Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Band 1 - Schule ist die Hölle

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2019) #1-4

by Jordie Bellaire, Dan Mora (Illustrator), Claudia Kern (Translator)

JEDE GENERATION HAT IHRE JÄGERIN … UND EURE GENERATION FÄNGT HIER AN! Dies ist die Buffy Summers, die ihr kennt, die möchte, was jeder normale Teenager möchte: Freunde an ihrer neuen Schule finden, gute Noten schreiben und der ihr aufgezwungenen Bestimmung als letztes Glied in einer langen Kette von Vampirjägerinnen entkommen. Diese Jägerinnen sollen die Kräfte des Bösen bekämpfen, doch dieses Mal sieht ihre Welt ziemlich genau so aus wie die vor eurem Fenster. Eisner Award-Gewinnerin Jordie Bellaire (DOCTOR STRANGE) und Dan Mora (KLAUS – DIE WAHRE GESCHICHTE VON SANTA CLAUS) bringen Buffy zusammen mit ihrem Schöpfer Joss Whedon in eine neue Ära, die mit neuen Herausforderungen, neuen Freunden und einigen Feinden, die ihr vielleicht schon kennt, bestückt ist. Doch Dinge ändern sich nicht nur, sie bleiben auch, denn die Gang muss sich brandneuen „Big Bads“ stellen. Und die Gefahr, die hinter der makellosen Fassade von Sunnydale High lauert, bestätigt das, was jeder Teenager eh schon weiß: Schule ist wirklich die Hölle. WILLKOMMEN ZURÜCK IM HÖLLENSCHLUND, ZUM ERSTEN MAL!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Horror, Vampires, Young Adult, Fiction

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2019

About the author

Jordie Bellaire is an American comic book colorist and writter who lives in Ireland and works for DC, Marvel, Valiant, and Image comic book publishers. She has colored Pretty Deadly, The Manhattan Projects, Moon Knight, The Vision, Magneto, Nowhere Men, Hawkeye, Batman, among other titles. As a writer, her most famous works are Redlands and the reboot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Bellaire is credited with starting the "Comics are for everybody" initiative to make the comic book community more inclusive and compassionate.

Reviews

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, everybody who's read my review of Buffy Season 12 knows how skeptical I felt about this Boom Studios reboot of Buffy comics. As a die-hard fan of Dark Horse continuation of the show I felt kind of betrayed by this move. Well, the truth is that Dark Horse Buffy comics were stagnating for a while now, and the final volume of Season 12 was nothing short of atrocious with how it handled the wrap-up of its many long-running storylines. So it comes as a huge relief and a surprise that this new and revitalised series from Boom is actually bloody fantastic!

First off, this series is not a continuation of anything. It takes the core of the Buffy TV show, i.e. the characters and their basic relationship structure, and just plays it all out from the very beginning, only set in our modern day of smartphones and internet. If you've never seen the Buffy TV show you'd probably be fine with just reading this comic, though the familiarity with the show still would be nice to help you appreciate the different paths Jordie Bellaire is taking with these characters. And yes, the comic absolutely is different from the show is so many ways, and that's actually half the fun of reading it — seeing how the same characters turned out a bit differently this time around, and guessing how the story might play out in the future. Every change made to the characters is welcome and justified. Cordelia is now not a typical 90's mean girl but is nice and smart, yet without losing her sarcastic edge. Willow is openly a lesbian from the beginning, and is in a steady relationship with a girl (not Tara yet, though — I wonder if she'll appear in this series? She must, right?). Joyce is alive and well and is happily dating a dude who seems cool. Spike and Drusilla are around from the start as primary antagonists, mercifully skipping all of that Master nonsense from Season 1 of the show. And it's like that with almost every character — they are familiar, but different. And the broad strokes of the story itself are similar, but it's definitely going in a different direction. And in my opinion that was a brilliant decision, because now the book is welcoming new readers as well as offering new and interesting thing to long-time fans of the franchise, and now that I think about it, rebooting the series the way Boom did was the only correct way to go with it.

Jordie Bellaire's writing is great. She captures the voices of every character perfectly, her dialogue is delightfully Whedon-esque, and she seems to have a solid grasp on the story. We'll have to see how she handles it in the long run, but for now I am confident in her abilities. The final twist of the volume may end up being controversial among fans, but I absolutely loved it — way to change one of the most established elements of the show into something that has so much exciting new potential.

Dan Mora's artwork is also gorgeous as usual. He has the look of the characters nailed down, everybody looks like themselves without a hint of uncanny valley like we've seen a lot of times from Georges Jeanty over at Dark Horse. I'm sure Mora won't make it far into the run before jumping ship (that's just what happens in modern comics), but I'll treasure his work while we still have him on the book. I also love what he does with character wardrobes — crazy 90's fashion and changing looks was a delightful little aspect of the TV show, and I love that this attention to detail is also making its way into this new iteration of the comics.

Overall, the new Buffy comic ended up being a huge success. Not only did it make me not miss the Dark Horse series, it rekindled my love and excitement for the Buffyverse in a way I absolutely wasn't expecting, and now I almost feel glad that the franchise changed hands the way it did. I think a lot of Buffy fans and newcomers to the series will love this book, provided that you keep an open mind about it.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not at all happy when I heard Boom was returning Buffy to high school. I thought it would be like the fluff Dark Horse comics before Joss Whedon took over and started extending the TV series which I greatly liked. But you could tell in seasons 11 and 12 Dark Horse had run out of ideas and had kind of given up on Buffy. Whedon along with the writers from the show had ended their involvement and the wheels had fallen off.

So Boom blew up the Buffyverse and started over, reimagining it for today. It no longer takes Willow years to figure out she likes girls. Here, she's introduced as being out and has a girlfriend. The core relationships are still the same. Buffy meets Willow and Xander and they form the Scooby Gang. Cordelia shows up but she's no longer the stuck up popular girl. Now she's nice to everyone while retaining her popularity. Some things have changed such as Robin Wood being in high school now as a romantic interest for Buffy instead of the principal of the high school in Season 7. It also appears Bellaire plans on mixing up things instead of following the path laid out by the show.

Bellaire has absolutely nailed the Whedon-speak. Everyone has the same razor sharp wits and snappy comebacks that made the show a fan favorite. Dan Mora is so good at drawing teenage books. His characters all look like the actors from the show while making them look like actual teenagers in clothes, not costumes. His art is delectable.

I thought going in there was no way I'd like this book. I'm happy to say Bellaire and Mora proved me wrong.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but reimagined in the current era? Yes please.

This puts a fresh spin on the franchise, replanting Buffy into our time but with the original Scooby gang and a few familiar villains. There's something distinctly welcoming about the whole thing, something the same yet also very new. It's like an alternate world, where Willow is free to express her sexuality from the get go and Xander can be more open with his emotions. I'm not sure how I felt about the roles of Spike and Drusilla though, as I found Dru in particular to be very out of character and I found the blending of some old characters into this new world to be quite jarring and an odd choice. Robin Wood as a high school student alongside the Scoobies just felt a bit odd, and Cordelia being...nice...was a strange decision given how well known she is for her acidic tongue.

I'm interested to see where this goes, and how it can play into current social issues with a Buffy spin on it, but I'm not anticipating any massive improvements.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I was eyeballing these issues and wondering how they fit into the Buffyverse, whether it was a backtrack to the original TV or whatnot, and decided to give it a go.

It's not an extra season like the others. Indeed, it's more like a re-telling of the opening at Sunnyvale but streamlined and super quick with a bunch of great easter-eggs that none of us would even SEE for years or even MANY years into the production and even cross-spinoff worldbuilding.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was a bonafide comic reboot getting new fans interested in an old series in preparation for a completely new reboot for the TV.

That wouldn't happen.

Would it?

Soooo, anyway, it tickles all the old fancies and it's like having a spicy but over-too-soon taste of many of the best bits from the series all wrapped up in a volume. Say hi to Spike and Dru and non-bitch Cordie wit visions AT THE BEGINNING. Hmmm. Weird? Not really.

I call this alternate universe Buffy-time. It's good. Just don't assume it's part of the old continuity.

[luciana · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.71/10

I loved all of the references to the show, you can tell it comes from a place of love, and it's exciting to revisit those characters with a fresh spin on their stories.

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ran across this book at the library last week, and of course I checked it out. I didn't really need an updated version of Buffy, as 1997-2004 doesn't seem all that long ago to me, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. It has mostly the same characters (Willow, Giles, Xander, Joyce, Cordelia, Spike et al.), only a bit different, and some new ones. Willow is already an out lesbian, and Cordelia is nice as well as popular. It looks like a fun series, and I'll look for future volumes as they become available.

[disco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slays y’all.

[zuzu. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, let’s be real… I was a bit skeptical about this at first. Still am. A modern 21st century Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot ??? Nuh-uh. Not on my watch. Nobody touch my gal. I was sO ready to die of cringe. But… honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. Loyal BtVS fangirl that I am, I took notes, of course:

• oH nooo, my gurl’s already working at the double meat palace (or some version of it) and feeling like she doesn’t belong anywhere… they do be hitting us with the #Season6Depression way too soon wHAT

• uhm Willow, my queen, your outfit is… very "Doppelgängland Vampwill" but I ain’t complaining (also… since this is set in 2019 I suppose they’re dealing with her sexuality rather differently)



• Xander is literally the same. Minus the obnoxious horniness and the casual misogyny. Which is certainly an improvement.

• ANYA(NKA) ??? tis uuuu ???? OH MY, IT IS.

• Anya running some sort of weaponry for demons and working with/for Wolfram and Hart ??? GIMME. loveeeee that 'Wolfram and Hart' is part of this story, muahahah I missed those bastards (is this a good moment to once again mention that I technically prefer Angel ??? UNPOPULAR OPINION, I KNOW)

• WILLOW HAS A GIRLFRIEND. WILLOW HAS A GIRLFRIEND. YES. YES. (wish Oz were here, though… not as Willow’s boyfriend of course… just as a Scooby Gang member, because I miss him, ugh)

• ALSO HOW CUTE ARE THEY ??? I AM MELTING.

• Cordelia running around, hugging people, advocating for the protection of the environment while being super charming and genuinely nice to people makes me hella suspicious… like ??? sis whatcha doing. are there no mean girls at this school ??? what is this ??? does 2019 not have entitled, privileged drama queens anymore ???

• Don’t get me wrong… Cordy is one of my all-time favorite Buffy-verse characters but… she didn’t reach my personal top 5 by being a good-hearted and well-meaning person from the get-go pfff

• Geee Buff, stawwwwp it with the self-destructive and self-degrading monologues

• Spike out there jump-scaring me ??? lurking around in the woods nearby the high school and being a creep ??? but looking hella fine ???



• Cordy, honey ??? whyyyy would you introduce yourself to a random pale dude hanging out in the woods looking suspicious AF ??? gurl probably leaves the door to her house open, as well smh

• I do get 14-year-old me’s extreme horniness for Spike… that thirst was absolutely justified.

• Spike being totally #sHOoKEtH when he sees Giles playing the guitar added ten years to my lifespan.

• Cordy and Spike teaming up to destroy a demon ??? hell yeah, I needed that

• Ok, as much as I love my badass queen Cordelia… I hate that she’s basically Angel Season 3 Cordy already (there's zero room for improvement now)

• uhmmmm THE SCOOBY GANG IN FULL BATTLE MODE ??? ICONIC

• why is Cordelia crushing on Spike? No, just no.

• ugh, did I ask for another take on that weird-ass Buffy x Wood romance from S7 that I’ve been trying to erase from my brain since 2012 ??? no

• why is the #ANGST pumped up to level 3000 ??? it's ridiculous how angsty these characters are

[Steph ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I wasn't a Buffy watcher growing up, but I know the bear bones of the plot and most of the characters. This was fun, I think I'm interested enough to pick up the next one and see what happens next.

[Sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this. I consider Buffy to be one of my all-time favorite TV series, so I was interested in a modern reboot and what it would do. There are some things that really work in it, and others that really don't.

I love the art, for the most part. While I love the cringey 90s fashion of the show, it was nice to see the characters styled differently. I loved seeing all of the cover variants at the back. For the most part, the characters look like the actors that portrayed them, but a few of them don't and I didn't immediately understand who I was supposed to be looking at, which made scenes confusing. I'm thinking specifically of Anya and Drucilla. I wonder if this series would work better or worse for people that don't have the same familiarity with the show.

I also liked some of the changes they made to characters and relationships, but some of them didn't work as well for me. I liked that Buffy has a part-time job, although that essentially disappeared after the beginning of the first issue. I like that Joyce and Giles have romantic partners. But there was too much Xander, and he seems a lot like he did in the show, and I feel like they could have evolved him to be way less annoying. He can be a lot more than just a nerd who pines after Buffy, and the show improved significantly once they let that plot thread die. I also am split on how they portray Willow. I like that she is out, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of room for her to grow, since she's already into magic and has a girlfriend by the end of the first volume.

I also think the dialogue is very forced, trying to echo the Joss Whedonisms that just feel really clunky on the page. I think part of makes his quips work is delivery, which obviously doesn't happen in a graphic novel format. There were too many cheeky easter eggs for the fans, it felt like pandering without substance. I am willing to give this another volume, but overall I felt more annoyed than delighted by this revival.

[♡ Dakota ♡ (Sarcasm is my middle name) · Rating 5 out of 5]

★★★★★ — 5 Stars!

[A Fan of Comics · Rating 3 out of 5]

This new series is killing it!

Not a big Buffy fan to start off with but that is why I was interested in the series. To see if maybe someone who didn't really know Buffy, could get to know Buffy through this! So far so good! I wont lie, the first issue was a little gimmicky; Buffy calling herself feisty was a little hard to read over. But besides that, its good. The art does a great job of keeping everyone from the show looking the same. Its a little more modern with technology but its not something they relay on often. They're already setting up love triangles and have introduced a few new faces. My complaint? Sometimes the characters get a little whinny. I get it, they are teens. But Buffy was just complaining to her mom about having to train and slay and her moms just rolled her eyes at it.... I'm not saying its not accurate, just a little hard to look over.


Visual review here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVz5Z...

[Veronika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was marvellous!

I am so happy that I could see my favourite characters in the nowadays setting. Buffy with her typical sarcasm, strong will and the need to belong somewhere, while using smartphone. The gang binge watching movies, Xander playing videogames, Cordelia caring about the environment. And there were also good old vampires, monsters, Giles being his old grumpy self, Buffy's mum and high school library.

I felt so much nostalgia, I was bursting with joy while reading this.

[Mitticus · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Into every generation , a Slayer is born; a chosen one. They alone wield the strengh and skill to fight the vampires, demons and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number.
They are the Slayer."

Buffy Summers is a normal teenager 16 years old girl, who goes to school, lives with her mother and her boyfriend, wants to have friends, and ... is the Slayer.

In January 2019, with the approval of Joss Whedon, this relaunch of the Buffy series from its very beggining was made by Jordie Bellaire and BOOM. We have the same characters from the very iconic series of the 90s, but at the same time they are not unchanged, many peculiarities that made them so special for a generation are gone: Willow is not longer the lovely shy or geeky know-it-all; Buffy no longer uses her miniskirts or her so precious high heels to go on patrol ; and Xander reveals his insecurities , and frankly signs of depression, more openly to the reader. Oh, and our Cordelia is ... it's ... nice and friendly :shudders:. I don't know frankly if we can survive a lack of acerbic comments from Queen C.




Is it bad? No, surprisingly not. For those who have never seen the series before, however, I do not know if it will have the same appeal to see these characters who have been transferred to these times by sending whatsapp and not very different from thousands of other teenagers who live in a world of vampires, monsters and evil witches.

There are many winks for old fans, jokes about the 90s, some images, and comments on what the old series was. I don't know if I'm going to like to see Robin Wood who has been presented as a teen jock (since he is one of my most hated characters). Giles is the one that seems least changed, although a little more strict.

And as for our favorite vampire romantic couple Aureliana, not everything is going well on that front. Our dearest Spike is less bold and sassy, so my judgment is on hold.

There will be a big change from the end of this plot with an older character, but that will be all I will say about it.

---------------

En enero de 2019, con la aprobación de Joss Whedon, este relanzamiento de la serie Buffy desde su inicio fue realizado por Jordie Bellaire y BOOM!. Tenemos los mismos personajes de la serie muy icónica de los 90, pero al mismo tiempo no cambian, muchas peculiaridades que los hicieron tan especiales para una generación no están presentes: Willow ya no es la chica tímida y adorable ni se la geek que se las sabe todas; Buffy ya no usa sus minifaldas ni sus tacones altos tan preciados para patrullar ni desespera por sus modas; y Xander revela sus inseguridades y francamente signos de depresión, más abiertamente al lector. Ah, y nuestra Cordelia es ... es ... agradable y amigable . No sé con franqueza si podemos sobrevivir a la falta de comentarios mordaces de la 'Queen C'.

¿Es malo? No, sorprendentemente no. Sin embargo, para aquellos que nunca antes han visto la serie, no sé si tendrá el mismo atractivo ver a estos personajes que han sido transferidos a estos tiempos más modernos enviando whatsapp y no muy diferentes de miles de otros adolescentes que viven en un mundo de vampiros, monstruos y brujas malvadas.

Hay muchos guiños para los viejos fanáticos, chistes sobre los 90, algunas imágenes y comentarios sobre lo que era la serie anterior. No sé si me gustará ver a Robin Wood, que ha sido presentado como un deportista adolescente (ya que es uno de mis personajes más odiados). Giles es el que parece menos cambiado, aunque un poco más estricto.

Y en cuanto a nuestra pareja romántica de vampiros favorita Aureliana (Druscilla y Spike), no todo va bien en ese frente. Nuestro adorado Spike es menos osado e insolente, así que mi juicio está en suspenso.



Habrá un gran cambio desde el final de esta trama con un personaje mayor, pero eso será todo lo que diré al respecto.

He sido fan de esta serie desde sus inicios, entré en internet en sus foros por esta serie, y leo sus fanfics hasta la fecha, soy seguidora de TTH, y he sido fan de Spike desde entonces. Sin embargo, no he leido ningún comic de las temporadas siguientes después del término de la serie de televisión, sé de algunas cosas, mayormente spoilers por fanfics, y no quise saber por donde seguia ese rumbo, en especial de lo que ocurre con Xander , asi que me interesó conocer como sería este "universo alternativo" que es canon y no lo es. Voy a ver que siguen diciendo estos comics por ahora.

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

There will never be another show like Buffy. Ever. I honestly cannot put into coherent words what this show means to me!

It makes me laugh and cry in equal measure. I vividly recall when it first aired and how smitten I was immediately! I was all - FINALLY! MY PEOPLE!!! It was the first thing I had ever seen that shared a similar sense of humor as myself. It also showed me that I could be a kind, passionate individual and still be a total badass! That I didn't have to fit any one mold as a woman.

I love Buffy so stupid much!

Boom! Studios have done an exquisite job with the graphic novel, which is a reimagining of the series. The story arc is new and modern, yet still faithful to the canon; the voice of each character feels authentic to their original counterparts; witty, snarky dialogue; WILLOW IS INTRODUCED AS QUEER FROM THE BEGINNING; insanely gorgeous artwork; and of course, it was beautifully nostalgic.

This volume fucking SLAYS!!

[Valery Tikappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con questo libro spunto la casella "Un libro da cui è stato tratto un film o una serie TV." della Fuffy Reading Challenge: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7N8L4tIc3H/

SPECIFICO: Lo so che è uscita prima la serie TV e POI è stato fatto il fumetto, tant'è che lo dico nella mia recensione su Instagram.
Mi serviva una risposta per questa casella della Challenge e ho manipolato la richiesta.

HO ADORATO!

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had watched a bit of Buffy as a kid but wasnt a fanboy as such. I felt like this was directed at the massive fans more so your general fan.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's Buffy, but not as you know her - reimagined for the 2010s, everyone you know and love is here, but not quite as you expect to find them. And yet, somehow, they're still them.

Rebooting such a beloved franchise should have anyone running for the hills at the prospect, but Jordie Bellaire (colourist turned writer, apparently) handles this will easy flair. Buffy is still Buffy, even if she's a little more confident in herself. Willow is still Willow, even if she knows herself far more than the 'old' Willow did. And Xander's Xander, faults and all. With some surprise appearances by fan favourites and Dan Mora's perfect artwork (see Go Go Power Rangers for all the evidence you need that he was born to draw teen drama/superhero books) and Buffy's in very, very good hands at Boom! Studios.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a HUGE BTVS fan. I watched it as it aired, from the pilot through the finale, and I rewatch every few years. When I heard about this comic, I was really excited. After reading it, I am not sure how I feel about this. I was really excited to see how they were going to modernizing Buffy, but I didn't like some of the changes to the characters, and a lot of it was just...odd. However, I'm curious to see what will happen next, so I'll definitely continue the series. But I have concerns.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting re-imagining which slots the characters from Buffy into a modern day setting. Some of it works, especially the characters which maintain much of what made them so iconic in the first place. However, those who aren't familiar with the Buffyverse might give the rest of this run a miss due to the rather forgettable plot and cameos which will wash over their heads.

[a · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

As a huge Buffy fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this! The art is...OMG! The illustrator depicted all the characters so beautifully I was in awe of the art on every page. I like the choices that were made in terms of plot, I think this could be a really interesting graphic novel series!

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Buffy reboot–which keeps the characters but mixes around their backstories and updates the timeframe–is better than it has any right to be.

Experienced Scoobies will enjoy picking out the differences in the timelines (Willow would obviously be more in touch with her sexual identity in 2019; Xander would totally be an incel) but it works well on its own merits too... I think? Hard to say as I have been watching and reading about these characters for 22 years.

This first volume chews through plot pretty fast, but I’m excited to see where it is going.

[exorcismemily · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Being strong is a challenge but being
vulnerable...feels impossible."

High School is Hell is the first volume in a new Buffy graphic novel series. I was a little uncertain about how I was going to feel about it, but this is a great update to BTVS, and I thought it worked really well. The only thing I wasn't wild about was nice Cordelia, but we'll see how that goes. I feel like they still stayed true to the heart of BTVS, but just made it fit into 2019 a little bit better. I'm looking forward to the next volume!

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tone is there, most of the characters approximate their TV version's likenesses (except Anya and Drusilla, for some reason.. oh and Joyce, but that bothers me less, for some other reason).

It feels a bit short for a volume/arc, nothing gets the chance to breathe.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reboot? Update? Cash-grab? All of the above? In any case a disappointing mash up of familiar and alternative with nothing new to say. It might get better in another volume if there is one?

[Nixi92 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un inizio bomba per questo reboot che, finalmente, mi sono regalata.

Essendo cresciuta con le serie di Buffy e Angel (tanto da saperne a memoria battute, titoli degli episodi, canzoni del musical, ecc.), non potevo lasciarmi sfuggire questo nuovo lavoro a fumetti. Siamo a Sunnydale, ai giorni nostri. Sin da subito possiamo notare le differenze con la serie tv, anche se alcuni personaggi rimangono iconici (Cordelia e Spike su tutti). Una sorpresa ritrovare la Wolfram & Hart e l'ex-preside figlio di cacciatrice, ora adolescente e studente, Robin Wood. Non vedo l'ora di vedere come si evolverà la storia, che so già riserverà molte sorprese, soprattutto dopo un finale così!

[Mikala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am adding this update to my review of volume 1 as I have decided to call it quits with this series.

I made it through the following volumes and I will be DNF'ing the remainder of the run and unhauling my copies:
1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1: High School Is Hell
2 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 2: Once Bitten
3 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 3: From Beneath You
4 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 4: Frenemies
5 Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hellmouth
6 Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow

I really enjoyed this first volume and pieces of the subsequent volumes. However I feel like the series is so meandering and pointless. There's so much fluff packed in and not enough action. So many things don't make a bit of sense or aren't fully explained. I'm constantly questioning if I'm missing something because theres a real lack of answers 🙃

The art quality is baffling and continues to worsen as the series progresses (despite the first volume being really gorgeous and leading me to have really high expectations for what was to come!)

I only barely got to the introduction of the multiverse theme and then it was totally ignored for multiple issues to the point where I just totally forgot about it 😅

It truly feels like a waste of my time to continue further in this series 🗑
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Original Review: November 30, 2023

This was such a lovely journey back into the Buffy-verse. The Season 8 comics are some of my most formative reading as a teenager and so it feels honestly cathartic to revisit Buffy in comic form as an adult not having read any of the graphic novels in years.
I adored the art in this first volume (and although I have started the second volume and have noticed a huge drop off in art quality I am only judging this volume on its own merit).

I ADORED how this is Buffy as we know it but with a spin. It's like Buffy and the scooby gang through a parallel universe lens, where essentially all the classic snark and personalities are still the same but now there are smart phones and modern technology.

I am expecting this series to drop off in quality as I go based on reviews Ive seen of this series as a whole however I have to say my experience with volume 1 was extremely rewarding.

[TJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this so far! While this isn't what I would have personally wanted for the Buffyverse comics, I'm taking it for what it is. The art is fantastic, and it's neat seeing the characters in modern day and how that's changed them. There's a good twist at the end of issue 1, and issue 4 ends on a cliffhanger for better or worse. I'm very intrigued to see where this leads! (But upon a reread, it's depressing knowing this is the best issue of the series. It's all downhill from here...) 4/5 stars.

[alittlelifeofmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided to read this in one sitting to hit my yearly goodreads goal and also because I’m watching Angel/Buffy. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I’m struggling to an extent with some of the changes but I do love the artwork. It’s definitely not going to be my favourite thing to exist but I am intrigued enough to see what happens.

[Completely Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up giving this 3.75. If you would like to hear my full thoughts, check out my YouTube Channel called Completely Melanie and keep an eye out for my April Wrap Up Vlog coming soon.