Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Oz

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (mini-series)

by Christopher Golden, Logan Lubera (Illustrator)

Oz is a long way from Sunnydale. He's traveled to Tibet to seek the wisdom of a monk who might help him control the wolf inside of him. With the help of a beautiful demon girl and her family, Oz manages to find the monk, but he also manages to find trouble; BIG trouble. Oz and his new friends face off against a maniacal demon overlord and a horde of horrible hellhounds, hobgoblins, sorcerers, trolls, and a bunch of other things so gross they don't even have names for 'em. Even the Slayer, on her worst day, hasn't faced a force so frightful. This showdown could change Oz's life forever. Buffy fans shouldn't miss this action-packed turning point in the life of one of the Scooby Gang's most beloved brethren.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Comics, Fantasy, Vampires, Werewolves, Horror

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 29, 2002

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN has been called “the king of the horror-thriller.” The New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning storyteller has made his mark in many mediums, as a writer of novels, screenplays, animation, audio dramas, and comics, and as an editor of landmark horror anthologies. His work has been published in dozens of languages around the world. Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Audie Award, he has been nominated for others, including the British Fantasy Award. His best-known novels include Road of Bones, The House of Last Resort, All Hallows, and his latest, Carry Me to My Grave. He lives in Massachusetts, where he watches too many movies and eats too much chocolate.

Reviews

[NaTaya Hastings]

Haha. The "Band Camp" shirt the artist put Willow in in one of the panels cracked me straight up.

[Craig Lotter]

Oz, Daniel Osbourne has for long lived with the curse he accidentally inherited from a child, that being that come the full moon, he transforms into a raging werewolf. However, he now seeks to have more control over his affliction, and as such, leaves Willow and Sunnydale behind as he travels East in search of a teacher to help him tame the beast. His hopes lie in Tibet, but unfortunately for him, the man he seeks seems to a hunted man as well... Writer Golden pens this tale of fan favourite Oz leaving the world of vampire slaying behind and heading off on a solo adventure. It's a fast paced story which does have some character growth for Oz in it, but it's not really that thrilling, dramatic, or even fun of an adventure - i.e. so very much middle of the road stuff. Worse still, the artist on duty Lubera's pencils are very cartoony and often kind of simple/silly, which kind of turns this book into something that now looks like it was intended for a much younger audience that what the story is trying to go for. A very skippable entry in the classic Buffy comic book franchise in my opinion.

[Laura Atkinson]

A definite must for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, especially if you’re looking to find out a bit more about what happened to Oz between “Wild at Heart” and “New Moon Rising”. It took me a minute to get used to graphic novel Oz, I will admit and there is one particular panel near the end that I’m unsure about, but it’s a good story, it’s exciting and a good filler!
I also really liked the explanation of how it came to be by Scott Stuart Allie and the development of the graphic novel werewolf imagery.
There’s a lot of background on Oz that you would probably need to know before giving it a go but maybe not, who knows?!

[Malcolm Cox]

With Oz suffering from a condition that could harm the ones he loves, he departs Sunnydale on a quest for a cure. That he never returned to the show suggests he's still looking, but no doubt had many adventures. This fun book is one such adventure where Oz teams up with some other special people to fight against hoards of nasties and learns a little more about himself.

[Matty]

Really great story of Oz's quest to control the beast, set during his leaving in early season 4 & return in late season 4. Art didn't look anything like him but was great nonetheless.

[LunaSanguine]

I don't like the style of the drawing and wouldn't have recognized Oz.
I like the storyline, especially the parts that focus on Oz's inner developement, though. Also, the quotes from the TV show were used in a great way, means they made me feel a little emotional.
An other great detail is a surprising plot twist about Master Shantou (the buddhist monk teacher) in the end but I don't want to spoiler you.

[Fi's Journey]

In this issue we get to see OZ travelling through Tibet and trying to find a way to master the beast inside him...

Will Oz find a way to control the beast? Or will he succumb to it?

To find that out, you must read it...

[Alice]

Loved how the book explored Oz's path toward control over lycanthropy, hated the nonsensical romance part, which felt squeezed in forcefully just to get some heart-racing, when he must have had Willow in mind all the time to develop his mind powers so strongly.

[Danielle]

Interesting Story of what Oz was doing while he left the show Season 4 to learn to control himself as a werewolf.