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BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #47-49
"Note from the Underground Parts 1-3"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Dark Horse Comics
Writers: Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Cliff Richards
Inks: Joe Pimentel & Will Conrad
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Scott Allie
Price: $2.99 US/$4.99 CAN |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite TV shows, but like so many other licensed products, the comics just can't seem to compare. I have to give Lobdell & Nicieza credit for ambition, as they're throwing continuity out the window and exploring a sort of alternate Buffy universe, which gives them a lot more room to explore and use of more of the cast than we're likely to see in the TV show... in other words, they're making use of their unlimited casting and special effects budget. However, the writing style, particularly the dialogue and characterization, is lacking, and the artwork, while clear enough, could use a bit of work in the likenesses department, which is fairly important in licensed works as well.
Though the rumors would indicate that we'll be seeing some of these characters return to the show this season, with Angel on another network, the idea of a big story that brings together the entire cast of both shows is pretty much an impossibility. And so it falls to the comics, and I must credit the writers for coming up with the ideas of bringing all these characters together. Unfortunately, half the fun of seeing these characters is seeing how they interact given the changes they've all gone through, and that requires a better grasp of the characters than is displayed in these issues. The dialogue is a bit weak, nowhere near as clever and funny as that usually found in the TV shows, and the explanation of how things got this way, rather important for a casual reader, seems to be nowhere to be found in these first three issues.
 In addition, I've got specific complaints about how most of the characters are handled. Faith in particular comes across as far nicer and a lot less edgy and self-determined than she should be. Some of this can be written off to her attempt at redemption, but so far it mostly seems like wishy-washy characterization, which robs her appearance of a lot of its power. There are more subtle but definitely noticeable misses in the characterization of most of Angel and Buffy's "Scoobies," which makes it hard to enjoy this even as an alternate Buffy tale.
It doesn't help that Cliff Richards, while a solid storyteller, doesn't seem overly concerned about nailing the likenesses of the characters. While their identities become clear in the course of the story, it's always a result of the script, and not the artwork. I was three pages into the first chapter before I realized who Angel and Cordelia were, and Anya looks remarkably like Buffy, just as Cordelia looks remarkably like Faith. Richards' work is fine for action and he does a nice job, along with colorist Dave McCaig, of setting up the various backdrops, but the characters could use some work.
Which, ultimately, is my overall judgment of the arc so far. There's a lot of potential here, and it's good to see the creators of this title making a more ambitious reach in terms of story. In broad strokes, there's a lot of good in this arc. However, it's the details, whether it's the dialogue the defines the characters or the artwork that defines them visually, which needs to be fine-tuned in order to raise it beyond something with potential and into something truly special.
These comic books were not among this week's new releases.
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