Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: Paul Lee
Company: Dark Horse Comics

It’s not an insane stretch of the mind to say that the first four issues to the eighth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer have been a fairly inclusive jaunt. The story has zig-zagged its way through years of history and torn like a madman though the entire contents of a half-charred, half demon chewed copy of a Sunnydale High School yearbook. If you’re a dedicated fan of the show and have seen all seven of the previous seasons, then by golly, this is a fan’s dream come true. If you’re not the die-hard fan and only have watched the show in passing, or caught the occasional late night repeat, then the comic might feel a little cold and leave you with that always annoying, “What the hell did I just read,” kind of feel that has a knack for turning people away. This fifth issue, however, is an entirely different kind of animal.

From Jo Chen’s cover alone, the reader is able to gather that this issue has an altogether different sort of vibe going for it compared to the previous ones where action packed, government conspiracy riddled monster bashes were the featured item on the menu. There’s an air of introspectiveness to it that hearkens back to those episodes of Buffy and Angel that focused on a single character or delved into the surreal dreamscape that was so often explored. Those episodes tended to be some of the more enjoyable hours of television, as they were usually self contained and extremely well written. And that’s exactly what this fifth issue is, it’s a relative done in one story called The Chain, and it is the tale of a young girl who’s life is drastically changed when on a random day she’s imbued with the power of the Slayer.

And no, I’m not talking about Buffy Summers either. The star of this issue is a relative no-name, a young girl who is tasked with the challenging goal of becoming one of Buffy’s decoys, a lookalike who is sent literally underground to put the fear of God in any creature that dares to threaten the human population. It’s a nice callback to the first issue, not to mention the episode of Angel, “The Girl in Question”, from it’s last season. But beyond that and a small cameo by Rupert Giles as he gives a group of Slayers a lecture, the majority of the issue deals with this unnamed character. Through a series of flashbacks and flash forwards, we see her before and after she gets her powers, her initial training, her first vampire kill, and the friends and alliances that she makes while completing her job. Whedon really outdoes himself a little with this one. It’s a simple story, slickly done, and is packaged with a superb amount of heart and gusto that makes it one of those stories that any Buffy fan can easily sink their teeth into.

The art however is a tiny bit disappointing, mainly due to the fact that Georges Jeanty is missing in action. Jeanty, with his very nice, very smooth pencils has offered up some truly great work on Buffy that with this issue, is sorely missed. Paul Lee (Conan/Tales of the Vampires), who fills in, does an average job with the art duties. There are some inconsistencies to his work, mainly having to do with a few of the character’s faces that are at times distracting, but there are a few moments in which he shines too. The best, a Mike Allred-like moment that is done as an infomercial gag about the overpowering strength that Slayers possess. Still, even though the always talented team of Andy Owens and Dave Stewart continue their rock solid work, Lee’s slightly more angular lines just don’t carry the same level of fluid energy that the book has previously seen. It’s like the guy manning the book’s amp, instead of keeping it at eleven, turned it down a couple of notches. In no way am I saying that the art is awful, because it’s not, I’m just saying that it’s lost some of the oomph that it had had.

All things considered, it’s a grand-slam. The themes that Whedon explores resonate completely, and the payoff at the end of the story is both touching and a perfect summation of what the Buffy-verse has always been about. Or I could just say that this is one of the best issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer so far. Either way, if you’re a fan of the series at all, this is an issue you need to check out.