The Dream Thief

Abadazad #2

by J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Ploog (Illustrator)

Kate needs all the help she can get when she encounters the Lanky Man.  He's mean and heartless and he wants to steal children's dreams.  Everyone seems to be against her--which only makes her more determined to find her brother.  And Matt is getting closer--isn't he?

Genres: Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Also Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally

Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.

Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.

Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.

Reviews

[jaz ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something so endearing about re-entering the world of a childhood favourite, this was an amazing time , when I found out there was a sequel to Abadazad I immediately sought it out. The illustrations still amaze me to this day and the story is so compelling. I'm so upset I will never be able to see what happens next as the rest of the series is no longer getting published but this will stay close to my heart

[BookWormYami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book right after I finished the first one in the series. I loved it just as much as the first one. And in this one, we get introduced to a couple of new characters. I love them all. It's definitely worth a read. Fast paced, crazy, cool characters and magical!

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my fave books when I was a kid. I dressed up as Queen Ija on world book day once. I read it because I needed a quick book to finish 50 books in a year but I really enjoyed it - it’s a good mix of graphic novel and normal book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book immediately after reading the first in the series The Road to Inconceivable back to back, so I am doing a sort of joint review. Even if you haven't read the first book, please check out my journal entry on it as there are a couple of great stories there.

This book is grand, even better than the first. Great format continues, going between the old "original" books, Kate's enchanted diary and the world of Abadazad. Street wise Kate, with more cynicism than any child should have to have, finds herself off to another world to find her lost little brother. Vibrant colors, great characterizations and the promise of sequels. What could be bad?

And how many graphic novels do you read, where you find yourself thinking you want to make a note for a quote in your journal entry. There is a real core of teaching in this book-- not heavy handed morality or beat your face in with it spirituality, but honest observations that can be great guideposts for anyone, child or adult, in their journey through life. I love the names of the different characters and "species" that populate the story, and the way that books play such an important part. The guidance of Uncle Waterlogged and Pfoughh the Wubbtale, the companionship of Wix...the idea of finding your own personal magic...

I'm hooked. Can you tell?

[Kueen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Aunt hip me to all these books right here. I am an adult and still like these books.

[J. Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad that I can't seem to find the third one

[Parag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this book somewhere deep in my cupboard after many many years. Glad I found it though as I love the way the Diary entry-style perspective blends with the comics and how fast-paced it is. I haven't read part 1 but thought I'd give this a try since I have it anyways, and I didn't feel like I missed anything as the book also tells you what happened until this book. Very well written only wished this book made more progress in the story than I hoped. Still an easy 4/5.

[Emma Auksutat · Rating 4 out of 5]

svært med en 2’er, men stadig legendary

[Georgette]

Five years ago, little Matt Jameson got on a ride in a street fair and disappeared without a trace. His older sister Kate Jameson and mother Frances are frequently at odds with each other ever since.[return][return]Kate is now 14, your average rebellious teenager with a taste for heavy metal and being difficult with her deeply-hurting mother.[return][return]One day, their neighbour Mrs Vaughn cornered Kate and told her she knew where Matt is. He has been taken into Abadazad, a fantasy land known to the "real world" as the setting of a popular children's book series. This series was Matt and Kate's absolute favourite before he vanished.[return][return]How does Mrs Vaughn know all this? Kate originally thought she was a huge fan herself, but it turned out that her old neighbour was the little girl who travelled into Abadazad in the stories. [return][return]How could any of this be possible? The "Little Martha" of the stories was a red-haired, green-eyed girl... not a African-American. And Abadazad is just a story, not a real land you can go to.[return][return]Mrs Vaughn explained that in her time, the general public won't take kindly to a little "Negro girl" being the heroine of a book. Franklin O. Davis, the writer she worked with, changed her into Caucasian girl and applied some artistic liberty to the stories that Mrs Vaughn supplied him.[return][return]Kate decided that Mrs Vaughn was absolutely nuts, and left. But certain events occured after, giving Kate no choice but to believe and take the journey into Abadazad to find Matt.[return][return]"The Road to Inconceivable" serves as an introduction (ours and Kate's) to Abadazad. She is reunited with Mrs Vaughn, in the form of Little Martha, and meets Queen Ija, ruler of Inconceivable. Kate learns the difference between the real Abadazad and Davis's version. [return][return]A great deal of this book also established Kate's background. She is not anybody's idea of a dream child. Kate represents that difficult age where nobody "understands" her and she is frequently in trouble at school. [return][return]It's only in the second book, "The Dream Thief", where get over Kate's astonishment in finding herself in storybook land, and we finally get into the business of her finding Matt. [return][return]The tale starts with an attack on the Queen's castle. Apparently, whoever took Matt realises that Kate will soon be his problem.[return][return]Upset that Queen Ija is hesitant on letting her start her search, Kate runs away with Master Wix, a boy made of candlewax and minor character who happens to be Matt's favourite in the book.[return][return]We see more of The Lanky Man, our six-armed man villian, and discover his objectives for taking Matt prisoner.[return][return]I spotted these books in one of our local book stores and thought they looked interesting. It is a hybrid of journal-style storytelling and a graphic novel. I got one at first because it isn't exactly cheap, then found myself back first thing the next morning for the second book. [return][return]Abadazad originally was a comic. When their publisher closed shop, Disney bought the series over. Abadazad is reborn as a high quality and beautifully-illustrated children's book. [return][return]Kate's narration and the comic parts of the book flow smoothly in and out of each other. It's a good example of how the two medium can complement each other.[return][return]Abadazad is "the Place where sorrow has no home, where time has no meaning, where joy lives forever". The catch phrase has a high level of cheese for those of us above 15, but at least they don't throw that at you before they have you deep in the story.[return][return]With hints of Wizard of Oz and Narnia, Abadazad contain elements that I love in fantasy - the transplanting of an everyday person from "real life", into a whimsical fantasy world.[return][return]Hold on tight. The journey is only beginning.[return][return](2006)

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate's adventures in Abadazad continue in this second book. She's out to find the Lanky Man so she can get her brother Matty back, but it's not quite as easy as it sounds. Though she has powerful friends in the Queen and her various courtesans, they cannot help her find her brother, at least not yet.

This of course leads Kate to go off on her own, along with a sidekick candle named Wix. They move along, but find that the path may not be as easy as expected. After all, the Lanky Man has magic of his own...

I really enjoy DeMatteis' work, and this is no exception. We're seeing Kate grow, always something to look for in a children's book, and the new characters, such as a disembodied dress and some water creatures, add to the great cast we already have, and all are drawn with superb style by Ploog. There's a little less fun this time, but that's a minor complaint. The stage is set, now it's time for Kate to really begin her path in earnest. I can't wait to find out what happens next! (Library, 11/07)

Trebby's Take: Continues to be highly recommended!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continuation of the story has the same strengths and weaknesses as volume 1, but carries the story deeper into the fantasy world of the Abadazad books. DeMatteis goes more deeply into the idea that the way a fantasy world is portrayed in stories about that world may not be quite the way it would be, if you happened to stroll in.
This volume has only one sequence that I did not care for, one which makes Kate's urgency to continue the search for her brother seem kind of odd, but so far the story works well, as does the art.
Just before finishing this book, I investigated the possibility of finding a copy of volume 3. Apparently the third volume of the series was only published in England, and volume 4 was cancelled entirely. I'm really hoping that volume 3 will at least bring the story to a good stopping point, and have ordered it from a British bookstore, because I basically finished volume 2 in one sitting. It's that intriguing, including the creatures of this odd fantasy world. Even the creepy villain is interesting, with his extra arms and variable nose.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dream Thief picks up exactly where its predecessor left off and has all the same strengths! And weaknesses, too, but I don't really find those egregious enough to go into in detail. This was just fun, and I want my review to reflect that!

I love the mixed media-style approach these graphic novels take, alternating between Kate's diary entries, more traditional comic strips, and complementary excerpts from the 'original' Abadazad books. The illustrations are so beautiful and fantastical - truly fitting. I'm disappointed to learn that, although there is a third installment, Abadazad is not a trilogy; it was cancelled after the third book, and we never get to see Matty rescued. Also, I have no idea if I'll ever get my hands on a copy of The Puppet, the Professor, and the Prophet, so I don't even know if the story was at least wrapped up in a satisfying (if incomplete) way. Still, I loved getting to experience just a little more of this wonderful world!

[Brandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to find these two volumes at the used bookstore: I read the first issue of the comic when it came out, and I was intrigued. But the translation to a hybrid novel just doesn't work. As a half-prose, half-comic hybrid, we get entirely too much of Kate's voice: clear and distinct, but also bitter, angsty, and snottily disaffected. Some of the opening comics pages look familiar from the original comic, but as the book moves forward, the art becomes increasingly Disney-fied (not surprising, since Disney bought all Crossgen's properties, of which the Abadazad comic was one).

I'm not super inclined to track down book 3--for the best since it never got US release, and book 4 seems to be permanently canceled. So much for this 8-book series.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate's a more sympathetic character in book 2 of this series, and her diary entries read a little more smoothly, still with the erasures and cross-outs that show that her newfound self-knowledge is still a little shaky. The people and places of Abadazad really shine in this installment. The author does a great job of giving Abadazad a Wizard of Oz, turn-of-the-century-children's-book feel, while at the same time preserving the idea that the books Kate read were fictionalized from the "real" Abadazad to fit a turn-of-the-century children's audience. It's dizzying to describe and must be even more dizzying to pull off - and all while keeping up an adventure story, too.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first and second books kept me on the edge of my seat, and the illustrations are the cherry on top of the sundae. The only bad part about these books is that they only published the third book in the UK and I`ve been trying to find a resonably priced copy for years but have come up short. The series would`ve been overall better if they make some in North America so the people who fell in love with the first two could actually find out what happens instead of being left in the unknown.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Abadazad series is one of my absolute favourite book series of all time; I utterly adore the spunky protagonist (three-dimensional and funny), the illustrations are stupendously, magnificently, wonderously drawn and I just love the overall theme of the series, the ideas, the nods to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series, and the plot. To think that I will never get to finish this series (thanks, Dematteis!) gives me such anger. That's weird.

[Alleah Morgenstern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book Is my childhood, I absolutely adore it.
It's very simply written. This paired with the comics make it fun to read and its super interesting too. I read it as a child so I may be biased in still loving it but I do think that is amazing. The story is well crafted, and the only thing I didn't like about it was how simply it was written. But as it's technically a diary I guess this can be forgiven

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel that is printed in color on glossy paper, so it is a fun book to flip through and look at the illustrations. I got bored with it myself, since I am not really into sci-fi. I think young readers would enjoy this book thought with the great illustrations and creative characters.

[Arwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in the graphic novel series from Crossgen/Disney. Unfortunately it only brought up more questions that it answered. I esp. enjoyed the character of Wix, a talking candle. The illustration are great and very dream like which fits the story perfectly. Now if I can only get my hands on the third one.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this series. It was not interesting to the one young man that I had read it. I think it is more about a young girl learning about herself than it is a fantasy. It is written in journal, graphic novel and inside the book it is about.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of the Abadazad series finds the story more intense, the artwork, even more stunning. Readers who had a hard time with the changing format in Book 1 will find the same format; however, the story just pulls you on in.

[Isaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was great because kept me off my seat.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool fantasy YA novel/part graphic novel. I think this is great to draw visual learners into reading more. I read this series a while ago but love the story and the pictures. Very different.

[Abbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

the first book was better but still a good book...

[Edward Meglio]

THIS IS ALL IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, THO DEMATTEIS IS STILL MISSING IN ACTION,,HMMMMMM DISNEY BOZOS!!

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was super slow for me.

[Bob Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing the story in the Road to Inconceivable. Fun stuff - BUT, I can't find Book 3 on the internet for less that $200! What is that about? How will I finish the story?

[Renae · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with book one: interesting, somewhat...but the main character annoys the crap out of me. :(

[Slizzards · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite series by far. I'm looking forward to the third book.

[2srinivasan_prahadish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to find out what adventures Kate is going to go on to find Matt!