The Dream Merchant #1

written by Nathan Edmondson
art by Konstantin Novosadov

It takes nearly all of The Dream Merchant's double-sized inaugural issue for it to reveal its central, innovative concept, one that was unfortunately featured in its pre-release press, because this one's worth the wait.  Edmondson has been (with some justification) criticized for his meandering pace and extremely leisurely tempo, both a luxury and consequence of the capacious page-count.  But its pace and Edmondson's lyrical writing style both contribute to the series' dream-like tone, one that seduces the reader into the same manner of waking confusion that plagues its central character, the inability to perceive the differences between states, if not consciously discriminate between them.

Winslow—haunted by a recurring dream from his childhood and hospitalized because of the resulting insomnia—finds himself on the lam, escaped from the psychiatric institution and running from a mysterious band of cloaked figures he first sees in his dream.  For most of the issue, The Dream Merchant is a hybrid between chase thriller and supernatural mystery, both of which are governed by a kind of distant surrealism.  As a thriller, The Dream Merchant works quite well.  Winslow is a likable and vulnerable protagonist and his wraith-like pursuers are convincingly menacing.  But it's the titular Merchant of Dreams—wizened, tattooed, and peddling dream amulets out of a canvas-covered wagon—who gives the story its particular unearthly aura.

However solid Edmondson's opening chapter, it's newcomer Konstantin Novosadov's artwork that commands his debut.  His lines have a casual aspect—long, loose, and fluid—but they are deceptively sophisticated.  Protagonist Winslow, in his dream-avoiding insomnia, frequently looks weary and disheveled, the Merchant of Dreams aged and ragged, both suitable for Novosadov's style.  But it's his compositions and coloring that really dictate the visual tone of the issue.  In particular, the sometimes dramatic, sometimes quiet incorporation of pink—the color of Winslow's dreams—works both aesthetically and thematically.

All in all, Edmondson and especially Novosadov have put together a fine opening to what promises to be an intriguing story.  What it lacks in focus, it makes up for in momentum, bravura and eloquence.