Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:  Jordie Bellaire and Jeremy Lambert
Art: Ramon Bachs
Colors:Â Raul Angulo
Letters:Â Ed Dukeshire
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
Faith arrives in Sunnydale, dividing the Scooby Gang just as Anya’s web starts to constrict around them! Giles learns a shocking secret about the Multiverse that threatens anyone who crosses that threshold. In related news, Willow just crossed the threshold. Whoops. Meanwhile, Robin is activated by the Council as a fail-safe against rogue Slayers… and Buffy is first on their list.
Positives
I am big fan of Ramon Bachs. He does not do every issue of this book, but when he shows up, I know I am in for a treat. I think his women just look more like actual women. His Willow in particular is amazing. There is a lot of sitting around or moving through the spirit world in this book and while that would seem like a negative (more on that below) it fits into Bachs’ wheelhouse as he makes it feel like people doing regular stuff. A slower comic, needs an artist who can make that work and Bachs is just the guy.
I know that there are two writers on this book now, but I have been reading from the jump and I know that it is Jordie who manages to capture the prefect tone and pacing of the dialogue in this book. She makes me feel like I am in Sunnydale. I bow to her.
Negatives
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22 has, once again, way too much going on. There is a log of stuff happening here that has been unfolding for literally months and months in real time but only takes a few days in the time frame of the comic itself. This is one of those series that might be best reading in collected forms instead of as a monthly. I kind of like where it is going, but each month I am reminded how, incredibly slow this is.
Verdict
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #22 could easily be called Buffy and the Multiverse of Madness. We have known for a year or so that the OG Buffy is out there. Everything is just taking a really long time to smash together. This has been the biggest issue with taking episodic TV and trying to translate it to a comic. A show that lasts one hour essentially takes five or six comics. It is painfully slow. I like where we are going here though. I am going to hang on.
