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PLOT
What
has happend before: Selke, the vampire we were introduced to
in issue 2, had been badly beaten and looked terrible.
She meets with 'Doc', a plastic surgeon who Selke goes to for
help. After trying for so long to get Selke to look beautiful,
the two are about to give up when they conjure up the spell
that will make Selke beautiful and strong again.
Scott
Allie, editor of the Buffy line, promised us a change
of direction - no more short stories and 9-part story arcs instead.
Well, after last month's refreshing hiatus on the Bad Blood
storyline, we come back to it with issue 13, which now has a
new regular penciller, Cliff Richards.
The
comic starts with Selke meeting with the vamps who insulted
her back in issue 10, she shows them a thing or two by killing
their leaders and making them her slaves. There's also
the regular Scooby Gang storyline. This issue, we see
Willow and Cordelia go on a game show representing Sunnydale
High. Cordy, under pressure, borrows Giles' magical "Brooch
of the Ottobeuren Bavarian Shamen", which helps people
remember every little detail after every little thing.
WRITING
Okay,
so Andi's done good so far, and with this issue there is no
exception. Again he gets the characters down to a point,
although sometimes you think that he makes Willow seem a bit
like a schoolgirl - innocent, nervous, "ooh, maybe I shouldn't,
look at me I'm so cute." Does the comic version remind
anyone of Barney the purple dinosaur? I'm expecting her
to burst into a rendition of "I love you, You love me!"
It's
nice to see someone other than Buffy and Angel take centre stage.
This time Xander, Willow and Cordy all get equal amounts of
time to shine. It is Cordy's issue though, and she's funny
in it. I liked the scene when she's memorising the breakfast
cereals. That page (#21) was really well done. It
was built up - the shot outside, then of the bedroom, books
scattered onto the floor, down the stairs and then into the
kitchen where we see Cordy. I liked that.
The
Bad Blood storyline is starting to get a tad boring.
It's time to speed things up. The Scooby Gang are unaware
of Selke. This is something that needs dealing with.
Selke needs to come out of hiding and just go after Buffy, she's
strong enough now isn't she? But the bad thing is, this
might not happen for another five issues, as we're only on part
four at the moment. I can see this getting even more boring.
What
I didn't like about this issue was when Angel came into the
Bronze (page 9, panel 5). His only line was "Hey,
what's happening?" Did we really need Angel there
at all? At least put him in the fight scene on page 12
or something. But it was in one panel, gone in the next.
It's pointless having a character appear if you're not going
to use them. Also what Giles said on page 5 - "If
I were utterly irresponsible I'd allow you to..." basically
gives away the meaning of the brooch and what it does.
This is what the gang need to actually win the contest, and
it just so happens that Giles has it. Does he really expect
no-one to use it - not even Cordy and Xander? Come on
- does he not remember the 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered'
incident?
ART
This
is Cliff Richards' first issue as ongoing penciller - I like!
There's nothing flawed about this guy; every page you end up
liking. Richards obviously cares about the book, unlike
a certain penciller whose name is Joe Bennett, and it shows.
Look at the pictures, it looks like he worked hard on every
page. Really good artwork - detailed, hardly ever skipping
corners. Now try to picture Bennett doing this issue or
even Hector bloody Gomez. I'm glad that Dark Horse have
decided to stick with Richards.
There's
still only one complaint I have and that's what the gang is
wearing. Xander is still wearing the same old blue/green
jumper with collar. Can we please have him in an Hawaiian
shirt or something? It's really annoying to see him wearing
non-bright shirts with jumpers (!)
Joe
Pimentel does a grand job with the inking - he and Richards
make an excellent team. I really liked their rendition
of Selke. The last time we saw Selke in her 'sexy' form
was in issue 11 with Bennett's artwork that looked as if it
had been done in three minutes tops. Plus the two of them
make Selke actually sexy. I'm actually regretting saying
that now :-)
COVER
Not
the greatest of Matsuda covers. This is his eighth cover
for the Buffy line. Cordy looks like Cordy, although
Buffy in dungarees looked like a 12-year-old. Strange
types of monsters behind the two of them. Not a personal
favourite.
OTHER
NITPICKS
New
letterer - DH Digital. The age of digital lettering has
finally caught up with Dark Horse and it's about time too.
The word bubbles are much smaller and the words look a lot neater.
My only complaint is that the SFX sounds need to be larger.
Also
the book is really highlighted again - bright blue and purple.
Can we maybe tone it down a bit? Also a disappointing
letter column this month - one page to make way for more ads.
I don't like that. Have to agree with Dleehi's comments
on the letters page when (s)he said, "While good art doesn't
change my view on a comic, awful art with get on my nerves and
I'll get bored with the script, even if it would be a good story.
While good art doesn't help the book, bad art does hurt it."
Exactly. The Gomez and Bennett year is over, we now have
the Richards/Ryan Sook/Christian Zanier years to come.
It's about time the book got the art it deserves.
RATING
Writing
- all the characters were well done, with the exception of Big
Bird, uhh, I mean Willow. It still felt like a single
story though with the Cordy/Willow game show thing. Selke's
ready to make her strike - I just hope she does it quickly,
my arse is getting numb.
Art
- Richards is up to his normal excellent standards and makes
a great art double with Pimentel. Good direction.
The work looks smooth and clean. I'm loving it.
Cover
- it's alright. It's not dire and it's not great.
Not to Matsuda: get an ongoing job and stop pencilling covers!
We need you doing the interiors.
Next
month: Spike and Dru. 'Nuff said. BACK
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