REVIEW

DreamKeepers Volume 2

DreamkeepersThe second volume of David Lillie’s DreamKeepers is available now. If you haven’t read the first there’s little point jumping on here – go back and read the first one. It’s an epic fantasy-style quest story, fabulously illustrated with anthropomorphic characters. I don’t think it’s over-stating how strong this series is shaping up to be by putting it in the same category as Bone or Mouse Guard.

This second volume follows Mace and Whip as they continue to look after Lillith and Namah. Having thought they had found refuge from evil would-be-stepmother Tinsel, who it seems has a slightly bigger agenda than just being mean to children, they find they’ve been discovered again and are teleported far away for their own safety. There’s clearly more serious things afoot though, as they’re instantly tracked by their enemies and end up running for their lives.

Dreamkeepers - MaceThe back story starts to come into play a bit more in this book. Following a horrific war the laws of Anduruna (where the characters live) state that, despite the fact that they’re all born with super-powers, these must remain undeveloped and unharnessed for the sake of peace. However, the dark forces who are chasing the foursome across the world don’t respect such rules. But what is their motive and what are they trying to get from the characters?

There’s been no degradation in the quality of Lillie’s beautiful artwork between volumes 1 and 2, as he continues the visual feast he started in the first book. The pages are well worth drinking in, with visual gags and other unworded elements of the book often found riding in tandem alongside the main narrative.

It’s a shame that Lillie’s work isn’t finding a wider audience through sheer availability issues but, as he explains in his introduction, to choose any other path would have compromised his vision for the series and we think the end result is worthy of that. But then we’re one of the lucky 300 people to receive a copy of this limited print-run book. Secure your copy by visiting the DreamKeepers site as soon as possible.

Readers of the first book are unlikely to be disappointed. If you haven’t seen volume one yet though, keep your eyes peeled when in you’re in your local graphic novel shop – you’ll need to read the first one to get anything out of this.

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