The Dreaming vol. 2: Empty Shells

Why did Daniel leave the Dreaming?  For love, of course. The tragic story of his romance is told by “Sandman” veteran/survivor Rose Walker to a barely conscious Lucien in the hospital.  It starts off with Rose having a chance encounter with Dream himself that could’ve led to a romance, except that she decided to give her daughter Ivy a shot at finding love for herself.  Their relationship blossoms and things are going incredibly well for the both of them. Until they aren’t and writer Simon Spurrier reveals his real goal with this story: To make it come off like a universal romance that also happens to be driven by the plot.  It’s understandable that things would go bad for two people in love, it just usually doesn’t involve a tattoo that’s fueled by contagious magic. Still, it’s nice to see Rose again, to have the writer deliver an interesting take on her current status quo, to bring in her “father” and not have me hate him, and to have this side story move the main one forward in a meaningful way.  All with hauntingly elongated art from Abigail Larson that recalls the best of the one-offs from “The Sandman,” and shows that she can really deliver the goods when not pressed for time like she was in the first volume.

Main series artist Bilquis Evely is still killing it in the story that follows as her chronicle of Dora and Matthew’s attempt to pick up Dream’s trail in every realm that they visit.  From the depths of Hell, to the courts and huts of Faerie, to the Inn at the World’s End, this arc is chock-full of stunning visuals and shifts in style. Great storytelling too as our two adventurers find themselves embroiled in the drama Dream has left behind in visiting each of these places, while Abel has to deal with the new entity that is now running the Dreaming.  It’s honestly hard to say which of these threads is better as Dora & Matthew’s has the variety of settings and subplots to work through. Meanwhile, the entity reveals itself to be a curious and apt student of stories who wants to do right by his role, but may wind up destroying the place in spite of itself. Both feature Spurrier’s engaging meditations on the nature of stories, which enchant as they feed into the main plot.  It all makes for a second volume just as good as the first, and one that sets up what looks to be a smashing finale for vol. 3