Luke Owen reviews the first issue of Back to Back to the Future…
When making Back to the Future, Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis had to let Melora Hardin go from the role of Jennifer as she was taller than Michael J. Fox who had replaced Eric Stoltz. In this fantasy adventure, Bob and Melora go back in time to make sure that Stoltz isn’t fired from playing Marty…
It’s always been one of my most loved pieces of movie trivia and a great ‘what if’ story: Michael J. Fox was second choice for playing Marty McFly in everyone’s favourite 80’s piece of nostalgia, Back to the Future. And with Fox replacing Eric Stoltz, Melora Hardin (now of The US Office fame) was also let go in favour of Claudia Wells who wasn’t quite so tall. Well, David Guy Levy has taken this ‘what if’ to the next level by asking – how would Back to the Future have turned out if Stoltz hadn’t been replaced?
In this opening issue, we’re presented with Bob Gale as a script consultant who suddenly feels a rush of guilt about his actions when asked about casting choices from a Back to the Future fan site. He calls up Hardin out of the blue to see if she fancies meeting up to talk about it and from there their relationship grows.
It would be curious to know just what Gale and Hardin make of this opening issue. Particularly Hardin who is almost portrayed as a loose kind of girl, openly admitting to her breast enlargement and even offering Gale sex because she is in no rush to get home to her husband and kids. Gale isn’t really given much of a character outside of his guilt, but his emotions are carried very well by the artwork which captures him brilliantly.
Speaking of which, the look of the comic is outstanding. A very noir-esque feel has been given to the story which perfectly works with the dialogue. While perhaps not keen on the characterisation, the dialogue is very well written and it draws you in with every word. Levy has also done a fantastic job of setting up the obvious ‘how can they pass for their younger selves’ problem for future issues by subtly dropping in lines about how they ‘look good for their age’ or the aforementioned breast augmentation.
There may be some issues with it, but Back to Back to the Future #1 is a brilliant read, particularly because the concept of the story is so ingenious. It gives you just enough of a tease in this opening issue (which can be read for free) to make you want to read more and I personally cannot wait to find out how the story progresses. The writing is great, the artwork is engaging and the attention to detail is fabulous. Back to Back to the Future is well worth your time.
You can read the first issue for free here.
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Month in Review show for Flickering Myth’s Podcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published July 2, 2013. Updated November 7, 2019.
