Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • BTFT: Strollin’ Through the New 52 (with Animal Man, Stormwatch and Dial H)

      Shawn Hill
      August 17, 2014
      Bin There Found That, Columns
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Top 10 Things We Can (Unfairly) Assume About "Batman v Superman"

      Shawn Hill
      April 19, 2015
      Big Two, Columns, DC Comics, Top 10
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • 4.0

      Cruising Through The Louvre by David Prudhomme

      Shawn Hill
      January 28, 2016
      Indie, Reviews, Small Press
    Recent
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.0

      Starr the Slayer #1

      Shawn Hill
      September 1, 2009
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • 2.3

      Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

      Daniel Gehen
      February 16, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Eric Stephenson (Part 2): Market Habits, Competition and What's Next

      Shawn Hill
      April 29, 2011
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Frank Miller's Ronin Pt. 4: Eyes in the Darkness

      Shawn Hill
      August 5, 2016
      Classic Comics, Classic Comics Cavalcade
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Kickstarter Spotlight: All This Too Shall Pass

      Shawn Hill
      March 6, 2020
      Kickstarter Spotlight, News
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Jason Shiga and His Deliciously Demented 'Demon'

      Shawn Hill
      May 9, 2017
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY
  • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN'S UNIVERSE
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

Team-Up Review: ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 10, #1’ New Rules: Part One

Shawn Hill
March 25, 2014
Reviews, Team-Up Review
Team-Up Review: 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 10, #1' New Rules: Part One
2.8Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)

John Yohe: 2 stars

I was never a Buffy fanatic—it came on TV about the time I was letting TV go, though I saw some shows here and there, and enjoyed them, and I confess to some personal nostalgia, since an actor friend of mine got to be an evil frat boy for one episode. Still, I’ve been aware that Buffy lives on in comic book form, and original creator Joss Whedon (the new George Lucas) remains the executive producer, which speaks to his love for the character and story, since he’s got twenty zillion other projects he could be working on, for a lot more money.

If you haven’t been reading this series, now is a good time to jump on board, as the first issue of “Season 10”. And I would almost suspect that, since the comic is still organized around ‘seasons,’ that the reader fan base might be made up of the die-hard legions of fans of the tv series. Except, Buffy and friends are still teenagers, and there’s still a lot of teenager relationship stuff (ie what they call ‘drama’) going on. Not at first. First, Buffy is kicking ass on a group of “zompires” and getting sassy with a female teen vampire (favorite line, when Vicki the Vampire gets pissed off at Buffy and says, “Bring it, skank!”). But then somehow the zompires (and even Buffy) drop away and we get a whole lot of expository dialogue from her friends about people’s feelings. Surely this series isn’t meant for adult fans of the old tv show anymore? But surely even teen readers don’t care about relationships this much?

Buffy

Buffy seems to have twenty minor character friends now, which feels crowded. I like the parts where she’s exchanging sassery with Vicki the Vampire, but there’s none of what I remember about her from the tv show, where she was also booksmart, and had to do research and like, read shit, to solve problems. There’s no problem, period, besides the need to just use violence. That’s not the Buffy I remember.

I’m underwhelmed, but once again feeling that I’m not the target audience. Still, I would think even the target audience deserves a bit more challenging storyline.

Shawn Hill: 3.5 stars

The team from Angel & Faith graduates to the main title for this 10th season, and the first issue shows that they deserved the promotion. Gage is a seasoned, journeyman writer, and if he’s not the greatest innovator in comics, he’s shown a real talent for picking up all the extant threads of continuity and building on them in satisfying new ways. Call it the Bill Mantlo effect.

Inheriting the legacy of a Buffy with her nuclear family nearly restored (Willow, Dawn and Xander, with ample assists from Spike and Andrew), magic back in the world, and a serious commitment to dealing with the Zompire legacy of the magic-free Earth, Gage and Isaacs start us off back-to-basics, with Buffy slaying her enemies with stakes and scythes. But the weird twists start to pile up: the intelligent pre-Zompire vamps want to help the Scooby Gang; Willow’s magic, while formidable, is not what it used to be as the new magic is different from the old; and Xander and Dawn are still having problems, just not the same ones as Dawn being forgotten out of existence.

Buffy

Gage finds a place for Anya (at least her ghost), Billy the Vampire Slayer, and Faith on loan from her series as well. Even more, she brought a friend: Giles! Which I assume is all explained in London-stuff I didn’t read (the letters page spends more time reminding us about Billy, weirdly), but what a wow moment when he shows up in the nick of time here (to help against the old school vampires, who of course were only loyal for so long, and seem to have developed some Dracula-style trickery). Though changed, he’s still somehow the essence of Giles, greatly missed since the Season Eight/Twilight misfire.

Isaacs has both a Jeanty-cartoony quality that befits the tone of Buffy comics, while nailing several of the likenesses, especially Buffy, Faith and Spike. Hard to know if the smaller scale will be retained (probably not, everyone needs to build to those Big Bad moments of drama), but Gage brings both the funny and a copious knowledge of Slayer continuity, so I’m well-pleased for now.

 

Buffy the Vampire SlayerChristos GageDan JacksonDark Horse ComicsJohn YoheRebekah IsaacsRichard Starkings; Jimmy BetancourtShawn Hill

Share On:
Tweet
Team-Up Review: ‘The Witcher’ #1: If Jedi were mercenaries mainly tasked with killing monsters
Singles Going Steady 3/25/2014: A Heroine Soars

About The Author

Shawn Hill
Shawn Hill

Shawn loves Star Wars and Star Trek. But not Dr. Who, just Torchwood. Love is illogical!

Related Posts

  • 3.0

    Alien: The Original Script #1 – This One’s For The Fans

    Jason Jeffords Jr.
    August 7, 2020
  • What Looks Good for Quarantine Week 5

    Andrea Tessie, Daniel Gehen
    April 20, 2020

Latest Reviews

  • 3.0

    Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

    Daniel Gehen
    February 22, 2021
  • 4.5

    Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

    Daniel Gehen
    February 19, 2021
  • 2.3

    Review: SAVAGE #1 Needs Taming

    Daniel Gehen
    February 16, 2021
  • 4.3

    Review: RADIANT BLACK #1 Shines Brightly

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2021
  • 2.7

    Review: DEEP BEYOND #1 Can’t Commit to a Premise

    Daniel Gehen
    February 4, 2021
  • 2.0

    VINDICATION Falls Short of its Lofty Goals (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    February 1, 2021
  • 4.5

    DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    January 22, 2021
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders