Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor vol. 1

Harlan Ellison was always one of those speculative fiction writers that I wanted to read more of. I encounter other author's references to him as well as appearances on shows like Prisoners of Gravity and the like, and he always struck me as being both incredibly knowledgeable and very opinionated. A person like that, you just have to see what he's got to say.
I'm not sure if, before this book, I had read anything of his, but after finishing it, I'm definitely interested in reading more of his stuff. "Dream Corridor" is a collection of comic book adaptations of various Ellison stories, interspersed with passages of the author himself acting as tour guide of sorts to the Dream Corridor, the strange and ever-changing realm of Ellison's imagination. I hadn't heard of any of the stories in this volume (although, again, I'm less informed about Ellison and only know the titles of maybe five of his stories anyways), but I felt they showed an extreme variety: there are comic stories here, and scary stories, and stories of suspense, wonder, and stories that just plain made me think.
All the stories do have some things in common: a sense of cynicism regarding humanity, while simultaneously expressing an optimism towards what people might strive to do. Ellison seems to be a person who hopes people will surprise him, while still not expecting them to. It's a rather interesting perspective, all things considered.
Some of the stories did leave me a little confused. Ellison can insert a supernatural element into a story that seems to come out of nowhere, leaving me scratching my head as to what was supposed to be going on. Some of the comic adaptations probably would have left me even more puzzled if there wasn't accompanying images. All in all the stories were good, but sometimes I just wished for a little more.
I really liked this collection. Harlan Ellison comes up with interesting ideas for stories, and the comic adapted them beautifully. I'll defintely be looking for volume 2.