Written By: Lee C. A.
Artist/Colorist: Jack Gross
Lettering By: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover artist: Kris Anka
Publisher: Oni Press
Dream Daddy is back again with issue #2! In this chapter we meet Robert Small and Damien Bloodmarch. Robert is one of the first people on the street to see his new neighbours moving in. Intrigued by the distinct gothic style of Mr Damien Bloodmarch, Robert is convinced this tall, dark–haired male specimen is a vampire. After several more encounters, Robert starts his surveillance of this dangerous monster. Arming himself with items similar to those associated with the infamous vampire hunter Van Helsing, Robert prepares to take out Damien for good, thus saving the residents of his town from being turned into minions of the undead. Or has Robert’s imagination gotten the best of him?
Well after the touching story that we had in issue one, issue two was certainly a little more out of the ordinary. After the first read through, I was left confused as to what I just experienced. Going back once more, I looked more closely at the illustrations and spotted a few things that I clearly missed before. For example, Robert has had a few drinks too many, and he seems to be quite a fan of both the supernatural and of knives. Being a little tipsy, his mind seems to have ran wild after just seeing Damien for the first time. Damien’s style is heavily influenced by Victorian and gothic fashion. You can see it also runs in the family, as Damien’s teenage son Lucien also follows his father’s style choices. So I can understand how Robert’s tipsy mind ran with the idea that Damien was a vampire. However it ran for so long, that I’m not entirely sure that Robert ever really sobered up in this issue to actually realise how ridiculous his idea was.
So once again we meet two new homosexual guys that happen to live on the same street. What a neighbourhood! Robert is known as the “Bad Dad” option within the game, whose pastimes include drinking whiskey and toying with people by making up stories to get a reaction from them. Knowing that now, this issue makes all the more sense. Damien on the other hand is a more complex character than I first anticipated. We see him first as a gothic/Victorian styled bachelor, but later we see him as a normal, dressed–down veterinarian. It’s such a shock to see him like that in the last few comic panels, but it would be great to see more of him in future issues. I think there is more to these two characters than what we found out in this short comic, and it would be good to expand on this.
This comic series is adapted from the PC dating sim game, Dream Daddy created by YouTube duo Game Grumps. The digital edition cover shows Robert trying his best to fight off Damien’s advances. In the print edition we have Damien in full vampire form, most likely from Robert’s imagination, forcing himself on Robert to take some blood from his neck. This is certainly Robert’s worst dream come alive. These covers perfectly reflect this issue’s story. The high quality art style continues throughout this issue, with a highlight being some panels reflecting what you would imagine an old time, black and white detective show would be.
You can buy this series in physical print at your local comic book store, but it is also available digitally on the following platforms: Comixology, Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Steam and Google Play. It is a perfect series to get for those that have played the game, but as a newcomer to the franchise, it can be a tad confusing. It is clearly made for existing fans, as there are a few unknown bits of information about the characters that remain unexplained in the comics.
Overall: 7/10
