By Diana Lee LaBrecque

The show may be over, but the much-anticipated Season 8 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been newly reborn in the world of comic books. Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy, is the writer of the new line by Dark Horse. Real fans know that comic books aren’t foreign to the happenings of the crew at Sunnydale, CA. Storylines and spin-offs began emerging right after the original Buffy movie in 1992 and only grew with the population of the TV show.

But fans haven’t been updated on their favorite undead team since 2003, when the show ended at its seventh season. After much debate and rumors of a Buffy movie, Whedon made a deal with Dark Horse Comics to construct a new Buffy comic. Delayed a week, the first issue was well worth the wait. The story quickly reintroduces its readers to the Buffy Universe, catching them up with the Slayer’s complicated post-apocalyptic world. Followers of the show’s last season remember the biggest alteration in the undead world: the one and only Slayer is no longer alone. Now in Season 8, there are thousands of Slayers worldwide, including three Buffy look-a-likes.

There is no sign of Spike yet but both Giles and Willow are given slight mentions. Xander acts as Buffy’s new unofficial Watcher, dealing with responsibility for the first time. The show’s most disliked character, Dawn, is unfortunately written into the storyline as well. Now a teenager, Dawn is going through some literal growing pains and has transformed into a giant after sleeping with a demon for the first time. The gang is waiting for Willow to use her Wiccan magic to shrink her down but she’s currently out of town. Towards the end of the issue we are introduced to Buffy’s current known problems as she looks out at the sun setting in Sweden: she misses Sunnydale and sex. We are shown one of Buffy’s unknown problems- an Initiative like government agency looking to kill her, as well as a resurrected Amy looking for vengeance.

The illustrations are good and somewhat realistic in comparison to the actual actors from the show. All in all it serves as a good start by Whedon and the Buffy team, but the second will need more action and more familiar faces. While entertaining, the experience of the first issue is like running into old friends and quickly catching up; meanwhile the true fans are still waiting for all the juicy gossip.

Creator Joss Whedon revives the Buffy franchise with a new series of comics.