Review by Karl Verhoven

Emilie’s name appears in the title, but her story began with her ancestor, an opportunistic rogue who stole items of immense value from a supernatural location and changed his name to John Hatcliff. His disappearance a century before Emilie’s present day of the 1920s set Emilie’s Inheritance in motion, but he’s not been seen since. However, rather than pick up with The Exile’s strange ending involving Bran, Florence Magnin surprises by beginning The Dreamer with Hatcliff, unseen outside flashbacks. He now has memory problems, but his basic scoundrel’s personality remains intact.

Hatcliff is now in the company of Bran, explaining the strange ending to The Exile, but they’re not on Earth. Instead they’re exploring the advanced planet from which the exile was exiled in The Exile, a place where time passes differently than on Earth, which also applies to the property Emilie’s inherited. She’s the only person able to enter and leave freely, and she’s been persuaded to return.

Magnin introduced a strange preying mantis-style creature in the previous volume, and now creates several others, perhaps influenced by Leo’s work and showing similar visual creativity in their use. This accompanies the by now customarily excellent art. People have life and personality, the scenery is glorious and the attention to detail extends to the way clothes are worn.

With much of the background revealed to concern ancient gates permitting travel from one world to another, Magnin still hasn’t shown all her cards. What Hatcliff’s up to won’t be disclosed until concluding volume The Arcana, yet someone now able to accompany Emilie has plenty of explanations, all of then conceptually enticing. It’s a shame the back cover blurb gives away the status of Emilie’s inheritance, but it’s a great idea.

“Who knows whether the coming day may not be the world’s last?” is the foreboding statement with which Magnin ends this episode. It’s been great again, glorious looking and narratively satisfying in pulling more plots together.