New Page #51!
"Gaylord Focker, will you be my son-in-law?"
There is only one scene left in issue #14. I hope you enjoyed our first double-sized issue! I don’t think Alan enjoyed it, though. He doesn’t revel in the thought of you knowing all the skeletons in his closet…
Well, if you follow me on Facebook you might have heard me talking recently about a few projects I have my hands in. One of which is a museum exhibit for the Nathan Hale School House. I’ve been working with a team of historians who have uncovered brand new research about Hale’s life during his year as a schoolmaster at the Union School House in New London, Connecticut. I took their research and wrote and illustrated six, giant, four-foot-tall comic pages to hang on the walls of this historic site where the real Nathan Hale actually taught. The exhibit stars none other than The Dreamer’s own Nathan Hale, of course.
Nathan combed his hair for the museum exhibit.
It’s a huge undertaking and until this point I’ve had enough buffer to do both projects simultaneously. But I just used up the last of my buffer. So there is a chance that I will miss a Dreamer update next week. I’ve been working till midnight every night for the last eight days and both of my hands are cramping.
I’m going to try my hardest not to miss a beat here on The Dreamer! But if I do, you’ll know why.
The exhibit is very exciting and we’re closing in on the finish line. I’ll share more information about how you can visit as the opening draws closer.
VOTE to preview the next page!
* I’ll be at a Tristate Con in Huntington, WV on June 9th. *
Well, Alan, you rescued her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t remember you. Guess that kinda puts a kink in the whole proposal business :( Poor guy.
Okay, so I’m not up on my Nathanology (I’m still stuck mid 19th century. eventually I’ll get back to the Revolution)…when did he get the powder burn?
VI
John: At last! I finally found out why Alan has been so ill. The eating of too many tea cosies is notorious for creating an imbalance in the humours. Thank the Almighty I am well-supplied with all the best purgatives and emetics.
Just from firing his gun and being a soldier.
The historian panel was split on this, Nessili. Or at least there was one “undecided” and two “after he enlisted” votes. So we decided to leave the scar off of the exhibit.
Our only knowledge of Hale having such a thing comes from the testimony of his boyhood friend/ man servant (while he was in the army), a man named Asher Wright. (Fun fact, when I as at the Hale Homestead House in Coventry, CN, a few years ago, there was an Asher Wright reenactor there and he sat around a fire (it was the fall) telling stories. So fun!)
Now when Asher Wright’s account was recorded, he was 82 and was only lucid in intervals (according to the man who wrote it down). So that needs factored in to the whole: “We just can’t know!” part of it. Not unless some new source is uncovered one day.
The direct quote is, “He was too good-looking to go so. He could not deceive. Some scrubby fellows ought to have gone. He had marks on his forehead, so that anybody would know him who had ever seen him– having had powder flashed in his face.”
Muskets flash out gunpowder when you shoot them and sparks fly out. The historians on this team believed that Hale got the scar once he was in a military setting. There is also the possibility he got it while a member of the New London Independent Artillery Company which he joined over a year before he enlisted in the Continental Army. (Especially because Americans seemed incapable of using cannon during the early part of the war. Even Knox’s Artillery company had several cannon blow up in their faces at Dorchester Heights!)
The part I find interesting is that Wright says, “anyone who ever saw him” and he was a man who had known him since they were kids. Most of his family and friends back home wouldn’t have seen him after he enlisted, so that strikes me as a possibility he got it younger. I wouldn’t say “anyone who had ever known her” about my sister if she got a scar a year before she died in an era when she was out of town and didn’t visit during that time, and there was no FB to upload a new user pic!
Getting it in the military is the most probable explanation if we’re going by the ways that such scars were obtained. (“A flash in the pan!”) But young boys are capable of just about anything. I had a professor in college who lost half his fingers to a bottle rocket explosion gone bad when he was a teen.
Again, Asher Wright was elderly and his mind failing when he gave the testimony. We just can’t know either way. And it’s dangerous to take his account as literal truth without factoring that into account.
So in reality, anyway you would want to depict it is just a guess! We tried to make the best guess we could for the exhibit. And I’m not a historian so I sat back and let them make the decision and incorporated that into the exhibit.
I’m not going to lie, this page made me squee and my eyes misted. No two men in the world love Bea more. <3 <3 <3
And Nathan–sans-scar–is both epic and odd. I want to see 'dem panels in full. <3 <3 <3
VI: Why so serious? :D
And don’t worry about missing next week. You rest up, hard-working lady!
I second the squee-ing! Also, “Meet the Parents,” good call. Mr. Whaley is going to sound like Robert De Niro in my head for awhile now… rather enjoyable… ok back to normal voice.
ha ha! Now he will in my mind, too.
I third the squeeing. I got a weird look from a guy passing my office. :)
I also second the “don’t worry about missing next week.” I’d rather you not cripple yourself trying to appease your rabid fans (and I mostly am referring to myself when I say rabid). We can (kinda sorta) handle missing one update. :P
DeNiro, huh? Personally, I’ve been hearing Joe Mantegna for some reason. On a similar note, I’ve been going through the archives and whenever Freddy speaks I end up hearing Connor Paolo, which seems…..weirdly appropriate. Seriously, watch a few episodes of Revenge and then see if you can’t hear Declan’s voice coming out of Freddy’s mouth.
Wait…..now I got Lana Parilla fighting Madeline Stowe for the role of Bea’s mother. Damn you, ABC…..damn you…..
(kidding — all their shows rock)
Heh. That’s my boy.
Mr. Whaley has no eyebrows…. *hides* I’m scared now.
No one kill me! It’s a great comic! I have bad memories of being eyebrowless!
Yeah, what’s up with the missing eyebrows?
They aren’t missing…they’re just low. The dark black lines right over his eyes…those are the brows. He’s just got one of those foreheads it seems.
Oh, I thought they were just shading. Speaking of brows and foreheads, I’m seeing a slight resemblance to the Frankenstein Monster here! The Karloff version, to be exact.
documentation of my thoughts:
seeing title – VTHII! WTHHY VIV! *continues with assorted giggling*
seeing the actual comic – “Oh…oh, that’s just…..oh….” (X^(
reading the comic: *giggling grin*
Well, it’s nice to see that despite the politics, all Mr. W really cares about is his daughter safe and sound and happy…..though I’d love to see his wife’s reaction to this news.
Also, that last panel? Most….bad-ass…proposal….. ever
INCENTIVE CAPTION!!!
John: “Beatrice, look at your man. Now look at me. Now look at him. Now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he bothered to read our eldest brothers texts, he could sound like me. Look down. Now look up. Where are you? You’re at a college, watching your man graduate years older than anyone else. What’s in your hand? I have it. It’s a handkerchief. What’s in it? His mother’s wedding ring, that he’s been hiding for years. Look again. The ring is now a child! Anything is possible with a little reading. I’m on a tory.”
lol I’m sorry Brent, but while reading your caption….the Harry Potter version kept jumping into my mind….and niot just because I may or may not have spent 2hrs looking through HP pix on fb while waiting for my computer to register the update…..(I’m not crazy. I’m just as sane as Luna.)
SQUEEEEEEEEEE, LUNA!!!! I am proud to admit that I was totally a Huna shipper. :-) Also, Evanna Lynch? Perfect.
I should have done my Luna cosplay at Anime Boston, if I had known you loved Luna so much. lol
“Huna”, Harry/Luna??????? I’m Neville/Luna!!!!
Fans: Why no Neville and Luna?
JoRo: …Why didn’t I think of that?
Movie: *Neville/Luna.*
That’s really how it happened. Lol
…Seriously? Geez. lol at least some of the other pairings didn’t happen that I’ve been hearing in various HP fan circles…lol
Exhibit X (XX): Snape/Hermione
Exhibit Y: Draco/Hermione
Exhibit Z (-bus Chrisr): Bill/Hermione
actually I was thinking more like:
Draco/Harry
Dumbledore/Snape (that one just scares me…o.O)
Hermione/Neville
Harry/Hermione
and the one that makes me cringe the most, nicknamed “Wolfstar”…Remus/Sirius (partly cuz if I had been around during the Maurarder’s era….Tonks wouldn’t have had a chance.)
Those would be exhibits R, O (for old guys), N (erdiness), L (egitmate), and D (emented)…..so, you listed RONLD. Good for you and/or him.
I seriously almost just chocked on my popcorn!
BAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! LOVE this caption!!!! :D
It looks like Mr. Whaley is seriously considering switching his allegiance and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Frau Whaley does likewise. Hopefully that should help stave off any Patriot mob action against them. Alan may not get the reaction from Bea that he’s hoping for when he finally does propose to her. We all already know the reason why. But in any case let’s hope they don’t get married any time soon since we all know it’s never good for any series when a hot single couple gets all “domestic” because then all the suspense about “will they or won’t they?” is gone. The only exception is if they’re already married or do so in the first couple episodes . The smart script writers always wait until the show is almost over before having the hot couple finally get hitched. I don’t see how it should be any different here. That is, unless Lora can “spice it up” somehow! *chuckle*
Dude…..they’re in a war, and she’s more or less a time-jumper. What more spice do you need?
True, but I kind of meant stuff they could do TOGETHER. Unless Bea makes like Molly Pitcher she won’t really be there with Alan in the war and so far we don’t know if Alan is also capable of time-jumping. Also let’s not forget Bea has a whole other life in the 21st century. How would this affect her relationship with Ben? Would she technically be “having an affair” if she continued to see him and things got real “serious”? This might end up as the strangest case of bigamy ever! Now THAT”S spice!
That’s what I’m saying!
The mention of Molly just made me wonder…..since they can’t prove who is really was, if she was real at all, could Bea be Molly????????
I still like the idea that she’s actually Agent 355.
Didn’t Agent 355 get hanged too? Or was that my mind writing fiction when I read about her…I’ve got a book partially written that has the Culper Ring as a small plot point, so I’ve done a bit of research on Long Island during the war. Right now the main characters live in a small farm outside of Flushing….but I babbleth.
That’s one theory, yeah, but no one’s sure her exact fate or identity (another theory has her prisoner aboard the jersey and giving birth while there), so I figure given other mysteries (who started the burning of New York shortly before Nathan’s hanging, for one), our girl could easily fill that role, especially given how many other changes we’ve seen.
How about she starts the fire to try and save Nathan???
…..and now we’re on the same page. :-)
Bea WOULD set New York City on fire…
lol Though she’d probably do it by accident….
Bea: NATHAN! Scare them off with this torch! *throws torch and misses Nathan by a yard and sets a barn on fire.* Oops, run!
So far as we are in real time, Alan refuses to propose until she can remember him. Maybe he’ll change his mind, but for now you’re safe!
http://thedreamercomic.com/comic.php?id=145
http://thedreamercomic.com/comic.php?id=198
Well, whatever you do, just keep it interesting. Contented domestic bliss is fine for real life, not so much in fiction like this, where it’s just another term for “boring”. Too many TV and movie plot writers AND comic book authors have learned that lesson the hard way!
I disagree (in a friendly debate sorta way). It’s not progression of story that’s at fault (that’s GOOD writing), but writers who aren’t clever enough to develop new story/character arcs as they complete old ones (that’s just shoddy writing). Too many book series, TV shows, etc. are stretched thin/turned into soap operas over time because their writers only know how to tell one story, and keep rehashing it instead of moving their characters forward, developing their plots, introducing new challenges, resolving story arcs, and all the rest that makes for clever and ultimately satisfying storytelling. (AND: Marriage is a not an “end” – in the happily-ever-after Disney sense, nor the death-by-commitment sense most commonly and falsely portrayed in our cultural media. Irks me, that does.) I can’t stand it when stories go in a circle forever, rehashing old themes, raveling and unraveling relationships in an endless cycle to “keep it interesting”. It might feed an immediate need for entertainment, like a triple-burger and a side of fries every night for a week will keep you from getting hungry, but lack of something healthier will eventually take its toll.
And… wow, I didn’t mean for that to get sooo long. 0:) *rant over*
(p.s. Not that I’m applying any of this to The Dreamer! I’m a confirmed fan and have complete confidence in Lora’s storytelling ability. Can’t wait to see what happens next! With the exception of what happens next to a certain beloved spy of ours, of course…)
Dude, you just reminded me of that Mark Twain quote from Tom Sawyer….
“So endeth this chronicle. It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go much further without becoming the history of a man. When one writes a novel about grown people, he knows exactly where to stop–that is, with a marriage; but when he writes of juveniles, he must stop where he best can.
Most of the characters…..still live, and are prosperous and happy. Some day it may seem worthwhile to take up the story of the younger ones again and see hat sort of men and women they turned out to be; therefore, it will be wisest not to reveal any of that part of their lives at present.”
Becky Thatcher-Sawyer…..mmmmmm….
Ha! Well. I guess I’ll just have to go against the well-established grain, if/when I become an author.
Alas for the days of Charles Dickens, when writers were paid by bulk, meaning the longer you carried on, dragged things out, and rambled, the bigger your paycheck. Not so anymore. ;)
Heh…..if that still happened, Stephanie Meyer would be ten times as rich as she is now.
@Faith: Okay, you raised a lot of good points. What I’m just TRYING to say is that, single OR married, there’d be very little interest in Bea and Alan’s relationship if everthing was all tame and hunky-dory, that’s all. But I’m glad you’re paying attention, though! :) And I also have the utmost confidence in Lora’s storytelling ability. She DEFINITELY “keeps it interesting”!
@Brent: I’m also all for the “Bea becoming Agent 355″ scenario. Still, do you honestly think Alan would go along with it? After going to all that effort to rescue her the last thing he’d want is for her to get placed in further dangerous situations. Then again, he DOES intend to send her AWAY, so then maybe what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. What do you think?
@David: I’m sorry, for a second there you seemed to be implying that Alan has some say in what Beatrice does, even though we all know how not the case that is.
Oh, but of course! WHATEVER was I thinking? Beatrice Whaley is like an untameable wildcat. NOBODY tells HER what she can or can’t do! No argument THERE. Seriously, though, we all know darn well that Alan wouldn’t like the idea one bit, especially after what happens to Nathan, so Bea would have to resort to SOME kind of subterfuge to carry out her spy activities without his knowledge. But anyway, we can both agree she would NOT take “No” for an answer!
@David – Oh yes, there must always be challenges to overcome. Agreed. :)
Exactly! It doesn’t matter what particular fiction genre it is, drama, action, comedy, etc., there should always be some kind of challenge to overcome to keep the various characters on their toes. I’ll admit that plots can get pretty wild at times but so long as they don’t go TOO over the top I can deal with it. :)
Bloody Hell!!! Last panel, FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3
And Nathan……*swoon* Honey you clean up NICE!!!
And Lora, get better. Us Dreamers can console ourselves with re-reading everything….again ;D
^_^ Thanks.
Yes, it was fun and weird to draw Nathan all cleaned up and scarless.
Just wait till you see him all dolled in his fancy Independent Artillery Company uniform! That is one of the most exciting parts of the exhibit. They uncovered the muster rolls and we are drawing their accurate 1775 uniform for the first time!
Now I can’t wait to see one of our favorite men in uniform!! :)
kihjudfuidkufbhibju!!!!! *faint!* I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!!!
Whoa! You DO need your Nathan-in-uniform fix BAD, don’t you? :D
…Do you even /KNOW/ me!?!?!?!???? (that was a rehtorical question.) lol but I do miss him. I’m probably gonna scare whoever I’m around when he dies. And the sad part is it’ll probably be my brand new room mate at whichever college I go to. >.<
I believe there is a bit of Nathan in all of us. In that way he will always be around.
Yeah, he’s always somewhere in the back of my head, hanging out with Jeremiah. *winks at Half Moon*
So /THAT’S/ where he’s been!!!! Send him back please! Actually can I borrow Jerry too???? I need him for a little…./project/ *knowing grin*
I am now a total Nathan fangirl. What’s not to love about a guy who supports educating women and puts his life on the line for what he believes?
Nothing, really. Which is why his legacy endures.
@Lora: Remember how we discussed Nathan being a women’s rights supporter if he’d been around in the 19th century? Well, can you picture him with a handlebar mustache and/or muttonchop whiskers? :D
….No.
Yeahhh….That WOULD look….odd. Right, forget the facial hair. So how would you feel about Nathan wearing something like a derby instead of a tricorn? I know of your great fondness for the latter but I’m imagining him as existing around 1880 here.
I don’t like any of the styles of the Civ War better than the Rev War. I like all the 18th c. tailoring. By the Civ War it was mass produced and men’s clothes were not nearly so fitted or elegant.
Just something about a frock coat and a pair of knee breeches…!
I personally think that some Civil War uniform designs weren’t exactly anything to sneeze at, but aside from that I am in complete agreement. Basic clothing styles after the Napoleonic Wars era just didn’t have that certain “oomph” compared to those of the 18th century. So I’ll just leave well enough alone and keep Nathan in his own natural time.
You tell him, Alan! :)
And if I ever get to visit that schoolhouse, it will be weirdly cool, because I’ll “know” that guy on the wall!
That was the point! They were very kind to me and The Dreamer by asking that I draw Nathan this way. Pretty humbling actually. Last time I was in that building I was a nobody on a research trip.
that has got to be one of the most awesome feelings in the world :)
I’m sure it must be a great honor.
Alan! That was wonderful! I love the line so much, and while I hate that it takes Bea getting kidnapped for her father to see it, I’m glad they’re all on the same side now.
A continuous good luck on the Nathan Hale project. I doubt you’ll hear any complaints from us. We all know you work hard :) Thank you for the heads up about it though. Will you be able to post links to the artwork, or will the museum do so somewhere?
We will be working something out for getting the exhibit out to folks who can’t make it to New England.
Though they’ve just finished up an 8 year restoration project on the school house! I can’t wait to see it. It will be well worth the trip for anyone who can make it.
For the rest of you, they are VERY excited about sharing this, don’t worry. This team has a high priority on getting the information out to the public.
Exciting! Eventually I’ll be able to make a trip up there :)
I think it’d be kinda funny if someone did a spoof with that last panel, adding Mr. W saying, “Anything but that.”
I mean, I’m sure he likes Alan well enough. Not saying he’d say no. But aside from being desperate, I have the feeling he was thinking more along the lines of an investment in land or some sort of monetary thing.
Nope. Alan just wants Bea.
And there’s John! Wiping his hands! Is it more of a flashback, or are we going to see him save Alan! SAVE ALAN!
HA!! Poor Mr. Whaley. Though such a marriage at this time will be advantageous to him for non-monetary reasons… Yoking yourself to Dr. Warren’s clan right now would be about the smartest thing he could do!
Maybe, and the feeling might be genuine, but I can’t help but think that there’d be some loyalist factions who would only view it as political and break the rest of his property anyway.
Nathan! *swoons.*
Sigh… Why oh why was I not born in the 18th century???
So many cute men…. Lol. *ahem*
So… Alan, why have you not proposed to the lady yet? And why is beatrice mad at you??
You better smooth things over quick, Alan….
So I just went back and reread everything. I don’t remember really noticing this before, but is this:http://thedreamercomic.com/comic.php?id=230 21st Bea remembering things that happened before the “dream” started?
Hmm. Looks that way!
Consider my mind blown.
Don’t forget this page!
http://www.thedreamercomic.com/comic.php?id=218
She’s definitely almost remembering something there, I think.
help me alan warren-one kenobi, you’re my daughters only hope!
:D
*melt* You go, Alan!
And Mr. Whaley looks so crushed. Great artwork, Lora!
The poor guy is desperate. Well, and he IS standing outside in his underwear. He’s apparently a little unhinged… Only child missing and whatnot!
Thanks!
Does a nightshirt technically count as underwear? I’m just saying because I wouldn’t really want to go traipsing around outside in one!
18th c. underwear…
Oh, wow! *squee* *sigh* *giggle*
Bea’s memory loss aside though, did Alan really think he was going to go rescue her and she’d simply, and conveniently, forget their last “conversation” and fall into his arms? He REALLY doesn’t know women very well if he thinks a girl (as angry as he seems to think she would be) would just let that one slide without making him suffer at least a little bit first… ;)
GREAT page & GREAT news about the Nathan Hale exhibit! How exciting! p.s. You’re awesome. :)
HA! Thanks.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this double issue! Plus as I was on holidays/doing a course overseas for the past three weeks it was nice to come home to a bunch of Dreamer updates :) Although not reading for three weeks has been difficult!
Wow, sounds amazing! Worth missing a few updates for. :)
I have never read a single page before tonight, and suddenly I’m crying and it’s four in the morning and I also have contracted an extreme case of patriotism – and I’m from England!
In all honesty, I have fallen utterly in love with this comic – and with Alan. Your drawing style, too! So expressive and realistic whilst still maintaining a comic style. It’s so beautiful, as are the characters, so it’s a true pleasure to read.
The story is gripping, and though my history is as bad as Bea’s was at the start of the comic, I am still caught up in the historical politics too – thus, the patriotism ;)
The last few pages have had me in tears; it was utterly heartbreaking to see him full of starry-eyed hopes and dreams as a young man, beside a panel of Beatrice fighting to save his life, then next to another development in their younger relationship. The writing and art style meld perfectly, and the page layout flows effortlessly; as Alan grew ill, I felt a sense of true foreboding grow in my heart (no exaggeration, I am very much in love with him) and at each kiss and hug I felt like the air had been pulled from my chest as my heart skipped.
Okay, I am rambling now. I doubt I can find words that truly convey how much you have gotten me to care for your characters in this comic (which for me has passed in a few hours, but I will still avidly read at the update pace) or how impressed I am with the art, storyline and layout, or how grateful I am to you for this story – it has touched my heart as well as teaching me about a subject I knew nothing about – and so basically thank you for sharing this beautiful comic. That’s all :)
(Also, I apologise if my spelling or phrasing is atrocious in this message – like I said, it’s now sometimes around 4 in the morning for me xD)
Hello, Abby! Welcome to the Dreamer-verse! *hugs*
Welcome to the rebel side!! ;)
Whoops, not you, Caera. I know you’ve already been there for a long, long time. Hee.
Hahaha, I was born on the rebel side, even though my Mum is British. She joined the rebels in 2003 (i.e. got her citizenship).
Thank you so much, Abby. I’m glad to have you and hope you stick around for a long time to come.
I’m gonna have to check that exhibit out, I live only about 45 minutes from there!
I’m back from the Dells and hoping Alan will wake up soon
Oh, my goodness gracious me!! I am so, so far behind, and I feel a tad bit like a traitor for enjoying three glorious weeks in ENGLAND of all places while these were being posted. I want to go back and read all the delightful antics the lovely commenters got into without me and absorb each panel… but for now I just have to keep reading to catch up being I’m DYING to find out so many things at this point.
I majorly squeed when I realized how close this is to the first page!! I’m just… words cannot express!!
And this whole exchange between Mr. Whaley and Alan has me wiping more than a few tears from my eyes. The emotion you bring out of these characters is absolutely heart rending!
The last panel; I was over the moon. But then I remembered… she doesn’t remember, so… but his WORDS… And this whole… Excuse me an undignified:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!