Bill and Ted's Excellent Comic Series
Since I have almost a full collection of all the Bill and Ted comics that have been published (so far!) I wanted to go ahead and put together some summaries and reviews of them! Each series has its own enclosed story that slots in to the established Bill and Ted canon; pretty much all of them are set in the gap between Bogus Journey and Face the Music, mostly due to the fact that the years long gap in both Canon and Real Life timelines makes it a pretty convenient playing ground. I think every single one of them is absolutely Excellent, but for more details feel free to explore down below!
Bill & Ted Go To Hell Bill & Ted Roll the Dice Bill & Ted's Most Triumphant Return
Bill & Ted Save the Universe Bill & Ted are Doomed Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book
Bill & Ted Present Death Bill & Ted's Holiday Special Bill & Ted's Day of the Dead
Bill and Ted's Most Triumphant Return
Published in June 2015 over six issues, Bill and Ted's Most Triumphant Return tells the story of an immediately post-"Bogus Journey" Bill and Ted struggling to write a follow-up to their outstanding Battle of the Bands song. As is usual, they decide that a sneak peek into their own futures would be good inspiration to help them decide what to write about, so Station builds them their own personal phone booth, and the boys head out to San Dimas 2645!
Once in the future, they are confronted with the fact that Chuck De Nomolos was a total outcast as a teenager, and despite themselves, they're kind of bummed by this revelation. In a combination of empathy for De Nomolos's plight and their ever-present desire to help change the world for the better, they decide to see if they can help him out. However, since De Nomolos not only grows up to be an attempted murderer, but is as Ted puts it "a full-on present tense killer", things wind up going quite a bit sideways, and Bill and Ted are stuck trying to figure out how to get their lives and the universe back on track.
I'm a big fan of these comics. There are so many little jokes and details that I absolutely love - like Ted having a heinous time trying not to say the word "Dude", the Good Robots Bill and Ted repeatedly getting admonished for trying to perform air guitars while holding Little Bill and Little Ted, and Ted deciding the that perfect song to help motivate a bunch of dejected underdogs is none other than the theme to Sesame Street. The overall story slots in well with the Bill and Ted canon - doing a good job keeping the same tone and character voices as the movies while having its own humor that hits Just right. Each issue also has its own short little Bill and Ted one-shot in the back! My personal favorite is one where Joanna and Elizabeth have to stand up to their own threat from the future to protect Bill and Ted - they're totally kick ass!!
(Fun fact about my personal copies of these comics: I actually wound up getting the Boom Exclusive covers - a pretty rare variant - at no extra cost due to a mix-up with the seller I bought from! Technically not what I ordered, but not bad from a collector's standpoint!! Five stars!)
Bill and Ted Go To Hell
Published in February 2016 over four issues, Bill and Ted Go to Hell features the return of the cast of characters from Bill and Ted's own personal hells: Colonel Oats, Granny S. Preston Esquire, and the Easter Bunny! They've teamed up with another villain of historical significance to kidnap Death and take over Hell and Heaven alike! So, Bill and Ted gather up Rufus, Joan of Arc, Billy the Kid, De Nomolos, and a few others to create a team to help them put a stop to the totally bogus coup!
Another good one! It's a fun romp through Bill and Ted canon, and it's neat to get to spend some additional time with the Historical Figures that starred in Excellent Adventure, since they and the princesses dominate a pretty decent chunk of the story alongside Bill and Ted! This series of comics also features some of my personal Favorite covers - I might wind up scanning them and uploading them here actually, but I'm a huge fan of the Joe Quinones Newberry Comics Exclusive cover, Sean "Cheeks" Galloway variant cover, and the Conor Nolan subscription album cover! The art style in the actual comic may not be my personal favorite, but it's still fun and dynamic and drawn with a lot of talent and love!!
Bill and Ted Save the Universe
Published in August 2017
Bill and Ted are Doomed
Published in April 2021 over four issues, Bill and Ted are Doomed stands as a prequel to Face the Music. Since most of the other comics were written based off the ending of Bogus Journey, Bill and Ted are Doomed aligns itself more with the events shown in the film than those developed in other series. From the unveiled Billie and Thea (Bill and Ted's daughters, as opposed to their previously stated sons [ie, Trans Rights LOL]), the growing rift in Wyld Stallyns caused by Death's forty minute bass solos, and little easter eggs such as the heavily muscled and tatted Prison versions of Bill and Ted showing up in the future's projected simulations, there are plenty of new references that make it fit right at home in the Bill and Ted canon.
This comic follows a Bill and Ted who are in a most heinous creative slump, set about four or five years after the events of Bogus Journey. Unable to come up with a new hit song, struggling financially, and feeling down about the stress weighing on themselves and their families, they resolve to reinvigorate their flagging fanbase and songwriting abilities with a Wyld Stallyns' World Tour! Featuring Bill and Ted's earnest (though fumbling) attempts to relieve the pressure on their wives by navigating the families' financial situations on their own, a new dire dispute about the Validity of Wyld Stallyns' reputation as a Metal band, and new developments in the romantic and family lives of the Good Robots Bill and Ted!
This series is great! I love getting a chance to finally find out what happened to Station and the Good Robots, and spending some more time with Billie and Thea (the first time Bill and Ted's kids have managed to reach toddlerhood in a comic). It's interesting to see the growing tension in the band caused by the immense pressure to write The Song, and the way that destiny weighs on Bill and Ted themselves. The art style is simple and cute, and the humor hits all the right beats you expect from a Bill and Ted series!
