The Dreaming Book 1
- Posted by Johanna on September 27, 2006 at 8:50 am
- Category: Graphic Novel Reviews
- CREDITS: by Queenie Chan
- PUBLISHER: Tokyopop; $9.99 US
In this original graphic novel by Queenie Chan, twin girls enter a remote boarding school in the Australian wilderness.
From the beginning, there’s an air of something wrong. The girls are warned that they must pretend they’re not twins, only sisters, because of an odd prejudice on the vice-principal’s part. Their aunt, headmistress of the school, leaves as soon as they arrive. The quieter, more sensitive girl begins acting in a way that worries her more outgoing sister.
Disturbing pictures, haunting feelings, rumors of disappearances, nightmares that might be warnings, and spooky old authority figures are all part of the genre. None of this is unexpected for a Gothic, but it’s told skillfully and in such a way to keep the reader turning pages as the girls begin wondering about their new home. The setting is one the author is familiar with but is also intriguingly exotic for most American readers. Overall, it’s more creepy than scary, but in a way that gets under the skin.
The way the sisters look alike yet subtly different, enough for the reader to tell them apart, is a testament to Chan’s art. Her drawings make the story stand out, and the cliffhanger ending comes all too soon. It’s a tough wait for the next volume, due in November, with the reader’s imagination going full throttle in the meantime.
More information can be found at the artist’s website.
September 27, 2006 at 9:56 AM
[...] Reviews: At TokyoSpace, ChunHyang72 hearts Sorcerors and Secretaries. Over at the MangaCast, Jack takes on three shonen titles and Ed counters with some shoujo. And Johanna at Comics Worth Reading reviews the first volume of Queenie Chan’s The Dreaming. [...]
September 27, 2006 at 1:05 PM
Has anyone compared The Dreaming to Picnic at Hanging Rock? The “remote boarding school in the Australian outback” where “odd things are happening” certainly evokes Peter Weir’s film.
September 27, 2006 at 1:11 PM
Not that I’ve seen, but it’s a great question. I started watching that movie a good while back, but I never got to finish it, so I can’t say.
September 27, 2006 at 1:46 PM
Oh yeah, they’ve been compared a lot. Queenie actually discusses the similarities, differences and influence to Picnic at Hanging Rock in her bonus section at the end of the book.
September 27, 2006 at 3:16 PM
Hmmm, I’ll have to reread that. I’d forgotten that — but I remembered the paper dolls! That was a cool extra.
September 27, 2006 at 10:21 PM
[...] Also included in this volume are a sketchbook section with comments from the author and a lengthy preview of another Tokyopop title. There are preview pages at the publisher’s website. Rivkah has a blog and a website with a Steady Beat focus page, plus her original webcomic version of Steady Beat can be read online. She’s also been interviewed by Queenie Chan (The Dreaming), another manga creator. [...]
October 24, 2006 at 12:56 PM
Yay! So glad you liked the paper dolls. I thought they’d be a cool extra, considering Queenie’s awesome costume designs.
October 24, 2006 at 1:29 PM
They’re terrific! I’m looking forward to the next volume in the series, out next month.
November 15, 2006 at 9:30 PM
[...] I found her analysis fascinating, because I thought her story was damaged by the publication strategy. I liked The Dreaming, but I thought the second book was just more of the same, filling out the middle section until we were allowed to start seeing some of the answers and conclusions in next year’s book three. It wasn’t a bad read, but it wasn’t, in my opinion, filling enough to justify the wait of a year and the $10 price. Atmosphere and mood will only get you so far; given that this is a mystery, I thought the reader should have been given one or two answers in this volume instead of saving them all up to the end. [...]
May 8, 2007 at 6:47 PM
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!^^It rocks!!^^i cant wait to get #2!^^i recommend this to al my friends!^^
February 9, 2008 at 2:24 PM
This book is soo great I tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LOL
LOVE IT!!!
March 3, 2008 at 6:59 AM
[...] see, what else? I started reading The Dreaming, an historical goth murder mystery, but found that the atmosphere took such precedence over [...]
June 29, 2008 at 10:45 AM
[...] a prose competition inviting contestants to write a story set in the world of Queenie Chan’s The Dreaming. Submissions were due in April. Prizes included cash and the opportunity to be published in [...]
September 5, 2008 at 8:26 AM
[...] but In Odd We Trust, an original graphic novel prequel co-written and illustrated by Queenie Chan (The Dreaming), makes me interested in seeing more. [...]
September 20, 2008 at 10:33 AM
I picked up this book at my school book fair, and I started reading it the next day. It was such a good book i read it in less than 2 days. I’ve been in search for the 2nd book, but can’t seem to find it.
October 27, 2008 at 7:03 PM
i love this book
November 17, 2008 at 5:49 PM
This is a frickin awesome book! TOTALLY WORTH READING!!! (but very confusing and eerie.)
December 4, 2008 at 8:03 AM
[...] you’d like to read other girls-in-private-school comics, try The Dreaming or Kat & Mouse. [...]
February 11, 2009 at 6:36 PM
i luved this book it was my fav. luv it
wht is the new book called
October 21, 2009 at 4:15 PM
this book was awsome i want to read the second and third
April 10, 2010 at 5:59 PM
[...] nine creators include Svetlana Chmakova (Dramacon, Nightschool), Leisl Adams, and Queenie Chan (The Dreaming, In Odd We Trust). Their mission statement runs like this: BentoComics.com is created, coded and [...]
May 20, 2010 at 4:05 PM
[...] has announced a deal to make a live-action movie of The Dreaming, Queenie Chan’s OEL manga series about a mysterious boarding school in the Australian [...]
June 25, 2010 at 8:09 AM
[...] Lente (Comic Book Comics, Action Philosophers, Hercules) and will be illustrated by Queenie Chan (The Dreaming), who drew the first one. It’s due out October [...]
August 22, 2010 at 4:44 PM
[...] it be released in three separate books, which required some editing and rewriting.) When the series was coming out three-four years ago, I gave up before the end, since I thought the atmosphere, while elegantly [...]
December 18, 2010 at 6:52 AM
i really like this book..i cnt w8 2 read the vol. 2..
October 18, 2011 at 5:57 PM
I really like this book…I want all 3 of them because I’ve never read vol. 2 or 3.I can’t want ’till I get them!