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The
penultimate part of The Blood of Carthage sees the Scooby
Gang forced into a couple of uneasy alliances. First, Spike
gets to trade information he holds on the Blood of Carthage,
before the gang and their new ally come to the realisation that
they and Vraka both have the same goal. At least when it comes
to Ky-Laag...
It's
always (well, almost always) good to see Spike and Dru back,
even if it's only a fleeting appearance in a flashback which
helps fill in the backstory between Spike and the Blood of Carthage.
Then
it's back to present day Sunnydale for the Buffy/Vraka stuff,
which involves a lot of fighting. Much better are Spike and
Xander in the sewers, where the Spikester gets to deliver a
few home truths.
Meanwhile,
Giles and Willow are in New York for a scene which leads into
the Giles one-shot, before it's back to Sunnydale for
a bit of magic.
Like
the middle episodes of a long Doctor Who story, there's
a lot of marking time here. The flashback stuff is interesting,
the Spike/Xander exchanges are sure to raise a laugh and the
trip to NYC leaves issues to be resolved later. However, it
seemed pretty obvious that the spell either wouldn't work or
would backfire since this is only the penultimate installment.
The
art is okay, and it's easy to tell the difference between the
flashback and present day scenes, but it has to be said that
Anya looks nothing like Emma Caulfield, even for a strip that
doesn't always go in for exact likenesses of the actors involved.
BACK TO THE TOP
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THE
BLOOD OF CARTHAGE, PART IV
Writer: CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN
Pencils: CLIFF RICHARDS
and CHYNNA CLUGSTON MAJOR
Inks:
JOE PIMENTEL
Cover: JEFF MATSUDA
DARK HORSE COMICS
RATING: 5/10
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