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Adventure/Romance/Low Fantasy
Website: http://thedreamercomic.com/
http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Dreamer/
Story:
The Dreamer revolves around a young girl who has been living a normal life. Until she starts having dreams that steal her attention from everything. The dreams themselves are extremely vivid and feel very real. They also occur in order like a story rather than random, and take place in 18th Century America during war. It isn't long before she starts to question if they are real, and what that means if they are.
Beatrice Whaley, the star of the story. She is an average seventeen year old with dreams of acting and being on stage. She is the only character featured both in the 'real life' segments of the story and the 'dream' segments.
Benjamin Cato, Whaley's' real life' romantic interest. He is a football player, but is changing pursuits due to a knee injury that will keep him from playing professionally.
Alan Warren, Whaley's 'dream' romantic interest. Alan is a member of Knowlton's Rangers, and is fighting in the American Revolutionary war in order to rescue Beatrice, who is prisoner at the start of the dreams. He seems to be an extremely capable officer but routinely passes up promotions so he can freely leave as soon as he rescues Beatrice.
The art of The Dreamer is impeccable. It is a mixture of stylilized and realism that gives it a comic book feel yet pops every with every panel. Strict attention is paid to detail, and even backgrounds are filled with the items that should be there. This includes posters and pictures, trees, and other people in hallways.
The character designs are very believable and distinct. In the modern times clothing and fashion falls into some of the popular trends (while avoiding those that show too much flesh) and it is not uncommon to see things such as trendy tops, cargo pants and the like. In the dream sequences the clothing changes accordingly, as do hair styles, cleanliness and so forth. Unshaven faces and unkempt hair is commonly seen in the dreams as they should be.
Facial expressions are a win for this webcomic, showing everything from anger to worry. Good work is done with eyebrow placement to really drive home what a character has to say with body language.
The art is also quickly improving. In the beginning some of the line art could be a little messy, but this has been cleaned up by the third issue.
The Dreamer is still in its beginning stages. But the story is captivating and quickly draws the reader in. I found myself zooming through the archives and then wishing for more. The panels and pages are full and lush. It's very uncommon to find webcomics where crowds are drawn, individuals and all, and for the level of detail to be pushed so that each person has their own style of dress, stance, and so on.
The feeling of movement still needs work, simple curving lines can be relied on too much and posture leans sometimes look awkward. But overall this is a beautiful webcomic. The modern time looks very realistic and the past looks incredibly beautiful even in its scruffiness. And the many many touches of detail, from random people in the background talking, to school posters to be found, really add to the very feel of everything. Nothing detracts. This is a webcomic to watch.