According to Alex Winter, Mr. Bill S. Preston, Esq. in the flesh, in this book's foreword, when the creative team of Brian Lynch and Jerry Gaylord was crafting this miniseries, Bill and Ted creators Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon were working on the third film in the series, Bill & Ted Face the Music. Secretly, Winter, along with the creators as well as Keanu Reeves were on massive pins and needles. If 2015's Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Return sucked, it could very much upset the whole thing. Studio execs could warrant that if a comic book sequel to the first 2 Bill & Ted movies was a giant flop, why would they want to pump millions of dollars into another live action flick to could potentially go belly up as well? Thankfully, this canon comic book epic didn't wreck the franchise!
Taking place after the events of Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, the boys having some massive writer's bock. The world is demanding another rock epic from Wyld Stallyns and the fear of failure has paralyzed the guys. It's also really bugging them as to why Chuck De Nomolos, the villain from the 2nd movie, hated Bill and Ted so much. Into the time machine for the fellas...
Appearing in the future, they meet a teenaged De Nomolos who is ostracized by friends and family alike. Turns out being the foretold killer of your society's messiahs really carries a stigma. Bill and Ted really feel bad for the kid and they attempt a personality makeover. However, their good deeds don't go unpunished as when Bill and Ted return to their time, they find themselves replaced by De Nomolos and his future cronies! If you thought making robot Bill and Ted to kill the real McCoy was sinister, you haven't seen anything yet as Chuck De Nomolos not only strands the boys in prehistoric times, but he also allegedly kills off both members of Station, turns Rufus into a wanted fugitive and steals Death's Grim Reaping powers!
I thought this was a fantastic midquel that doesn't do anything to harm the flow between Bogus Journey and Face the Music. If you're having trouble visualizing what a midquel is, think about how Rogue One now sits in-between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. Lots of great historical cameos. I won't spoil anything. But I do want to complain just a pinch that Cleopatra and ancient Egypt is nowhere in this book despite being featured on the front cover.
Speaking of the cover, there are tons- TONS, of variant covers. Plus there are several shorts that explore the B&T universe. They were great reads featuring art and story by special guest-stars. I wouldn't mind another helping of these tales; they were that great.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
