This week, I’m going to feature a
work by a fellow genre author, so instead of my usually comprehensive pictures
and plotlines, I’m going to keep those to minimum to diminish spoilers.
If you’ve been a member of this
community for a time now, then it’s highly probable you know DreamTales’ work, since he’s one of the
few who produces dedicate material about Age Transformations. He also focuses
in other genres, particularly growing and shrinking, and he usually ends up
mixing them, so if you’re reading a comic where a girl undergoes AP, chances
are she’s also going to end up as a giantess.
But since I’m not into that, I’ll
start by reviewing one of the comics that focuses purely on the Age TF, namely Beach Blanket Beauties.
Now, it’s probable you’ve read
the story of the same name, also by DreamTales.
This is an adaptation, though it features major departures from the original.
The comic starts with DreamTales’ stock characters, Suzy (blonde)
and Marilyn (brunette), a couple of statuesque women who seem to be around
their mid-twenties.
They are mortified because they
haven’t caught the attention of a guy yet (which is usually the drive of choice
in DreamTales’ characters). The only
ones on the beach are around 18, and thus too young and wouldn’t be interested
in them. Yeah, right.
Enter Mandy, a redhead little
girl (her age is literally impossible to tell. She looks 12 in one panel, and 7
on the next) who Suzy has babysat in the past.
Mandy has access to a ray gun
that can make the girls younger, so that they can woo the boys (again, yeah,
right).
Since that’s the author major
selling point, I don’t think it’s an spoiler to tell you the gun works further
than they anticipated, making them much younger than intended.
Meanwhile, Mandy switches the gun's settings and fires it on herself.
Mandy grows up into a
beautiful young woman who can rival the former Suzy and Marilyn. She immediately becomes the sensation at the beach (adult men suddenly abound there, despite the
fact Suzy and Marilyn had been unable to find them).
From there on, I won’t detail
anything else, except that Mandy tries to humiliate the others as much as she
can.
That is, in fact, the defining
trait of the story, and of all of DreamTales’
comics. Whenever I struggle with his work, I simply remind myself that we
pursue completely different things. What I like about Age TFs is a character
finding itself better and empowered, and thus, that's what I showcase in my stories. DreamTales
obviously has a fetish for the opposite: the complete humiliation of a
character. The empowered ones are just there to further humiliate the other
one.
And that’s fine, really. Everyone
likes different things.
My main grip is when you replay
the same scenario over and over again. If I review more DreamTales’ comics in the future, you’ll find many of the same
points that we have here: the beach, the same humiliation devices (fall of
their clothes, being spanked and bossed around, etc…), the horny girls who
aren’t interested in anything but overly muscled guys, etc.
And then there’s those stock
characters. Suzy and Marilyn. Or Lauren and Betsy in other stories. That would
be fine if they were part of an overarching narrative, like Ageiss does monthly, but in this case,
the story resets itself each time. And the problem with that is that you end up
looking at the same characters transforming over and over.
The art is, as usual with DreamTales, excellent. This one is
drawn by one of his most frequent collaborators, PalComix, and he’s very apt at drawing beautiful females. The
images are also beautifully colored. I think those panels I shared will stir
your appetite for the whole thing.
The beautiful illustrations aren’t
accompanied by a strong script, though. It’s not only the lack of innovation
between one comic and the others, it’s that all the situations are amusingly
improbable, and they –and the dialog- often play like the story of one of those
stereotypical porn films they parody elsewhere, though I believe this one is
among the lesser offenders in the author’s repertoire, and thus one of the
best.
Now, is it worth it despite that?
Definitely, considering the shortage of material in this genre.
If you don’t have it, check this
purchase link:
Well, this is certainly a change of pace. Admittedly, it was only a matter of time before you focused on other authors' work. AP is such a relatively scarce source, particularly for the preferred age settings of this site.
ReplyDeleteI've read several of DreamTales' stories and I will say that the art is top notch. However, the more you read them, the more you realize that it's using the same formula for each tale. Sure, he changes the scenario around to make things interesting, but the plot points you've mentioned all remain the same. I'm not saying that the stories themselves are unenjoyable, but after a while, it starts to stagnate. And you're not the only person to bring this up. Other people have been asking DreamTales to do something fresher and more innovative. So while I would recommend those comics for the art, I wouldn't have high expectations for the plot.
I would love to see you post a review of my all-time favorite female AP cartoon from Grossology called "Oldie but a Goodie" in which Abby ages from 12 to young adult, middle-age adult mature adult and then old age complete with voice changes and such. I think it is the best one I have ever seen with process. Would love to hear your take on it here. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Grossology isn't my favorite because I don't find her adult appearance that different from her regular one, and I think it focuses more in the old age change.
DeleteBut I'll probably review it too when I reactivate the Featured TF.