Buffy

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #13
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Andrew Chambliss
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

“Guarded” comes to an end as Buffy has to save the life of her client from the demon she brought in as added muscle and destroy TINCAN, the Senior Partners sole connection to Earth. Oh, and she punches out her boss, too.

There’s plenty of action, and the arc is wrapped up satisfactorily. However, I am disappointed (though far from surprised) by the story’s epilogue. For a show, and now comic, about a character growing up and changing Buffy sure seems to be stuck in neutral as she chooses martyrdom and over the lucrative offer Kennedy offers her (which would also allow her to continue using her gifts to save people in need), even after the black eye Buffy gave her.

I know the point of the season is to return the character back to basics, and her decision sure wants to be profound, but it simply doesn’t come off that way. Instead it feels far too much like the old self-centered Buffy long before she learned to rely on others to help her with her calling. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #11
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Andrew Chambliss
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

Working for Kennedy‘s new Slayer bodyguard service Buffy learns that Wolram & Hart want their latest client dead, and for good reason. Hired by the company to build a digital portal into the Hell Dimension where the Senior Partners live, it’s now the only link to the Earth following Buffy destroying the Seed at the end of Season Eight.

Unwilling to take the chance that the man might try to shut it off, knowing it would be impossible to turn back on, the Senior Partners have put a hit on the programmer. Despite the loss in money and prestige, he knows the only way to save his life is to destroy what he’s created, but that’s easier said than done.

To destroy TINCAN means shutting down the servers deep under the company’s headquarters which are guarded by a many-tentacled Teuth Demon. It also means wiping user data, stealing billions in advertising, and making enemies of several rich and influential people.

Realizing she and Kennedy need help Buffy calls in the debt Koh owes her, but things don’t go exactly as planned. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #11
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Andrew Chambliss
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

Looking for a fresh start Buffy joins Kennedy‘s force of high-priced Slayer bodyguards but finds it difficult to shut off her normal instincts when faced with demons and the new Zompire infestation.

I like seeing the comic continue to incorporate more of the wider Buffyverse and Kennedy is an interesting choice as, although the weren’t ever enemies, she and Buffy were never exactly friends. The idea of several of the Slayers joining up for a private corporate security company also makes a lot of sense, although I’m not sure (from what we saw of her in Season Seven) I’d have picked Kennedy for the corporate head honcho. Although I do like the choice of a client fleeing from Wolfram & Hart.

A couple of other interesting tidbits: Spike‘s friend Eldre Koh of the Nitobe needs help in his quest for vengeance (which seems really hard to be setting something up that doesn’t really fit in this issue) and Buffy learns the police under Detective Dowling have started a special task force to deal with the Zompires. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #10
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Andrew Chambliss
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #10 concludes the “Apart of Me” storyline which found Buffy‘s consciousness trapped in the body of a Buffybot and her body’s new personality under the brainwashing of psycho slayer Simone.

Although I think the arc has provided some nice moments it ends more with a whimper than a bang. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not a bad issue, but it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect (without a big Buffy vs. Buffy throwdown). Buffy gets reunited with herself, Simone gets away, and everything goes back to normal (or whatever Buffy’s version of normal is).

The only real lasting effect of the arc is Spike, realizing there’s no hope for vamp and slayer, deciding on his own to leave. Although it provides a nice moment for Spike it also removes yet another one of the comic’s most entertaining characters. Next issue marks the return of Kennedy who hopefully will breathe some new life back into the Buffyverse. For fans.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]