Summary: Melaka Fray is just a girl. Born and raised in the slums of a future Manhattan, she works as a minor thief in a city where mutants and monsters raise no more comment than the flying cars. Burdened by the secrets of her past, and with no thought of her future, Melaka is unaware that she is part of a long line of Slayers, and that it is her job - and her destiny - to fight against vampires (now so common that they're called "lurks", and mostly ignored by the authorities) and to protect humanity from a terrible demonic apocalypse.

Review: Who misses Sunnydale? Fray pulls off a seemingly impossible feat - it walks the fine tightrope of managing to be both familiar and novel, to give us something new without disrupting established continuity, and to be recognizable to fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while still being accessible to newcomers to the the Whedon-verse. If you haven't watched BtVS, a) get on that, but b) Fray is still understandable - she's a petit, sassy, edgy girl with a dark past who kicks some serious monster butt. If you have watched BtVS, well, Fray's a petit, sassy, edgy girl with a dark past and a long history who kicks some serious monster butt. (Personally, I think she's more like Faith than like Buffy - that'd be the tough-girl/bad-past side coming out - but regardless, she's still a Slayer, with all of the attendant issues of separateness and loneliness and loss that we watched our girls struggle with for seven seasons.)

As a story, Fray reads like the story arc of a season of Buffy, condensed down and minus the more one-off episodes. It's recognizeably a Joss Whedon story, complete with plenty of snarky humor, witty dialogue, a unique (and catchy) argot in the speech patterns of the characters, and plenty of action. Joss, as usual, also doesn't pull any punches in the drama department - even apart from all of the demons and monsters, life for his characters is not particularly pleasant. By the end, things aren't exactly resolved - like in Buffy, averting one apocalypse is no guarantee that another one isn't right around the corner - so it was a little unsatisfying... but unsatisfying in the way that means that we're left wanting more of Fray's world, and its tiny, butt-kicking heroine. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: For Buffy fans, it's practically required reading, and it would serve as a good introduction to graphic novels for those who haven't encountered them before. For other folks, it's a fun story featuring a very different kind of superhero, and because it's a one-off, it can be picked up and enjoyed without having extensive background knowledge, and without committing to a series. ( )

High adventure graphic novel that follows Melaka Fray, the newest vampire slayer, as she learns who she is and takes on the lurks (vampires) of the underworld. Wonderful artwork, fast paced story, a ton of fun and easy to read, Fray's only downfall is it's somewhat predictable storyline. ( )

graphic novel ( )

Set in a future world where magic and demons have been banished from the human dimension, Fray chronicles the emergence of the next Slayer as demons begin to cross over again. First let me say that I will read/watch pretty much anything that Joss Whedon puts his name to, I think he is one of the most creative and talented artists of the 21st century. Fray is a departure from the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, yet retains some interesting similarities. Fray is no middle class girl from a good home, she is a thief and a fighter. In many ways Fray could not be more different from Buffy yet she faces the same challenges and betrayals of all the slayers before her: slay, protect, survive. ( )

Soooooo awesome! Fray is a thief, lives in a *really* bad neighborhood (and world, really), and is a slayer but doesn't know it. Oh, and she totally kicks butt. This is many years after Buffy, and though vampires are still around, no one knows them by that name anymore - they're simply "lurks" who hide out in the slums, and so are left alone. Fray is tough and scrappy, but messed up, and she's a very convincing reluctant hero. Excellent for those who miss Buffy, adore vampires, or simply want an action-packed horror comic. It won't disappoint. ( )