Written by Jordie Bellaire Illustrated by Dan Mora
Published by BOOM! Studios
Man, I just loved reading these threes comic books! I wasn’t expecting to either!
While I enjoyed the television show when it was on, I had felt that it had seen it’s day at this point in our lives. The comic books that followed were mostly okay, but had a decreasing sense of quality. These books however are of the highest quality and I can’t recommend them enough!
From the first issue, it seems like this is a reboot of the original Buffy series. But I am almost hesitant to call it that. It’s more like a polishing of the franchise and getting it back to basics.
Jordie Bellaire doesn’t throw away any mythology or anything. She actually updates it and makes it relevant, yet keeping the flavor and the characters we all know and love.
We first see Buffy working at the Tuna Verse fast food restaurant. She is there working and she is miserable. She asks her boss for her fifteen minute break and she goes outside. She then has an encounter with a vampire trying to kill a couple that just ate at the restaurant. After she dispatches that vampire, we see that the couple she has saved are actually Xander and Willow. And this is how these three friends meet in this version of the story.
From there we go to high school and we see Xander and Willow following the mysterious Buffy. They see that she’s going to the library. What’s in there? Well, it’s the classic set up. Giles is there, and he is sending Buffy on missions as well as training her. Xander and Willow have a funny moment where they break in.
Then, they learn all about Buffy and what her deal is. Needless to say, it’s the start of a legend. And it feels that way.
Buffy has another cool action sequence at the end of the issue. This also leads to the introduction of Anya in this universe. I love the way Bellaire handles Anya here too. She seems like a real threat and is scary as hell, especially on that last page.
The next two issues are equally spectacular. We see a horrifying dream sequence where Buffy is basically told that “a slayer has no future.” That sequence is in the second issue and it’s handled brilliantly by Mora.
Apparently, it’s a dream Buffy has a lot and she is told also that there is “no stopping fate” and that “hell will always find you.” This dream is sure to play an important part in upcoming issues and Bellaire handles the writing part of it well.
We get to see Buffy and Giles planning their strategy. Then, Cordelia Chase enters the library and we are introduced to her! We also get introduced to Spike and get to see Anya formulate and solidify her plans. And we also see a new possible love interest for Buffy!
By the third issue, I was in love with this series completely. We get to see more of Spike and we see more of the “Big Bad” of the storyline. There’s a beautiful fight that happens at night that allows Mora to loose on art wise. We also see the beginnings of the “Scooby Gang” being formed and the ending of the third issue had me wanting more immediately!
I love how Bellaire handles everything in fact. Her writing skills are off the charts here and man, does she know these characters. She writes them all in a smart way that feels different enough from what Joss Whedon did. At the same time, it also retains the flavor of his writing while feeling new.
Dan Mora drawing this book is a huge boon as well. He consistently does amazing work and this is another feather in his cap. This is a great start to what may be the best Buffy comic of all time!
RATING: A
