‘Bill and Ted Save the Universe #1’ Review
Written by Brian Joines | Art by Bachan | Published by Boom! Studios
When Bill and Ted’s first film was released I doubt anyone thought it would exist in any form nearly thirty years later. By no means is it a timeless concept. Bill and Ted are two characters very much of a specific time and place. I could not see the youth of today at all understanding much what they were about let alone comprehend all the slang they always use. Bill and Ted Save the Universe embraces that part of their characters to make a book that is designed for anyone who enjoyed their past films.
Bill and Ted are all about absurdity and there is plenty of that here. It starts with one of the most elaborate surprise parties ever put together. Not often do you see someone go through time in order to be thrown off the scent of an upcoming of surprise, but that is the world Bill and Ted live in. A world that gets even more complicated when they get abducted by aliens in order to go on a galactic tour to spread peace across the universe. Of course, they do. Of course, Bill and Ted’s music is so powerful it can transcend galactic boundaries causing unknown alien species to ‘Party On’ for peace.
Brian Joines has the voices of the Bill and Ted universe down. Everyone from Bill and Ted, to their parents, to Death, and of course the character with the most robust vocabulary… Station. This could have easily been the next movie in the franchise. The biggest complaint is that Bill and Ted Save the Universe does borrow a lot from those movies. Many of its best bits are lifted directly from the biggest jokes in the films. It does not add a lot new until the very end, which in fairness is a surprise that could give this book a fresh way to look at these characters.
By no means will Bill and Ted Save the Universe convert those who do not like the movies. If you care little about Bill and Ted there is not much of anything for you. Those that have enjoyed the franchise have plenty to be excited about.
***½ 3.5/5
