Night Mary #1 - IDW (2005)

This one surprised me. Pleasantly. However, "pleasant" isn't a term that you're going to find used in regards to this book very often.

Night Mary is dark, folks. Really dark. The title character has the ability to enter the dreams of others and she sees some messed up stuff in there. She assists her father, a psychaitrist, as he attempts to help his patients via dream therapy. Mary can communicate with the dreamers and she tries to help them sort out what their subconscious minds are saying.

The art is weird, sketchy and evocative, much like a dream. The style helps to soften the impact of some of the gruesome things it depicts. There are very few graphic scenes of violence or bloodshed but what's there combined with the parts that are left up to the imagination get the point across in spades. One thing I really like about the art is that the dream sequences are in brilliant color (like the cover, above) and the real world scenes are all monochrome. This fits Mary's life perfectly. She lives a dull existence except when she's riding the dreams of others.

There are hints of deeper, more sinister meanings to Mary's encounters which I hope will be fleshed out in later issues.

To sum up: It's a good story with great art but it is Not. For. Kids.

Story and Script: Rick Remender
Story and Art: Kieron Dwyer
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