Reading Post, Part I

In which I finally talk about books and comics I have read/am reading, because I keep forgetting to mention them and not too much happened today beyond there being a million credit card gifts to process.

The BTTF Comics

Finally read all four issues that are out! Part of the purpose of my mall trip, actually -- I wanted to use the bus rides up and back to catch up on them. This first set of IDW comics are, by Bob Gale's own admission, a chance to fill in some of the holes in the characters' backstories/adventures and explore some of the possibilities -- hence why the subtitle of this first set is "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines." Each of the first four issues contains two stories -- the first wrapped in the framing device of Doc explaining his history to his sons as he builds the time train, the second a shorter stand-alone that fills in a gap somewhere in the trilogy's timeline. The list so far:

Issue #1 -- "When Emmett Met Mary" (Doc and Marty's first meeting (well, from Marty's perspective) and "Looking For A Few Good Scientists" (Doc getting recruited onto the Manhattan Project)

Issue #2 -- "The Doc Who Never Was" (How Doc's mansion burned down) and "Science Project" (fun little interlude that ends with how Doc got the DeLorean -- and, if you look closely, his used pinball machine parts)

Issue #3 -- "In Search of Calvin Marty Klein" (a bump on the road in George and Lorraine's romance) and "Jurassic Biff" (Biff's attempts at figuring out the time machine lead him a little too far into the past)

Issue #4 -- "Peer Pressure" (How Marty hooked up with Jennifer) and "Emmett Brown Visits The Future" (Doc's first visit to the future, natch)

All of the stories are good -- it's nice to see an at least semi-official version of how Doc and Marty met (even if it's weird to see Marty and Needles throwing around the phrase "interocitor tube," even if it is supposed to be part of an amp in this verse), and how Marty met Jennifer. I wish I could say the same of the artwork -- almost all of it is at least decent, but "Peer Pressure" is TERRIBLE, particularly when it comes to depicting the Browns. (Jennifer, weirdly enough, looks good. Go figure.) Of the set, my favorites are "Science Project," which is mainly an excuse to show Marty fooling around with some of Doc's crazier inventions; "In Search of Calvin Marty Klein," which throws Doc hilariously in between a fighting George and Lorraine; and "When Emmett Met Marty," because "how Doc met Marty" stories are always fun (even if I wonder what happened to his elaborate security system between the comics and the movie. . .) "Jurassic Biff" is funny too, though it does prove that Bob Gale seems a little obsessed with having BTTF characters interact with dinosaurs (there's two dinosaur-themed episodes in the Animated Series, one of which got a comic adaptation, and of course one of the big moments in the Ride is encountering a T-Rex).

From all available information, Issue #5 is only going to have one story, which will be fleshing out Clara. Looking forward to it! . . .But I'm really looking forward to the comic adaptation of the Game :D

Aaand my Terry Pratchett books will have to wait until tomorrow, as I once again really need to get to bed -- night all, sleep tight!