REVIEW: Biff to the Future #1

I’ve seen the Back to the Future movies a number of times. If you think about it there are a lot of questions that come out of those movies. How many timelines are Doc and Marty creating in all their trips back and forth? If there is more than one Delorian in 1885, why couldn’t they use the parts from one to fix the other? Why would Marty’s parents hire his mother’s almost rapist to detail their cars? How did old Biff know how to use the Delorian?

However, Biff to the Future takes on another question. Bob Gale, who co-wrote the movie with Stephen Spielberg, and Derek Fridolfs decided to answer the question of how did 1955 Biff start using the Sport Almanac to become rich?

While it is usually interesting to see how a story’s villain becomes evil, the problem with this book is that Biff is already a mean, abusive jerk BEFORE Marty travels back in time. While it is fun to see that everybody, including Biff’s grandmother cheats him out of the money he is owed from the bets, I can’t really work up a lot of sympathy for him.

I’m not sure that I understand why Gale (Back to the Future, The Amazing Spider-Man) and Fridolfs (Gotham Academy, Adventure Time) think that this is the interesting story to tell. As I pointed out above there are many better mysteries for them to explore about the Back to the Future universe. Although they don’t show it in the first issue, maybe the next issue will show the first time Biff manages to tell the old “Make like a tree…”“ joke next issue.

Gales intimate knowledge of the movie does pay off in the details of this book. It is clear that he has been thinking about this question and he does have some sympathy for Biff.

I like how Alan Robinson’s art gives both a nod to the movies as well as Silver Age comics. I’d swear he’s using Granny Goodness as the model for Biff’s Grandmother. He gets all the details right from the clothes, and the jalopies to the linoleum floors. His drawings just sing mid-50’s California.

This book is a fun read. It is funny and filled with double crosses. It is clear that everybody is looking out for themselves in this book. I just think I wanted to like the book more than I actually did.

[yasr_overall_rating]

Writers: Bob Gale and Derek Fridolf
Artist: Alan Robinson
Colors: Maria Santaolalla
Publisher: IDW

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!