DREAMOVER (2025)

Front cover of Dreamover

Dreamover was published by Top Shelf Productions / IDW Publishing on Jan 14, 2025.

★ “Uncommonly immersive… a breathtakingly drawn debut weaving together humor, sweetness, angst, and a bit of magic.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★ “The effervescence, intoxication, and all-encompassing magic feeling of being totally immersed in one’s first romantic relationship is on full display.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ “Filled with charming illustrations that emphasize the youthfulness of its characters, this graphic novel brings readers back to the thrill, confusion and emotion of growing up.”
— BookPage (starred review)

Dreamover is available wherever books/comics are sold and online:

Dreamover animated trailer:

Amber and Nico would make an odd couple. She’s a headstrong goofball with a temper. He’s a shy, self-conscious emo boy. But they’re best friends, and she can’t hide her feelings for him any longer. At the end of their eighth-grade beach trip, she confesses… and the feeling is mutual! Thus begins a glorious, blissful summer of first love.

But once high school starts, life gets more complicated and stressful. Amber and Nico cling to each other and neglect their friends. Soon, Amber starts to wish she and Nico could escape from it all.

One night, as they fall asleep playing video games, Amber gets her wish…

2 page spread from the graphic novel Dreamover.

Praise for Dreamover…

“Reading Dreamover genuinely transported me: back to childhood, back to crushes, and back to those dreams you never forget. An extremely impressive debut from an author whose work I will be following for many years to come.”
— Tillie Walden (On a Sunbeam)

“Mixing slice-of-life and magical realism, Dani Diaz captures the big feelings and small moments of adolescence in a nostalgic 2000s-era time capsule.”
— Kristen Gudsnuk (Making Friends)

“Dreamover describes the tumbling escape I wish I had as a young adult.”
— Deb JJ Lee (In Limbo)

“Charming, hilarious, thoughtful, absurd, and as mythic as adolescence itself, Dani Diaz has crafted a love letter to friendship and the epic struggle to make it last.”
— Mike Cavallaro (Nico Bravo)

“I didn’t want this book to end.”
— Nate Powell (Fall Through, March)

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Dreamover on recommended reading lists

Check out Dreamover on Goodreads (500+ ratings) and Storygraph as well!

NOTE: Dreamover was in no part created using generative AI. I wrote the script using ancient tools known as “ink pens” in physical “paper” notebooks before manually typing it up into microsoft onenote and then goog docs. I used my fingers to type more English letters inside of these software interfaces, and I rearranged sentences using a mouse and/or trackpad. All 312 pages were originally drawn using long wooden sticks containing graphite into sketchbooks. I took pictures of these drawings with my “Smart” Phone and imported the pictures into photoshop, where I manually traced over them (“inked”) and manually colored them using a set of digital brushes I’ve collected since I was 16 years old (and using 0 of photoshop’s AI tools). This process end to end took ~3500 hours of organic intelligence (OI) usage and muscle proteins performing mechanical work via neurological signals. I tracked my progress over time in an excel spreadsheet. Say no to genAI, kids!