Dreamland



This is not the trope Dream Land, although it sure qualifies for it.

Created by Réno Lemaire, this French comic written, drawn and edited as a Manga turns around the life of the lazy Ordinary High School Student Terrence Meyer, who is afraid of fire since his mother died in one. One night, during a nightmare, he overcomes his fear and "awakens" inside his own dream. Soon after, an old man with a massive cross-shaped pendant and a pipe shows up before Terrence and explains him he is currently in Dream Land. For people who become conscious of this world by overcoming their phobia, Dreamland literally becomes a second life: they are called Travelers and are granted a special power. When they wake up, they disappear from Dreamland and return to their powerless self in Real Life; and if they die in Dreamland they merely become unconscious dreamers once more.

Terrence receives the power of Playing With Fire although he's not exactly good at using it. First Terrence wanders in Dreamland with the vague idea of "protecting the dreams of people". Then he runs into a gypsy Boisterous Bruiser named Savane who has the unique ability to summon fish, and a weed-addicted, cowardly art student named Sabba who wields a magical brush but for some reason has no power of his own. The group is soon joined by Ève, a insufferable fashion victim who happens to be the best friend of Lydia, Terrence's real life Love Interest. The group (well, mostly Terrence) ends up starting to search for Edenia, a mythical kingdom in Dreamland that is said to host the souls of the dead. Problem: nobody has ever found it, nor even proven its existence.

That's the "Dreamland" part, but the series also makes us follow Terrence's Real Life in the French city of Montpellier and its more ordinary -- but no less difficult -- challenges. As the series progresses, other groups and plots are developed as we discover the vast and dangerous universe of Dreamland, and Terrence's two lives overlap more and more.

The series has been running since 2005 and is still going with 10 volumes out. It has a limited, faithful fandom in France but is completely unknown outside of it. Thus (or because?) there is no official English translation and barely any unofficial one. The very typically French humor doesn't help.

The series gives us examples of:

 * Aerith and Bob: Ève and Lydia are common French names. Terrence not so common but it does exist. Savane, Sabba or Sealvia however…
 * As Long As It Sounds Foreign: A Canadian named Shun, a Venezuelian named Geriko, a Mongolian named Arka, a Spaniard named Dolche, an Indian girl named Flam… the names of the non-French characters are a bit random to say the least.
 * Aliens Speaking French/CommonTongue: Justified by Réno in a FAQ, who explained that in Dreamland everyone speaks "the language of spirit": they don't actually speak the same language but understand each other regardless. Which also means the characters of different countries who interact in Dreamland (like Terrence and Shun) wouldn't understand each other if they met in Real Life.
 * An Ice Person: The Ice travelers but especially Shun and Zero since they are the only two who can create ice from nothing. And of course there is the Ice Nightmare Lord Prévice who takes a very good care of those two.
 * Art Evolution: The drawings are clumsy and rather empty in the first volumes, but the author's style gets more and more refined. Some assistants joined too, which explains some of it.
 * Author Avatar: The author makes no secret that Terrence is heavily inspired from his own teenage years (same city, same high school and section, for example)
 * Barbie Doll Anatomy: Surprisingly averted!
 * Beethoven Was an Alien Spy: Apparently, Sigmund Freud and Carl-Gustav Jung were travellers and the former was tattooed by Lord Crazy, no less.
 * Blood Knight: If there is anyone who looks strong in the same room as Savane, there will be a fight, a bloody one if possible.
 * Boobs of Steel: Céleste and her Titan's arms.
 * Born Lucky: Sabba. The way he saves the day during sums it all up. Unfortunately, he hangs out with…
 * Born Unlucky: Terrence, who just can't make a step in Dreamland (and often even in Real Life) without running into trouble. That's even explicitly the reason Savane stays with him!
 * Brainy Brunette: Lydia. Heroes don't want redheads this time.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Mostly averted, except with Zero and Shun for some reason. Terrence once calls one of his attacks… the Asshole Ass-kicking Attack.
 * Catfolk: In the Night of The Black Cat arc.
 * Chekhov's Gun: The old man's huge cross
 * Crap Saccharine World: Dreamland itself. It's a nice-looking and dreamy world… full of aggressive creatures, travelers who fight to the death and war-waging Nightmare Lords. Welcome and enjoy your stay!
 * Expy: Savane looks an awful lot like Zoro, although their personalities are distinct. Since the author is a huge fan of One Piece, that kind of things is too be expected…
 * Dead All Along: Carl-Gustav Jung,
 * Dream Land: Exactly What It Says On the Tin.
 * Evil Overlord: The Nightmare Lords, although the only one who is really depicted as Ax Crazy is the Fire Lord. The others are pretty sympathetic.
 * Fiery Redhead: Played straight with Ève (who is a blonde in the first volumes but for some reason becomes a redhead mid-way), subverted with Terrence who has fire powers but is rather nonchalant otherwise.
 * First Kiss: With an aftertaste of vodka!
 * Ice Queen: Prévice is a litteral one, but she is kind and caring… in appearance at least. However, seeing how she considers the people of Waste, she may also be an Ice Queen in the trope sense after all.
 * Just a Flesh Wound: Justified since the wounds received in Dreamland disappear when the Travellers wake up.
 * Hollywood Sex: Thoroughly averted: teenage sexuality between is depicted in all its awkwardness.
 * Mega Neko: The Black Cat in volume 9, as well as all the Cat Lords. Hilariously inverted with the Cat King who looks more like a kitten.
 * Mismatched Eyes: Savane.
 * Mood Whiplash: Jerzey and Shun just had some good time and everyone else in their team is bored to guard an area where nobody ever comes or goes. Then a scarred guy shows up out of nowhere… Oh Crap indeed.
 * Shirtless Scene: Actually, it's hard to find a male character in this series who doesn't have one. Even Ève has several (unwanted) ones.
 * Sir Swearsalot: The word "politeness" doesn't seem to be in Lord Crazy's dictionary.
 * Slasher Smile: Attila, all the freaking time.
 * Something Completely Different: The entire volume 10 is deliberately made with an odd structure and none of the main characters are seen in it. Basically, it presents several groups that participate in a survival ordeal and alternates between said survival and the Origin Story of each group.
 * Superpower Lottery: The power you get in Dreamland is directly linked to the phobia you overcame. If you were affraid of fire, lightning or darkness, good for you. If you were affraid of swings, well...
 * Super Powered Evil Side:  We don't know what it is exactly though.
 * They Do: . Thankfully they don't beat around the bush too long.
 * This Loser Is You: When looking at Terrence, many readers must have wondered "is it me or I look like this guy?"
 * Took a Level In Badass: Jimmy, every time he is killed. And Savane
 * Unfortunate Name: Miss Fukmi… seriously…
 * Visual Pun: When Sabba buys a super strong weed to a cat, it costs him an arm. Literally.
 * Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Nearly every time a character is a bit too drunk, especially if it is Terrence.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: Jimmy, so much… Savane is also almost always shirtless when he is Dreamland, sometimes only wearing a scarf, but is also a repeated offender in Real Life.
 * Wretched Hive: You have Snow, the beautiful and pristine capital of the Ice Kingdom. And just below you have Waste, an ugly suburb where the melted snow from above turns into rain and mud and whose inhabitants hate the Ice Lord to no end.