Aided by Andrew Chambliss, Jane Espenson, Drew Z. Greenberg, Brian K. Vaughan, Brad Meltzer, and others, Joss Whedon has created a world that has taken full advantage of the thin boundaries that the page provides. Were there times when that freedom has pushed the series too far? Moments that felt so distant from the show that this very much felt like a comic book adaptation and not something that was supposedly carrying a thread from one medium to the other? Absolutely. Dawn became a centaur, Buffy flew (and skybanged Angel), Spike in the bug ship, magic fell, there was Scoob disharmony, and we saw the rise of the zompires. Through it all, though, Buffy Season 8 and Buffy Season 9 had good points as well, including the thing that our television screens stubbornly refused to give us more of: Buffy and Angel and Xander and Willow. But mostly, the comics have suffered from their larger scope. Alongside that new-reader service, we also see Buffy fighting alongside a vamp that looks suspiciously like Willow (if Willow had raided Strawberry Shortcake’s closet), though it turns out that it’s Vikki the Vampire, a temporary ally that has a vested interest in helping Buffy and her crew wipe out the zompires. An odious vested interest, that is. Once Vikki predictably turns on Buffy and the Scoobs (with Willow — who is struggling to harness the new and “raw” magic — in tow), all hell breaks loose, but soon Buffy’s army is bolstered by a couple of surprising pop-ins that even up the score a bit, giving this issue it’s only real shot of emotional resonance. Regarding the interior art, Isaacs’ work represents an upgrade over Georges Jeanty’s, but I’ve long held the belief that Jeanty’s generic characters hampered the Buffy series (at least for me, this is all so very subjective) and I really was smitten with the work that Isaacs did on Angel and Faith, so I’m a bit biased. The bottom line is: you don’t need a scorecard to tell the Scoobies apart with Isaacs in command as she gets just enough right to pass for the actors who played these characters long ago, but not so much that it would be called photo realistic. Isaacs gets the soul down, something that can be seen on page 11 as we see Buffy — mid-mission — hanging onto the back of a van with worry on her face about something totally unrelated. That’s Buffy, it is unmistakeable and it’s exciting to know that Isaacs is going to get to play with these characters this season, though hopefully there will be more depth alongside her art going forward. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 #1 is available where fine comic books are sold and on Dark Horse Digital. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
