Hey, Nick! Are You Dreaming?

    (Saf)
™ and © Saf

While European artist Hermann is usually associated with the gritty post-apocalyptic series Jeremiah (seen briefly in America as a Showtime TV series), this pleasant children’s fantasy comes as a change of pace.

Nick, a boy who desperately wants, but isn’t allowed, to have animals gets an entire menagerie in his dreams, where these talking fauna need Nick’s help against the blustery Captain Boom, who wants them for his zoo.

Boom’s not all that threatening an antagonist, having the design flaw of blowing up (leaving only his hat) whenever he gets flustered. This happens often, as Nick, through kindness, bravery, and wit, gets the better of him at every turn.

It’s really just an extended, acknowledged homage to the classic comic strip Little Nemo (Nick has a Nemo poster in his bed room), but it’s also beautifully drawn and full of wonderful flights of fantasy, like a pink floating island that becomes a refuge for the animals. Here’s a graphic novel that makes a great bedtime story.

— S.A. Bennett
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