Caffeine Dreams is an alternative independent anthology comic book series. The issues have color covers, with black and white interior pages. The first issue did not have a 'For Mature Readers' tag on either the front or back cover, but the second and third issues were printed with that message on the front covers.

As I have blogged about before, anthology comics are a little harder to 'tag' or 'label' or even 'review' due to the fact that returning characters or storylines are usually not part of the mix.

Quite often artists or writers do not return for several issues, thus the stories inside the covers are possibly vastly different in scope from previous issues. Additionally anthologies are a great way for a publisher to experiment with different styles and content when publishing. The question is, will the reader(s) of the comic enjoy one or more of the stories enough to come back for the next issue??

Here are my thoughts on the issues received:

Caffeine Dreams Issue One Publishes Three Stories:

BIG SHIPS - Art by Todd Harris, Story and Dialogue by Dale Wilson.  I found the story to be one that piqued my interest. The art style here was perfect for the storyline and dialogue.

ON BECOMING A MONSTER - Art by Chris Sagovac, Story and Dialogue by Dale Wilson.  The artwork in this story is not one for my personal liking. The usage of the black/white in a sort of 'impressionistic" style was familar to me as I have seen it done elsewhere; but here it just didn't get me involved with the storyline. However Sagovac's artwork in the next issue fit that storyline.

MONARCH KINGDOM - Art by Nick Kunin, Story and Dialogue by Dale Wilson.  This story kind of threw me off, as the artwork was so different from the previous two stories in this issue. As mentioned earlier, anthologies can and usually do experimentation with styles.  This art style I liked, but being set at the back as the third story, it took me a moment to get into it.  Set alone by itself, the storyline was a good read.

The cover to Issue One was a good representation of the three stories within the covers and would make want to pick it up to at least browse, if not also purchase.

Caffeine Dreams Issue Two Publishes Three Stories:

TO RULE IN HELL - Art by Chris Sagovac, Story and Dialogue by Marke Allyn Stewart. As stated above, Sagovac's artwork fits this storyline.  However the font / small typeface does not help this story to be easily read...

THE TRADITION - Art and Story by Todd Harris, Text by Geoffrey Thorne.  The artwork is more of a style like the 'Prince Valiant' comic strip that is being published today. I am not comparing the artwork itself to the strip, but that it is like a 'pin-up' format of presentation with prose added. If that is your 'thing' then you'll probably like this story.

THE ASSASSINATION - Art by Mulele Jarvis, Story and Dialogue by Dale Wilson. A good violent story with art to match. With the topic about assasination you would figure that this would be for mature audiences and would be one reason to add the 'for mature readers' tag on the cover.

The cover to Issue Two was not one that would grab my eyes to pick it up in a LCBS. Unlike Issue One's cover that would.

Caffeine Dreams Issue Three Publishes Three Stories:

SHOOTING DOGS - Art by D.V. Ruiz, Story and Dialogue by Dale Wilson.  This is the lead story, but unfortunately the typeface font and size make this story too hard to read for me to enjoy.

THE AXE - Story and Text by  RJ Gamayo, Art by Aposcar Cruz. After a weak lead-in story, this one keeps the comic reader interested. The best art and story in this issue IMHO.

MY FAVORITE WEAPON - Art by SOJJ, Story and Dialogue by Dale Wilson. The story is about vampires and wolves. The lettering again gives this reader a hard time reading, and the artwork doesn't help to get one involved in the story.

The cover to Issue Two is a wrap-around cover for front and back, and is better than Issue Two's cover IMHO. However I enjoyed the cover to Issue One far better, where it previewed art from all three stories. (See above top left photo for the cover pic.)

I found that the issues printed so far are a mix of HoRRoR, Sci-Fi and action stories. The comics are cover priced at $2.95 which is a fair amount for publications of this nature. Again, I must state that for an anthology comic book with three stories to work, the potential reader must like at least two of the three stories published to want to come back for more. Plus have a cover that makes a potential buyer want to pick it up to browse it to begin with....

If you are into alternative indy comics, and can appreciate anthology format comics, then you will want to take a look at the issues reviewed here!

Copies can be purchased from the publisher online at dwapproductions.com  if not found at your LCBS, eBay or other online venue. 

Note: Dale is also associated with theantidotetrust.com which is an entertainment collective leveraging combined resources benefiting independent creators. 

(Please Note: Complimentary copies for this review were provided by the publisher.)