The Lucent: Waking Dream Softcover

A funny thing happened. I started reading The Lucent: Waking Dream thinking it was book 2 in the series (don’t ask me why). It wasn’t until a few pages in that I realized I had read the series backwards. Needless to say, it was well-written and engaging enough to keep me hooked, even though I already knew what happened next! 🤣

Intriguing premise, painstakingly detailed drawings, engaging writing, and an evocative color pallette combine in Waking Dream to give us one of the best debut books in the comic scene, indie or otherwise. Mr. Bancroft has presented his COC to the world, and I'm glad to see it stand firmly with other gorgeous, solid COCs. Really looking forward to reading Painted Death!

The story and world feels familiar and yet wholely new, the question is what next??

A bit of Inception; Sprinkled with a bit of Matrix; Throw in some actual non-fiction lore; and you get The Lucent: Waking Dream.

The story flows really well. The characters are mysterious until the end. The deeper you dive into the world, the more questions you have. I found myself looking up real world facts to try to piece things together. Like, how long is an actual train ride between Ellas work in Merylebone and her home in East, London? Who is Ish'um? How many licks does it take to get to the Topsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? (The world finally knows! 2,500!)

In conjuction to the story, there are clues in the wonderful art that helps identify what is possibly going on. So you have a reason to really study the art, which is excellent, by the way! Is that the Eiffel Tower in the background? What time is on the Clocks? I recognize that hat!

The colors range from warm fire to cold water, from candle lit to full sunshine, from present to past. And the thicket paper means these colors pop!

I backed a cover with spot good and the shimmer looks great! This book is excellently written, drawn and put together. I have the next installent of the story and will post my review on it as well.

No spoilers for those who haven't read "Walking Dream" and "Painted Death." I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and the artwork is great. I'm really looking forward to book three. These aren't your average floppy comic books, either. The paper and the binding are next level. They are absolutely worth the money, and the time you'll invest in them.

I have to give a huge shoutout to their customer service. I moved to a new address in June 2024, and thought I had updated the shipping addresses on all of the indie comics I had backed. This was one that slipped through the cracks. I was able to update my shipping info, but not before the original order shipped. That shipment was delivered to my old address, and the realty office for my previous apartment was not communicating with me when I inquired about it.

Mr. Bancroft and his wife were kind enough to send a replacement shipment to my current address at no cost to me. That original shipment did show up in my mailbox with a change of address sticker on it. When I contacted Mr. Bancroft to see if they wanted me to return it, so they could put it back in their inventory, he said they didn't want me to have to pay the shipping cost, and suggested I pass this duplicate order along to a family member or a friend. I am definitely doing that!