‘Philip K. Dick: A Comics Biography’
Written by Laurent Queyssi.
Art by Mauro Marchesi.
Lettered in English by Ortho.
Translated by Edward Gauvin.
144 pages - Full Colour/Hardback - £20.99.
Published by NBM Publishing.
The Story - ‘One of the greatest writers in SF history, Philip K. Dick is mostly remembered for such works as Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall. His dark fascinating work centered on alternate universes and shifting realities in worlds often governed by monopolistic corporations and authoritarian governments. His own life story seems a tussle with reality, going through five wives and becoming increasingly disjointed with fits of paranoia and hallucinations fueled by abuse of drugs meant to stabilize him. His dramatic story is presented unvarnished in this biography.’
The Review - I am of an age where reading a Philip K Dick (PKD) was almost a rite of passage. Akin to a metaphysical version of a passed around Derek and Clive cassette tape or a shared experience of watching Dawn of the Dead it was a collection of fiction that you read to both fit in and be that strange (but cool) outsider. I became a paranoid antiestablishment psychedelic science fiction convert through books like ‘Radio Free Albemuth’, ‘Clans of the Alphane Moon’, ‘Flow My Tears the Policeman Said’ and of course ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’.
For my (Sci)fictional education came at the time of a resurgence of interest in the genre due to the lucrative movie and TV scene. Then by the time that Blade Runner arrived I had become that guy...
‘It won’t be the same as the book’.
It wasn’t. In many respects it was both better and worse. It was different. The creators wisely choose this PKD touchstone as a way to open this volume. You get the author visiting Ridley Scott to see an early cut of Blade Runner. PKD is a complication of bitter cynicism and child-like enthusiasm that would be constantly reflected throughout the pages to come as the graphic novel progresses.
So after a couple of time-jumps and a twisted reality self evaluation between young PKD and old and dying PKD what you then get is a mostly chronological telling of the writer’s life. How he started to write as a kid and then finally met writers who would become his contemporaries at pulp sci-fi book festivals and more.
Through my youth and twenties I bounced around the authors of those preceding years. Poul Anderson, Jack Vance, Isaac Asimov, E.C. Tubb, Arthur C. Clarke, the Hoyles, Clifford D. Simak, John Wyndham and, as was common of those wonderful pre internet days, whoever else I could find in second hand bookshops. Rarely were books devoid of something strange and sinister. They seemed to be written by the outsiders and the thinkers. Mental giants who were unable to grasp or completely unbothered by the concept of what the train station WH Smith’s bookshelves/or Richard and Judy’s Bookclub required.
It’s clear that PKD was both of gigantic intellect and emotionally stunted to the point of infantile selfishness. He goes through a number of failed marriages and relationships in his life at quite an impressive speed. He wrote constantly and also began a life long love of amphetamines that he would get wherever he could. He stole drugs from his mother’s bathroom cabinet and after she challenged him bought them off skanky drug dealers. He also failed to make any money from his writing and was forever frustrated by the fact that the guy working in the local drugstore made more money than him.
His self obsessiveness drove his paranoia and vice versa. At one stage his first wife gets a visit from the FBI who were concerned with her attendance at anti-war/anti-government rallies. He immediately took this to be a covert attempt to find out more about his writing and that his conspiracy theories were right after all. Then, in a strange twist that can only be from real life, one of the FBI agents teaches PKD to drive.
As the pages turn you watch PKD’s deep dive into insanity and genuine mental illness. He breaks down in front of you and this reflects the themes of many of his novels. He became dangerously paranoid and took to carrying a gun even in the confines of his own bedsit. Those overt fictional subjects of Dual/Multi Personality, lost identity, reality shifts, awareness of police and government/big business surveillance became real issues in the writer’s mind.
The art has a clean line style with flat colours that evoke the period well. The artist weaves both a straightforward biographical style where everything and everyone is straightaway identifiable and interesting and couples this with an almost Clowesesque indie cool look. The subject matter is a little dry at times but I was never bored and a good reason for that was the sharp art style.
Having ruminated on this now for a good few days I would say that if you don’t have an interest in PKD or science fiction writing this may not be for you. It could easily be seen as a little dry for whole sections of it’s run. The moments of psychedelic flights of fancy are kept to a minimum and the creators chose to direct the themes and story through PKD’s life. Personally I found this engaging but I do have a pre-existing vested interest.
But then again I hope you dig it. I did.
This was previously published under the title ‘Phil: Une Vie de Philip K. Dick’.
You can find out more about NBM by visiting their website at https://www.nbmpub.com
Many thanks for reading.
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