My Rating
“Dreamers of Dreams Part 1: Nights With Sleepless Sorrow”
The walk down the prison hallway is a long one. Cell after cell of convicted killers spew their hatred at Artie as he makes his way toward the last prisoner on the left. Murderers, psychopaths, and career criminals surround him, but none of them are the reason for his visit. Artie has come to speak with one of the most notorious monsters of the century.
August Ferrill.
With Ferrill’s execution only days away, Artie hopes to secure one final interview with the convicted cannibal. Perhaps somewhere inside that twisted mind lies an explanation for the atrocities he committed. Why did so many women have to die? What drove Ferrill to murder his victims and feast upon their flesh? More importantly, will the monster finally reveal something before the state silences him forever?
Elsewhere
Across the country, random women begin experiencing the same horrifying nightmare. Each finds herself trapped somewhere deep inside a seemingly endless hellscape, desperately running from a hideous, tentacled hag. There appears to be no escape from the creature and nowhere to hide.
Then something even more disturbing happens.
The women never wake up.
Two days later, Artie contacts his old writing partner, Jack Gold. Over the years, Jack has acquired something of a reputation for taking the “creep cases”—those bizarre stories nobody else wants to touch. Murderers, monsters, and things that cannot easily be explained have somehow become his specialty. This latest assignment is simply another strange case being pushed across his desk.
Unfortunately for Jack, there may be much more to this story than another serial killer and a collection of unexplained deaths. As the nightmares continue, the trail leading from August Ferrill becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss.
Can Jack Gold, former member of the Night Force, unravel the mystery of the nightmare monster? Will he contact Baron Winters for help, or attempt to face the darkness alone? What connects August Ferrill to the women dying in their sleep? And does the infamous cannibal have one final feast waiting for him?
Collect the series to find out!
Review
Now this is more like it! After several issues focused heavily on biblical mythology, faith, and religious morality, “Dreamers of Dreams” finally drags Night Force back toward the kind of supernatural horror I have been waiting for.
The combination of a condemned cannibal, women dying in their dreams, and some grotesque tentacled hag stalking victims through a hellscape immediately grabbed my attention. Parts of the story even reminded me of the darker supernatural storylines from Spawn. There is that same feeling that something incredibly nasty is operating just beyond the boundaries of the normal world.
I also like seeing Jack Gold pulled back into the picture. His connection to the original Night Force gives this storyline a stronger link to the series’ roots, while the mystery surrounding August Ferrill provides a wonderfully gruesome hook. For the first time in a while, I am genuinely curious about where Wolfman is taking us next.
Give me cannibals, nightmare creatures, occult mysteries, and former members of the Night Force being dragged back into the darkness. Now we’re talking!