The issues that arise in the Back to the Future universe are always out of control but in the new chapter of Citizen they are bordering catastrophe. Marty is still stuck in the unwelcoming dictatorship of Hill Valley 1986, and he’s got to get Doc out of the clutches of Edna Strickland Brown before he can return to 1931 to fix his previous time slip-ups. Bob Gale and Erik Burnham have worked in a multitude of plot twists for poor Marty. Here’s hoping he can get it together before the future he’s trying to fix can’t be found again.
Is it good?
Back to the Future: Citizen Brown #4 (IDW Publishing)
The abundant amount of problems facing Marty McFly are overwhelming. The poor guy is having a rough time. The internal struggle is portrayed really well in the writing and through the character interaction. A little section that showcases his mom and dad really has some feelings attached. I always loved the relationship between them and it’s written really well. There’s still a lot of comic relief written in that makes it a fun story, though.
Doc is a massively complex character in this issue. He has two versions of himself that we see–the dictatorship grown Citizen Brown that is finally figuring out he’s a puppet in his wife’s scheme, and the naive Emmett that has fallen in love with the bold Edna Strickland. It’s an interesting struggle that you actually see from the view of two versions of the same person. The images are still popping off the page, I really like that it seems like it’s become even more confident as the story continues.
The story itself is interesting but long. There’s a lot to pay attention to and an extreme amount to read. I’m sad to say I had to read it a few times to make sure I didn’t miss anything because I got to a point where I started skipping some dialogue. Marty’s character seems to be becoming extremely self-centered in the later pages; it makes sense but it’s sad to see the character hurt the people he cares the most about for his own gain. I see it biting him in the butt-soon.
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