Dan Brereton

This is the first Buffy book/comic that I have read. The story followed a similar format to one of the TV show episodes, with the introduction of a new baddie, investigation of the baddie, and defeat of the baddie. It was self contained once you knew who the basic characters were. I enjoyed the story, the baddies were intriguing - and the means of their demise interesting.

But the drawing! It was terrible! Well, it's not that it was bad art, but the characters hardly resembled their on screen show more versions. I had a lot of difficulty recognising the three main girls (Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia.) And all the male characters were wearing oddly tight pants. show less

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Dust Waltz, writer Dan Brereton and artist Hector Gomez pit Buffy against Lilith, the mother of vampires. The overall story resembles the type of storytelling found in the first couple seasons of the show, with a big bad coming to town and Buffy and the Scooby Gang investigating before ultimately beating them. It feels like a media tie-in and later Buffy comics developed more mature story arcs, but it's enjoyable in a nostalgic way. Gomez's art is very much show more of the late-1990s and indicative of the type of work at Dark Horse Comics at that time. The stylized nature might turn off some readers, but I feel it works given the book's nature as a sort of time capsule. Whether or not you've kept up with the current comics, if you like the show, it will entertain you. show less

Beautiful, lush, lavish. Those are the first words that come to mind when I think of this book. It’s billed as both a Nocturnals setting “bible” (i.e., companion to the graphic novels series) as well as a role-playing game (RPG). It’s a full-color, glossy hardback that includes a ton of Dan Brereton’s art from the various published books as well as a lot of new art, including a complete, all-new graphic story that introduces a new villain group of spectral serial killers. Good show more stuff all-around, and beautiful to boot. Brereton has also done something interesting and not a little surprising here: he really has given us a true “bible” for the setting, providing a lot of background and other setting and character information that’s never before been revealed in any of the published Nocturnals stories.

Value for gamers: Very high, assuming you want to run a game either set in the Nocturnals universe or running a game in the style of the Nocturnals. Is all the art strictly necessary to run a game set in the Nocturnals universe? No, but it’s certainly evocative. Are the lengthy background write-ups of all the major characters (and many of the minor ones) necessary for a game? Probably not, but again, they’re inspiring pieces and will be highly useful if you want to have any of these characters pop up as either protagonists or antagonists in your game. Mechanically-speaking, it uses the Mutants and Masterminds system, and it’s not a complete game, of course. To use these game stats, you’ll need the Mutants and Masterminds core book. I’d say probably only 15% of the book is devoted to gaming-related stuff, and many of those pages are actually discussions of the main themes, tropes, and inspirations of the Nocturnals universe that should be included in any Nocturnals-style game, so it’s readily adaptable to other systems. We’ve also got ten new pre-generated characters (nine of whom get portraits – where’s the missing one?) who are based on the original Nocturnals characters and provide excellent examples of the slightly different directions that other Nocturnals characters could go.

Value for non-gamers: Extremely high, assuming you are a fan of the Nocturnals. In many ways, I almost see this book as being written primarily for non-gamers. All the gaming-related material (short stat blocks for the characters, a few new feats, etc.) has been ghettoized into a small chapter at the back of the book. All the rest of it is entirely gaming material-free.

This is actually a textbook example of how to produce a role-playing game supplement based on a licensed setting, and if you’re a big fan of the Nocturnals, I recommend it, even if you’re not a gamer, as it will provide you with significant material of interest. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Review copyright 2010 J. Andrew Byers show less

This is the second of the three Oni Press Nocturnals trade paperback graphic novels, collecting the Nocturnals: The Dark Forever mini-series.

Note: This review features mild plot spoilers -- read at your own risk.

The story picks up a year after the events of Nocturnals: Black Planet and most of the members of the Nocturnals have been on their own, pursuing various goals and quests around the world. They’ve all returned to Pacific City where dark events are unfolding. The dead are walking show more the streets, the Raccoon has become an enforcer for a local crime family, Doc Horror is wrapped up in exploring the strange, inhuman city he’s discovered buried deep under the Nocturnals’ home. The pyrokinetic Firelion and enigmatic Starfish have just rolled back into town, just in time to get involved in the mysteries and save the Nocturnals’ bacon. Halloween Girl also plays an enjoyable role in getting the problems resolved. I won’t reveal exactly what’s going on here as discovering that is half the fun. Suffice it to say, that in its long history, the underground city was home to two non-human races, one dead though still hanging around in ghostly form and the other very much alive and not terribly happy that humans are inhabiting their former coastal domain.

Characterization is very good, with the melancholic Starfish playing a particularly prominent role, plus it’s fun to see Halloween Girl in action, as always. It’s also a very good mix of Lovecraftian horror and pulp action, as with the best of the Nocturnals stories. Sure, there are a few elements that aren’t clearly brought together – why exactly are the dead walking the streets? – but it’s a great story, well-told and with terrific art, so if you enjoyed Nocturnals: Black Planet, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Review copyright 2010 J. Andrew Byers show less