Buffy the Vampire Slayer #3 // Review
The third issue of Boom! Studios’ Buffy reboot continues with a lot of place-setting and not much else. Where the first two issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer did great work setting up this modern reinvention of the 90’s TV classic, this issue spins its wheels with a big action sequence and not much else.
This issue picks up right where issue #2 left off, with a mysterious vampire-hating bat-creature menacing Sunnydale, Drusilla threatening Anya for more protection amulets for her vampire followers, and Buffy on the trail of those same amulets. By the end of the issue, all three problems have been sorted, but none of the more significant questions have been answered.
Writer Jordie Bellaire continues to perfectly nail the voices of these fan-favorite characters, complete with Whedonesque wordplay and wit. It’s a shame, then, that much of this issue is devoted to revelations--Giles plays guitar! Spike’s real name is William! Cordelia can be mean! Willow and Xander can be helpful!--that seem old hat to long-time Buffy fans but are happening too soon to be surprising to new readers.
Dan Mora’s art is the highlight of the book, and the release of Camazotz the bat-creature lets him really let loose with some great page layouts and character moments. Camazotz also provides an opportunity for letterer Ed Dukeshire to shine. Thanks to Raúl Angulo, the book is bathed in gorgeous reds and...well, mostly reds, this is Buffy the Vampire Slayer after all.
The first two issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were fun rides. While this issue feels like a lot of wheel-spinning and table-setting, it does end with a promising cliffhanger. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a return to form.
