Boom Studios; $3.99

Under about 47 variant covers (it’s actually at least four), Boom! Studios has delivered the first of what promises to be one of the coolest projects over the next two years. A bold undertaking from folks who usually concentrate on four-issue mini-series (albeit some pretty awesome ones), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a 24-issue series that features visionary science fiction author Philip K. Dick’s influential novel illustrated form.  

Unlike many adaptations, however, this series will contain the full text of the novel, not some abridged form, and with just this one issue it looks like it’s going to be a captivating and compelling ride.

For those who know only Blade Runner, cult Ridley Scott film based Dick’s novel, this version should prove nothing less than a revelation. Simply by their nature novels afford more depth than feature films can afford, and there are already signs of deep things only hinted at or even entirely glossed over in the movie. Yet there are also elements that the film’s enthusiasts – and there are many – will recognize immediately.

Tony Parker’s art successfully walks the fine line of touching on some of the important visual cues from Blade Runner while all the while establishing its own identity. With Blade Runner’s rich and no doubt tempting visual tapestry, both Parker and editor Ian Brill deserve praise for not taking the easy way out and just making this some sort of expanded version of the movie. Rather, by quickly and firmly establishing its own look, they transcend Blade Runner and get to the work of introducing (or re-introducing) the novel to the science fiction public.

We wish we knew to whom to credit the adaptation, though. Despite being the full text of the original novel, someone had to make the choices for what images were shown? Was it Parker? Brill? Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid? The late Hunter S. Thompson? We’d love to know.

Additionally, while it seems like a simple sales ploy to mention the accompanying text feature by writer Warren Ellis on the cover, we really enjoyed the warts-and-all information he presented following the story portion of the issue.

If you’re tired of the same old offerings, this one is definitely for you.