Recap: Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Boom Studio Comics Chapter 5

In this chapter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, we deal with the aftermath of Xander’s close encounter with Drusilla. What happened to him and how will Buffy and Willow deal with it?

RECAP: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER – BOOM STUDIO COMICS CHAPTER 4

Hello, we are back with another recap of the new Buffy The Vampire Slayer comic. We go into Chapter 4 with our Scooby gang fully formed, and a terrifying Drusilla lurking in the shadows with sidekick Spike.

This chapter stars focusing on Xander, He talks about his problems with school, how he is adapting to the Slayer thing. He thinks is cool, but he is not too good at it, which I’m sure adds to his already present feelings of inadequacy.

It’s really interesting how event though he still has Willow, and now Buffy, he still feels alone an excluded. Buffy’s life will always be chaotic with training, slaying, school. And again the decision to have Willow be more independent, already have a girlfriend, not be hung up on Xander, is amazing. And key to the choice of having Xander be a teenager dealing with this feelings of isolation, maybe depression.

Recap: Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Boom Studio Comics Chapter 3

It’s been a while but we are back, with Chapter 3 of the new Buffy The Vampire Slayer comic. We are still basically in the introductory stage, but I remain fascinated by the use they’ve done of all our favorite characters and their dynamics but adding new stuff to it. Right now in small and subtle ways, but I assume the changes will become bigger, and hopefully even better.

I know this is a terrifying monster, or at least looks like it. But honestly, It’s kind of cute how all he wants is to just destroy some demons and vampires. I feel myself already having a soft spot for him.

Look, I’ve never been a fan of Spike. In part, because the seasons I was more interested in were 1-3, and in part, because I will forever bitter they gave Spike the redemption arc and tortured reformed bad boy arc I think would have been perfect for Faith. The love story with Buffy included.

So I do get a lot of joy from the way they treat him here. Nobody respects him and he is barely a pawn in Drusilla’s plan. I’m sure that will change over time. But right now, I’m gonna enjoy it.

Recap: Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Boom Studio Comics Chapter 2

Recap: Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Boom Studio Comics
Volume 1 – High School is Hell (Includes Issues 1-4) 
Chapter 2

Onto chapter 2. We open with Buffy having a dream. A slayer dream? I don’t think so. It think it’s just your classic fears manifesting to you in your dreams.

Buffy makes some friends for the first time in a long time, probably the first time since she became a slayer, she probably has been drilled to death by Giles how dangerous being a slayer is. And she is still a 16 year old. What’s a 16 year old most afraid of? probably just embarrassing herself and losing her friends. Just in this case it could come with a lot of added complications. In Buffy’s case it could literally mean death.

It’s also an easy way of showing us how attached she is to Willow and Xander already. She is afraid to lose them, to fail them. And she is afraid of failing Giles.

I love that Joyce has a boyfriend!!! I do. So much! Mostly because you know what, Joyce was cool and she deserves some happiness. But also, it looks like such a small change but it could impact so much.

Giles was always a surrogate father to Buffy, in part because of the intense nature of their job together, in part because Buffy’s own dad sucked and there were no other available positive paternal figures.

I’m sure this won’t affect at all the intensity of Buffy’s and Giles relationship. They live too many things together for a strong bond not to form. But the fact Buffy will have another father figure outside of the slaying world, can be so interesting.

I hope he is not evil or something. Please let him not be evil.

I also wonder how it will affect Joyce. The weight of raising a teenage daughter alone and then find out she is a Slayer. It has hard, but now she doesn’t have to do it alone I wonder if it will be easier for her to wrap her mind around it when she finds out everything.

Hello Cordelia!!! Not gonna lie, at first I was confused. Why is Cordelia being so nice? Is this a ploy? But when I realized it was real I was mind-blown. It’s genius. Original Cordelia raised above the “mean girl” trope by evolving beyond that. But making her outright nice from the start is completely subverting the trope and I love it.

I’ve always loved Cordelia and I think her being nice won’t take away from her usual direct and no nonsense attitude. It will be great.

At first I focused on this panel because of Willow and her girlfriend. Cause, I’m a simple lesbian and wlw love will always catch my eye.But then I saw Xander behind them and that became the focus. I didn’t think before about how Willow being out from the start, with a girlfriend would affect Xander. And of course it would.

If anything both Willow and Xander were outsiders, outcasts, dare I say it, Losers. But they had the comfort of being all of those things together. I’m sure Willow still loves Xander and their bond is still there. but Willow having this other aspect of her life resolved, giving her security, it’s of course going to make Xander feel more isolated and insecure.

Not gonna lie, I don’t really care about Willow’s girlfriend that much right now. Like I don’t have any connection to her like I do all the other characters I Knew from before. I barely remember her name. But I loved this moment. Not because of them, or the romance. No. Because at it’s core, what Buffy has always been praised about and what had resonated so much has been it’s message of empowering women, of empowering teenage girls.

This moment is small. But I think it can really hit hard. So simple, all women can be different, and still be strong and smart and beautiful in different ways. Just because you don’t look like the popular girl or like what TV tells you is hot, doesn’t mean you aren’t valuable and all those things on your own.

Not gonna post pictures of it but couple moments that also stood up:

– Buffy killing it on track (nice switch from her trying to be a cheerleader) and then having to pretend to be tired. So funny

– Wood being around and a potential love interest for Buffy…interesting. Really interesting.

– Drusilla calling Anya a Demon Witch, not a Vengeance Demon.

We finish with Xander. And I’m so fascinated by how the comic is making him a much more interesting and likable character that he ever was to me before by making his insecurities manifest as isolation and sadness (depression?). It has been said in the past that Xander was the soul, the humanity of the trio. And it’s so captivating to see that explored here from a point of view that shows him being vulnerable and he is still the same goofy Xander but also so much more.

Recap: Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Boom Studio Comic Chapter 1

Recap: Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Boom Studio Comics
Volume 1 – High School is Hell (Includes Issues 1-4)

Chapter 1

It’s been a long time since I watched the original TV Show. I’ve never followed the comics that continue the story, except for catching a spoiler here or there, but when I saw that a new Buffy comic had come out, re-imagining the original story in a modern setting and with some substantial changes, I couldn’t stay away.

I’m excited to see what changes Boom Studious makes to the original story, and most of all I’m excited to experience the Buffy universe again, in a whole new way but with all the nostalgia of the original characters. And also, I can’t wait to see what they do with my all time favorite, Faith. Will she go evil again? Will she do her redemption arc in the same way? While she be given a chance to stay around Sunnydale more? Those are all things I’m looking forward to finding out.

But I’m getting sidetracked. I just finished reading the first few issues (I bought a compilation of issues 1-4 thinking it was only the first issue, didn’t realize until I went to look for chapter 2 and I had already read it) and seems like a good chance to share a few impressions before reading the rest.

I will do only Chapter one for now, and hopefully I will keep doing the whole Comic over time. But I always set this goals for myself and then work and life gets in the way, so who knows. Fingers crossed I get to do it all.

Not gonna lie, I’m really tempted to tag everything related to this new comic book as Tuna Verse. But I shall resist. It’s interesting that we don’t start on what has been the setting to so many Buffy moments, the school. But we are immediately put on familiar ground when we see the 3 people that have always been at the center of this story, Buffy, Xander and Willow.

And we go right into the action. There’s some witty on-liners, some of the usual humor Buffy had us used to. Which I love, it really helps set the tone. It’s a different Buffy, a different scooby gang, but the soul it’s the same.

I like how the vampire looks pretty menacing, I’m not sure if other vampires in the comic will look like this, but it certainly adds a realism, a sense of real danger to the vampire transformation.

This initial introduction to Xander is making me like him a lot. That wasn’t usually the case in the past, bu to be fair male characters are usually never my favorite. A straight teenage boy was a big ask but his goofiness comes out really endearing in this first few panels.

This panel is simply stunning.

I guess the fact Buffy is now and skilled artist that can draw stuff like this will be really useful in the future for research purposes. No more trying to guess what kind of demon it was if Buffy can just draw a perfect portrait of them 😛

Also, didn’t take a picture of that panel, but Anya!!!! OMG is just so exciting to see old faces appear again. She owns a magical store already? Is she still a vengeance demon? So many questions but also just so happy to see her be part of the story from the get go and see how she will be a part of the gang, or not, in general every time I see a character I get super exited. Like there’s Joyce! oh There’s the same old Giles!. I love it.

Another subtle change, it’s that from what I remember in the show Buffy was still set on having a normal teenage life, being a popular girl at the new school, make friends, leave slayering behind if possible. Here she seems resigned to being trapped by this duty she didn’t ask for. Being alone.

She didn’t plan on making friends with this two goofs the first time either, circumstances made it happen. But here it’s way more intentional. Yes, it was also put in motion by vampires and slayering, but they wanted her as a friend, and she wanted them too. They sought each other out and made it happen. And maybe it just means that their friendship, their connection, their love is just inevitable.

I love Drusilla! I love her so much, every inch of her insane vampire self. I’m thrilled to see she is the first big bad of this comic.

Overall, I find this first chapter pretty strong. It mostly introduces the setting and the characters we already know but showing us the subtle changes in them. Willow is already out and way more confident, Xander is still goofy but more lovable, Giles is still Giles and Buffy, she is still Buffy.

I liked the art in general too, and the end showing us Drusilla, letting us know danger is coming is a perfect way to make me want to keep reading.