Customer Reviews

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Vol 1

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Most people know the film that is loosely based on book : Blade Runner (The Director's Cut).

However, as great as the film is, it doesn't do the novella any kind of justice.

This graphic novel contains EVERY WORD of the Philip K. Dick story, accompanied by beautiful art.

I highly recommend this to any fans of PKD or of the graphic novel medium, in general.

I love Blade Runner. It is, without a doubt, my favorite sci-fi movie ever. Unfortunately, I have never read the book by Phillip K. Dick. One day I heard about a graphic novel adaptation on the book, my initial reaction was to pass on it. My reasoning behind this was that I should read the source material before I read any adaptation. Then I heard that this was more of an experiment and less of an adaptation. The studio who was in charge of this graphic novel wanted to include ALL of the original text from the book. I was hooked from that moment on. When I received this first volume in the mail, I read it and I was amazed with the quality of the art and the intricate prose that Dick had written. I love this book. This is how a graphic novel should be done. If I have one complaint is that sometimes the amount of text in each panel is a little overwhelming. But I would much rather have the entire text of the book, than an abridged version of it. I am very pleased with this product, and anybody who is a fan of Dick or a fan of Blade Runner should buy this entire series. I know I will.

Good story but it's sad its divided into four books!
I am waiting on some album that contains all of them.
For others who can not wait I recommend it,even to buy them separately, only for "Blade Runner" fans and other who could become!

I really liked the book. I can see why it won awards. I highly recommend this graphic novel for any sci/fi fan.

I'm a fan of giant, conceptual projects that pay tribute to other projects: Maximum Fantastic Four (which blew up each panel of 1961's Fantastic Four #1 to a page-sized image), Pictures Showing What Happens on Each Page of Thomas Pynchon's Novel Gravity's Rainbow (which is exactly what it sounds like), and the showing of Psycho that was slowed down to show over 24 hours. So I'm likewise intrigued by a comic book's attempt to include the full text of a novel. Even the 35 hours that comprise the Lord of the Rings films left out Tom Bombadil.

While comic books have never been a conscious attempt to omit descriptive text from a story, it's generally accepted that the images in a graphic novel will handle a vast majority of the verbs and adjectives. Rather than attempt to abridge Philip K. Dick's critical text, Tony Parker illustrates every lexical nuance of the story in total deference to the author. While dialogue falls naturally into a comic format, the descriptive passages are also included in square boxes that pepper the pages. "She smiled innocuously" is paired with an image of someone smiling innocuously, and speech bubbles are often preceded or finalized with a block of "he said" text. While the comic format renders these things completely vestigial, this project is obviously more about the art of the original words, in a kind of meta-text homage.

It's also unusual to see how these "issues" are divided up, as well as the divisions that define the larger collections. Since the original text wasn't written in 22-page story arcs (as are most comic scripts), the pacing is more akin to the slow build of a novel, rather than a serial that delivers cliffhangers with every segment. An entire issue might deal with a scene of two people in bed, which might not stand up to reader scrutiny were this any other (non-pornographic) comic. Everything about this is nontraditional, and it's a very noble experiment.

The art that accompanies this series doesn't do a whole lot to enhance its presence. It's flat and serviceable and performs the function of illustrating Philip K. Dick's novel without overpowering it, more or less hovering dimly in the background while the text continues to dominate the work. The fact that it's a non-entity seems like a further tribute to maintaining the sanctity of the text, though I admit that it would be exciting to see the artwork really do something great.

Overall, this holds up as a very broad experiment with a lot of creative merit. With Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? being assigned on many local high school reading lists, the material in here isn't too suggestive in any way. Even when robotic nudity occurs, it's obscured by convenient blankets and shadows, so this shouldn't upset any readers--and for the first time, we can say that the comic adaptation is absolutely as good as the book.

Reviewed by Collin David

I was simply stunned by how engaging, thought provoking, and fun this graphic novel was.

I have always been a huge fan of the "Blade Runner" movie(in all its incarnations). I knew it was somewhat based on a novel called, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Phillip K. Dick. I never read that novel though. When I recently discovered that it had been turned into a 6 volume graphic novel series, being a huge fan of graphic novels, I was extremely excited and wondered how it would be adapted from the original novel. Never having read that novel, I wouldn't know what changes were made, but figured I would at least get an idea of what the PKD's book was like. Then I found out that the people at BOOM! Studios were doing something that I'd never seen done before; instead of an abridged or adapted version of the novel, they were using the novel WORD FOR WORD! Every single word from the novel was going to be in the graphic novel. Not only did this pique my curiosity, but it also had me a little concerned as to how they would pull it off. A graphic novel is, by nature, a visual medium where stories are told as much through artwork as through the written word. In many instances, the artwork carries the story MORE than the writing. So how well would this new method work? In short, brilliantly.

One of my worries was that much of the panels would be obscured by all the words that would have to fit on the page. This, I'm happy to say, was not the case. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to allow for the images(which are fantastic by the way) to be viewed with no problem. I thought, before reading it, that maybe they would use tiny lettering. Nope. The lettering is just fine in terms of size; I also liked the font used by Richard Starkings(one of the greats). The way this book is designed and crafted is nothing short of genius. The placement of the panels, word balloons, etc. is done as well as any graphic novel I have ever read.

PKD's writing is top-notch. I was really missing out by not reading his novel. And I am now a big fan of his. His style is right up my alley. He both tells a great story in terms of wonderfully realized and interesting characters and enthralling plots and subplots, as well as giving the reader several themes that forces one to examine such age-old questions as, "What makes us human?" and, "How does one determine what reality truly is?". Prejudice and conformity are also themes at play here. The way that the writing captivates you and pulls you in to this bleak futuristic world is second to none. PKD really knows how to entertain and encourage philosophical thinking. He's now one of my favorite new writers. He's a true visionary.

The artwork of Tony Parker is phenomenal. His style is kind of similar to that of Frank Quitely(whom I have a love/hate relationship with, as described in my review of "All-Star Superman") and Pete Woods. It really works fantastically here. It brings the world to life in a superbly detailed and visually dynamic and fresh way that slightly echoes that of Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner", but without copying it. So although there is a familiarity to some degree for those who have seen "Blade Runner", it really is its own unique universe. And having a little "Blade Runner"-esque feel to it isn't such a bad thing in my opinion. I'd also like to point out how tough a job it must have been for Parker to express the scenes visually when the writing is already doing much of the work itself. Yet he pulls it off by chosing the perfect moments to articulate artistically through his gorgeous linework and stunning angles. And the coloring of Blond is beautifully done as well. The nuances of color scheme and lighting is pure eye-candy. Overall, the artwork compliments the writing perfectly.

This graphic novel is a real treasure and immediate classic. BOOM! Studios chose the perfect team to bring this revolutionary way of graphic novel stroytelling to life. I'd also like to say how insightful and entertaining the essays at the back of the book are. And I want to express how excellently this hardcover is made and put together. Love the binding and the thick glossy pages, as well as the ribbon bookmark. I anxiously await getting the next 5 volumes. If you are a fan of "Blade Runner" or PKD's original novel, you really need to check this out. This could start a new trend in the way graphic novel adaptations of novels are done. I still love the standard way of graphic novel storytelling, but this new way(at least in this instance) is also amazing. Very cool!

Think tank mentality requires that the members perceive hypothetical issues and respond in rational thought with complex or simple answers which deliver valid concepts; analogously, science fiction writers ask themselves about what of today's man would evolve to the person of the future - and what will be of concern and value in the future created from the strengths and weaknesses of today.

Philip Dick's novel looks to life on earth after WW Terminus - from which millions die and radioactive dust overcasts the world to an extent where vegetation, animal life, and other taken-for-granted God's gifts are gone. Some people's minds are harmed by the worldly holocaust - and those people are called "special." In short, the future life is no longer good for humans. Many jump off to space to live exiled in colonies on Mars. And, to make life better on Mars, man creates androids to function as slaves. And, like human slaves, the androids dislike their existence, and eventually revolt.

In fact, life on Mars is so droll that even androids cannot stand it. And, that is the plot of the book. Bored to death - something which droids will encounter in their short life of approximately 4 years - a group seeks to escape the confines of Mars for life on earth - where food and animal scarcity have no effect upon them as they relish neither.

Even though earthlings have crushed each others skulls for millions of deaths, almost anihilated all life on earth with radioactive dust, and forced anyone of means to escape to Mars for a life of any semblance to what we enjoy - man is much more empathic than the androids. Hard to believe.

Although the androids of this book look, feel, and seem real in many aspects, they lack one major asset of humanity - they have no empathy. They could care less if animals live or die, in fact in one scene the android shows no concern that baby skin was used to make protagonist Rick Deckard's briefcase. When testing androids, it is not a prick of the skin, or a knock on the skull for sounds that will reveal that they are not human. Instead, it is their failure to pass the Voight-Kampff test: a polygraph like machine that measures bodily functions such as respiration, "blush response", heart rate and eye movement in response to emotionally provocative questions.

When the renegade group comes to America after killing a colonist for escape and his ship, Rick Deckard is hired to kill them as a bounty hunter - something he can handle as the government pays him $1,000 per head of the killed androids. First, he must administer the Voight-Kampff test, and if they fail he can laser them immediately. This is not murder, as robots have no life.

These visions of the future are great. His issue of God-like Mercer and manifesting this spiritualist's peace on earth message through a has-been actor's portrayal is marvelous. People reach this creative god through an empathy box - another marvelous science fiction device. And, good old-fashioned television for the future remains the boob tube- with some characteristics akin to Orwell's 1984 .

But, even Dick cannot bat 1.000 in the big leagues of science fiction. In Dick's 1968 vision of the future, many things are interestingly not seen. Cell phones do not exist. And the phones, although with vision apparati, are "dialed." Russia is the evil power. And, more remnants of the 1960's - so much so that young readers may ask: "What does dial up someone mean?"

This book has great graphics. I purchased it for my a Christmas gift for my son. He loves the books and cannot wait until the final three volumes are published!