Review – Buffy The Vampire Slayer #2 (BOOM! Studios)

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Jordie Bellaire
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Raúl Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Release Date: 27th February 2019

Welcome back to the Buffyverse, where things are feeling a little different. For one, we’re in the modern day now, and for another, we have established characters in different roles and places. Regardless, welcome back to the Hellmouth! Let’s see if you survive another round.

Okay, enough of the theatrics. We’ve reached the second issue of BOOM! Studios reboot of Buffy. For the most part, things are just like fans should remember from the early seasons of the show, with Buffy balancing the weight of her Slayer responsibilities while simultaneously trying to fit in at high school. Luckily however she has managed to find some friends in the form of Willow and Xander, along with Giles as her watcher, guide, mentor and voice of authority on the occult. But that’s where the similarities end, as Drusilla has arrived on the scene with a certain blond-haired fan favourite not too far behind. Unlike the TV show however, Drusilla seems far saner here, not to mention scarily focused on her goal. And with no Angel in the picture yet, Buffy’s clearly going have her work cut out for her.

This is a really fun read so far. Jordie Bellaire has managed to retain the important parts of Buffy while still updating things to keep it feeling fresh. Willow for one is already out of the closet with a punk girlfriend call Rose. Cordelia is here too, but isn’t the walking version of ‘90s Mean Girls cliché anymore. She’s still a popular girl, but not quite a monster like the old days. Additionally, we’ve already seen some new characters introduced like Robin, who seems to be being positioned as a love interest for Buffy, and so far, it feels organic and works well.

Dan Mora gets to really bring his horror A-game here, and while there is admittedly very little action this issue, we do get a truly terrifying dream sequence, the impact of which is only enhanced by Raùl Angulo who covers the scene in blood-red, oranges and blacks. The dream sequence takes us to some really disturbing places, and it’s easily the highlight of the issue as a result.

I’m still making my mind up about this new version of Buffy. I don’t have the luxury of marathoning the entirety of this new comic book series, and as such the character development feels a little on the slow side. That said, it’s still only issue two and the introduction of Drusilla and Spike in very different roles definitely has me intrigued.

I’ll definitely going to be sticking with it for now, but I’m still waiting for that one moment to reach out and grab me like the show frequently did. This is definitely a series with a massive amount of potential, and it’s going to be interesting to see if it manages to reach it in the issues to come.

Rating: 3/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK]