In Scherben am Boden

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10

by Christos Gage

Im Finalband zu Staffel 10 sorgt ein Dimensionsportal in den falschen Händen dafür, dass sich Dämonenhorden in die Straßen von San Francisco ergießen. Für Buffy und die Gang kommt diese neue Bedrohung zu einem extrem ungünstigen Zeitpunkt, weil sie genug mit sich selbst zu tun haben: Willow hat einen echt echten Job, Xander flirtet mit seiner Geister-Ex, Andrew wird vom Bösen versucht und Buffy und Spike ... na ja, das Übliche eben.

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

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 2016

About the author

Chris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Season 10 has been my favorite one of the comic book seasons. The scoobies are back together and that has been fun, but Willow hasn't really had a thread in this story. She has been on the sidelines mostly, but that is my big problem with this volume.

We finally figure out what's going on with ghost Anya. That was interesting. The council is slick and I know they are trying to trick the the Scoobies into putting something in the book to give them too much power.

We finally, after 5 seasons, get to see Dawn be a Key. That was pretty cool. I do love the ending and I hope the final volume of this season will give us a really good ending. I expect Buffy and Spike not to last and already they are starting to pull them apart, no shock there. Very predictable. I don't like Xander, I think he is an asshole and a jerk, but he finally did something that I finally can give him some credit. He is growing up. I guess everyone can change.

Giles got to go to the land of fairies as they can see him as an adult and not a child. Basically, everyone had a great storyline accept Willow. This was fantastic and I hope they can give us a good finish. I can almost guarantee that Buffy and Spike will break up at the end of the next volume. Oh well. I have fun reading these.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war with the Soul Glutton, the Sculptor, and the mistress is heating up. They're unleashing demons all over the earth, running the army and the scooby gang ragged. And yet, Gage still finds time to interject plenty of character moments. Most of this plot threads are unraveled by the end of this volume. And then we finally find out Anya's deal which leads into volume 6... Consistently this is the best season of the comic so far.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a peculiarly structured comic. The ongoing war against the hordes of demons is suddenly told in bits and pieces as we rapidly spiral down toward apocalypse.

Mind you, I like it. This gave Gage the opportunity to really focus on character, and that's what he does, showing us how a variety of our favorites are interacting and changing in this new reality. It's a pleasure to see everyone from Buffy and Willow to Xander and Dawn to Andrew and Jonathan getting some attention, and they all change, connect, and reconnect in meaningful ways.

And Gage also manages to put a good cap onto his season 10 storyline ... except there's one more volume. Hmmm.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid chapter in a good-great season.

This one mostly focuses on Buffy still trying to deal with relationships, this time with her friend and willow and also her sister moving on with her life. Still, it all comes down to protecting the portals and making sure the baddies don't get through. However, when they have to make a huge discussion and someone, or multiple people, have to stay behind in hell, choices will be a lot less funny and more serious.

Overall, it moves at a nice pace, the dialogue is solid, the art is good, everything works. It's not mind-blowing, no huge twist, and nothing earth-shattering but not every volume needs to be. A 3.5 out of 5.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Nice to see the Scooby Gang again. Hope they will be able to get Dawn and Xander back. Wonder what will happen now that Anya is a vengeance demon again. Glad they were able to stop the Big Bads. Also glad to see more of Buffy and Spike's relationship. I honestly thought Lake was a guy when I first saw her. Hope she and Willow will be happy together.

Can't wait to read Own It!!!!

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ramifications of the broken portal in the last volume come into play here, and new, unexpected alliances are forged. There's a lot of action here, and all of it feels justified, and very much in keeping with the story moving forward. Andrew especially gets a strong moment, and the relationship between Buffy and Spike gets some interesting testing (with the reappearance of a favorite minor character, and a face from the past that teases a trope but plays out much better than it threatened). And the last issue in this collection, which finally starts unraveling the big bad? I'm tempted to say 'masterful:' it plays out very well, turning what could have been a deus ex machina into compelling character growth. Parts of it have been teased the entire series, so it was good to see it come to its fruition. Just all around a strong collection.

[Kate M. Colby]

Review to come

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Book source ~ Library

From Goodreads:
Demon invasions wreak havoc worldwide when an interdimensional portal lands in the wrong hands—those of the Mistress, the Sculptor, and the Soul Glutton. As new threats pour into the streets, Buffy and her closest allies find their paths diverging: Willow gets a serious job, Xander and Ghost Anya grow perilously close, Andrew is tempted by evil, and Buffy and Spike continue to work at making their relationship, well, work. And as the real and supernatural worlds collide, Dawn is forced to make a life-altering decision.

There is a lot going on in this one but it all works, moving the plot forward with angst (but not unnecessary shit), humor, action and twisty turns. And that ending? Oh, man! I need the next graphic novel to see how this season ends!

[kory. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 buffy the vampire slayer: new rules ★★★★☆
#2 buffy the vampire slayer: i wish ★★★☆☆
#3 buffy the vampire slayer: love dares you ★★★★☆
#4 buffy the vampire slayer: old demons ★★★★☆
#5 buffy the vampire slayer: in pieces on the ground ★★★☆☆
#6 buffy the vampire slayer: own it ★★★★☆

i’m kind of getting tired of all the twists and betrayals and new big bads ugh it just drags on, can’t there be one issue where they just sit and chill and have a moment to relax?

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little put off by the Spike drama at first, I mean... just BE HAPPY for like TWO MINUTES! But I guess what was going on was reasonable. We'll see what happens. I wish there was a little more action, but I liked the group stuff. Also, I really liked the sketch in the back with Buffy and Willow after fighting, ha. I would have liked to see that scene! And, super excited about Andrew doing the right thing and about Dawn finally getting some POWER!!! Can't wait to see what happens there... AND REALLY excited about fake Anya going away (at least as ghost).

Thanks for keeping me in Buffyverse Lara!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still Buffying along. I don't like the direction a few of the plots are taking, but I'm willing to hang out and see what happens next.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many stories trying to be pieced together because nothing about the main plot was properly explained in the first ones for this season. Anya doesn’t really need to be in this story as again I feel like we’re seeing another reused storyline. Loved seeing Dawn actually use her powers for once. Everyone just seemed very whiny in this one.

[Pervinca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked seeing Dawn using her powers, and everyone seems to be having their own plot line.... But they are trying to make my power couple drift apart and I don't want it to happen! Specially in such a predictable way and without a good reason... We will see how this season wraps up.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d love to see this televised :)

[Gautsho]

Ma olen need vahepeal väga kauaks unarusse jätnud. Nagu vaataks miskit keskmisemat osa yle, kus erilist põnevust enam pole, aga vanu häid sõpru on ikka tore vaadata ja mõni nali lõbustab suure rõõmuga (nagu: "So you're saying Ben and Glory have connection." "Yes. But what kind?").

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Buffy. My favourite from Season 10 is still Love Dares You (Season 10, #3). This was a little more angsty as Buffy and Spike try to work through having a normal relationship. Post-Archaeus plot lines come into revelation as the Scooby gang find out who's really been pulling their strings all along. Buffy and Dawn are noble (but we all know that's going to turn out horribly wrong, they have about as much hope of being successful as Dean & Sam Winchester have of letting the other brother stay dead).

[pianogal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not super happy with where this left off, but it could have been worse. I really loved Season 10. It's probably my favorite season since Buffy, Season 3 - which I could watch all the time. And I think it was because everybody was finally back together and not roaming around the world. I didn't realize how much I'd missed a united Scooby gang.

Can't wait for Season 11.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole 'The gang get lives outside the gang and it draws them apart' theme didn't really work for me, because we saw so little of what their actual lives were outside the gang. Willow had... a new girlfriend, and a job, that, we saw virtually nothing of? Dawn... went to college? Giles... banged a tiny elf girl?

That didn't work, but it was still good fun.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation of the story. There's some good Buffy/Spike relationship drama along with a good exploration of what it means to stay friends with the people you've known forever when everyone is growing and changing into different adults.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great season!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always some new threat. Keys are powerful things.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this quite as much as the last one. Too much emphasis on breaking up Buffy and Spike, and having them be weird too each other the ENTIRE book.

[Ronja (queer-is-the-universe) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What you're doing is important. Don't let anyone tell you it's not. Hold on to it. Fight for it.

[Emilio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining! I cannot wait for the next volume.

[Lani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Season 10 continues to be a real delight -- absolutely love the Dawn storyline.

[★☆★Glowingz★☆★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Nicole Field · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the first time I've picked up one of the collections in this series and wondered how it picked up from the previous section of the season. Because last time we were here, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Old Demons, the big bad was Archaeus. He was pulling on both Spike and Angel's strings. And there was a lot of great introspective stuff.

This time? We have different big bads, instead of introspection aimed and moving people forward, we had characters like Harmony giving--as always--terrible advice and perspective, which in turn pulled people (Spike and Buffy) away from healthy communication and a mindful relationship.

Although Giles has been disgruntled by the fact that he is an adult in a child's body after having been killed and brought back with magic, it seems odd when he suddenly decides he wants to spend a whole lot of time in one of the fae worlds without much heeding the possible dangers that could come out of that for this world, where they have deliberately made portals a difficult thing to manage.

Which, though, actually brings me to my favourite thing that I liked in this book. Dawn is mentioned as being the key, which reminds everyone who may have forgotten that she doesn't actually have a normal, human soul. This becomes relevant again when one of the portals to this world needs to be closed from the demon dimension it originates from. Except, as previously mentioned, it's been made incredibly difficult to make portals back into our world. Which means Dawn may be trapped in a hell dimension if she uses her key powers to close that portal.

Some people may flash back to season 5 here and wonder how on earth this could happen when it's been so vehemently fought against before. But then we would remember that we are now in season 10. Which makes Dawn 20 years old, and more than old enough to have her own opinion now. I actually really loved that moment, as well as the bit where Xander decides that he's going to stay in that dimension with her.

We end up with D'Hoffryn seeming to be lined up as the big bad of the season, and I can definitely say that I like this transition a whole lot more and can't wait for the season finale coming up.

[Sammi · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh we couldn't let buffy and spike be happy, we have to throw DOUBTS every which way huh? frankly, i get it - it's an interesting concept of "okay, these two characters who have been dancing around each other since season 5 finally get together in a serious way and what does that look like" makes a LOT of sense but couldn't they give me like one volume where they domestically hang out and cuddle and do sexy things and feed the cats together? like ONE issue even with no fighting? it's interesting because i do understand some of their issues - buffy realizing she wants more from spike than he can actually give her: going out on dinner dates (which sorry who watched buffy and said oh spike wouldn't ENJOY going out to eat with her?), having kids together, and growing old. but again - those things are dreams to buffy anyway as a slayer who loves to be in the action. they aren't givens. so why aren't we talking about that point of it? also harmony and vicki are evil trying to plant doubts that are so dumb, i can't. and it's annoying it worked. ALSO WHY WERE THEY LIKE OH SPIKE WOULDN'T COMFORT HER AFTER LEAVING DAWN BEHIND? dumb as hell what are we doing. other people shouldn't write spike if they don't understand him.... okay thats my ted talk about spuffy, thanks.

plotwise, the entire buffy-willow tension is really stressful but it's interesting because it's tension that's been building in different ways season after season. in all fairness, i'm always team buffy - but the whiplash of the issues on their relationship are a bit insane.

i enjoyed the dawn of it all, her being a key and having real purpose and power in other dimensions was interesting. curious to see if they do anything more with that, and how they manage to get her back. xander staying behind was real growth too, but this is just a vehicle for them to fall in love again imo.

the d'hoffryn as the bad guy was SUCH a good twist.. love realizing he's been playing chess when everyones playing checkers and i'm excited to see the final volume now.

[Elusive · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In Pieces On The Ground', Buffy and friends find themselves busier than ever with the Restless Door granting demons easy access to earth. Furthermore, the Mistress, the Sculptor and the Soul Glutton are back in full force and gunning for Buffy. Outnumbered and underpowered, will the gang manage to emerge unscathed?

This volume didn't feel quite cohesive for me, with the reintroduction of the military (which didn't appeal to me), irrelevant subplots (Spike's ex) and problems that were immediately solved (Buffy and Willow's disagreement about the latter's new job, the spat between Andrew and Jonathan) or only followed up later than I'd expected (the ghost of Anya). The group weren't as tight-knit as before, with Giles running off to spend time with his girlfriend, Willow at her job, Xander cooped up in his room and Buffy hanging out mainly with Spike.

The fight scenes were good though it seemed like they won a little too easily. The concept of the Restless Door was brilliant as it was definitely a major ongoing problem that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible. Dawn got a rare chance to shine which was fantastic but at this point, I'm getting tired of the whole Dawn-Xander thing. It's been dragged on long enough and should be discarded for more non-romantic storylines.

The mystery behind the ghost of Anya was finally revealed. I wasn't surprised to find out that D'Hoffryn had an agenda of his own. With pretty much everyone trying to get their hands on the Vampyr book, I suspect that spells alone won't be adequate to keep it safe. Despite some misgivings about this volume, I'll be looking forward to reading the next one to see how Xander and Dawn make it out of hell.

Overall, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In Pieces On The Ground' showed the dire consequences of the Restless Door and still had a slight sense of continuity though it wasn't as strong as the previous volumes.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demons are bursting through random portals across the Earth and Willow is working with the US army to stop them, as are the magic council made up of many different demons and higher beings. Buffy doesn't approve of working with the US military for the petty reason that they killed like 200 slayers. Nobody mentions that the US military doesn't have jurisdiction globally. There are in fact other countries than America. This gets worse in the next volume when they bring Riley onto the council to represent "Earth's militaries" completely ignoring the idea that having one American soldier to represent Earth's militaries is kind of ridiculous, and that representing the military over the government kind of implies they're the ones that are really in charge. I was really trying to summarize the book and not rant about the US military propaganda that has really wormed itself into these comics.

The military stuff, as well as Giles going to fairy for extended jaunts, is there to show the friends really drifting as they become adults, which is fine except that we've already done that! That's literally the plot of season 4, and it doesn't really work there. The other reason this doesn't entirely work for me is that they literally all live together. It's hard to capture the idea of friends getting different jobs and drifting when those friends share an apartment.

The plot itself has to do with demons invading through portals and the gang having to stop them, ultimately through sacrifice of one of their number. I like the demons pouring out though and the action is often good. It reminded me of BPRD: Plague of Frogs at times, but the threat never felt as dire as in that book, although to be fair Plague of Frogs had a lot more time to establish the threat.