Buffy The Vampire Slayer

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I’m sure you’ve heard, unless you were hiding under a rock for the entirety of the past month, that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic has become a sort of cause célèbre of late. Well, for the most part, the lucky thirteenth issue of Buffy Season Eight steers the series away from the world of controversy, and back into the less back-lashy settlement firmly established through the title’s first year of existence- a world, I might add, that continues to feel more and more similar to the one we grew accustomed to during the TV show’s storied seven year run.

First of all, the involvement of Dracula, and the investigation into his apparently replicated powers, helps the issue feel a great deal like a standard episode of the Buffy TV show. The whole "Scooby Gang" aspect seems back in full force, and I couldn’t be happier about that. Also helping is the fact that the villains featured in the story feel properly blasè. Most Buffy baddies, whether from the early episodes with Spike and Drucilla, or the haunting final season featuring Nathan Fillon as a murderous preacher, always featured a whimsical side which properly matched the show’s tone of combined horror and humor. These villains were insanely evil, but not void of a sense of amusement, which in turn made them scarier, if that makes sense. Goddard’s crew of mutated Asian Vampires seem to be enjoying what they’re doing, which is perfectly in step with Whedon’s unique vision for antagonists.

Not only are the main plot elements, along with certain character moments, beginning to feel more in tune with the original series’ tone, but some of the newer additions to the Buffy canon are starting to feel more at home as well. At first the implementation of a world-wide slayer task force felt a little too large of scale for my particular taste, as one of my favorite aspect of the television show was the relative amount of intimacy allowed for by a small crew of characters. However, as I grow accustom to the army’s existence, I’m beginning to enjoy the character development it offers to some of the main cast. Seeing Buffy revered as a general, and how she’s adapted to that particular role, has felt like a natural evolution for the character. Buffy’s been in a position of command before, but never as the front for an organization as vast as this one. Goddard does a great job in this issue of asserting the heroin as a burgeoning adult leader, as opposed to a foppishly young administrator.

Jeanty’s artwork also grows on me each month. Any early nitpicks I may have had with certain character’s faces or demeanors, are quickly fading with every installment. The artist had the unenviable task of defining an official canonized aesthetic for the comic book world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and as I get used to his depictions, the ensuing familiarity truly helps to re-establish a link to television show that may have been missing from the early issues.

It is easy to cry and moan over some of the recent revelations in Buffy Season Eight. Not only easy, but fair. But whether one agrees with these events or not, it’s hard to argue the constant improvements the title has managed over the last few story arcs. Again, the series is beginning to feel continuously more authentic, and shouldn’t be missed by any fan of the Whedonverse.