BUFFY HAS F*#$ING SUPERPOWERS!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #32: Twilight Part 1
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Brad Meltzer
Artist: Georges Jeanty
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Inker: Andy Owens
Cover: Jo Chen, Georges Jeanty
Summary: Faster than a speeding — you know. More powerful than a — yeah, one of those. Able to leap tall . . . castles in a single bound. Still working on that x-ray-vision thing. In the aftermath of battle with Twilight’s army, Buffy has developed a host of new powers, but when will the other shoe drop, and will it be a cute shoe, or an ugly one? Still reeling from the losses of war, Willow goes looking for missing allies and discovers a horrifying truth about several of the Slayer army’s recent ordeals.
Series artist Georges Jeanty, acclaimed novelist and comics writer Brad Meltzer (The Book of Lies, Identity Crisis), and executive producer Joss Whedon begin the buildup to Season Eight’s climax in the storyline that finally reveals the identity of Twilight!
Review: For almost (gulp) twenty years now Buffy Summers has been my own personal superhero. She may not wear a costume or be able to deflect bullets with her chest but she’s got super strength and senses and is most certainly a hero. Now that superhero comic writer Brad Meltzer has jumped onboard for Season 8, Buffy magically has powers akin to Superman. Coincidence? Who cares!? This issue is every geeks dream.
When we last left the Scoobies and Slayer army they were in an all-out war in Tibet. They had to take down not one, but three Goddesses. Remember when Buffy spent an entire season trying to kill one God? Now the fight is over and Buffy has superpowers. They don’t know where they came from but to Xander’s delight, he and Buffy spend hours trying to test her limits and abilities. She complies with his every fanboy request, which include more than a few comic nerd inside jokes. All of this Buffy/Xander quality time has Dawn on edge. Willow suspects jealousy but Dawn is maintaining caution with Buffy’s newfound abilities. In all the excitement three key characters have gone missing. How and why will lead Willow to a discovery of epic proportions.
The big Twilight reveal, already spoiled for the masses, hasn’t happened yet but I’m almost too captivated at the moment to care. What is revealed this issue is the reason behind Buffy’s superpowers but I wouldn’t dare spoil it for you here. As Marty McFly would say, it’s heavy. Meltzer has jumped into the fray without a safety net and I’m already on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait for the rest of his arc to unfold. Georges Jeanty’s art is consistent as usual but I’d guess he needed a point of reference for at least one image in the issue. (Read my interview with Jeanty where he talks about Meltzer coming onboard!) Hell, anyone but the most hardcore of fans would need one.
Fans of superhero comics but non-Buffy readers would most certainly enjoy this issue as Meltzer lays on the superhero references pretty thick. I certainly had a good laugh over one in particular. It’s close to overkill but abstains because they’re so well placed, not to mention natural for these characters to be mentioning anyway given the situation. (An imaginary cookie to whoever can place them all.) This issue might be strange territory for die-hard Buffy fanatics who don’t read a lot of other comic books but Meltzer’s talent speaks for itself. I wouldn’t be surprised if letters started pouring in today for him to return for Season 9.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #32 is in stores today.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:10 pm
The super powers were more of a surprise to me than the Twilight spoiler.
I dig. She deserves the upgrade.
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I am not a buffy fan, but I am a Meltzer fan. I guess being a fan of the “superhero” genre, I might just pick this up. Awesome review, I am sold! Can’t wait to pick this up!
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Buffy always has a place in my heart. Great review! Maybe I should start picking up this comic…
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Part of what made Buffy unique was that she wasn’t a super-powered being from some distant planet, but just a semi-ordinary high school student forced into extraordinary situations with the help of her friends.
February 6th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Not sure how I feel about that. First of all, I haven’t been keeping up but last I read, the slayers were not using any powers because they were magic based and the big bad was able to track the use of magic. Buff always seemed pretty indestructible but way more like Batman, getting the shit beat out of her leaving her bloody & bruised but she would recover and get back to work quickly.