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Dreamkeepers #1
Awakenings
Beyond the borders of our world, the nihilistic beings known only as Nightmares thirst for the destruction of all sentient life. Only one thing stands between our vulnerable human minds and their terrifying wrath: the existence of "dreamkeepers," creatures whose very life force serves to protect us from the Nightmare horde. But this protection, this bond, is only effective as long as one's dreamkeeper lives -- a condition the Nightmares are all too eager to exploit. Because of this inherent threat to their lives, all dreamkeepers have a unique supernatural power with which to combat their otherworldly enemies.
But it has been centuries since a Nightmare was last seen, and in the city of Anduruna, powers have been outlawed. "Infractors" face imprisonment or worse. Because in a perfect city, there is no place for violence, and the Nightmares of legend can be safely dismissed as ancient fiction... until now.
But it has been centuries since a Nightmare was last seen, and in the city of Anduruna, powers have been outlawed. "Infractors" face imprisonment or worse. Because in a perfect city, there is no place for violence, and the Nightmares of legend can be safely dismissed as ancient fiction... until now.
98 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
43 people want to read
About the author
David Lillie
9 books17 followersAuthor of the webcomic Dreamkeepers together with his coauthor Liz Lillie.
A fourth volume is planing to come out soon and a book of "Preludes" on over 200 pages will come out after a successful Kickstarter project.
A fourth volume is planing to come out soon and a book of "Preludes" on over 200 pages will come out after a successful Kickstarter project.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 13, 2015
Mace the Cat and his blue rabbit friend Whip wants to run away from the orphanage where they live at to get away from the bullying and abuse they get from Grunn the Shark and Randy the Goat. When something goes wrong and their friend Paige is murdered by a dark creature, Mace and Whip are on the run. Can they survive? Check this out for yourself and find out.
This was a pretty good Graphic Novel that I read here at this website: http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/GNSa... . The artwork is great and has a great storyline. Def check this series out for yourself.
This was a pretty good Graphic Novel that I read here at this website: http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/GNSa... . The artwork is great and has a great storyline. Def check this series out for yourself.
August 6, 2007
DreamKeepers is one of those graphic novels that is such a refreshing breath of fresh air in the sea of crap that is mainstream comics, that it's hard to know where to begin on what this one does right.
For those of you turned off by the fact that the characters in DreamKeepers are 'furry'/anthro, either go jump off a cliff, slam your head in the refrigerator door, whatever it takes to approach this series with an open mind because the characters are creative, unique, interesting and extremely well designed. Namah is a particular favorite of mine. Also well designed are the backgrounds and action sequences. Just look at the one scene where Mace is out in the rain, it's beautiful! Or how about Namah and Lilith fighting Tinsel? It's exciting just looking at these illustrations, they're so well created.
The story is also excellent so far, though unfortunately the 'DreamKeeper' aspect has yet to be explored (but likely will show up in the next volume). Plot points diverge into areas you don't see coming, and it's nice to see it veer into more adult territory- dealing with themes of death, loss, greed and isolation.
If there's anything I would complain about, it's the inclusion of another cliched 'cute' sidekick called Whip, but it hardly detracts from all that is brilliant about DreamKeepers. I'm very interested to see how the story continues, and I greatly anticipate when the next volume will be released.
For those of you turned off by the fact that the characters in DreamKeepers are 'furry'/anthro, either go jump off a cliff, slam your head in the refrigerator door, whatever it takes to approach this series with an open mind because the characters are creative, unique, interesting and extremely well designed. Namah is a particular favorite of mine. Also well designed are the backgrounds and action sequences. Just look at the one scene where Mace is out in the rain, it's beautiful! Or how about Namah and Lilith fighting Tinsel? It's exciting just looking at these illustrations, they're so well created.
The story is also excellent so far, though unfortunately the 'DreamKeeper' aspect has yet to be explored (but likely will show up in the next volume). Plot points diverge into areas you don't see coming, and it's nice to see it veer into more adult territory- dealing with themes of death, loss, greed and isolation.
If there's anything I would complain about, it's the inclusion of another cliched 'cute' sidekick called Whip, but it hardly detracts from all that is brilliant about DreamKeepers. I'm very interested to see how the story continues, and I greatly anticipate when the next volume will be released.
September 20, 2012
I loved it! So much I would read it like 50 more times... DREAMKEEPERS FTW!
-MCN2
-MCN2
July 21, 2017
Background: Dreamkeepers is written and illustrated by David Lillie, and is published through his own Vivid Publishing imprint. The copy I own is the 2010 second edition (I’m not sure what the difference between this and the first edition is as I never saw the original pressing). The book runs to 100 full colour pages and covers the first three chapters of the story.
On the story front, we’re cast into a universe linked to our own, where ‘Dreamkeepers’ (anthropomorphic creatures with supernatural powers) fight hordes of living Nightmares that are intent on destroying all sentient life. As humans, we are safe, just as long as our own Dreamkeeper lives. But that’s all ancient history. When we join the tale, there hasn’t been a Nightmare sighting for centuries, and the violence free city of Anduruna has outlawed all Dreamkeeper powers. And why wouldn’t they? The city is perfect, and Nightmares are just old wives’ tales … aren’t they?
The Good: As you can probably guess from the above, Nightmares do indeed return to the city of Anduruna. The premise itself should also make it clear that there is scope for the story to get pretty dark … and my word, it certainly does that. Why, we open with a graphic sacrifice and the return of the big bad, and from the presentation, this is set as a clear warning shot for what’s to come. The whole scene introduces Lord Void as a truly menacing force, and it lets you know that death is a distinct possibility in the story. That, thanks to the art style of the book, is an important thing to set straight early on.
So, what do I mean by that? Well, the art is very cartoony. To me, it’s how I would imagine a collaboration between Disney and Tex Avery, and I truly mean that as a compliment. The feel of the art for everything that sits between the opening scene and the end of chapter two is that of a decent quality children’s book, and that is, I would guess, a stylistic decision made to create a certain amount shock when the darkness creeps in. Hell, if the first few pages are the warning shot, the end of chapter two is the first assault. I won’t give away what happens, but I will say this: it caught me off guard, and part of the effect it had is due to the art being of a high enough quality that the combination of style and content brings a superbly jarring effect into play.
Character wise, we have a few leads introduced here: an orphan named Mace (as well as his cutesy fuzzy companion Whip), the Viscount’s daughter Lilith, and her half-sister Namah. All three are given plenty of time to show their personalities to us in the three chapters, and their individual arcs are set up and nudged along well enough that you’re left with both a comfortable familiarity for each and a desire to see where they’ll end up. There are other characters too, of course, but outside Grunn (the orphanage owner) and Tinsel (the narcissistic fiancée of Lilith and Namah’s father), we only get a bare snapshot at this point. That’s no bad thing though; while the book is a good size, packing it out with too much would have interrupted the flow far too much.
The Bad: There isn’t too much that I can say here, and what I am about to say will not hold true for all readers. First of all, while I loved the conflicting feel of the art style and dark content, this won’t suit everyone. It was a bold move on David Lillie’s part, and I’m happy that he did it, but if I’m being objective, then it would be fair to say that someone flicking through the middle of the book may get a bit of a shock when they read the rest of the story. That’s also not helped by the category that the book won the award for: while not without humour, and certainly cartoony, that label will likely be read by some as meaning that the story will be closer to what you’d expect from the art style.
Secondly, the price is an issue for me. The book is absolutely beautiful, and you certainly get what you pay for, but if you’re buying from outside the USA (like I am), the postage is going to be hefty. Yes, the electronic version is dirt cheap, but I personally prefer something solid in my hand when it comes to comics. I don’t want to seem too negative about this though, I am certainly aware that international postage costs are not under David Lillie’s control, it’s just something that bugs me a bit, and may be a sticking point for others.
Final View: Much like most first books, Dreamkeepers Volume 1: Awakenings is surpassed in quality by the books that followed, but don’t let that put you off. If you’re a fan of stories that mix humour and darker themes, you have no objection to anthro art, or you simply want something more than a little surprising, it’s a worthwhile purchase. Be warned though; it’s an easy story to get hooked on.
Final Score: 4 / 5
On the story front, we’re cast into a universe linked to our own, where ‘Dreamkeepers’ (anthropomorphic creatures with supernatural powers) fight hordes of living Nightmares that are intent on destroying all sentient life. As humans, we are safe, just as long as our own Dreamkeeper lives. But that’s all ancient history. When we join the tale, there hasn’t been a Nightmare sighting for centuries, and the violence free city of Anduruna has outlawed all Dreamkeeper powers. And why wouldn’t they? The city is perfect, and Nightmares are just old wives’ tales … aren’t they?
The Good: As you can probably guess from the above, Nightmares do indeed return to the city of Anduruna. The premise itself should also make it clear that there is scope for the story to get pretty dark … and my word, it certainly does that. Why, we open with a graphic sacrifice and the return of the big bad, and from the presentation, this is set as a clear warning shot for what’s to come. The whole scene introduces Lord Void as a truly menacing force, and it lets you know that death is a distinct possibility in the story. That, thanks to the art style of the book, is an important thing to set straight early on.
So, what do I mean by that? Well, the art is very cartoony. To me, it’s how I would imagine a collaboration between Disney and Tex Avery, and I truly mean that as a compliment. The feel of the art for everything that sits between the opening scene and the end of chapter two is that of a decent quality children’s book, and that is, I would guess, a stylistic decision made to create a certain amount shock when the darkness creeps in. Hell, if the first few pages are the warning shot, the end of chapter two is the first assault. I won’t give away what happens, but I will say this: it caught me off guard, and part of the effect it had is due to the art being of a high enough quality that the combination of style and content brings a superbly jarring effect into play.
Character wise, we have a few leads introduced here: an orphan named Mace (as well as his cutesy fuzzy companion Whip), the Viscount’s daughter Lilith, and her half-sister Namah. All three are given plenty of time to show their personalities to us in the three chapters, and their individual arcs are set up and nudged along well enough that you’re left with both a comfortable familiarity for each and a desire to see where they’ll end up. There are other characters too, of course, but outside Grunn (the orphanage owner) and Tinsel (the narcissistic fiancée of Lilith and Namah’s father), we only get a bare snapshot at this point. That’s no bad thing though; while the book is a good size, packing it out with too much would have interrupted the flow far too much.
The Bad: There isn’t too much that I can say here, and what I am about to say will not hold true for all readers. First of all, while I loved the conflicting feel of the art style and dark content, this won’t suit everyone. It was a bold move on David Lillie’s part, and I’m happy that he did it, but if I’m being objective, then it would be fair to say that someone flicking through the middle of the book may get a bit of a shock when they read the rest of the story. That’s also not helped by the category that the book won the award for: while not without humour, and certainly cartoony, that label will likely be read by some as meaning that the story will be closer to what you’d expect from the art style.
Secondly, the price is an issue for me. The book is absolutely beautiful, and you certainly get what you pay for, but if you’re buying from outside the USA (like I am), the postage is going to be hefty. Yes, the electronic version is dirt cheap, but I personally prefer something solid in my hand when it comes to comics. I don’t want to seem too negative about this though, I am certainly aware that international postage costs are not under David Lillie’s control, it’s just something that bugs me a bit, and may be a sticking point for others.
Final View: Much like most first books, Dreamkeepers Volume 1: Awakenings is surpassed in quality by the books that followed, but don’t let that put you off. If you’re a fan of stories that mix humour and darker themes, you have no objection to anthro art, or you simply want something more than a little surprising, it’s a worthwhile purchase. Be warned though; it’s an easy story to get hooked on.
Final Score: 4 / 5
May 7, 2020
Speaking broadly about the first 3 volumes as released as of now.
June 4, 2017
I had the pleasure of meeting Geoffrey Thomas at BookCon on June 3 and he told me about this graphic novel and his book set in the same universe.
I've been wanting to read more graphic novels and decided to check out the world. I absolutely loved this, I'm hooked, I need more. I can't wait to read the other volumes and Geoffrey's book.
I've been wanting to read more graphic novels and decided to check out the world. I absolutely loved this, I'm hooked, I need more. I can't wait to read the other volumes and Geoffrey's book.
March 25, 2020
This is a unique graphic novel, with wonderful art and an original story in which much hard work has obviously been poured. This is a story made for the sake of the story, no tropes, pandering, or predictable, "marketable" stuff - it's a rare case of the authors making the kind of story they wanted to read, but could not find in print. Such works of pure imagination are rare.
August 15, 2017
An excellent debut for a fantastic fantasy series!
December 9, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this comic. I've been following the artist on social media for a while, and finally decided to pick up copies.
I highly recommend.
I highly recommend.
December 18, 2015
While I enjoy the art style and the world building, I'm having trouble following the action and the introduction of new characters is a bit confusing. Maybe it will make more sense in the next volume.
December 7, 2015
Fantastic book done of the webcomic Dreamkeepers!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews