The rumor mill is running rampant of Whedon rebooting the Buffy television show. While we wait for that to fly or fry, we can enjoy this new title from BOOM Studios, Buffy #1.
How’s the Party Looking
The artwork in this series is minimalistic yet amazingly on point. Don’t look for lots of detail in the artwork, or shadows adding more depth. The colors are simple and largely blocky. The detail though is precisely where it needs to be. When you look at each of the characters, you SEE Zander from the television show. You SEE Giles or Buffy’s mom. It is not richly designed, but it fits its purpose and works very well!
I usually do not address this in comics, but the dialogue is dead-on perfect. For those who have watched and loved the television show, when Buffy speaks, you get the feel of Sarah Michelle Gellar doing the script. The balloons for Zander give you the feeling of actually hearing Nicholas Brendon reciting the lines.
A Whole New Beginning
If you are a fan of the Buffy TV series this series promises to pick up with everything you loved about the show. Now for clarity’s sake this series is a reboot of the title. It takes place as if the show and all the other comics never existed. That makes this a perfectly blank slate for any one to jump on board with.
This first issue does not go much of anywhere story-wise. This issue introduces us to the characters and their current set ups which are slightly different than what we are used too. Buffy is working a fast food fish restaurant (think Long John Silvers if you have those around). She ends up saving Willow and Zander while on patrol and that’s how they get drawn into Buffy’s world.
We also meet Giles and Buffy’s mom. The chemistry is everything it was on the television show spelled out in a couple of scenes. The personalities from TV are jumping off the pages as you read this issue.
The Big Bad Is?
There is no “bad guy” as of yet. We are introduced to what looks to be a human Anya. She runs a museum/shop filled with mystical antiques and objects. Wolfram and Hart is mentioned in passing and finally we are introduced to a female vampire in business attire at the end that looks to be ready to lay the hurt down on Anya.
For anyone that enjoyed Buffy on TV or in past comics should love this series. The fact it is starting form scratch makes it easy for one and all to jump on board this title. It will be fun to see where this goes and how it differs from what we know.
