The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

by I.N.J. Culbard (Adapter, Illustrator), H.P. Lovecraft

Three times Randolph Carter dreamed of the marvellous city, and three times was he snatched away while still he paused on the high terrace above it.? In a world beyond the walls of sleep, Randolph Carter goes in search of an opulent and mysterious sunset city. First, Carter must go to Kadath, home of the Gods, where he hopes to be guided to the city of his dreams. But nobody has ever been to Kadath, and nobody knows how to get there. Battling moon-beasts, night-gaunts and zoogs, Carter journeys through the dangerous and spectacular climes of the Dreamlands in search of unknown Kadath. With the help of the cats of Ulther and a troop of ghouls in the Vale of Pnath, Carter does finally reach Kadath but the Gods are nowhere to be seen. In this masterful adaptation of Lovecraft's classic novella, I. N. J. Culbard captures Randolph Carter's journey through the labyrinthine corridors of sleep in beautiful, gripping detail.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Lovecraftian, Graphic Novels Comics

127 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 20, 2014

About the author

I.N.J. Culbard is an artist and writer. In 2006, he surpassed thousands of other writers and had his work published in Dark Horse Comics’ New Recruits anthology. He has since appeared in the anthology series Dark Horse Presents, the Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD.

Culbard is an acclaimed animation director with considerable experience in directing commercials, developing projects for television, and producing and directing short films. His collaborator at SelfMadeHero is writer Ian Edginton.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randolph Carter wanders the dreamlands in search of Kadath, home of the gods, in order to find a path to the sunset city of his dreams.

First off, I'm going to say something that may get me eaten alive by a swarm of zoogs but I've never held the writing of H.P. Lovecraft in high regard despite loving a lot of his concepts. Untold aeons ago, I read the prose version of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. When I saw the graphic novel version, I decided it was time to revisit it.

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath works fairly well as a graphic novel. The adaptation has a somewhat disjointed feel, which I think fits the tale since it is a dream, after all. Unlike a lot of Lovecraft tales, it's a quest story rather than a race toward insanity. Randolph Carter encounters all manner of Lovecraftian beasties on his journey and I.N.J. Culbard depicts them rather well. Much like the pacing, the art contributes to the dreamlike feel of the story.

Even though I only have vague recollections of reading the prose version of this story, I felt like something was missing at times. The transitions from scene to scene were a little rough in places. Overall, though, I felt this was a worthwhile adaptation. Three out of five stars.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I.N.J. Culbard has for some time taken up the task of adapter/illustrator of H. P. Lovecraft's works. I picked up his huge, four-novel omnibus collection recently but saw that I had already read one or two, so decided to review them separately. This is the first one in the collection, and is the least horror-oriented of his works I have read. But let me add a caveat here, that I don't recall reading the original Lovecraft tale; I am sure I must have, in my teens, but I only have a vague memory of his prose, which some find lush and atmospheric and creepy, but I tend to find a bit turgid.

Dream-Quest reads more along the lines of an Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy/adventure than the chilling horror of another of Lovecraft's influences, Edgar Allen Poe. It's a dream quest, fair enough! So it is perfect for a comics adaptation, less narrative than a tone or mood piece, a collection of effects. I like the color and dream logic of it well enough, but I have already essentially forgotten what happens in it. I might have given it 4 stars for embodying the dream state and paring down the actual words to its essence, but I have experienced other illustrators visually capturing the Lovecraft vibe for me with greater detail (Culbard fills in very few backgrounds) such as Gabriel Rodriguez in Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft, or (especially!) Jacen Burrows working with Alan Moore in Providence.

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthy effort by I.N.J. Culbard. This is a good, though not great adaption, of H.P. Lovecraft's quest-adventure. There are some outstanding cinematic moments, but this work is not nearly as compelling at Jason Thompson's version of the same. Completists will want the Culbard version, but if you're looking for "bang for the buck," I would definitely go with Thompson's incredible work.

Special thanks to the always wonderful Dan Schwent for turning me on to this version and generously sharing an e-peek at it.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Randolph Carter dreams of a sunset city and decides to go looking for it(?!). His nutty friend tells him to pray to the dream gods or something and they’ll let him find it again (!?). Bonkers bullshit ensues!

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is plotted using dream logic, ie. anything goes! Carter rocks up in a forest of giant mushrooms with talking rodents. He sets sail on flying ships full of humanoid monsters, meets the Cats of Ulthar (who, of course, also talk) all so he can travel to a mountain with a face on the side.

Like a dream, you can’t really make sense of the story, you can only let it wash over you. And that’s why it leaves so slight an impression. It’s a quest story where the end goal is never very clear and the resolution is puzzling. Everything that happens along the way is similarly confusing and random so it’s hard to care about any of it.

This is HP Lovecraft at his most free-flowing and least horrific, and yet completely uninteresting too. It’s wholly unengaging as nothing in the story feels like it matters. Sure, INJ Culbard’s art is great, especially as he’s given more range with this story to cut loose and draw big, exotic, fantastical landscapes and creatures, but Lovecraft’s rambling, barely coherent story is totally forgettable.

Lovecraft wasn’t just a shaky writer but quite often he was a weak storyteller too as shown by Dream-Quest. His strengths lay in the horrific visions he conjured up that leapt off the page. A few panels are like that here but not nearly enough to call this anywhere near compelling or worth seeking out.

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is the weakest in the Culbard/Lovecraft adaptations. Maybe this has connections to Lovecraft’s Great Old Ones mythos but I’m not that big a fan to say. Kadath, what/whoever it is, remains unknown!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

So on to the next of my catch up titles.

This is another of the H P Lovecraft titles - however its rather different in that its from his Dream Cycle of stories and is in fact probably the longest of the series.

Here we have the challenges of the famous dreamer Randolph Carter on his quest - for yes you guessed it Unknown Kadath. Okay you know me by now with my no spoilers policy so you will need to read the book (or at least the story) to find out if he finds it or not but like many of these stories there is more often than not more going on while trying to complete the quest than the actual goal at the end of it.

The thing that I think most impresses me with this story is that even though the lands and people are pretty fantastic even for Lovecraft (after all anything goes in the Dreamlands) the artists are still able to capture and convey that sense of wonder and otherness to the page. You actually do feel you are feeling through the underground caverns or charging across the grass covered plans.

for me I think this is probably the most enjoyable of the books (although I have still yet 2 more to collect and read) and I think the artists at least probably had the most fun with it too (it sort of shows). Another great title in the series and I cannot wait to read more.

[Crystal Starr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

This was...good. I don't think I was nearly as excited about this as The Shadow Out of Time, but it was interesting and unique. Really bizarre, as you would expect from a graphic novel about a dream. I can only imagine how challenging it might have been for Lovecraft to intricately detail this world, given he had only words to use - the graphic artist has an arsenal of tools so that you can see what the narrator is seeing. The author can only use words.

Anyway, it was a good read, and I'm glad I chose the graphic route to read Lovecraft.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is a bit sketchy at times, especially with the ghouls and their rictus-grins, but on the whole this is an excellent adaptation of an already great story.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd already read this story earlier this year so I was excited to see a graphic novel version. I have a hard time visualizing things in books some times. Unfortunately, although beautifully rendered, it was abridged too much for me to give it more than 2 stars.

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3 out of 5 | Grade: C; Not the Silver key

The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, doesn't really do it for me. I guess Lovecraft is at his best, or rather his most miserable, when spouting archaic Victorian prose about uncaring Gods, a nihilistic world, where nothing you do really matters.



There are a number of references to other Lovecraft stories, such as Pickman's Model , Nyarlathotepand The Cats of Ulthar. But this story doesn't have as much of a kick as The Silver Key, which is a sequel to the story.

[S.M.M. Lindström · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Lovecraft's prose being what it is - and with some of us not having English as our first language - I greatly appreciate art heavy adaptions of his stories.

This is a good one. A bit dark, visually I mean, which made some scenes hard to "read". But that said, it slims down a very wordy if interesting story to make it more accessible to, well, eveyone.

The story itself? Well, this is one of those stories that I think of as not being completely enchanting but an important influence on things that were written after it. Not that it's a boring story, and it has a very dream like feel to it. It's just smacks a lot of "white middle aged men are special and/or the default human". That should not come as a surprise to anyone who's ever read Lovecraft though.

I recommend this book to people who like stories about dreams and most general Fantasy themes. It's not a horror story, at least not for people nowadays, I think.

Also, what was up with that last page? Interesting.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. N. J. Culbard may well be the ultimate Lovecraft adapter into the comics medium for me. I have previously enjoyed his take on The Shadow Out of Time and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward respectively, so checking this out from the library was an absolute no-brainer.

Now, the story of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a slightly different one from the types of tales told in The Shadow Out of Time and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward in that it deals more with a phantasmagoria beyond Earth and in a wider cosmic aspect, moving through other realms, but Culbard handles this eminently, and I find myself joyously tagging along for the ride as it were.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished the HPL novella before this and they were both pretty solid but had their pluses and minuses. In this one, I loved the representation of the cat general, and really loved the dark panels with the watcher in the dark - I felt that aspect was clearer to visualize in graphical form than in the story where that main thrumming undercurrent gets a bit lost.

Though this graphic novel has some lovely fantasy realm, I wanted more of that! More fantastical landscapes and more weird creatures.

Also, if I were illustrating a Lovecraft story today (not that I draw, but still), I would avoid drawing anything that smacks of his racism - and there are some human-esque creatures (or are they actually people?) that have some racial caricatures (all as described in the original but... you don't actually have to go there).

Overall, this was a solid addition to the read.

[Jeannie Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recall being completely enchanted by the original Lovecraft novel when I read it in high school. I must have mixed up some of my memories of it with other stories, though, and my memories of the actual plot faded, because this wasn't quite what I expected. I did really enjoy his adaptation - the art is beautiful and it really captured the mood of the book well in parts - it is dreamlike, hypnotic, and spooky, though seldom quite as much so as I remember the original being. I felt the pacing was a bit rushed, leaving out bits of the story, jumping ahead - though the book itself does a fair amount of that, so I can't be too sure - and possibly leaving the reader unfamiliar with the original the feeling that they're missing something. Still, it's quite lovely.

[Swjohnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I.N.J. Culbard’s graphic novel of H.P. Lovecraft’s “Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” is ambitious, to say the least. The original 1926-27 novella, a dense, Lord Dunsany-influenced near-psychedelic dream travelogue, offers unique challenges: baroque descriptions that somehow defy precise visuals, a rambling story-line, and narrative logic more appropriate to dream-life than the printed page. At its best, it’s fantasy in its purest sense, with many sustained sequences of surreal wonder. Culbard tackles this seemingly impossible project by grounding the tale in compelling artwork and earthbound dialogue, often telling the story through wordless, evocative panels. Recommended for Lovecraft fans and graphic novel enthusiasts alike.

[Mark Redman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I N J Culbard has adapted quite a number of Lovecraft stories and turned them into graphic novels. For the most part, they have been excellent adaptations. I always felt that adapting Dream Quest was going to be difficult. To try and capture the essence of the story, interpret Lovecraft’s dream vision is almost impossible. For me, Culbard kind of pulls it off, just a little. Whilst the majority of the story is present, it just wasn’t enough, it feels more like a number of separate episodes edited together. That said, what we have is enough to be entertained.

Although I've given this 4* it's really 3.5*.

[Derek Royal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I.N.J. Culbard's adaptation, and illustration, of this Lovecraft narrative is definitely intriguing. However, I wish I had read and was familiar with the original, since that'd give me something more to go on. Reading through Culbard's version, I kept feeling that I was missing something, that there were parts of this story just out of my grasp. But perhaps that's what Lovecraft (and Culbard) intended with this narrative about the dreamworld and its links to the waking life. And as a stand-alone text, without any context to Lovecraft, the story works fairly well.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turns out I haven't read H.P.'s unfinished original which would explain why this took me so off-guard. Talking cats?! Zoogs?! Gugs?!! What is this shenaniganery?! The art was wonderful, as usual, if not as remarkable to me as this story adapts really easily to comics (it's a quest!). Gorgeous colors, though, equally lovely and frightful; I'm going to try and get through more of the original before the year's out, though I read for what felt like hours last night and managed all of 8 H.P. pages.

[Molli B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird. Weirrrrd.

Culbard's art is good, with the most stunning pages right near the end. His art is somewhat...I guess minimalist isn't the right word, but I'm not sure what is, and I think it suits Lovecraft's work. It leaves a bit to the imagination.

I love graphic novels and comic books but I'm such a word person that sometimes I wonder what I'm missing from a story when I don't have all of the author's words. I wonder if I would have understood this more or less if I'd read the actual story—maybe I'll do that someday to find out.

[Ferio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una adaptación muy curiosa de los relatos de Randolp Carter. A ratos la estaba leyendo y sentía que estaba viviendo las aventuras de Tintín más que otra cosa.

A pesar de no respetar completamente el espíritu oscuro de la obra original, creo que acierta en el colorido revisionismo del estado onírico del protagonista, así como en la representación del resto de personajes. Incluso alguna de las licencias que se toma con los personajes más graves resultan adecuadas y coherentes con el tono de esta obra derivada.

En dos palabras: muy chulo.

[Social_Sloth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Randolph Carter visits the Dream World in his dreams, where he tries to find the sunset city. This quest brings him on journeys around the Dream World and he makes both enemies and allies. Cats of Ulthar are by far the coolest allies he's got. In the end he finds that the sunset city of his dreams was much closer than he thought.

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never read, or at least I don't remember reading, this story of Lovecraft, so it's harder to judge the adaptation, but it felt a bit confusing at time, maybe too many things were cut, to make it shorter, I like the art and the weird exploration of dream and strange place, so we're not sure if that a dream or reality, but it just felt like something was missing to make it whole.

[Chris Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

The weakest Culbard Lovecraft adaptation, because there’s only so much you can do with a hoary old pile of nonsense like Dream Quest. The art is startling but the plot is no clearer and not even Culbard can fully escape the Lovecraftian bigotry with some slightly iffy looking swarthy foreigns who are almost certainly far better than their original forms but still are decidedly dubious

[M.]

A Lovecraftian oddessey.
When I ordered this, I did so for the cover without realising that it was an illustrated adaptation. I had listened to The Dream-Quest years ago and from what I remember this is a faithful adaptation in the spirit of a fantasy in regards to the fantastical dream-like elements in the text.

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was more fanciful than horrifying, although the images were strong, and sometimes scarily so. Those unfamiliar with Lovecraft's work will likely be confused by this sparse retelling. Fans will enjoy the imagery as their minds "fill in" the gaps.

[Terrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another grand graphic novel "team-up" with the talents of Culbard and Lovecraft.

[Skunk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I need to read to book version and then re-read this. The art was great though.

[Garth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Masterfully and humourously illustrated and formatted version of Lovecraft's fantastical work.

[Essi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was cool, the story tedious and pompous (and the guy was racist anyway).

[J. Agombar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th Lovecraft story I have finished of Culbard's graphical versions.
I had not read Kadath previously so I took myself to reading it directly before this version. I have to say that Culbard did a sterling job with this one. Other stories he has illustrated did not translate so well as they were steeped with speech in a single room like 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' for instance, but Kadath compliments his style with simplistic, dreamlike visions of spire topped cities, ghouls in the forests, monolith towers, floating ships around sunsets, and giant dangerous creatures.

Kadath is very much about the journey and has a lot to cram in, and there was a lack of nightgaunt action in this novel compared to the original, but generally he does well to get as much in from it. All the important parts are there. The battle between the gugs and the ghouls was a little shorter and less vast, and the torture scene was taken out and replaced with a more direct killing.

Because of the content he has crammed into this one, the story races along a bit which isn't such a bad thing as the original text drags. The ending actually clarified some bits for me regarding Nyarlathotep who gets an excellent looking Egyptian-esque form this time in his ominous tower. I feel it may be a gient metaphor for displacement, or perhaps the human need to be somewhere they are not as the ending suggests that Randolph Carter, dream adventurer, would need to look no further than the place of his whistful youth. It's a thought provoking one, for sure.

it's a decent read and somewhat better than the original book itself due to the imagery. I read this one as a four story collection by Culbard which I can also recommend as a whole.

[Meghna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel really tested my sanity. The story is set as a quest, and I usually love quests, but illustrated version felt disjointed and hard to follow at times. It’s Neverwhere meets Voyage of the Dawn Treader meets Kalfka on the Shore, in sharp monochromatic contrast but without the anticipation and exhiliration of any of them.