Back to the Future (IDW Publishing)

Back to the Future
Writer:	Bob Gale John Barber Erik Burnham
Penciller:	Brent Schnoonover Dan Schoening
Publisher:	IDW Publishing

The Back to the Future comic series by IDW Publishing started its release as a 4-issue mini-series on October 21, 2015. In issue 3, it was revealed that it had become an ongoing monthly comic due to popular demand.

Beginning in issue #6, the original format of one or two untold stories per issue was replaced with a mutli-issue ongoing story arc. The original subtitle for the comic, Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines, was used for the trade paperback which contained the first five comics in the series.

The subtitle of the ongoing story arc starting in issue #6 is Continuum Conundrum. The events continue on from the story established in the 1890s framing stories in the first five comics, which made up the first story arc. This is especially true of the fifth issue, which IDW considers the unofficial beginning of the ongoing tale they presented.

Press release

From IDW Publishing's official website:

Great Scott! As the smoke begins to clear on another magnificent San Diego Comic-Con International, IDW Publishing is OFFICIALLY announcing the next great property to come to comics is none other than Back to the Future! Two days ago, the crowd at IDW’s panel sat stunned as Biff himself arrived, grasping a freshly printed copy of the 2016 trade paperback collection and proclaiming it to be the best-selling book of the year. After traveling to the end of the Con, IDW can now confirm it’s true!

IDW is proud to reveal that with the original movie’s creator/screenwriter Bob Gale on board, the untold adventures are headed Back to (and from) the Future!

“We’ve subtitled this ‘Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines’ because for years, fans have asked questions about things that happened before the events of the trilogy, in between the events of the trilogy, or in our alternate realities,” said Gale. “In this series, we’ll finally answer some of those questions, with our focus squarely on the characters everyone loves.”

Joining Gale in these tales through alternate timelines are two familiar IDW writers: John Barber (Transformers) and Erik Burnham (Ghostbusters), who together break down the issue into two separate stories that build upon the iconic characters and time periods from the films. The artistic team will also be split between Brent Schoonover (Batman ’66) and Burnham’s long-time collaborator, Dan Schoening (Ghostbusters). Each subsequent issue will feature rotating artistic teams, who will add more fun stories to this rich universe.

“I can honestly say the enthusiasm surrounding BTTF’s inclusion into our vast library of licensed comics is absolutely palpable here at the IDW offices and amongst the talented creators we’ve recruited to help us bring Bob Gale’s new visions to four-color life—enough excitement to energize a flux-capacitor or two, that’s for sure!” said IDW editor Tom Waltz.

In the first tale of the debut issue, we head back to 1982 and witness the very first meeting between Marty McFly and Doc Brown, before their incredible adventures together began. Then in the second chapter, we head back even farther to 1943 and see how Doc Brown got himself mixed up in the infamous Manhattan Project! This first issue will feature three standard covers, by Schoening, Schoonover, and Amy Mebberson (My Little Pony). Additionally, Back to the Future #1 will join in on the fun of Artist’s Edition Month in October with an original art styled cover by Schoening!

Mark your calendars and set your watches for October when this 4-part series races into comic shops!

Issues and stories

Main series

• Chapter 1:
  • Volume 1: Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines
    • Issue 1: "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 1"
      • "When Marty Met Emmett"
      • "Looking for a Few Good Scientists"
    • Issue 2: "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 2"
      • "The Doc Who Never Was"
      • "Science Project"
    • Issue 3: "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 3"
      • "In Search of Calvin Marty Klein"
      • "Jurassic Biff"
    • Issue 4: "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 4"
      • "Peer Pressure"
      • "Emmett Brown Visits the Future"
    • Issue 5: "Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines 5" - "Clara's Story"
  • Volume 2: Back to the Future: Continuum Conundrum
    • Issue 6: "Continuum Conundrum Part 1"
    • Issue 7: "Continuum Conundrum Part 2"
    • Issue 8: "Continuum Conundrum Part 3"
    • Issue 9: "Continuum Conundrum Part 4"
    • Issue 10: "Continuum Conundrum Part 5"
    • Issue 11: "Continuum Conundrum Part 6"
  • Volume 3: Back to the Future: Who Is Marty McFly?
    • Issue 12: "How Needles Got Here" (one-shot: framing story takes place between 11 and 13)
    • Issue 13: "Who Is Marty McFly? Part 1"
    • Issue 14: "Who Is Marty McFly? Part 2"
    • Issue 15: "Who Is Marty McFly? Part 3"
    • Issue 16: "Who Is Marty McFly? Part 4"
    • Issue 17: "Who Is Marty McFly? Part 5"
  • Volume 4: Back to the Future: Hard Time
    • Issue 18: "Stowaway to the Future" (one-shot: framing story is after 17, flashback is after 11)
    • Issue 19: "Hard Time Part 1"
    • Issue 20: "Hard Time Part 2"
    • Issue 21: "Hard Time Part 3"
  • Volume 5: Back to the Future: Time Served
    • Issue 22: "Time Served Part 1"
    • Issue 23: "Time Served Part 2"
    • Issue 24: "Time Served Part 3"
    • Issue 25: "Time Served Part 4"
• Chapter 2:
  • Back to the Future: Tales from the Time Train
    • Issue 1: "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow Part 1"
    • Issue 2: "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow Part 2"
    • Issue 3: "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow Part 3"
    • Issue 4: "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow Part 4"
    • Issue 5: "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow Part 5"
    • Issue 6: "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow Part 6"

Mini-series

• Back to the Future: Citizen Brown (adaptation of Back to the Future: The Game)
  • Issue 1: "It's About Time"
  • Issue 2: "Get Tannen!"
  • Issue 3: "Citizen Brown"
  • Issue 4: "Double Visions"
  • Issue 5: "OUTATIME"
• Back to the Future: Biff to the Future (expansion of the 1985A timeline)
  • Issue 1: "Biff to the Future Part 1"
  • Issue 2: "Biff to the Future Part 2"
  • Issue 3: "Biff to the Future Part 3"
  • Issue 4: "Biff to the Future Part 4"
  • Issue 5: "Biff to the Future Part 5"
  • Issue 6: "Biff to the Future Part 6"

See also

• Back to the Future (Harvey Comics)

Back to the Future comics published by IDW Publishing Back to the Future series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 Tales from the Time Train series 1 · 2 ·3 · 4 · 5 · 6 Citizen Brown mini-series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 Biff to the Future mini-series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 The Transformers/Back to the Future mini-series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 Trade paperbacks Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines · Continuum Conundrum · Who Is Marty McFly? · Hard Time · Time Served · Tales from the Time Train · The Transformers/Back to the Future Related series Harvey Comics Back to the Future series [edit]