The Dreamscape Manor

Original Story

"Once again, Billie finds herself following odd creatures on this All Hallow’s Eve, this time at the mercy of the power of the Night Owl while finding the backdoors of this manor house and helping any ghoul in trouble she finds on her way."

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A Halloween Story

THE DREAMSCAPE MANOR

Created by: Luisa Cruz

THE DREAMSCAPE MANOR comic is the direct continuation of THE CARNIVAL STREET and its conceptual heir following an even more evident dream logic. It was also built from a list of prompts but this time I planned the big bones of the story starting from a dream world in which Billie goes up and down it sometimes things happen to her, and sometimes she happens to things, just like in any dream.

This adventure is not horror, fear is subjective, and being scared is not the same as being in a scary situation. And 6 year old child are braver than you may think.

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DEVELOPMENT

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THE DREAMSCAPE MANOR comic is the direct continuation of THE CARNIVAL STREET and its conceptual heir following an even more evident dream logic. It was also built from a list of prompts but this time I planned the big bones of the story starting from a dream world in which Billie goes up and down with it sometimes things happen to her, and sometimes she happens to things, just like in any dream, hence the name. It is an exploration about diving in that dream state in which everything changes so fast and the flexibility of mind might be the difference between a nightmare or an incredible encounter.
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I started and finished this comic back in 2018, for an inktober challenge and posted it on instagram for every day in the month of October. Back in those days I didn’t thought about organizing it as a proper comic, nor revising little details like the panel size or the SFX, but it was this deep love to see things finished that pushed me, years after, to give this comic a proper vessel, a nice organized and revised file, just like the one of THE CARNIVAL STREET.

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ABOUT THE CHARACTER

BILLIE
6 years old

Bee, for her friends and family, is one of those kids that stubbornly does things her way, luckily she is smart about it most of the times and is ready to ask the difficult questions as to how and why.

​It might be the consequence of having an army of uncles and aunties ready to support all her 6 year old endeavors.

Billie is being raised by her dad, Jimmy, who does everything in his power to make sure Bee grows independent and curious in a world that fuels nightmares more than dreams, or so he says.

Jumping head first to a world of oddities and monsters is something that he have done many times before, so no one wonders why Billie doesn’t think about doing the same thing twice.

She really is her father’s daughter.

Character Exploration

ABOUT THE STORY

​It is never my intention to put Billie in any danger, and though and true, she never is. Her encounters may be sometimes scary and some characters can be mean and pushy or straight-up screaming anxious harpy... And that even if something may seem scary it is more important that the way she approaches them determines in how much danger she feels she is in.

​In this particular case, even when she falls into a pit of darkness surrounded by literal nightmares, she looks for a way to be prepared for any danger... but still, she is only 6 years old. And, gladly for a small child, some of the odd creatures are aware that small children are way more resilient than everyone gives them credit for.

Bee never crosses the front door of the Manor but everything that happens after the Night Owl’s feathery hug is her particular way of navigating such a strange place. Dreams follow their own logic but Bee’s journey is closer to the backdrop of dreams than the bells and whistles of the big adventures, it is closer to the experience of lucid dreaming.

​Did you know that dreamscaping is the art of constructing
and navigating your dreams like an architect?
like landscaping but with the limits of the very
special logic that dreams play with.

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DRAWING PROCESS

​This cover is mostly based on the chapter’s division inside the comic.
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In contrast with the first Halloween Adventure’s Issue, THE CARNIVAL STREET, this story is less based inn the odd beings Bee encounters and more on her way of navigating the Manor/ the dream world she is pulled into by the night owl, and I wanted that to be reflected on the cover art.

from sketch to final

​THE DREAMSCAPE MANOR is the second chapter in Billie’s Spooky adventures.
​It all starts with the first chapter THE CARNIVAL STREET.
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"For Bee, a Halloween parade is not as exciting as following a mysterious running doll. While helping the creature causes more trouble than expected, Billie is undeterred from her quest of trying to fix it."

MORE ABOUT THE CARNIVAL STRET