Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #26
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer:Â Â Jeremy Lambert
Art:Â Marianna Ignazzi
Colors:Â Raul Angulo
Letters:Â Ed Dukeshire
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
The BIGGEST Buffy story of the century continues! What if you KNEW your life could have been different?
Buffy and the Scooby Gang get a glimpse into how different their lives might have been and must confront the choices that lead them to this point, even as they grapple with their understanding of everything changing forever. Meanwhile, Giles discovers ancient forces are at work, pushing the Slayer and her friends further and further down the rabbit hole…but to what end?
Positives
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #26 is fast paced for sure. There is a lot of action and that is good, but the thing it does best is make us all sit and question what the multiverse could actually mean, not just for the Scoobies, but for everyone. Each of us must exist in this Buffyverse. We could, in theory just show up in an issue because everything is possible. I love that. The multiverse is such a fun device and the original series set this up in season five perfectly, so it is all coming together nicely.
New artist Marianna Ignazzi leaves somethings to the imagination, but that is a good thing. She is not going for hyper-realism. She is leaning into the absurdity of the concept. Demons, slayers, multiverse (OK that is real) are all crazy, so why not just lean into it? The Kendra/Faith battle with the vamps is maybe my favorite few pages in the book. She doesn’t dwell on every wrinkle or every lip curl, she makes their expressions HUGE and we know exactly what they are thinking and how they are doing. Simple and clever.
Negatives
This issue features some potential naughty time with this universe’s Anya and Giles and well, I don’t like it. I KNOW, these are NOT the same characters and I KNOW Giles had special friends in the show, but really? I know Anya may just be joking around, but even that isn’t funny at all.
This is still suffering from too many characters. I vote for a few spin off series. I would read them. That would be amazing.
Verdict
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #26 suffers from some unevenness. The jokes don’t all land and once again, we are trying to balance too many character arcs. I am not a dummy, nor is anyone reading this book and yet, it always feels like we need a flow chart to keep up with what is going on. Yes, there is a multiverse, but even the original DC universe made more sense. I know we don’t know everything yet, and once we do, it will be better. So, to that end, I shall read on. Tally ho!