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A review by kimberlea
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #2 by Dan Mora, Raúl Angulo, Jordie Bellaire
3.0
This issue is otherwise known as the one where Cordelia returns (I need anyone who is reading this to know that whenever Cordelia is mentioned, I begin singing the Cordelia jingle from Buffering the Vampire Slayer in my head), although I have a lot of questions about it. For the most part, we're still in introduction mode (and I suppose it helps that there's seven years of character development from the television show to draw from), but the creative team are going to great lengths to make sure that the readers know that this is a different kind of Sunnydale.
Again, there are little differences to the characters — Cordelia feels more like the Cordelia we knew from Angel, Drusilla seems more... sane, which is somehow infinitely scarier than anything she did on television, Spike feels more like a villain's sidekick than a main antagonist — but these differences make me think that they'll be important to the overarching plot. The dialogue is spot-on yet doesn't feel dated, and each character has their own speech patterns. Jordie Bellaire has done a great job of reminding us that our lead characters are teenagers who sometimes need a bit of help.
The illustrations are outstanding. We open on Buffy having a nightmare, and it's incredibly gory and disturbing. Quite frankly, I'm astounded at how easily Dan Mora goes from creating a horror sequence to creating images that feel more at home in a teen drama — the transition is seamless. And the colouring. The colouring! My favourite truly is Buffy's nightmare sequence at the beginning — there's a lot of red and purple tones and it's just gorgeous colouring that's juxtaposed against the grotesqueness of the illustrations — but honestly there's beautiful bits throughout. Another moment where the colouring really shines is in Cordelia and Spike's meeting.
My only real problem with this comic book so far is the pacing — for me, it's just moving far too slowly. I know that the creative team need to set up the world for people who aren't familiar with the television show, but I feel like we have been given scenes rather than a whole story. Traditionally, comic books are stories that both stand on their own and fit in to an overarching plot. With these Buffy comics, I'm getting one big story doled out in tiny pieces. I want more substance! Give me a confrontation! Something!
An enjoyable read, but at this stage I can't see the bigger picture and I just want things to get moving.
Again, there are little differences to the characters — Cordelia feels more like the Cordelia we knew from Angel, Drusilla seems more... sane, which is somehow infinitely scarier than anything she did on television, Spike feels more like a villain's sidekick than a main antagonist — but these differences make me think that they'll be important to the overarching plot. The dialogue is spot-on yet doesn't feel dated, and each character has their own speech patterns. Jordie Bellaire has done a great job of reminding us that our lead characters are teenagers who sometimes need a bit of help.
The illustrations are outstanding. We open on Buffy having a nightmare, and it's incredibly gory and disturbing. Quite frankly, I'm astounded at how easily Dan Mora goes from creating a horror sequence to creating images that feel more at home in a teen drama — the transition is seamless. And the colouring. The colouring! My favourite truly is Buffy's nightmare sequence at the beginning — there's a lot of red and purple tones and it's just gorgeous colouring that's juxtaposed against the grotesqueness of the illustrations — but honestly there's beautiful bits throughout. Another moment where the colouring really shines is in Cordelia and Spike's meeting.
My only real problem with this comic book so far is the pacing — for me, it's just moving far too slowly. I know that the creative team need to set up the world for people who aren't familiar with the television show, but I feel like we have been given scenes rather than a whole story. Traditionally, comic books are stories that both stand on their own and fit in to an overarching plot. With these Buffy comics, I'm getting one big story doled out in tiny pieces. I want more substance! Give me a confrontation! Something!
An enjoyable read, but at this stage I can't see the bigger picture and I just want things to get moving.