Bill & Ted Are Doomed #1:Strange Things Are Afoot In San Dimas

Bill & Ted are back….in comics. Luckily author Even Dorkin came with them. Arguably the best writer of Bill & Ted comics, Dorkin picks up almost right where he left off in the 90s, with an adventure taking place across all space and time that has the feel of a big-budget movie. He accomplishes something not too common, by telling a story that’s big in scope, but is small at its heart. He really boils this first issue down to a family tale featuring the cast of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. It runs a close parallel to the newly released Bill & Ted Face the Music but has its distinct differences. I loved the overall storyline that gets set up in this first issue, and I like where I think this story is headed.

What Dorkin doesn’t do is repeat things from the films. I’ve read a lot of licensed comics and there’s a good number of them that just rehash something that played well in the movie or show, and sometimes that kind of stuff doesn’t really play the same on the page. Luckily, that’s not the case here, we get some brand-new gags and funny moments that are exclusive to the comic. A great story that has a definite beginning, middle, and end, and also leaves you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next issue

We’re lucky enough to have Roger Langridge the artist on this title, and he’s about the best choice that I can think of to illustrate this book. He’s got that awesome style where there’s a lot going on in the background, but it never ever distracts your eyes from what’s important. The characters are all portrayed as they should be, without exception and this is just another time when Langridge proves himself to be an artist that doesn’t work enough.