Boom! Studios is heading into uncharted territory with their adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? The series, which editor Ian Brill has called a graphic translation, will mix comic art with Dick’s original text from the novel. “We can’t settle on a term yet because nothing like this has been done in comics,” said Brill. “It is an experiment to combine text and pictures this way.”
The series will include the full text of Dick’s novel, a stipulation that was set forth by Dick’s daughters Laura Leslie and Isa Dick Hackett, who own the rights to their father’s work through their company, Electric Shepherd Productions. Brill said he has worked closely with Leslie and Hackett and that they are happy with the series.
Thus far, the book has been garnering a great deal of interest and fans seem to realize this is not simply a retelling of Blade Runner. Brill said he has been both surprised and happy at the enthusiasm they’ve been receiving. Famously adapted into the movie Blade Runner in 1982, Dick’s novel is fundamentally different in many ways. Brill said that they wanted to create a world unlike that of Blade Runner, which he describes as an “old future that has gone to seed,” while Boom!'s Electric Sheep adaptation is “our world, decayed horribly.” He added that there are no cool conveniences in their adaptation.
To create the world of Electric Sheep, Brill turned to artist Tony Parker whom he had worked with on Warhammer 40,000. “We knew we wanted someone who was a real story teller and could work great with narrative and would not be thrown off by this much text. And also someone who could create an environment,” said Brill. He noted that Parker has already created character sketches for the entire cast of the book, and is thinking far ahead to determine what this world is really about.
Rounding out the Electric Sheep team is colorist Blond, whom Brill says “makes [the book] come alive,” and Eisner Award-winning letterer Richard Starkings and his company Comicraft.“He makes this book sing,” said Brill of veteran Starkings. “It’s odd that the letterer has the hardest job putting the book together but in this case it’s a particular challenge.”
There’s more than just the seminal story for fans to be excited about; each issue will provide an afterword. The first issue will feature Warren Ellis and later issues will feature Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Rockne O'Bannon and others. Brills said that Boom! wants to keep a back story of some kind in each of the issues.
The first issue of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? came out in July with three covers by Denis Calero, Bill Sienkiewicz and Scott Keating. A fourth cover by Elephantman artist Moritat is also available. Brill said the periodical series would likely be collected into hardcover volumes, four issues at a time. The series will be approximately 24 issues long.
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |