Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Tea Time #1

Since returning to the comic book world, Buffy has managed to challenge the expected norm of a tie-in series. This almost re-imagining of the show has kept the characters, added twists and managed to update the 90’s charm somewhat. With that idea in mind, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Tea Time takes a look at one of the most heartfelt relationships of the show, Buffy and her Watcher Giles, applying more than a few surprises along the way.

Giles has the Scooby gang doing their least favourite thing, researching a mysterious artifact that will no doubt spew undying horror over the Hellmouth. What’s worse is that the night is a Bronze night! To keep things interesting Xander, Willow, Xander again, Giles and finally Buffy get to spin a yarn about the worse nightmare in the whole Hellmouth; Vampire Giles!

Clever horror is right up writer/artist Mirka Andolfo who this time around supplies the story. Andolfo sets and resets the scene well, letting each character taint their version of Vampire Giles. The scenarios play out well with quite a lot of humour in some parts. One of key elements is the interaction amongst the gang, so much so that for a while you forget this is a Buffy book and the kicker is that you don’t actually miss her. However, the final act bring Buffy back to the fore in a way that is heartbreaking whilst carrying the undead eroticism of vampiric seduction. Throughout it, Andolfo’s script sparkles, giving each character their focus allowing equality across the group.

Siya Oum is a creator that I have a huge amount of time for. Her series Lola XoXo is a true work of art. It is intriguing that both Andolfo and Oum are writer/artists. Here, Oum has changed her style somewhat to acclimatise to a more cartoon style. This may not be Oum’s natural style, which reasserts itself during the middle to third act. Oum takes her influences from the show, high kicking and short skirts was the order back in the day and make an appearance here. Truth be told, for large parts of this book, I prefer Oum’s work on her own book, yet Oum delivers a final act that is gorgeously heartbreaking and an epilogue that is just pure tongue-in-cheek macabre fun. Some of the inconsistencies in Oum’s work could be down to the trio of inkers, Guiseppe Cafaro, Francesca Follini and Dario Formisani, which despite their talent gives the art an uneven look. Colors are provided wonderfully by Eleonora Bruni who maintains the horror vibe leading to the books gothically romantic ending. Finally, letterer Ed Dukeshire get to use a smaller than expected font in order to allow the amount of banter to breathe.

BOOM! Studios have done a great job in bring Buffy and Angel back to the masses. By taking a different tack, they have managed to keep their Buffy-verse interesting, enjoyable and importantly, fun!

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 4.5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 4.5 Stars

Written by; Mirka Andolfo
Art by; Siya Oum
Inks by; Guiseppe Cafaro, Francesca Follini & Dario Formisani
Colors by; Eleonora Bruni
Letters by; Ed Dukshire
Published by; BOOM! Studios

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network