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Despite
the name, this compilation of Dark Horse's Buffy comic
series, isn't the entire Bad Blood saga, just the first
three installments.
So
what we've got is the two-part Hey, Good Lookin' and
A Boy Named Sue, the first third of the nine-part "epic".
Things
get off to a rather slow start, as Hey, Good Lookin'
is decidedly uninvolving, when the story really needed to start
off with a bang.
Selke,
the survivor from a group of vampires all named after ice hockey
legends who had an earlier run-in with Buffy, returns and looking
a bit rough seeks out a doctor to restore her previous good
looks.
Meanwhile,
looks are also on the minds of the Summers women. Buffy reflects
on how Angel will react when she ages and he doesn't and has
been signed up by a modelling agency, while Joyce contemplates
plastic surgery.
Buffy
remains unaware of Selke's return throughout the book, with
her attention concentrated on a bunch of ghouls who feast on
the dead in order to preserve their youth.
It's
not particularly interesting, and the modelling subplot only
serves to allow Buffy to meet the ghouls during the daytime.
Coupled with some rather disappointing arkwork, it's a below
average two-parter.
Things
look up in A Boy Named Sue. The Selke story continues,
but attention is also focused on how Buffy and Amy cope with
the attentions (or lack of them) of an egotistical singer. This
more light-hearted story provides a nice contrast to the darker,
ongoing storyline and Selke's transformation means that she
shouldn't have to spend all the time skulking out of Buffy's
way.
Joe
Bennett seems to have got the hang of drawing the characters
by this stage, although Amy and Buffy are a little difficult
to tell apart in some frames.
To
be honest, the Bad Blood saga as a whole isn't that great,
and despite the improvement in A Boy Named Sue, neither
is this collection. But
if you missed the original comics or the reprints in Titan's
Buffy magazine (wise move!) then this is an average addition
to your collection. BACK
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