Buffy the Vampire Slayer is Back in Comic Book Form!

I really loved the final 7th season of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show because it was a great ending for the show, but also left things open to continue the story. Now Dark Horse comics has released a new series which continues the story in comic book form, and they're calling it Season Eight because it picks up right after the end of the television show.

A big part of the last season of the television show involved the activations of hundreds of vampire slayers all over the world. Now with this new eighth season, Buffy is in charge of leading all those slayers in various missions all over the globe, and Xander is working at the base of operations to help keep things in order. In this new comic series, Buffy has gone very high tech. Oh, and Dawn has been turned into a giant.

This first issue of the new series basically serves to set up the new story and establish the roots of what is to become. Buffy is travelling with three slayers who were actually supposed to mimic her in order to hide where the real Buffy might be staying. It's kind of odd that they'd all be together, but they are. While Xander is back at base with a both technological and supernatural surveillance measures in place, he's coordinating the attack on some demons held up in an old church. There's even a joke about a crucifix that is typical of the writing from the TV show.

While Buffy and her crew are still battling demons, the story takes us back to her hometown of Sunnydale. Nothing but a huge crater is left of the city, and the military is conducting some underground experiments to see what might be left after the large battle that ensued in the TV show's series finale. Needless to say, they do find something underneath there, and it serves to explain one of the few things left unanswered at the end of the television show.

Joss Whedon, who created the television show, wrote the script for this story. It makes perfect sense that they guy who created the show should also work on creating the comic to follow the show. He also wrote the first five issues in this series. This first issue is actually part one of a four-part series called The Long Way Home.

I loved the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show and am very excited to see the story continue in comic form. There are quite a few comics and novels set around the Buffy world, but those previous stories mostly took place in the middle of the TV show seasons. With this new comic book series, we finally get to learn what became of the characters after the final television credits rolled.