The Strange World of Your Dreams: Comics Meet Dali & Freud!

Biblioteca de cómics de terror de los años 50 #7

by Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Mort Meskin

"I'm afraid our time is up...!" The complete 1950s comics series The Strange World of Your Dreams, featuring Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dali, are collected and lovingly restored in this large-format, full-color hardback. Produced by the greatest team in the history of the Golden Age of Comics, Simon and Kirby, this book is a dream come true! Save big bucks on your psychiatric bills, get this beautiful economically priced - and fascinating - book instead! Edited and designed by Eisner Award winner Craig Yoe.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2013

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a great forward by Craig Yoe, we are introduced to the early world of dream comics. The argument is made that dreams and comics go very well together due to the frame nature of comics. Early examples from Winsor McCay are given. Both Little Nemo In Slumberland, and a book I was unfamiliar with, Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend (in which McCay solicited people who had vivid dreams after eating Welsh Rarebit) are referenced as early examples of dream comics.

This collection of comics by Simon and Kirby from the 1950s is surreal and strange. They mostly feature fictional dream interpreter Richard Temple narrating stories of people with disturbing dreams and what those dreams could mean. There are fake offers to interpret your dreams, and one page text stories that are all pretty good. The book drifts into stories of the zodiac as the series tried to find it's footing. The series only lasted 4 issues, and all four issues are here along with covers and proposed covers.

The Kirby art is great with dream creatures with no faces or distended garish looks. The colors are otherworldly. These are comics that in a few years would be deemed unsuitable and banned. They were never meant for children and it's great to have them available again.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naturally, anything this odd would catch my eye. This book provides an invaluable glimpse into the more unusual and obscure offerings of 1950s comic books.
True, there is content that would make modern-day readers cringe--and for good reason. Comics of this era were often alarmingly sexist, and WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS is no exception.
It would be interesting to see a modern-day comic invite readers to submit their dreams for artistic interpretation!

[Mati G. W.]

Las ganas que le tengo a esta colección...

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las historias del dibujante Mort Merskin sobre sus ocasionales instancias en el manicomio inspiraron al estudio Simon & Kirby a publicar THE STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS (1952-1953), un escape creativo a la incipiente censura que sufrió la industria del cómic estadounidense promediando los años cincuenta. y aunque los cuatro números publicados resultan más bien genéricos - salvo un par de giros argumentales que guardan interés - los relatos presentados por el "investigador de sueños Richard Temple tienen su mejor cara en la labor gráfica de un Merskin que traza en plena comodidad y un Kirby asomándose a ratos al surrealismo, confirmando su solidez frente al tablero de dibujo más allá del romance y los superhéroes. No tan terrorífico como sus compañeros de colección, sigue siendo un volumen apreciable para el estudioso de la historieta estadounidense clásica.

[Ryan Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of the entire run of "The Strange World of Your Dreams." It was a weird, brief little series by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby and Mort Meskin. The hardback book itself is pretty nice, and does a fair job of reproducing fairly low-quality originals. The introduction by editor Craig Yoe is invalauble, as he's culled information about this and other similar series that isn't available anywhere else.

All that said, there's probably a pretty good reason this series didn't last more than a few issues, and honestly, a lot of the stories aren't that great. Basically they all revolve around Richard Temple, a dream interpreter. He is like a private detective of sorts, and people call him up to have him analyze their dreams to help them solve various problems. Some are better than others. In addition to the Richard Temple tales and intermittent one-sheet text stories, there are also occasional astrology stories as well.

What's really intriguing is just how odd the subject itself is, yet how suited for comics it really is. Meskin reportedly spent some time in and out of various mental health facilities, and as I read the issues, I couldn't help but think he was really restraining himself. Nothing controversial and nothing downright mind-blowing, but there are so many little hints, little glimpses of madness and brilliance in both the art and the storytelling.

If you like weird comic books, or just weird stuff, you can't go wrong here.

[Doctor Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

That this set of comic books ever existed is a strange and cool thing. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were true comic book pioneers, and this is one of their experiments, not so commercially successful, but definitely fun to read.

The Strange World of Your Dreams appeared beginning in 1952 and was meant to appeal to adult readers. Adult readers presumably, were interested in self reflection and the examined life. The idea is that readers send accounts of their dreams to the fictitious dream analyst, Richard Temple. The publishers would choose dreams to include in the comic (and pay the readers $25 for submitting them, if chosen). With the artwork of Jack Kirby, the dreams would be set to comic format and analyzed by the Temple character.

It's all pretty entertaining. The dreams are anxiety-ridden. There are no dreams of magic castles, unicorns, and happily ever afters. It's monsters from the id right and left. Some reveal suppressed fears or memories, others are portents of the future. Great stuff.

The artwork is also great stuff -- the covers are beautiful works of imagination. And the whole thing is put in a book made to look like an old fashioned pillow. It's even padded for comfort.

I wish there had been more than 4 released issues of the comic, but, as the introduction says, sales were "disappointing."

The introduction contains some interesting history of the treatment of dreams in comic format before Simon and Kirby, including "Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend" from 1905 and "Little Nemo in Slumberland" in the New York Herald from 1909. It's all a testament to our fascination with our dreams, and our wonder about what to make of them.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Séptima entrega de la colección de cómics de terror de los años cincuenta que viene publicando Diábolo ediciones con una calidad altísima tanto en contenido como en material. Colección breve que contaba con la pareja Simon y Kirby, nos permite experimentar a los autores alejándose de sus famosas creaciones super heroicas explorando un mundo que colinda con el terror aunque no de forma directa la más veces. Textos densos y, en ocasiones, de una profundidad sorpresiva para este tipo de publicaciones, que bucean por la psique humana: sus miedos, deseos, ansiedades y oscuridad. Casos breves y con una fuerte moraleja (al estilo de aquellos años) que quizá con perspectiva presentista pueda resultar naif o excesivamente conservadora (ya lo era por entonces) pero no molesta sino que te saca la sonrisa cándida aunque el resto del relato no proponga en absoluto nada relacionado con dicha candidez. El elemento sobrenatural suele expresarse en forma de recuerdos, vidas pasadas, ilusiones y perversiones que, en el fondo, nos advierten del hecho evidente de que el peor de los monstruos siempre suele ser el propio ser humano. Un tomo distinto, extraño, menos divertido y más perturbador que no debería faltar en la biblioteca.

[Jim Ordolis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hard cover probably has the most comfortable texture of any book I ever read. It feels like a pillow or a couch cushion. I felt like I wanted to sleep on it. I enjoyed this and there's even a page reprinted here from an original cover art, which I appreciate! It sparked my interest in dream analysis, quite a fascinating subject matter to use for a comic anthology. A testament to Simon & Kirby's ability to try something different in the comics medium in the 1050s. There are comic strips here based on actual dreams that readers submitted (as well as horoscopes), etc. Too bad this didn't apparently catch on. I would have liked to have see more book series like this. The byline underneath the title says, "Comics Meet DALI & FREUD!". Sounds good to me.

[Bart Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy to see why this series only lasted 4 issues

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spätestens ab den 40er Jahren war Freuds Terminologie mit den wesentlichen Begriffen in den allgemeinen Sprachschatz gelangt und hatte in den Bereich der Unterhaltungsmedien Einzug gehalten. Das Unbewußte, das Ich, Träume, Komplexe, Angst- und Persönlichkeitsstörungen waren household names, wurden diskutiert und peppten Krimis und andere Genres auf. Ähnlich verhielt es sich mit dem Surrealismus und seinen Exponenten, allen voran vielleicht Dali. 1945 kombinierte Hitchcock in SPELLBOUND Elemente der Psychoanalyse mit dem Surrealismus, indem er von Dali die Kulisse für eine Traumszene gestalten ließ. Sieben Jahre später, 1952, begann eine Comicserie, die es leider nur auf vier Ausgaben gebracht hat: THE STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS mit dem damals nicht unüblichen und verkaufsfördernden Zusatz TRUE. Die Hefte werden hier als großformatiges Reprint gesammelt mit kleinem aber feinem Bonusmaterial neu vorgelegt. Gebunden und fadengeheftet dürfte ihnen jetzt ein längeres Leben beschert sein als zur Zeit der Erstveröffentlichung.
Der Untertitel COMICS MEET DALI & FREUD sollte gleichwohl die Erwartungen nicht allzu hoch schrauben. Obwohl die Artwork von Simon und Kirby stammt, unterstützt von Mort Meskin und Bill Draut, ragen viele der Panels nicht über die Massenware Comic heraus. Den Bezug zu Dali herzustellen, dürfte die Herausgeber einige Überwindung gekostet haben, wenn man nicht vollkommene Gewissenlosigkeit unterstellen möchte. Und auch Freud würde sich als Pate der Hefte wohl im Grabe umdrehen, seine Traumdeutung wird nur als schauerromantisches Mittel eingesetzt.
Und doch, und doch... ja, die Hefte haben etwas. Wer sich für die Geschichte des Comic interessiert oder auch ganz allgemein für die popkulturelle Zeitgeschichte wird THE STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS genießen. So herrlich naiv, so verliebt in leicht zu erzeugende Gänsehaut wird es nie wieder!

[Elizabeth Grieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those, like me, who like old comic books, and particularly the classic artwork of the famous Jack Kirby, I really liked this. It's a reprint of the whole 4-issue run of the comic 'The Strange World of Your Dreams: Comics Meet Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dali', with a long and interesting introduction by Craig Yoe. I don't know if this was on sale in the UK, but it's very similar to the 'Weird Tales' comics I read as a kid.

Reviewed in exchange for a preview Kindle copy.

[Laura]

I don't really want to read this but I'm marking it "to-read" because I think one or two of my brothers might find it interesting!