{"id":926,"date":"2010-04-09T12:39:45","date_gmt":"2010-04-09T17:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=926"},"modified":"2010-04-12T08:43:02","modified_gmt":"2010-04-12T13:43:02","slug":"pkds-and-david-macks-electric-ant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=926","title":{"rendered":"PKD’s (and David Mack’s) ELECTRIC ANT"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first issue of Philip K. Dick’s <\/strong>Electric Ant<\/em> hit the stores this week like a psychic invasion.\u00a0 Reading more like a copy of Heavy Metal<\/em> than the latest release from Marvel Comics (which it is), Electric Ant hits all the right notes in introducing the reader to the mind of Philip K. Dick.\u00a0 What a frightening, fascinating mind it is!<\/p>\n

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Recovering from a near-fatal car accident, Garson Poole discovers that he’s not human after all — he’s an Electric Ant; a robot programmed to think it’s a real person.\u00a0 All his thoughts, his memories and feelings are artificial.\u00a0 But why?\u00a0 For what purpose was he created?\u00a0 How can he tell the people in his life that he’s not one of them?\u00a0 Do they already know?\u00a0 Can he change his programming, or is he doomed to remain a slave; one that can see his chains but can never remove them?\u00a0 If this sounds like something out of Blade Runner <\/em>or Total Recall<\/em>, you’re absolutely right, ’cause those movies are based on PKD stories as well.\u00a0 Hell, the creators of The Matrix<\/em> might as well send all their royalty checks to the Dick estate.\u00a0 Dick’s world is one of sci-fi paranoia, where reality can shatter into a million fragments at any moment and you’ll never quite fit them back the same way.\u00a0 It’s like contemplating “I think, therefore I am” on low-grade acid and never being sure if you’ve come down or not.<\/p>\n

David Mack has done a wonderful job of adapting PKD into comics without losing the nervous frustration of his stories.\u00a0 Kudos to Pascal Alixe and Chris Sotomayor for bringing a realistic quality to the artwork — these look like real people (heh) with real body language and expressions.\u00a0 No Kirby poses here (although wouldn’t the King have done a great adaptation?) or wild distortions; the normality of the artwork makes the situation that much more unnerving.<\/p>\n

During our Philip K. Dick special back in February, David Mack mentioned that Electric Ant is pronounced “electricant”.\u00a0 Which sounds like “replicant” which are the synthetic protagonists of Blade Runner<\/em> and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?<\/em> Mack stated that although each of PKD’s stories were separate, that the Marvel adaptations will shed light on the occasional overlap, creating a more cohesive world.\u00a0 Seen this way, an Electric Ant would be the precursor to a replicant; and indeed, this issue mentions that Garson is an “older” model.\u00a0 Which stories will come into play next?\u00a0 PKD fans should keep an eye out for I Chings, stigmata, and mechanical animals in the background of future issues.<\/p>\n

The first issue of Electric Ant<\/em> is on sale now at fine comics stores everywhere.\u00a0 Now, when will we see David Mack paint an entire PKD graphic novel?<\/p>\n

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