In a new comic series from BOOM! Studios, fans will see Buffy Summers as they’ve never seen her before.

The dystopian series The Last Vampire Slayer follows the sole-remaining Slayer on her ongoing quest to save the world. But what’s a vampire killer to do when an apocalypse event leaves humans and the undead living in uneasy harmony?

An Apocalypse Where Life Goes On

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer is set in a post-apocalyptic world, but not like ones you’ve seen before. When the sun gets blotted out, plunging the Earth into perpetual darkness, it’s no surprise the vampires rise up.

What is surprising is the new world this leads to. It would have been easy to simply swap the vampire-human dynamic, sending mortals to live in secrecy, hiding from their new vamp overlords. Instead, the natural and supernatural form an uneasy treaty, allowing both to co-exist in a world similar (but not quite the same) as our own.

It’s a fresh take on both vampire stories and apocalypse stories, and one that will surely lend itself to more drama and twists later on. Because in a world where vampires are a protected part of society…where does that leave a Slayer like Buffy?

The Slayer Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before

What happens to a Slayer when she can’t fulfill her purpose anymore? Not because she’s not needed, but because she’s not allowed? 

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer sets up a really interesting dynamic from the start. Unsurprisingly, Buffy isn’t too happy with this new human-vamp truce. And personal feelings aside, she even develops physical symptoms as a result of going against her destiny. (A nosebleed any time is inconvenient. But a nosebleed around vampires? That’s definitely a problem.)

And of course, to top it off, Buffy Summers isn’t 16 anymore. She’s still perfectly capable of kicking ass… but she’s painfully aware leaping from tall buildings isn’t as easy as it used to be. How can she face this new world alone when she doesn’t even feel like herself anymore?

Buffy Summers character design in 'The Last Vampire Slayer'

The Perfect Intersection of Supernatural Drama, Emotional Storytelling, and Character Potential

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer shows a ton of potential in its first issue. As the reader, you’re drawn into this world that’s familiar to Buffy fans, but different enough to immediately capture your attention. The apocalypse story with a human-vampire treaty twist offers a lot of different avenues the series can explore. And setting the series in Buffy’s future allows the story to reference important people from her past, without making the plot dependent on them.

An older Buffy, feeling alone without her friends and abandoned by society, makes for the perfect protagonist. This first issue really conveys the depth of her ennui – dejected, depressed, and lacking purpose, unsure of her place in the world. Until someone new (but familiar) sparks a little hope in her. Or at the very least, gives her a mission to take on.

The first issue ends with a fun twist that sets Buffy on a new adventure, and promises more supernatural drama and character growth to come.

Maybe Buffy’s still got some world-saving left in her after all.

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer issue 1 main cover

You can pick up the debut issue of Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer from the Boom! webstore or your local comic shop starting December 8.

Series Info

Description: Can a lone Slayer save what’s left of humanity? Buffy Summers is the last Slayer. Now in her 50s, she wages a one woman fight against the forces of darkness, who prey on humanity in the daylight unimpeded thanks to a magical catastrophe that has nearly blotted out the sun. The same disaster robbed Buffy of her friends and ended the Slayer-line, forcing her into an endless guerilla war. That is, until she stumbles across something she hasn’t seen in a long time – hope, in the form of a prophecy and the young girl who carries it…

Author: Casey Gilly

Artist: Joe Jaro

Release format: Four issue series, with issue #1 releasing December 2021