The Epic Conclusion to THE DREAMER: THE CONSEQUENCE OF NATHAN HALE starts NOW!
Since the beginning, I planned The Dreamer to be broken into three parts, or “Acts.” Today, we begin the final chapter of Act I.
I figured this momentous occasion deserved an extra-special cover.
And VOTE to get a sneak peak at sketches from the upcoming issue!
This is really great cover, I can’t believe we are at the end of ACT ONE already, it feels like you started the series yesterday, Lora.
Wow, hadn’t realized we were still this early on in the story, guess I should’ve looked at a timeline of the Revolutionary War to realize that.
It was a long war! Eight years, most people don’t realize that. And, in fact, the war started an entire year before July 4, 1776 which is what most people think was the start of the war.
How much of it The Dreamer will cover, I’m not telling, however. :)
Seems to me like it could cover a decent span of the war! I notice that time seems to pass differently in the 1776 world than it does in Bea’s. I’ve thought for a while that many of her adventures have taken more time than the (presumably) seven to nine hours she gets sleeping, though the most recent side-by-side comparison of Bea’s drama and poor, sweet Nathan’s final hours is most telling. The whole affair from Bea ditching school to her collapsing at her parents’ feet couldn’t have taken more than a couple hours, but Nathan’s affair lasted from evening to dawn, probably closer to 6-8 hours. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but it certainly seems like there’s a bit of a Narnia thing going on here.
I’ve had dreams that seemed to last longer than the time I’ve actually been asleep. Of course it’s not the same as what Bea’s going through, but it’s like there’s a difference between Dream Time vs. Real Time, so you could be onto something here.
:D
I only started reading this comic last weekend and I am completely hooked. At Nathan’s death, I was convinced that this would be the final chapter of the story and I was really sad that I had missed the hype, so I’m really happy to know that there’s still lots of story left for me to enjoy!
Keep up the amazing work!
Welcome aboard! You found us at an exciting time!
That is one badass cover like kicking a fancy door in. Happy Act 1.3!
Kicking in a fancy door? You made me spit out my cereal.
Such praise and flattery will earn you…
W00t!!!
That is a smashing cover! I really love it!
Oh wow. I can’t look at the cover very long (red and all that) but it’s amazing.
And my mind is racing at the VI and all the little things it suggests are coming. O.o
What kind of screen do you have? On my Cintiq it was crazy bright but when I put it on my samsung I adjusted the colors to dull it out. I guess Red is a tricky color.
It looked fine on my hp laptop screen. I stared at it for a while in awe. So excited for this chapter.
It’s not the computer. It’s my eyes. I’ve always struggled with the color red. I think I have Irlen Syndrome but it’s never been diagnosed; I was only just given the name by a friend who recognized what I have is not, in fact, colorblindness like I assumed.
That being said, if I squint, I can see the cover and it’s EPIC. lol
DUDE……That….is one awesome cover (even if it does hurt to look at too long).
And the incentive….oooph….,talk about bad news…..
I absolutely LOVE that cover! I like the way she’s wrapped in the British flag, as if it’s consuming her. And then the soldiers in the background block her in. Wow! Is there any more symbolism you were going for? Because I’d love to hear what you were thinking when you drew that.
There is more symbolism. Guess you’ll have to read the issue to find out!
Oh, you DO enjoy toying with us, don’t you? :)
BEST. COVER. YET.
And that is saying a lot, considering the awesome covers you’ve done in the past. SO EXCITED FOR THIS NEXT ISSUE OMG
Thank you!
I’m with Hannah on this. This cover simply OOZES melodrama.
Y’know, I was sitting here very sad that many of my favorite webcomics have ended or are wrapping up sometime this year. And then I check here for this week’s update and read the news that there is still plenty of The Dreamer left for us to enjoy.
Thank you for that beautiful bit of news, and this absolutely gorgeous cover.
You’re welcome!
Which comics are ending…?
Dominic Deegan is in its last year, Garth Graham cut Finder’s Keepers, Red String will be done this year, too. Khaos Komix also finalized recently, though Tab did start up a new comic, and Tomgeeks has been cut as well. Those are the only ones I can think of, off the top of my head. Wouldn’t surprise me if more are coming to a close, too.
Oh wow! That cover…
Wowzer! That cover is… wow.
I cannot believe we are at the end of Act I already.
By the way things look in the sketches, there is a lot of drama going on.
*fastens seat belt and prepares for a wild ride*
This was the first time I ever sketched out an issue as a way of writing it. Usually I sit down at the keyboard, type a script, then do layouts from there.
This issue was too much heart. The story was in the expressions and emotions and for some reason, scripting it wasn’t working. I began sketching it out and three days later… I had mapped out the entire comic!
This is a very new way of working for me. But it is great to have the entire comic there (even if it’s rough) to see before I even begin page one!
That’s fascinating about the different ways to plot things out. I write (text) novels and it seems like every time I write one, there’s a completely different process going on. (I also draw some, but have discovered that visual stories and text stories apparently happen in completely unrelated parts of my brain…so I’m even more impressed that you can go back and forth between the two so effortlessly!)
And I LOVE the sketches. Even in very rough lines, there’s so much feeling in them! That last one makes me want to cry–so much raw emotion in just the body language.I can’t wait to read the new issue!
This is absolutely breath-taking! :) Very moving and powerful…
…In fact, did anyone else hear an ominous “DUN DUN DUUUNNN!!!” when they saw Bea wrapped in the British flag? Or was that all me? :)
Not really – I was more, “Wait a sec…is that a British flag? Ok, what’s Lora trying to imply here? Besides, I thought this wasn’t allowed in some sort of flag code or something.”
Yeah, my thoughts get that random.
Best cover art yet! This is incredible – so beautiful. I absolutely cannot wait for this chapter!
That cover looks awesome! I was a bit puzzled to see her draped with a British flag, but I’m sure you’re going somewhere with this.
And glad to hear that even if Act 1 is coming to a close that it’s not the end of the story yet :)
As a member of the, how shall we say, more mature Dreamer readers, I too look forward to this issue. We hope that Beatrice will fully realize her 21st century fashion sense and flare for colorful cover art when back in the 18th century. Perhaps she will approach the sartorial splendor of The Lady in a Blue Dress. – A public service message brought to you by Team Mercy.
That would be great – more 18th century eye candy, please :)
I just spent a weekend in Colonial Williamsburg and admittedly spent more time photographing guns than costumes. I can’t help it…!
So I’m actually *not* the only female who drools over the interior decorating scheme of the Governor’s Palace? Huzzah!!
*high-five*
I found a double-barreled fowling piece and a four barreled flintlock pistol at the CW DeWitt Wallace Museum this past weekend. Jackpot!!
*high-five*
A FOUR-barreled pistol?? Whaaat!
And I’m not sure if you have ever been to Old Sturbridge Village before (an impressive living history ‘town’ in western MA), but they also have an awesome and often overlooked collection of prototype/experimental Early American firearms — including lots of unique and irresistibly cool multi-barreled firelocks. Definitely worth a visit… as if you needed yet another reason to come back to New England. ;)
I have indeed been there and yes, spent (way too much) time at the guncase.
Mike actually used to live in Sturbridge, so we went back when he turned 30 to visit his old stomping grounds! I posted a picture of that gun on my twitter feed: http://instagram.com/p/V12QuxLv6r/
Flintlock armed females. Where is Deborah Sampson when we need her?
You know what? I’d probably do the same. Or, just photograph everything. :)
Red riding hood indeed! XD I am excited for the next act to begin! Can we expect a new publication of the previous chapters soon? *loves having the first 2 books* XD
My first thought was of Red Riding Hood also, until I saw the cover page in it’s entirety.
Can I just say I love how well-thought this comic is? The fact that practically the whole thing is mapped out just makes me so happy! And the art is so beautiful! And I love having the books! Too many of the webcomics I read just kind of fizzle out over time so I’m so glad there is such a wonderful commitment to story-telling with The Dreamer! Because it’s my favorite! Thanks so much, Lora!
I’m really excited for the conclusion to Act One, even if it’s going to be totally heart-shattering. And the cover art is beautiful :D
OH MY GOSH. So pretty and mood-setting. Love it!!
The end of Act I!?! My goodness, my mind has just become blown with the epic nature of this story. Where will Bea end up next!?!
1. This is a beautiful cover! Seriously. I have no idea what those lines where Bea’s legs should be are and I’m vaguely concerned about that union jack. This is post declaration after all…. but it is a FANTASTIC cover. very graphic and striking.
2. It’s been so long since Bea was in the 1700s that I forgot what was happening last with her. lol. need to reread clearly.
3. Why did that preview panel have an image that suspiciously looked like a potential argument between Bea and Alan? I am not a fan of that idea at all.
Last we saw Bea she had fallen asleep next to her sweetheart, who was finally starting to feel better: http://thedreamercomic.com/comic.php?id=402
:O is the cover symbolism for when Bea was kidnapped by Howe? Will there be flashbacks to that “before-comic” time???? The cover is absolutely amazing though, its the best one by far.
Bea’s family had Loyalist sympathies, so it could have something to do with that.
I know what it is! It is detailing Bea’s inner struggle, between the parents and Alan. The flag represents this.
Doubtles she IS a spy. And the lines can represent imprisonment. Her eyes represent decision. She is at a crossroads. Has she gone too far to ever be a Loyalist again? Will she choose the path of patriotism instead?
Red can represent love, anger, , danger, infatuation, and blood.
The blood shed of the patriots? Knowlton? Warren? Nathan?
Anger? Perhaps Alan’s anger at the British? Bea’s anger towards Alan? Perhaps. Love? The love between Alan and Bea?
Danger? The danger Bea is in if she is caught?
Or am I reading too much into this?
No, that sounds about right! :)
Bea wrapped from head to foot in Union Jack…why does that fill me with fear? And all the gorgeous reds and the setting (or is it rising?) sun… O.o
You’re setting up something big, aren’t you Lora?
Beautiful cover!…But where is the rest of Bea’s legs?It looks(to me anyway) that the flag seems to wrap around her and then her body just stops at the knee to mid calf area. Maybe it is just me.
Maybe her knees are drawn up close to her chest and she’s just kind of floating there?
Perhaps Bea is being schooled in the Mystic Arts by Dr. Strange? You know, levitation and all that other magic stuff.
Both are possible but the more I look at it the more the proportions don’t seem quite right. Maybe Bea’s body is slowly becoming intangible as a way of illustrating the emotional tole of the war, making her a ghost of her former self? Maybe Bea is a genie now?……
http://disneyfemales.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/disney-aladdin-genie-02.gif
I’ll stop nit picking the figure proportions and just say it is a lovely cover. I love the subtle detail in the hair and the color choices
*emotional toll
I carnt spel
My husband just pointed out that it looks like she is laying down which makes far more sense considering “Dreamer”
I believe, Dreamers, that you are being played. This is not the British Union Jack, rather a really big Grand Union American flag. That is the first American flag used 1776-77, eventually replaced by what we now know as the Betsey Ross flag. The Grand Union Flag had the British Union Jack colors in the canton (upper square where the stars are now), and the familiar thirteen red and white horizontal stripes. The stripes, of course, happen to be wrapped out of sight in Bea’s dramatic pose.
Do not be embarrassed. You are not the first to people to be confused. By traditional accounts, George Washington introduced the Grand Union flag by raising it on Prospect Hill (modern Somerville, MA) confronting the British Boston Siege lines on January 1, 1776. The Brits, seeing the Union Jack part of the new flag, thought at first that the Americans were surrendering.
Oh, okay. That makes sense now – I knew of the Grand Union flag, but then I was wondering what became of the stripes, so it became easier, then, to assume it was a British flag.
Actually…might the stripes behind Bea be a reference to that, then? Hm…either way, I think Lora is taking advantage of this ambiguity.
Heartily agree. Any comic artist styling themselves Mastermind is guilty until proven innocent.
I have known about that Union Jack for years, I just never made the connection here.
Leave it to Dr. Sam to find that! Good job Sherlock!
Sorry Betsy Ross, guess you are out of the picture now.
Not many people do know about that flag, like you say. When I am at reenactments and I tell people about that flag they look at me as if I just said they were purple dinsosaurs.
Not that I am sound smart-alecky. Nooooooo……
Ah ha! Hidden from us!
Oh, and I also meant to add more info.
The Union Jack was meant to symbolize the americans’ unwillingness to gain independence from England. They only wanted their rights as Englishmen restored and they wanted to remain in the British Empire. Failing that, well, the rest is history as we all know. :)
Okay, maybe it’s just me, but those lines look an awful lot like a high-rise building. My initial reaction was, “What’s 9/11 got to do with the Revolutionary War?”
It doesn’t seem to make any sense, but it looks like a modern skyscraper. I can’t see it as anything else…
Bea could be wearing a long skirt and those lines could just be the folds or pleats in the fabric, It seems like a rather narrow skirt design for the 18th century but I figure Lora was more concerned with symbolism here, and those lines look more like stripes when viewed from a different angle. Note there are 13 of them.
“Note there were 13 of them”.
Bravo, David. Gotta give out two this week…
You might have to make another Tab for the gold star winners. . .
Or in the fun stuff tab or something. . . any ideas you think of. . . ?
Can someone say EPIC?! That and Les mis is still playing on repeat when I was looking at this, and The fact that the colors in the background are majority Red and Black…
“The colors of the world are changing day by day.” *Squee!*
I noticed the blue bleeding into the thirteen red and black stripes, and for some reason, that is my favorite part of this cover. There are so many things to look at here, so much symbolism, and I’m completely entranced by that. It’s beautiful! Frightening, but beautiful. I can’t wait for the next update.
Amazing cover art, I love everything about it! Thank you for all the hard work that you do (I draw on the computer as well and I know how hard it is to continue if you have dry eyes, etc.) You are an inspiration to me as an artist and I’ve been meaning to say these things for a while now; thank you again and I adore your work, writing, and this cover – definitely this cover :D
Thank you! <3
Good luck on your own work and thank you for the kind words!
Thank you, this means the world to me! *hugs* Good luck to you too!