Philip K. Dick
A Comics Biography
The mysteries of a legendary science fiction author are explored in the outstanding graphic novel biography Philip K. Dick.
Dick, known to many as the author of stories that were later made into films like Blade Runner and Total Recall, is something of an enigma, with many of his works marked by profound paranoia and unnerving, original ideas. In a series of flashbacks, the book shows formative glimpses of Dick’s childhood and key events of his adult life, from his writing career to his personal relationships to the fateful day in 1954 when the FBI came to Dick’s home to interview his wife about an ex-classmate suspected of communist activity. Marked by Dick’s drug use, his increasingly erratic behavior, the burglary of his home, and an attempt at suicide, the years that followed gave rise to more complicated conspiracy theories in his troubled mind and eventually a series of mystical visions before his death in 1982.
Queyssi and Marchesi have done their research, and the art captures the look and feel of Dick’s California surroundings, the likenesses of his relatives and writer friends—and, most importantly, portrays his growing isolation, even amid large groups of peers, fans, and family. Perplexing and accomplished, Dick has inspired many books of biography and analysis, but this graphic novel serves as both an intriguing introduction to the man and a unique visual window into his world.
Reviewed by
Peter Dabbene
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
