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geekwayne's review
4.0
In 'The Dream Thief, Volume 1' a strange aboriginal mask and a series of restless dead mix with a dead end loser for interesting results. At first, I wasn't sure what I was reading, but the story really won me over.
John Lincoln is between jobs (stage magician and filmmaker). He's content to be a layabout, until one night he takes an Aboriginal mask from a museum. Now everytime he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is and there are dead people around him that he kills. He has a strange connection with the dead, even having their memories and skills. The murders take him all over the South, but could they be related? And if so, what do they have to do with John's father in prison?
It's an interesting premise. Kind of like The Mask meets The Crow. Sort of. John Lincoln is in way over his head, but seems to be able to worm his way out of things. Story by Jai Nitz is over the top and pretty intense. Art by Greg Smallwood is really good. I'm curious to know where this is going.
I was given a review copy by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this intense graphic novel.
John Lincoln is between jobs (stage magician and filmmaker). He's content to be a layabout, until one night he takes an Aboriginal mask from a museum. Now everytime he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is and there are dead people around him that he kills. He has a strange connection with the dead, even having their memories and skills. The murders take him all over the South, but could they be related? And if so, what do they have to do with John's father in prison?
It's an interesting premise. Kind of like The Mask meets The Crow. Sort of. John Lincoln is in way over his head, but seems to be able to worm his way out of things. Story by Jai Nitz is over the top and pretty intense. Art by Greg Smallwood is really good. I'm curious to know where this is going.
I was given a review copy by Diamond Book Distributors and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this intense graphic novel.
panelparty's review
2.0
Hm. I was initially put off from reading this due to the cover art (sorry but I hate it). Luckily the inside art is much different, but I got almost no enjoyment out of reading this - I hate feeling like I have to push myself through a book, especially a comic - this is meant to be fun!
The concept is interesting - guy steals an aboriginal mask, now when he goes to sleep he wakes up with someone's ghost inside him and he's usually killed someone. Sounds crazy, right?
The story felt disjointed and mostly I was just left feeling apathetic towards the whole thing. It only got interesting in the last 5 pages or so, so maybe I will give Volume 2 a shot when I'm feeling particularly brave.
The concept is interesting - guy steals an aboriginal mask, now when he goes to sleep he wakes up with someone's ghost inside him and he's usually killed someone. Sounds crazy, right?
The story felt disjointed and mostly I was just left feeling apathetic towards the whole thing. It only got interesting in the last 5 pages or so, so maybe I will give Volume 2 a shot when I'm feeling particularly brave.
carroq's review
4.0
I rather enjoyed this book. John Lincoln steals a mask from a museum and after putting it on begins to channel the dead in their quest for vengeance. This comes with blackouts and intense experiences of the final moments of the dead. Then there are all the regular parts of his life that he has to juggle in between murdering bad guys. I thought it all came together rather well.
The book starts out fairly disorienting as John and the reader come in on the aftermath of his first victims (targets?). There is a cinematic feel to the book, especially when the it goes back to show scenes in which John has blacked out. The art is a little stiff at times (forgive me), and that is really the only drag on this book. I liked this more and more as I read further into the book. For those looking for a non-superhero comic, this is a pretty good choice. I would definitely read the next volume.
The book starts out fairly disorienting as John and the reader come in on the aftermath of his first victims (targets?). There is a cinematic feel to the book, especially when the it goes back to show scenes in which John has blacked out. The art is a little stiff at times (forgive me), and that is really the only drag on this book. I liked this more and more as I read further into the book. For those looking for a non-superhero comic, this is a pretty good choice. I would definitely read the next volume.
shiragottfried's review
5.0
Creepy and good. Also, as someone who lives in Atlanta, it was cool to recognize lots of the places!
bloodravenlib's review
5.0
Find my full review of this on my blog, The Itinerant Librarian. Simply click (or copy/paste to your favorite browser) the link below.
Review link: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/booknote-dream-thief-vol-1.html
Review link: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/05/booknote-dream-thief-vol-1.html
robin_dh's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
hobbes199's review
4.0
WOW!
It's not often that I finish a new graphic novel and say that, especially one by newer writers and artists, but that's exactly how I felt upon finishing Dream Thief .
The basic premise is that unreliable stoner John Lincoln is still trying to find a way to impress his sister, successful best friend and his paranoid girlfriend. At the end of yet another binge he wakes up wearing the Aboriginal mask he'd stolen from a gallery the night before as well as a high-jacker in the form of a murder victim's angry spirit which has possessed Lincoln's body. Naturally this freaks Lincoln out, but the more it keeps happening (a new possession happens when he sleeps, gaining their abilities each time to boot) the sooner he realises that they are not only connected, but the trail goes right to his deceased father.
Lincoln is a rare character in graphic novels as he's totally believable and even though the set-up is supernatural, you're never left thinking it's fantasy. A lot of that is also to do with the highly impressive art, and I was amazed when I got to the end notes to discover that this is artist Greg Smallwood's first published job. He will be a guy to watch! At no point is anything messy or hard to decipher (which can be the case especially when viewing digitally) and each panel flows seamlessly into the next.
Must also mention that there are some gorgeous variant covers and pin ups at the end of the book with art full of both atmosphere and humour.
Volume 1 contains editions 1-5 of the comic and despite searching, I can't find any sign of further issues. Hopefully these will come to the fore soon enough as by the end of this edition I was eager to see where Lincoln's story would go next.
This book was supplied as an advance review copy ebook via NetGalley in return for an honest review and is in no way indicative of the final print copy.
It's not often that I finish a new graphic novel and say that, especially one by newer writers and artists, but that's exactly how I felt upon finishing Dream Thief .
The basic premise is that unreliable stoner John Lincoln is still trying to find a way to impress his sister, successful best friend and his paranoid girlfriend. At the end of yet another binge he wakes up wearing the Aboriginal mask he'd stolen from a gallery the night before as well as a high-jacker in the form of a murder victim's angry spirit which has possessed Lincoln's body. Naturally this freaks Lincoln out, but the more it keeps happening (a new possession happens when he sleeps, gaining their abilities each time to boot) the sooner he realises that they are not only connected, but the trail goes right to his deceased father.
Lincoln is a rare character in graphic novels as he's totally believable and even though the set-up is supernatural, you're never left thinking it's fantasy. A lot of that is also to do with the highly impressive art, and I was amazed when I got to the end notes to discover that this is artist Greg Smallwood's first published job. He will be a guy to watch! At no point is anything messy or hard to decipher (which can be the case especially when viewing digitally) and each panel flows seamlessly into the next.
Must also mention that there are some gorgeous variant covers and pin ups at the end of the book with art full of both atmosphere and humour.
Volume 1 contains editions 1-5 of the comic and despite searching, I can't find any sign of further issues. Hopefully these will come to the fore soon enough as by the end of this edition I was eager to see where Lincoln's story would go next.
This book was supplied as an advance review copy ebook via NetGalley in return for an honest review and is in no way indicative of the final print copy.
abetterbradley's review
3.0
An interesting twist on the superhero genre. A petty crook steals a mask and he begins to wake up with the memories of recently deceased people who need revenge and they happen to possess the guy's body while he's asleep.
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