Queen of Bad Dreams #2 Review

Words: Danny Lore/ Art: Jordi Pérez/ Colorist: Dearbhla Kelly/ Letterer: Kim McLean/ Vault Comics The end of Queen of Bad Dreams #1 has Daher, a veteran Inspector Judge, finding the fugitive dream figment, Ava, and ultimately letting her go. It’s a completely unorthodox move on her part, frowned upon by her higher ups yet Daher’s gut tells her that she’s done the right thing. Her ‘spidey senses’, her intuition is telling her that there is more to the story. Not surprisingly, Daher Wei has painted a target on her back by questioning orders and thinking for herself. This is something that happens so often in the real world when we think about the abuses of the different branches of law enforcement. What’s also notable is the power of those above us and what their money and prestige can buy. This is something that hits hard. I like seeing themes such as these explored in comics with some nuance.

The narration, which is lettered precisely, felt a little unfocused in this issue until I reread and found that the text boxes are color coded, which helps significantly. The narrator from the first issue, Daher’s ex-wife, is here along with Daher and Ava and it can get confusing if you’re not following on the right track. Towards the middle of this issue, the artwork gets a little hard to follow as it gets less polished but still vibrant in color. I chalk this up to being an aesthetic choice especially as most of the pages are set in the dream world. There is significant development f…