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Bill & Ted #5
Bill & Ted are Doomed
This new series is a direct sequel to Bogus Journey and prequel to Face the Music and part of the Bill and Ted canon bringing in screenwriter and creator Ed Solomon to the table along with bringing back legendary Bill and Ted comics writer Evan Dorkin and acclaimed artist Roger Langridge] After defeating the evil dictator De Nomolos in Bogus Journey in 1995, things aren't looking as excellent as they should for either Bill and Ted or Wyld Stallyns. There's tension in the band and worry at home. Bill and Ted's obsessiveness with writing the one song to bring peace to the world is affecting their playing and their relationships with their families. The band is losing favor with fans and the future isn't shaping up as they were all led to believe it would from past (and future) events. The princesses are overwhelmed, Death threatens to quit the band as his growing ego has opened a rift, and the Stations live in their garage with their clunky creations Robot Bill and Ted who are creating lots of chaos. Desperate for a solution Bill and Ted burst in to announce their great idea to revive the band's fortunes: A world tour to spread the love - and the rock, and the love of the rock - to the world. Collects Bill & Ted Are Doomed issues 1-4.
104 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2021
About the author
Evan Dorkin
281 books146 followersEvan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 18, 2021
Evan Dorkin returns to Bill & Ted in a series that bridges the gap from Bogus Journey to Face the Music. There's nothing earth shattering here. It's Dorkin slapstick in the vein of Milk & Cheese. The book has its moments but Bill and Ted's stoner schtick can go on too long for me. Roger Langdridge's cartoony art does work well for this kind of story.
January 7, 2021
This book was a nostalgia trip for me. For Bill and Ted, of course, but for the writer Evan Dorkin as well.
Looking backwards, Dorkin’s probably best known for Beasts of Burden, but it’s a much different vibe from what I know him for.
In the 90s, he was on the cutting edge of satirical cutting edge comics. His comics like Milk and Cheese begetting Lenore, Johnny the Homicidal Manic and Invader Zim. Dorkin even wrote a bunch of Bill and Ted comics back then which explains why he’s on this title.
My biggest reluctance is over whether Dorkin would still hold up. We live not only in an age where satire is shown on TV...err..Daily, but also in an environment where if anything happens in the world, memes about it hit the internet in a matter of minutes.
This isn’t Dorkin’s greatest work. Sure, now he’s the aged artist, 30 years in. I think partially he may be constrained by the book which tries to tie in to the recent movie. It is designed to be a sequel to the last movie and a prequel to the new one.
This isn’t quite the laugh riot his 90s books were. Still, I have to admit that it worked very subtly. The main plot resolves around Heavy Metal music and the jokes likewise are skewed around that.
Roger Landridge’s art is appropriate to Dorkin’s style and works well. I read this as four issues and it did feel like it got better
I probably can’t really give it an honest review. It’s not hysterical but it is fun. Dorkin nails the characters and Landridge is probably the secret weapon here. Comic comfort food.
Looking backwards, Dorkin’s probably best known for Beasts of Burden, but it’s a much different vibe from what I know him for.
In the 90s, he was on the cutting edge of satirical cutting edge comics. His comics like Milk and Cheese begetting Lenore, Johnny the Homicidal Manic and Invader Zim. Dorkin even wrote a bunch of Bill and Ted comics back then which explains why he’s on this title.
My biggest reluctance is over whether Dorkin would still hold up. We live not only in an age where satire is shown on TV...err..Daily, but also in an environment where if anything happens in the world, memes about it hit the internet in a matter of minutes.
This isn’t Dorkin’s greatest work. Sure, now he’s the aged artist, 30 years in. I think partially he may be constrained by the book which tries to tie in to the recent movie. It is designed to be a sequel to the last movie and a prequel to the new one.
This isn’t quite the laugh riot his 90s books were. Still, I have to admit that it worked very subtly. The main plot resolves around Heavy Metal music and the jokes likewise are skewed around that.
Roger Landridge’s art is appropriate to Dorkin’s style and works well. I read this as four issues and it did feel like it got better
I probably can’t really give it an honest review. It’s not hysterical but it is fun. Dorkin nails the characters and Landridge is probably the secret weapon here. Comic comfort food.
June 24, 2021
Na to jak mám moc rád Billa a Teda, tak tohle bylo takový nijaký, humor tu byl místy fajn, ale jindy to bylo opakování hlášek z filmů furt dokola s dějem který nemá kouzlo filmů.
Nemluvě o tom že Bill s Tedem jsou taky kupodivu docela nesymptičtí a už se vyloženě chovají jako kreténi, což v prvnich dvou dilech tak moc nebylo, byli jen douche bagove a ve trojce to uz sice ukazovali, ale tak hrozne to nebylo.
Jinak jako fajn pocteni, pobavil jsem se, ale kdyby to melo o sesit navic, tak uz bych asi dal i o hvezdu nize. Tohle je proste holt jen pro skalni fans.
Nemluvě o tom že Bill s Tedem jsou taky kupodivu docela nesymptičtí a už se vyloženě chovají jako kreténi, což v prvnich dvou dilech tak moc nebylo, byli jen douche bagove a ve trojce to uz sice ukazovali, ale tak hrozne to nebylo.
Jinak jako fajn pocteni, pobavil jsem se, ale kdyby to melo o sesit navic, tak uz bych asi dal i o hvezdu nize. Tohle je proste holt jen pro skalni fans.
May 24, 2023
Ever wonder what happened to Station and to the good robot Bill & Ted after Bogus Journey? Here's your answer! Along with a hard look at the totally non-triumphant world of homicidal pale-faced Scandinavian death metal.
Read
January 2, 2021A prequel/sequel bridging the gap between Bogus Journey and Face The Music – but despite Evan Dorkin clearly getting the gig because of his previous Bill & Ted comics, it's not a sequel to those, since they derived from the original screenplay rather than the film of Bogus Journey, and as such are a whole other timeline (albeit one which gets nods here and there, because hey, time travel, parallel worlds, you'd be daft not to, right?). I would say that's not important, and if you like Bill & Ted you'll like this, but then a bunch of my friends loathed the most recent film, so who knows? In short: Bill & Ted are touring the world, trying to work out why they used to be popular and are destined to be popular but are really not popular in between. And even less so once they anger the Scandinavian evil metal scene, which – understandably, TBH – views Wyld Stallyns as the falsest of false metal, despite having Death on bass. Hijinks, rock in-jokes (I especially enjoyed the metal band with a name so convoluted they can't even pronounce it themselves) and general silliness ensue, all of it perfectly rendered in Langridge's pleasant, open style. Along the way it even ties up a couple of loose ends, like what became of Station and the robots, and ends on a lovely little scene with Rufus which the film couldn't really have pulled off without risking some serious uncanny valley. Sure, it's a nostalgia project, but it's not like we have a present or a future anymore, is it?
April 19, 2021
This book is most excellent.
June 8, 2023
One of the positive highlights of the lockdown caused by the pandemic of 2020 was getting to watch the film Bill & Ted Face the Music. My bride and I got to watch it On Demand and for a couple of brief hours, we got to forget about the world outside that was supposedly going all to heck
2020's Bill & Ted Are Doomed is a prequel series to Bill & Ted Face the Music. Set about 8-10 years before the events of the threequel, Bill & Ted are in a rut. Stymied by the pressure of writing the song that will usher in an era of world peace, the guys have allowed their music career to slump. Wyld Stallyns are considered Mild Stallions by the music loving community and it's putting a strain on the lives of Bill and Ted.
Along with relationship woes with their princess brides, bass playing Grim Reaper is ready to quit the band and the guys are completely broke. This stagnant period of the boys' career is having drastic effects on the time stream. Without the song, not only is the future promise of international peace threatened, but so is the fabric of the entire multiverse! Hopefully, the guys can put things right with a World Tour!
Original Marvel Comics series writer Evan Dorkin returns to craft this 4-issue miniseries that gets readers and potential movie goers up to date on what's happened to Bill and Ted since we last saw them in in 1991's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Unfortunately, life got in the way with this plan.
Bill & Ted Face the Music debuted in August, 2020. That's exactly when issue #1 hit store shelves. That's actually about 6 months later than Dark Horse Comics originally planned to release these books. It was late March to early April when the comic book industry as a collective whole shut down new releases. Remember, a lockdown was in place and a lot of non-essential stores were forced to close. Even though I consider them essential, local, state and federal government branches didn't consider comic book stores to be all that necessary. Hence the delay.
I enjoyed this book. It captured the franchise very well. Okay, maybe too well. The ridiculously verbose talk of Bill and Ted got a little bit annoying at the end. But I loved the silliness of the whole thing and Death's banter and annoyance at everybody was just perfect. And all those Easter eggs of things to come in Face the Music! So fun!
If you are familiar with Evan Dorkin's original Bill and Ted run or his magnum opus Milk and Cheese, then you know that he's a master of madcap mayhem. However, I feel like Dorkin was trying to stuff 5 pounds of story into a 4 pound container.
Characters that aren't even in the threequel are given a lot of unneeded extra attention. Plus there's one scene in which the symbiotic duo Station are looking sadly at the night sky that just doesn't go anywhere. I felt sad for Station, figuring that they miss their home world. Yet, they don't return there. I probably would have blown this minor scene off had Evan Dorkin not included a sketch of it in the artist notes in the back of the book. But with it's conclusion, I sure did feel bummed that Station doesn't get a happy ending.
While it was great to get more insight into the progression of Bill and Ted from their bogus journey to their third adventure, this miniseries was a tad uneven and at times over the top to a point of discomfort.
2020's Bill & Ted Are Doomed is a prequel series to Bill & Ted Face the Music. Set about 8-10 years before the events of the threequel, Bill & Ted are in a rut. Stymied by the pressure of writing the song that will usher in an era of world peace, the guys have allowed their music career to slump. Wyld Stallyns are considered Mild Stallions by the music loving community and it's putting a strain on the lives of Bill and Ted.
Along with relationship woes with their princess brides, bass playing Grim Reaper is ready to quit the band and the guys are completely broke. This stagnant period of the boys' career is having drastic effects on the time stream. Without the song, not only is the future promise of international peace threatened, but so is the fabric of the entire multiverse! Hopefully, the guys can put things right with a World Tour!
Original Marvel Comics series writer Evan Dorkin returns to craft this 4-issue miniseries that gets readers and potential movie goers up to date on what's happened to Bill and Ted since we last saw them in in 1991's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Unfortunately, life got in the way with this plan.
Bill & Ted Face the Music debuted in August, 2020. That's exactly when issue #1 hit store shelves. That's actually about 6 months later than Dark Horse Comics originally planned to release these books. It was late March to early April when the comic book industry as a collective whole shut down new releases. Remember, a lockdown was in place and a lot of non-essential stores were forced to close. Even though I consider them essential, local, state and federal government branches didn't consider comic book stores to be all that necessary. Hence the delay.
I enjoyed this book. It captured the franchise very well. Okay, maybe too well. The ridiculously verbose talk of Bill and Ted got a little bit annoying at the end. But I loved the silliness of the whole thing and Death's banter and annoyance at everybody was just perfect. And all those Easter eggs of things to come in Face the Music! So fun!
If you are familiar with Evan Dorkin's original Bill and Ted run or his magnum opus Milk and Cheese, then you know that he's a master of madcap mayhem. However, I feel like Dorkin was trying to stuff 5 pounds of story into a 4 pound container.
Characters that aren't even in the threequel are given a lot of unneeded extra attention. Plus there's one scene in which the symbiotic duo Station are looking sadly at the night sky that just doesn't go anywhere. I felt sad for Station, figuring that they miss their home world. Yet, they don't return there. I probably would have blown this minor scene off had Evan Dorkin not included a sketch of it in the artist notes in the back of the book. But with it's conclusion, I sure did feel bummed that Station doesn't get a happy ending.
While it was great to get more insight into the progression of Bill and Ted from their bogus journey to their third adventure, this miniseries was a tad uneven and at times over the top to a point of discomfort.
March 29, 2021
Good, silly, cheesy, nostalgic fun. This is taking place in the year 2000, closer to Bogus Journey than Face the Music. Bill and Ted are trying to write The Song, of course, but money problems have reared their ugly head, so our duo decide to take Wyld Stallyns on a world tour, starting in Europe, winding up at an Evil Metal festival. Will the band be sacrificed to Frost Giants, or will the robot Bill and Ted, along with Station, be able to save them in time, thus saving the future?
Look, this isn't earth-shattering literature or anything, but Bill and Ted fans will enjoy it. Soooo many puns and inside jokes, and some great sight gags. The Bill and Ted speak is slightly overdone, and there's what was to me a jarring mistake when Ted says something about waiting "on line" for something- Dorkin, I get that you're an East Coast dude, but West Coast dudes wait "in line." It's a small gripe, but it took me out of the moment. I did appreciate finding out what happened to the robot Bill and Ted and Station though!
Overall, a fun read, worth getting!
Look, this isn't earth-shattering literature or anything, but Bill and Ted fans will enjoy it. Soooo many puns and inside jokes, and some great sight gags. The Bill and Ted speak is slightly overdone, and there's what was to me a jarring mistake when Ted says something about waiting "on line" for something- Dorkin, I get that you're an East Coast dude, but West Coast dudes wait "in line." It's a small gripe, but it took me out of the moment. I did appreciate finding out what happened to the robot Bill and Ted and Station though!
Overall, a fun read, worth getting!
January 17, 2021
Read as single issues.
Gotta say, while Bill and Ted are Doomed isn't much of a prequel to Bill and Ted Face the Music it is a very welcome return to the franchise by Evan Dorkin.
Sure, there's some connective tissue here, and some explanations on why some characters are missing from the new film, but Doomed is essentially a welcome reprise for Dorkin who wrote and drew 12 utterly bodacious issues of the Bill and Ted comic book in the '90s. Reading Dorkin's take on these guys it's like 20 years haven't passed, and Roger Langridge, a brilliant cartoonist in his own right, does a respectable job of filling in on the art chores for this (most likely) final comic book adventure for the most intrepid Wyld Stallyns.
Really fun read and great to revisit these characters in this way. I'd eagerly welcome more stories to fill-in the 20-year gap between this series and the film but I doubt Doomed set any sales records. As it is, the book is a resplendent note to go out on.
Recommended.
Gotta say, while Bill and Ted are Doomed isn't much of a prequel to Bill and Ted Face the Music it is a very welcome return to the franchise by Evan Dorkin.
Sure, there's some connective tissue here, and some explanations on why some characters are missing from the new film, but Doomed is essentially a welcome reprise for Dorkin who wrote and drew 12 utterly bodacious issues of the Bill and Ted comic book in the '90s. Reading Dorkin's take on these guys it's like 20 years haven't passed, and Roger Langridge, a brilliant cartoonist in his own right, does a respectable job of filling in on the art chores for this (most likely) final comic book adventure for the most intrepid Wyld Stallyns.
Really fun read and great to revisit these characters in this way. I'd eagerly welcome more stories to fill-in the 20-year gap between this series and the film but I doubt Doomed set any sales records. As it is, the book is a resplendent note to go out on.
Recommended.
September 11, 2021
A new canon story taking place between Bogus Journey and Face the Music. Very fun and lighthearted, this story has the whole typical cast (complete with young versions of Thea and Billie) headed out on tour to get their name back out there, solve some money problems, and hopefully get inspired to write the song that unites the world. The hilarious spin on the title comes from them being proclaimed as "False Metal" by a Doom Metal band. If you know the culture, this is actually hilarious... LOL
Exactly what I wanted and needed. A good laugh and a fun quick read. Recommend.
Exactly what I wanted and needed. A good laugh and a fun quick read. Recommend.
May 21, 2022
Two of my favorite creators go on a romp together with two characters I honestly have very little attachment to, so my giving this 5 stars really means something. Dorkin's verbal gags are matched step by step by Langridge's linework for wall to wall dumb ass jokes that are far too rare these days in comics.
June 18, 2021
*3.5 stars*
A really enjoyable dumb fun read.
A really enjoyable dumb fun read.
June 26, 2021
A most totally excellent comic
December 20, 2021
It started off funny but then just got really, really stupid. Obviously I´m not the target audience for this.
May 31, 2022
Prequel to Face the Music.
I liked this. It’s fun. Light hearted. The art is good too.
I liked this. It’s fun. Light hearted. The art is good too.
September 2, 2022
This is a solid little prelude into the new movie. Entertaining and captures the feel of the original movies throughout.
October 22, 2022
Roger Langridge totally suits the world of Bill & Ted, but this 'fill-in' between Bogus Journey and Face The Music doesn't quite Rock Out as I'd hoped...
December 14, 2023
The Wyld Stallyns are Back
March 16, 2025
When marketing yourself as a direct sequel to the films, ignoring the previous comic books is an allowable choice.
Gender bending the movie-canon children is not.
Gender bending the movie-canon children is not.
June 30, 2025
Started silly, but ties together so well
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews