The name of Ryan Howe should be well-known in the comics world - and if it's not, well, it needs to be! His creation, "Daisy Blackwood, Pilot for Hire," is by far one of the best comic strips / stories that I have read. The stories are fun, adventure-filled, and exciting; the characters are engaging, realistic, and entertaining; and the style of storytelling - well, I've said it before, and I'll say it again - it's completely cinematic. It's like I'm watching a film unfold on the page before my eyes! Each page contains three to five panels (although he does utilize a splash panel once in a while for a very important scene/reveal), and each page manages to end at a specific moment that immediately takes the reader to the next page to find out what will happen next! His art remains consistent throughout, and his backgrounds vary from extremely detailed (when the setting is an integral element of the story) to minimalist (when the dialogue and characters are the most important part of the scene). By the time I finish one of Howe's graphic novels, I feel like I have just finished watching a movie that leaves me breathless, wanting for more!
The Dreamland Demon is the third graphic novel in the Daisy Blackwood series, and it picks back up on the story from the first story, The Cursed Island. But instead of opening the story with our main character, Howe throws readers right into a chase scene - with a young woman named Huma and her aunt Raifah, who are running from a dark and deadly creature - one that takes Raifah's life, even though it's a dream! The scene then changes to a professor's library/office, where Daisy is explaining the weird event from the island and how whatever was in that mysterious box caused people to go mad. Just as she is leaving the professor's office, she mentions a few flights she has lined up, which catches the attention of an older woman in the hallway who happens to be in search of a pilot. But readers quickly learn this woman is not everything she claims to be, for she says she is an old friend of Professor Adams, but after Daisy leaves and Professor Adams comes out, it is clear the two do not know each other! And so the intrigue begins...
The story takes Daisy and her client, Constance Flynn, who happens to be working with Huma on this mysterious quest, around the globe, all the way to Scotland and then on to Norway in search of the unnamed treasure. However, when Daisy begins to have some very strange and frightening nightmares, and she follows Constance and Huma into a cavern that is full of not-so-ancient treasures in Scotland, she ultimately uncovers the truth about Flynn's quest - and the undead man she carries around who is allegedly going to lead her to the treasure she is after! Of course, as with any good story, there's more going on here than what we see on the surface, and soon Daisy falls victim to the strange madness that overtakes the people who fall under the undead Sigvard's control! Flynn has been keeping the ancient viking under her control through sedation, which has been limiting his ability to control others, but even the sedation has its limits. And the closer the team gets to Sigvard's hidden stash, the harder it is to keep the viking sedated. And it all leads to a climactic race for the treasure, as treasure hunters gone mad fight to get their hands on the ultimate prize - a madness that Daisy is all too familiar with!
It's clear from this story that Howe is building up to something big - something that will tie these stories together and lead to an even bigger battle than what we see in these pages. While each book is its own story, there are elements being placed within the stories that connect, and it will be interesting to see where Howe takes us with these.
One thing I do enjoy about these stories, other than just the fantastic writing and superb art!, is the fact that the stories are clearly set in the past. They don't have cell phones, or internet, or any of the other technological conveniences of today's world. Thus, the stories are more focused on the characters and the adventure and less on how technology can do all the work for them. I also like the fact that with this book, we have a clear and definite step into the supernatural world, and the fact that the next book is titled Paranormal Perils, it's a pretty easy guess to see that Daisy Blackwood's world is one where she will be facing quite a bit of paranormal activity! Which is fine by me - mixing the adventure with the supernatural, but without all the tech gadgets - well, it pretty much guarantees a story that I'm going to enjoy!
Looking forward to more of Daisy's adventures!
RATING: 10 boxes of tranquilizers out of 10 for keeping Daisy's adventures fresh, fun, and filled with exciting moments that keep me turning page after page!
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