Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 1

From one Buffy fan to another

Having discovered Joss Whedon through Firefly (and then only after the show had been off the air for a year!), I recently watched – devoured – Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix. (I’m halfway through Angel now. No spoilers!) Missing the Scooby Gang something fierce, I decided to give the comics a try.

Much to my dismay, I’ve never really been able to get into comics or graphic novels. Though I love many of the stories and characters, the format just isn’t for me. Even so, I hoped I might enjoy Buffy, seeing as I already have a connection to the Buffyverse. The events in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus (also referred to as “Season 0”) are largely concurrent with those in the movie and show more series, in such a way that they help to flesh out the existing stories. (In contrast, the Season Eight comic book series picks up where “Chosen” left off.)

Volume 1 in the omnibus features five complete storylines: “All’s Fair,” which shows a slightly younger Dru and Spike terrorizing the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago; “Buffy: The Origin,” an adaptation of Whedon’s screenplay; “Viva Las Buffy,” in which Buffy and Pike run away to Las Vegas post-prom, only to unwittingly stumble upon a casino full of vamps; “Dawn & Hoopy The Bear,” wherein a magical teddy bear meant for Buffy finds its way instead to Dawn; and “Slayer, Interrupted,” which elaborates on the time Buffy spent in a (demon infested, natch) mental institution.

While I initially found myself struggling to stay engaged, by the end of “Buffy: The Origin” I was hooked. The story arc in “All’s Fair” is rather lackluster – frankly, I would’ve liked to have seen more panels on the Boxer Rebellion – but the stories get progressively better, culminating with “Slayer, Interrupted.” Especially enjoyable is seeing Giles at home in England, in the spring of his career and already butting heads with the Watcher’s Council – and Angel, in his early days of Buffy brooding.

As you can infer from the fourth title in the series, Dawn exists in some of these story lines. Your feelings on this are likely to correspond with your feelings toward Dawn herself. I’m not particularly outraged at her inclusion, though I think the comic book series would be better off without her. I’d prefer the “truth” of what happened, not everyone’s manufactured memories of the events. Plus I’ve kind of had my share of whiny younger siblings, being the oldest of four kids myself.

Overall, I’m inclined to give Volume 1 of the Omnibus 3/5 stars, though I’m upgrading to four stars in the interest of fairness. (Like, what’s a non-fan of comic books doing reviewing a comic book?!) I’ll definitely keep reading the Omnibus series, though it’s doubtful that I’ll plow through it as quickly as I did the tv show. Fellow Buffy fans in need of a fix – give it a try, you might be surprised!

http://www.easyvegan.info/2012/12/28/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-omnibus-volume-1-b... show less

Volume One of the Graphic Novel Omnibus of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a real treat. It contains five story arcs which all take place prior to Season One of the Buffy television show. This volume contains The Origin, which is a re-worked version of the Buffy Movie. Or, maybe I should say, it's the original treatment by Joss that the cheesy movie was adapted from?
Also included are an adventure with Spike and Dru at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, "Viva Las Buffy" which takes place after The Origin and features Buffy and Pike running away to Vegas and taking out a vampire casino, and Slayer, Interrupted, depicting Buffy's first institutionalization which is alluded to in the Season 6 episode "Normal Again".
The most entertaining for me, show more however was "Dawn and Hoopy Bear" .. It was a very interesting decision for the author to include Dawn in these stories. Of course, she wasn't really there, but if Buffy is relating these happenings from a post-season 5 perspective, which, except for The Origin they all were, then she would remember Dawn being there.. A really fascinating paradox. Whichever way you look at it, you'll probably enjoy this story about a evil-infused Teddy Bear meant for the Slayer mistakenly given to 10-year-old Dawn. show less

I have a soft spot for the Buffy comics for two reasons: 1) I like the show to an embarrassing degree and 2) I was an assistant editor on the comics (in fact, I'm credited with that in this volume though I don't think I actually worked on any of the issues in this collection -- they all came before or after my time on the title).

Anyway, I liked this collection. They are good comics. Not great, but good. They capture something of the spirit of the show even if they can't quite capture the show's economy of action, dialog, characterization, etc. The best issues are those written Joe Casey and Fabian Nicieza. That's a good thing since they wrote most of the stories here. Cliff Richards handles the art on the bulk of the stories and I show more always found his art workman-like, if somewhat uninspired. He captures the likenesses of the actors very well.

If you're a fan of comics and of the Buffy TV show, you should probably check out this collection. If you're not a fan of those two things, then you should probably stay away. show less

A collection of graphic short stories, which were written by a variety of comic authors, while Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on television. My favorite was "Dawn and Hoopy the Bear," which was quite funny and had some of the best art in the collection. I also really liked "Viva las Buffy" (which fills in the gap from when the movie ended and the TV show began and letting us know what happened to Pike) and "Slayer, Interrupted" (which shows Buffy's stay in a mental institution as an attempt to avoid her fate).

However, I was thoroughly bored by the first two stories in the collection. In "Spike and Dru: All's Fair," in which the duo cause havoc at the 1933 World's Fair. The art is just okay and the lettering is awful, and frankly I'm not show more a Spike and Dru fan anyway.

"The Origin" was equally dull for me. It presents Joss Whedon's original screenplay of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as he intended it to be shown. To me, it ended up reading as a bad version of the movie, which I still quite love for all its camp. It was silly and ridiculous, but it was also fun. "The Origin" looses its fun when translated to comic format, not even capturing the punch of the TV show. It should have been given more space. Instead it seems to rush through the story and end up falling flat in so many ways. show less

4.5

*Book source ~ Home library

This graphic novel starts before Buffy goes to Sunnydale and contains her life in L.A. after Merrick, her Watcher, tells her that’s she’s the new Slayer. There are some Sunnydale scenes interspersed here and there and it flips back and forth between the stories and, after Origin, Giles being tested to see if he’s worthy of being the Slayer’s new Watcher.

All’s Fair ~ A Spike and Dru story set at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Man, I love these two crazy vamps.

The Origin ~ The story of how Buffy became the Chosen One.

Viva Las Buffy ~ Buffy and her friend Pike follow a lead about a vampire casino all the way to Vegas. Seeing Buffy in that coat check girl outfit, it’s hard to remember she’s show more still only 15. Woah.

Dawn & Hoopy the Bear ~ Not bad, but it’s about Dawn who shouldn’t even be included in the past stories because she doesn’t show up until Season 5. So…blerg.

Slayer, Interrupted ~ Ah, nice to get the skinny on when Buffy spent time in a mental institution since she mentions it in Season 6.

The artwork is fantastic and the stories kept my attention. Even though the Dawn story irritated me, it was still a decent read. I am so looking forward to continuing with the omnibus books and any other Buffyverse material I can get my greedy mitts on. show less

I never had a chance to really read any of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics before the Season Eight 'reboot'/continuation of the series and so this omnibus was both convenient and very cool.

I didn't love the art, but really liked the five stories that were contained in the collection.

The re-imagined (based on Joss Whedon's original less campy movie script) movie, Buffy: Origin was cool, but I really liked the story of Buffy in the mental institution, Slayer Interrupted. I had liked the episode it was 'based' on 'Normal Again' and this just made that even better.

This is so much better than the Season 8 comics, I can't wait to see the next volumes. It's actually got more plot and more said and more substance. It's interesting with better storylines, filling in the blanks we always wanted filled in. I loved seeing Angel (and Whistler!), Wesley, Giles, and whoa, Giles' Dad! Even the artwork was infinitely better, it wasn't like the other ones where it was all about the skin. This was more sophisticated and just...awesome. Spike's story was kind of boring, as was the Vegas part, but after that, everything picked up and it was stuff we actually cared about. This is a must-read for Buffy-fans, it's stuff that was mentioned in passing in the show but never elaborated on, until this. I'm so glad I show more found it! show less