she's surprised to discover that her experiences there actually correspond to historic events.
The story and the characters are wonderful. The teens act and talk like real teenagers, and their reactions (especially Bea's) are spot on and believable.
And I love Innes' artwork - it seems to be inspired by John Byrne but is never a slavish imitation. Her characters have loads of personality and are expressive, the action sequences are original and fun to follow, and the characters are unique and lively - she's a real talent to watch.
This is just the first collection - there's at least one other one, which I'll be tracking down ASAP.
It's a fun, sexy story of impossible love (and real-life romance), told with humor, adventure and and eye on historic accuracy.
Highly recommended!
Grade: A
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4 comments:
A great series and Lora is one of the smartest talents in the business today. I can't recommend this enough.
Good call.
Beau Smith
The Flying Fist Ranch
Thanks, Beau - I appreciate you pointing this series out to me!
How sexy? My ten year old would love the concept. Too mature?
Jim, I don't think there's anything inappropriate in there - it's all about romantic love - schoolgirl crushes, that sort of thing. The closest it gets to "inappropriate" is Bea noting that her dream self has "boobs" ... and as her Revolutionary War self is running for her life, a soldier has to help her remove the hoops from her skirt (she doesn't know how, of course), and he says, "I have four sisters - you don't have anything I haven't seen." (No flesh is revealed.) Other than those (what I would consider) minor moments, it's appropriate for all ages. But you might want to read it first, just to make sure.
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