Dream Police #5 finds Joe and Kate making one last effort to figure out who Frank was and what happened to him before they head to the mysterious and dangerous Verge.
The story is really picking up here as Straczynski moves from single cases to the central mystery of what the Dreamscape is and how it functions—and, of course, how Frank fits into the picture. There are still layers within layers, and Straczynski has only shown the smallest amount, but the hints are starting to add up to a picture, and it is fascinating. There are also a couple of good moments where dream logic is used to progress the plot: Something that should not work in our world, works, and it makes sense in the context. Joe and Kate remain relatively underdeveloped as characters: They are still the trench-coated, hard-working investigators with Kate taking the role of the sensible one to Joes’ more rash approach, but they are not really the stars of the book: The Dreamscape is.
Sid Kotian’s art has been a significant draw in this series, and he is still doing masterful job of portraying this strange land. There are the improbable creatures being brought in, terrifying “dogs,” and the non-human members of the police force. They all work in an improbable, twilight city full of unrelated towers. Through it, Joe and Kate stride through, anchoring the scenes with their solidity. Although Kate seems to have left the trench-coated look behind, Frank is still standing tall, square-jawed, and dark-coated.
Dream Police is now focusing on its central mystery, and it promises to get weirder and more complicated as it moves forward. Recommended for lovers of noir, fantasy, and oddities.
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski
Line art by: Sid Kotian
Color by: HiFi
Letters: Troy Peteri
