From the BLURB:
Beatrice “Bea” Whaley seems to have it all; the seventeen-year-old high school senior is beautiful, wealthy and the star performer of the drama club. And with her uncle’s connections to Broadway theater, the future looks bright ahead of her. Little does she know that her future might actually be brighter behind her.
Bea begins having vivid dreams about a brave and handsome soldier named Alan Warren--a member of an elite group known as Knowlton’s Rangers that served during the Revolutionary War. Prone to keeping her head in the clouds, Bea welcomes her nightly adventures in 1776; filled with danger and romance they give her much to muse about the next day. But it is not long before Beatrice questions whether her dreams are simply dreams or something more. Each night they pick up exactly where the last one ended. And the senses--the smell of musket shots and cannons, the screams of soldiers in agony, and that kiss--are all far more real than any dream she can remember.
‘The Dreamer’ is an online comic created by Lora Innes, which has recently gone into publication with IDW and is now available for purchase from Amazon.
Innes used to draw for Nickelodeon, Mattel and Simon & Schuster, among others, but now devotes her time to this fabulous online comic.
I discovered ‘The Dreamer’ about a year ago, and now my Friday is not complete without my ‘Dreamer’ update. The online comic is currently into its 8th issue, with each issue being between 25-28 pages long with a weekly 2-page update (unless Innes states otherwise). The comic is totally free to view online, and Innes currently has 3 short stories in PDF format available for purchase (I bought and loved her ‘prologue’ story “A most agreeable Thanksgiving” – that’s how obsessed I am!)
I absolutely love this comic. I am Australian, so I know next to zilch about the Revolutionary war. Innes is a history-nut and does pain-staking research on everything from the major players in the war to 1700’s dress design – and all the research pays off. I learn a little something new about the war in every issue I read, but I’m never bogged down by information or historical facts. This is mostly because Innes has intertwined the historical setting so seamlessly with the time travel plot – the war itself has become a character in the story, raising the stakes for Beatrice and Alan as their romance blooms amidst the chaotic setting.
While the comic does switch between modern day and 1776, Innes has done an incredible job of fleshing out both periods by including a procession of interesting secondary characters to populate Alan and Beatrice’s respective worlds. When Bea isn’t carousing around 1776, she’s back to her regular role as high school misfit, pining after football jock, Ben Cato. When Alan isn’t rescuing Bea from impending disaster, he’s goofing off with best friend and fellow patrior, Nathan Hale (of “I only regret that I have but one life to give my country” fame).
This story reminds me a lot of Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ series (but a PG comic version, obviously). There’s the time travel plot, and the romance between modern girl and a man hundreds of years in the past. And don’t let the historic setting fool you; ‘The Dreamer’ is first and foremost a romance.
It’s the easiest thing to check out this online comic. It’s totally, 100% free – and I guarantee it will not disappoint. Please, please, please check it out.
5/5
I've never heard of this - sounds interesting. (My 16-year-old son is studying American History this year - maybe I should make him read it too!)
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