The Hellmouth crossover, covering Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and the Hellmouth mini from Boom! Studios have been very strange, in that the three books have seemed completely unrelated since the crossover started. Buffy the Vampire Slayer #11 changes all that.

In this issue, whatever has been plaguing the men of Sunnydale comes to a head as Robin Wood succumbs to the demonic possession of something called the Hellmother. Xander, because of his status as half-vampire, can resist the struggle. Unfortunately for him, Kendra is the new slayer in town, and unlike Buffy, she doesn’t know Xander’s situation--to her, he’s just another vamp.

Writer Jordie Bellaire once again shows that she knows these characters intimately, and is doing a great job of building new conflicts and new ideas out of old situations. This issue allows her to build tension masterfully, and it’s almost a relief when Robin finally hulks out.

The art by David López is good as well. His use of page design and panel placement to create tension and enhance the storytelling is excellent, and his faces are excellent as well. The colors by Raúl Angulo and Ed Dukeshire are great supports to López’s work.

Once again, Buffy the Vampire Slayer continues to be an MVP title for Boom. Once again, however, the title character is absent from the book. When will she return? And can the book maintain its momentum when she does? 

Grade: A-