I posted the Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, but somehow, I never posted S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands (1989). Well, here it is!

This book, like its predecessor, presents itself as an in-universe research book, complete with identification flow chats and footnotes referencing books that don’t exist. In some ways, the approach of the book – big picture, explanatory text, detail insets – reminds me a lot of Wayne Barlowe’s guidebooks. Now, on one hand, these two books are terrible, because they do immeasurable damage to the mystery and horror of these creatures. On the other hand, I don’t care. They’re fun as hell.

The artist here is Mark Ferrari. His bright, welcoming style is on point for the vibes of the Dreamlands, I think. I don’t know what is more mind blowing – the fact that his was his first gig or the fact that all of these images are done with colored pencils. He’s gone on to have a long career in videogames and elsewhere, most recently as a background artist for Thimbleweed Park.

Lovecraft’s Dreamland stories have languished in the shadow of the Cthulhu Mythos, partly because…they aren’t his finest work, honestly. However, they are damn weird and his creatures are just downright bizarre when viewed through the lens of what we consider to be traditional fantasy now. The wamp? The GUG? Holy crap, Gugs. So many oddities. Zoogs? Cats from Saturn? I love this stuff, even if I can’t quite bring myself to run games in the Dreamlands. It feels…corny? I dunno.