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Sunnydale, 1840: fierce demon-thing bursts into a church, closely followed by a red-haired female warrior, who pursues it into the streets. Outside, a portal opens, the demon jumps through, followed by the warrior...

Sunnydale, 1976: Guess who show up, followed by the opening of another portal, which opens in...

Sunnydale, now.

After a couple of epic stories (at least in length, the quality of BAD BLOOD and THE BLOOD OF CARTHAGE was somewhat less than epic as far as I'm concerned), Dark Horse's BUFFY comic returns to the shorter format of its early days.

As such, perhaps expectations shouldn't be too high. A bit of mystery, a few good lines and a decent cliff-hanger that sets things up for the conclusion are perhaps all that's required from the first half of a two-parter.

Sadly, even with this in mind, THE HEART OF THE SLAYER didn't really appeal. Okay, so we know that the demon and the warrior have something going on. And the fact that she kicks the demon out of the present shows that it's clearly a formidable foe, and her decking of Buffy isn't the cliff-hanger you would expect.

A lot of time is spent on issues that don't appear to have any real bearing on the main plot. Perhaps Willow's transmutation spell will become relevant next time out, but so far it just looks like a handy way of padding out the story. Ditto Buffy turning up late at The Bronze, and Riley getting a bit of a kicking from the demon. Maybe these will be picked up next month, but unless they are, I would have preferred to have seen a bit more background to the demon and warrior than Willow spouting annoying Willowisms in The Bronze.

Artwise, it seemed a bit variable. Some good stuff, but a rather samey looking demon and Buffy looks decidedly dodgy in The Bronze if you ask me. All in all, a fairly average opening installment. BACK TO THE TOP

THE HEART OF THE SLAYER, PART I

Writer: CHRIS BOAL

Pencils: CLIFF RICHARDS

Inks: JOE PIMENTEL

Cover: CHRISTIAN ZANIER


RATING: 5/10


NEXT RELEASE:
THE HEART OF THE SLAYER,
PART II

PREVIOUS RELEASE:
GILES
THE BLOOD OF CARTHAGE, PART V