Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

I wanted to love this.  I love both Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? as well as the movie adaptation which goes by Blade Runner.   I really, really wanted to like this.   While I realize it makes sense not to use the actor's likenesses - legal reasons and they're holding closer to the book than that might allow - I found Hauer's Baty to be my Baty.   

He was... completely different here.   I knew he would be character wise; he was vastly different in book and movie.  I clung to the hope that he would be like Hauer, though, at least in looks.  I had a major thing for Hauer's Baty.   To the point that I begged my non-sci-fi liking friend's in college to watch this for my birthday as my present.   They rolled their eyes, gave in, and gaped at a half naked Harrison Ford.   They wouldn't have complained about the movie if I'd only told them about that, they said.   Why hadn't I told them?

I felt something uncomfortable as I pointed out that I didn't remember this scene.  There was more gaping.   

"I, uh, I was all about Roy Baty."   

More gaping.   

"Rutger Hauer.   Roy Baty.   The replicant."

But half-naked Ford, the argued.   

I'm sure I mumbled something and was just awkward the rest of the evening, but I don't really remember.   I do, however, vividly recall Hauer's speech at the end of the movie, which is not part of the book or this graphic novel.   That speech was the best.   I totally wanted Baty in the same way my friends wanted to ogle Ford.  

So, yes, Harrison Ford takes off some of his clothes in this movie.   If you don't like sci-fi, but you like Ford, you should totally watch this movie.  I should point out this is young Ford.   And if you aren't blinded by the shiny, shiny, smooth talking androids, he is apparently hot.   (Also, I feel like  in the interest of full disclosure I should be honest: I wasn't all about Baty.   I was half about Roy and half about Pris Baty.   I desperately wanted them both, but I didn't want to explain because I was clearly having enough of a hard time of WTF was wrong with me that I forgot that Ford took off his clothes, stop looking at me that way, Roy's hot too!   And obviously there were the biggest denial issues ever, too, so there you go.   I would totally have jumped into bed with them both, though, and still would, even just for snuggling.   Which would be totally out of character for them.)

So pretty much I wanted to love the crap out of this book.   It was the book transcribed word for word the first couple of issues, or so it seemed.   It should have been awesome: the art was gorgeous, the writing was gorgeous, but all together it was overwhelming.   And it seemed clunky to have a literal novel in comic book format.  

What's even odder is that some issues in, someone seemed to realize this didn't work and it got better.   A little cleaner, and with a little more editorial work, it cleaned up, toned it down a little, and made for much smoother reading.   What didn't help was that it still stuck exactly to the novel.    A little stronger of an editorial hand would have cleaned this up more, and even the later help would have made the first couple of issues more bearable. 

Look, it's not like I'm reading this comic because I'm too stupid or lazy to read the full novel - which I have multiple times.   In fact, I was thrilled when I realized this seemed to be unabridged at first, or pretty damn close to unabridged.   I wanted to like this.   Despite the help  it got later on, this was not a favorite read, not by far.   Yeah, it got close to it at the end, but...

Also, damn, this is one of the only books that has a main character who's job is to kill robots - replicants, andys,whatever you want to call them - and manages to be a favorite.   I may hate Deckard at some points, but I never hate this novel. 

Just have some Roy Baty, on me, guys.