Thursday 30 June 2011

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Predators and Prey (Season 8, Volume 5)


First published in: 2009
By: Dark House Books

When Buffy’s former classmate-turned-vampire Harmony Kendall lands her own reality TV show, vampires are bolstered into the mainstream. Humans fall in line; they want a piece of the glitz, glam, and eternal youth bestowed upon these mysterious creatures of the night. What’s a Slayer to do when vampires are the trendiest thing in the world? While humans donate their blood to the vampire cause, Slayers—through a series of missteps, misfortunes, and anti-Slayer propaganda driven by the mysterious Twilight—are forced into hiding.

Predators and Prey collects a series of one-shots establishing the new world order - where vampires reign supreme and Slayers are public enemy number one.


My review:

The main thing I've enjoyed about this series of Buffy comics is the opportunity to spend time in this world, with these characters, again. I'm of the belief that Buffy ran out of good storylines after Season 5 and the Season 8 plot has done nothing to persuade me otherwise, but it has offered moments where the familiar characters spout the trademark dialogue and remind me why I miss this show so damn much.

This collection of one-shots should, in theory, be fertile ground for more of that. None of the stories focus on Buffy herself or the main plotline; they are centered on the supporting characters. Unfortunately for me, half of the stories are about characters I don't care much about (Harmony, Andrew...what I wouldn't give for a Xander-focused one-shot). 

The 2 I liked best were "Safe" and "Living Doll". "Safe" features the team-up of Giles and Faith (yay!) and the pair investigate a supposed sanctuary for slayers. I enjoyed this because....Faith and Giles! I can't express enough how thrilled I am about these two working together. Again, the story's not up to much; it's predictable, but it's worth reading to get some insight into Faith and see Giles be bad-ass. I liked the artwork of the creepy dolls in 'Living Doll" and it thankfully and finally resolves the subplot of Dawn's ever-changing form. Here's hoping the series finds something better to do with her from now on.

While not a must-read, if you're a fan of comics this collection is a mildly diverting way to spend an hour and if you're a fan of Buffy, it's nice to get the chance to visit the 'verse again.


Rating: 3 stars

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