Review
‘FANTASTIC DREAMS’ GN Review – Dave McKean Dream States: Dave McKean (Vertigo / DC Comics)
Day Thirteen of the graphic novel a day review here at Tripwire and today it’s Dave McKean: Dream States, published by Vertigo / DC Comics.
Despite my misgivings about DC’s Sandman series, and they are many, there is no denying the visual impact of McKean’s covers over the years and here we get to see the artist’s images which have graced The Dreaming, Sandman Presents and the recent Sandman Overture series. This beautiful hardcover, designed by McKean himself, represents the covers he has produced for the various Sandman-related series from 1997 to 2014 and the reader is struck by the continued visual invention that McKean employs.
It is rather nice to see his work displayed in such a durable and high quality format but I have a couple of minor quibbles about the book. It is nice to see the reproduction of the work but it would have been more intriguing if McKean had talked a little bit about some of the images reprinted here, his approach to them as an artist and his process producing them. So the absence of this a little bit disappointing. The book also includes a 12 page short story Fish out Of Water, written by Gaiman, which while it looks pretty, feels throwaway and adds nothing to the volume.
I did say that these were minor quibbles and Dream States reinforces the deserved reputation that Dave McKean has as one of the most dynamic and visually interesting artists continuing to work in comics and its related fields…
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