Since ETSU Comic Con was a couple weeks ago, I figured it’d be a good time to write about one of my favorite manga series: “The Dreaming,” by Queenie Chan. It’s not a widely known manga series — which is a shame — so, today I will be introducing ETSU to this interesting series.
One reason why I feel “The Dreaming” didn’t gain a lot of popularity is because, unlike most manga series, it is relatively short.
There are only three books in the series, each 192 pages long, which isn’t very long for a book that is almost completely artwork, but it’s the Tokyopop standard manga book length.
Also, it is a bit different from other manga series.
There are supernatural events that occur throughout the book, but the characters don’t have any sort of super powers themselves. It has an urban legend vibe to it as well, which may or may not be appealing to audiences.
It’s certainly not your usual manga series, but it is not a waste of time.
It is also set in Australia, which is unusual in a manga series, and for Tokyopop, this was the first series completely written in English by a Chinese — Australian woman and the first Tokyopop manga series that originated outside of Japan in the country of, you guessed it, Australia.
The most remarkable aspect of the series is Queenie Chan’s incredible artwork. She fuses the traditional anime artwork of Japan with the incredibly intricate artwork of the Victorian era, another unusual aspect of this manga series.
When I was reading this series, I’d often find myself marveling at the wall paper in a scene because it is so detailed and ornate. Look at the rugs in one of the frames and just imagine how much time it took to draw a single rug.
At the beginning of each chapter, Chan dresses her characters by using Victorian-styled dresses and outfits that one just marvels at for a few minutes.
If I ever get to attend a cosplay convention, I’d love to wear one of the outfits in this series. It would take a lot of material, time and money to make the costumes as detailed and as beautiful as in the books.
The story centers around twin sisters Jeanie and Amber Malkin.
They both start attending an all girls’ college in Australia, and a few weeks in they start noticing some strange occurences.
There is a mystery surrounding the school’s vice principal, who dislikes the twins for an unknown reason.
Amber is the first of the twins to start having strange, vivid and frightening dreams soon followed by her sister, Jeanie.
Student disappearances begin at the school and the Malkin twins, along with a couple friends and a teacher, start to pry into the school’s past and attempt to investigate.
The story itself ends in a surprising way, especially with the twin sisters.
It may be a short series, but I feel it is long enough to have a sense of a manga resolution at the end.
It is an interesting and quick read (for it is mostly artwork) and I highly recommend it.
