I’ll start this off by saying that my review of the previous issue of this series was probably a little more enthusiastic than was necessary. I’d read the first three issues in one session and was taken on a bit of a whirlwind of a ride that I’m a little less enthusiastic about now than when I reviewed it earlier. I still really like the series and think it’s good (those two things don’t always go together), but I’m going to be a bit more subdued here when talking about Dream Thief #4 (written by Jai Nitz, illustrated by Greg Smallwood).
Like the previous issues, this one starts with John Lincoln finding himself next to the dead body that he ended the last issue waking up next to. Somehow, I haven’t been able to get over that, and still love how each issue opens up that way. I haven’t noticed until now how episodic that makes the story feel, which does make me wonder how everything is going to wrap up in the next issue.
This actual plot is all over the place with what they want you to expect to happen and what actually happens. There were so many little misdirections, lies, and people trying to play each other so that even though nothing that happened was overly surprising, there were so many directions it could go that I ended up not being able to predict what exactly was going to happen. They keep teasing big revelations and explanations, and whether or not they were genuine was constantly in doubt. Some might interpret it as manipulative, yet I loved it the entire way.
What caught me off-guard was how much more active John is forced to be in this issue. Trying not to spoil anything, he’s been mostly reactionary in the previous issues, trying to figure out what happened and why, occasionally trying to continue carrying out the vengeance that he was possessed for in the first place. In this, however, he’s actively doing something for himself while forcing the people who’ve possessed him to work for him instead of him working solely for them.
Despite all the twists and turns and weirdness, this is probably the most straightforward chain of events leading to the revenge killing. Some of the previous issues had some potentially bad implications (I don’t agree, but see where it’s coming from), so if that was something that put you off in previous issues, it’s not at all the case here.
And finally, the end makes a slight change to the pattern of this series so far. I’m not going to tell you what it is, as that would be spoilers, but they managed to change the format slightly without making it feel like changing it just for the sake of changing things. It’s a reminder that we’re right here at the end, and everything is finally coming full circle.
Again, this gets a definite recommendation if you have $3.99 you don’t desperately need for something else. The only issue is that it’s rather late in the series and you might want to wait for the trade paperback to come out (it technically hasn’t been announced yet, but I’m sure it’s on its way eventually), but whichever way you can get it, I’d definitely recommend that you do so.
Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) is really interested in being able to read this entire series all the way through once it’s finished. If you find what he says interesting, follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings for more, shorter thoughts.
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