Creator: Meganebii
Publisher: Tapas
WHAT IS IT?
A surreal journey to remembering who you are, for better or worse.
It's the nonlinear amnesia storyline of Momento meets the quirky framing of WandaVision.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
(Minor spoilers)
Mason wakes up in a hospital after a horrible car crash, remembering nothing about his life. His mother visits him, but he doesn’t remember her, and she doesn’t rush him to remember either. In his dreams, Mason meets the strange and quirky August Moon, a handsome trickster who says he can help Mason recover his memories…if he can beat all of August’s game shows.
What is hiding in Mason’s past? And who is the mysterious and magical August Moon?
WHAT WORKS?
Meganebii’s writing burns slow without being boring, keeping the reader engaged with constant twists and turns.
The art is both angular and soft, matching the tone and perfectly illustrating Mason’s world.
The colors of the dreamworld are saturated and solid, while the waking world features a much softer palette. The colors of Mason's memories are deliberately hazy or incorporate dynamic shading techniques to selectively obscure them.
Sound effects are thematically integrated with harsh sounds like SCREECH and CRASH drawn in harsh lines while softer effects like BLOOM are given plush bubble letters.
Lucid Memories is a master class in red herrings, the clues in each arc leading you and Mason to draw one conclusion from an isolated memory, only for the context to completely change the meaning and impact.
The floral motifs in this webtoon are honestly gorgeous, with roses and cherry blossoms climbing between panels and slowly blooming in the background.
Every character has their own mysteries and secrets, which keeps you scrolling to learn more.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK?
CONTENT WARNING: This comic depicts familial emotional abuse.
Lucid Dreams is better as a binge than on a chapter-by-chapter basis, because the slow pacing sometimes means that one chapter on its own isn’t as satisfying as a continuous scroll.
WHY SHOULD I READ IT?
With a relatively simplified drawing style washed in color, memorable and intriguing characters, and a story with more twists than a mountain road, you won’t be able to stop scrolling through Lucid Memories.
The meat of this comic is definitely Mason’s dream sequences, featuring classic game show structures as a fun and interesting tool for acquiring his memory. The story so far has given Chopped and Price is Right vibes, giving Mason a grounded space to interact with while still having loads of room for symbolism and foreshadowing.
The pacing has classic who-done-it vibes, with tiny clues being dropped all along the way. Mason’s memories are revealed slowly across chapters loaded with symbolism that lead both Mason and the reader to one conclusion, only to pull the rug out from under both of them every time. It’s a testament to Meganebii’s storytelling skills that these twists are never frustrating. They’re not shocking or sensational. They just are. Mason doesn’t have a wild job or secret identity, he’s just a guy, and just like us, his memories are made up of a lot of tiny moments.
Lucid Memories is a colorful and bingeable webcomic you won’t be able to put down.
WHAT DO I READ NEXT?
If you like the writing:
Basket Rack by Meganebii
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Honey and Venom by itskurzz
If you like the art:
Hard Lacquer by Amelia Allor
Daytripper by Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon
Witchboy by Molly Ostertag
ABOUT THE CREATOR
Meganebii (@meganebii)
Meganebii also has a youtube channel where they make short animations.
His favorite snack is egg toast (which makes an appearance in Lucid Memories).
HOW DO I READ IT?
Click one of these:
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