Upon finishing issue one of Lucy Dreaming, the creators should be happy to know that I applauded at my computer screen. Max Bemis and Michael Dialynas dive directly into the deep end of thirteen-year-old Lucy’s mind: a self-described outsider who yearns to be on the inside of the popular crowds at school and yet despises them.  She is someone who feels should be a prodigy but is too angry to allow herself to be a part of anything, someone who finds the most comfort in disappearing into books. She’s hilariously self-aware and yet has no idea who she needs or wants to be. This was an incredibly accurate depiction of what I went through as a young teenager, minus the periods, and that made it immediately enjoyable and relatable. That’s one half of the book…

The other half is this: Lucy finds herself dreaming/awakening into something and someone she didn’t know she was – Princess Eleanor Fadarr, a sci-fi princess in the middle of a deadly mission with a dashing douchebag named Barc Landin and an alien that smokes a cigar. The fun here is in Lucy being uncertain as to what’s going on – Is this a dream or isn’t it? – and how she reacts when elements appear a touch too real for her teenage mind. The story is full of big laughs, but some of the biggest come into play here, when the voice of a no b.s. teenager is met with the b.s. of sci-fi genre tropes.

There’s a sense of wisdom in the carefree and jaunty rhythms of the storytelling and a wonderful sense of humor; in my experience, they tend to go hand in hand. So, major kudos to Bemis for giving us something so complex and simple right away (and knowing where to hit the jokes!), and hats off to Dialynas who can sell all of these elements with ease. And the lettering by Colin Bell who, through very simple adjustments, fleshes out the voices of the different characters without making it a chaotic mess.

Get started on the ground floor with this one; it’s a real treat.

Creative Team: Max Bemis (writer), Michael Dialynas (art), Colin Bell (letterer), Scott Newman (designer), Eric Harburn (editor)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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