KING HELL PRESS proudly announces the first paperback Rare Bit Fiends Collected Edition RABID EYE: THE DREAM ART OF RICK VEITCH concentrates The World's Most overworked cartoonist's chaotically complex uncorking of the collective unconscious in a single crypto-autobiographical collection of comics Downloading this juicy gigabit of the Roarin' one's dream life, as recorded in the first eight issues of RARE BIT FIENDS, takes readers on a multidimensional mind-mulching roller coaster ride of panel art after which they'll never think of dreaming (or comics) in quite the same way again Also included is the absolutely essential UNDERSTANDING RARE BIT FIENDS from Issue #12; an enlightening explanatory trip through the history, science and magic of dreaming as well as Veitch's unique and personal perspective on the nature and importance of the dream function.
This is a really cool comicbook about Rick Veitch's dreams. It's a terrific idea and pulled off wonderfully. If everyone drew their dreams instead of reciting the time you were in your eight year old best friend's house looking at bugs and then you watched the strangest television show but it was reallyzzzZZZZ
Collecting the earlier issues of Roarin' Rick's Rare Bit Fiends, Veitch takes a page out of Winsor McCay's book and crafts some surrealist dream comics that are equal parts mesmerizing and inscrutable. Though it shares the name with McCay's newspaper strips from the early 1900s, Veitch's comics share little aside from it being an exercise in exploring the subconscious. Most of the stories collected in Rabid Eye don't follow much of a discernable plot, and yet elements of Veitch's mindset do become apparent. This isn't the same as being inside of your own dream - this is akin to being inside someone else's dream where everything is subject to an alien logic system. Veitch also seems to use these dream comics to tackle some of his mild grievances with the mainstream comics industry while also interacting with fellow cartoonists like Steve Bissette and Dave Sim. These comics are a lot of fun, even if they don't have a sense of fulfillment from having followed along with a tangible narrative.
My 5 star rating may be influenced by a bias due to my love of dreaming, the subconscious, and surrealism. Regardless Rick Veitch's dream journal turned comic is fantastic.
If I ever make a comic, I want it to be more like this than anything else I've read.