Published by BOOM! Studios, Buffy the Vampire Slayer #27 is written by Jeremy Lambert with illustration by Carmelo Zagaria, colours are from Raul Angulo and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Main cover art comes from FRANY.Synopsis
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #27 will be available in print and on digital where all good comics are sold from July 7, 2021. Grab your digital copy from Comixology right here.
Synopsis
The Slayers — Buffy, Kendra, and Faith — continue to struggle with their new understanding of reality, even as Willow peers deeper into the rabbit hole to see where it ends.
Meanwhile, Anya and a new fan-favorite arrival to Sunnydale vie for control of the Watcher’s Council!
Review
There are some huge stakes in play in BOOM! Studios Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Over the course of the last few months the series has introduced some huge concepts. At the top of that list, the idea of a multiverse. Fans of the TV series will remember if being referred to as the so-called Buffyverse but how about the Buffy-multi-verse?
Writer Jeremy Lambert has been able to run with the concept, producing some incredibly exciting results. Not only tying the comics to the TV series, but opening up a world of opportunity for future storytelling. We witnessed this just last week with the release of the Buffy: Tea Time special. In this issue we’re taking a brief breather from the action to take stock of the psychological impact on our characters.
It feels like the calm before the season finale storm. The way the TV series would often ramp up towards the end makes the perfect analogy for what Lambert is doing here. We’re somewhat aware of the looming big bad, but before we get to them we need to deal with internal issues.
Much of the issue is tied to Giles. His story is beginning to parallel the series in that the Watchers Council has removed him from his role. Set to be replaced by Wesley – again tracking with the show – he’s yet to tell Buffy and Kendra. The switch here being that it is Giles’ mother who is in charge of the council. It’s a really interesting wrinkle in the story which makes things more personal for Giles. It’s an excellent turning point for a character often referred to a stuffy and British. Adding a new layer of vulnerability to Buffy’s father-figure certainly makes him more relatable.
For Buffy herself, the impact of learning about her alternate selves forces her to question everything about her life. It leads to an incredibly poignant scene between Buffy and Joyce. The two haven’t shared many scenes in the BOOM! comic. But here Lambert crafts one of the series’ most impactful scenes to-date. Complicated by Joyce not having full insight in to what is going on brings a double-meaning to their conversation. For Buffy, she is questioning all the different decisions she may have made. All the alternate versions with different situations. Could there be a universe where she isn’t even the Slayer? For Joyce, it seems like Buffy is ruminating on her relationship with Robin and her closest friends.
The issue culminates in the arrival of the big bad, setting us up for a huge issue next month. But as for this issue, I cannot fault the story in the slightest.
Carmelo Zagaria brings an interesting new level of visuals to the book. More angular than we’ve seen from previous artists. Zagaria brings a level of sophistication to the artwork which feels perfectly in keeping with the story.
Verdict
In the style of its TV counterpart, Buffy #27 brings with it an impending sense of doom with an issue which feels like the prelude to a season finale.
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