Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #2

STORY

So BOOM STUDIOS has the Buffy license now and it seems that this is a reboot of the original story going by what I’m reading here. This is Buffy in the now and not the 90s, starting fresh, even the title of the story is Welcome to the Hellmouth Part 2. So lets dive in and see whats the same and what’s new and if the book is worth a look.

We start with a blurb about last issue in the form of a blog apparently written by Cordelia. I do wish I had read the first issue of this as they are already a lot of elements in play with this second issue but anyone familiar with the tv show should not be lost as author really seems to get Buffy in the overall sensibilities. That’s one thing I can say right away, this book feels like a Buffy story. Whether you were a fan of the show or the comics put out by various publishers on the years during and since the show Jordie Bellaire has got both the voice and tone of the series down pat. Even with all of the character changes and updating the story to the current year it all plays out as if Whedon was running the show now and for the first time. Honestly this is a pretty good idea, to give you a Buffy update that still honors the past efforts without losing touch with what made the original so engaging. I wish I could say the same about things like Star Trek Discovery or She-Ra but to each his own. At least ist not Thunder Cats Roar.

But opinions on other Ips aside this comic does a great job at combining the old with the new. Here Willow starts off gay from the get go, Cordelia is Ms Perfect but without being a spoiled princess as well. Buffy’s mom Joyce has a live in boyfriend so we skip over the divorce of her parents and jump right into Joyce having a life of her own and what this means to Buffy while she is constantly trying to save Sunnydale and poor Xander is not the jocular, lovable outsider but just the outsider. Though his narration via blog punctuates the story he is barely seen which heightens his distressing loneliness even while being a part of the Scooby Gang. I’m curious to see how this thread will play out as Xander was always the audience point of view in the series, being the only member of the gang to never become some sort of supernatural being. He’s the guy who most wants to be the hero and the only one who is denied super powers and the other has jumped on that idea here with a vengeance and I can’t help but worry that Xander is gonna go down a dark path.

I’m guessing the Jordie is taking for granted that this is a book for fans of the series because in issue two alone we see Anya, Drusilla and Spike and all of them were already likely in the previous issue. This book is going ahead at full steam and if you know your Buffy you’ll be fine with all of that, but if you happen to be new to the series I don’t know if this approach will be an enticement or a put off.

ART

The art starts off with a nightmare sequence that looks great! From pencils to inks to colors and layout this part is great. Unfortunately the boring stuff is a bit boring. There’s a whole lot of flat angles during the everyday stuff and it gets dull pretty quick, but anytime there is some sort of action (even running track) the artist kicks back into gear. Dan Mora’s saving grace during these parts is his ability to draw likenesses. The characters look like the actors and they don’t look heavily referenced! Kudos on that Dan!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Old fans will love this book for sure and hopefully it can snag some new ones. 4 out of 5!

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(W) Jordie Bellaire (A) Dan Mora (CA) Kevin Wada