Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Out of the Woodwork

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (trade paperbacks) #10

by tom-fassbender-etc-jim-pascoe

In the midst of its hottest summer, the town of Sunnydale faces the worst infestation of insects anyone has ever seen. Innocent people have begun to transform into giant, demonic insects. Buffy and her friends have to find a way to stop the supernatural force that's got everyone buzzing, literally. Light up some citronella candles, remember to close the screen door, and join us for the crunchiest, gooey, most creepy-crawliest adventure in the history of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Novelists Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe reveal Buffy's horrible summer between her freshman and sophomore years of college with the help of the fan-favorite Buffy art team of Cliff Richards and Joe Pimentel.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Comics, Fantasy, Young Adult, Vampires

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Caroline]

This story takes place sometime in Btvs S4 where innocent people have begun to transform into giant, demonic insects - at first, I immediately thought of the giant demon bugs that Angel Investigations faced in Season 3 Fredless but nope these were entirely different species that could infect a human host and some serious The Faculty and Bodysnatchers vibes!!

Storywise? Entertaining enough. The illustrations are really well done, the action scenes are getting better and better which is awesome!

Though to be fair, I don't have all these comics to read them all in order as I'm missing some from my collection. I'm aware I've missed several plot points that have transpired in previous comics leading up to this one. I don't know how this one affects the major overall plot, I'm guessing that these bug demons are just run of mill the demon of the week, so I'm gonna go with that.

Get some character development which I liked concerning: Giles, Buffy, Willow, and Tara. As Giles gets a love interest and of course, Buffy is super protective and instantly on guard against Rebecca, as the poor guy hasn't had a lot of luck (since his last girlfriend was murdered), so it's nice for there to be a reconciliation between Giles and Buffy; especially the latter coming to realize Giles is a big boy, he can make his own decisions but the Scoobies would always be there.

Loved the Willow/Tara scenes, it reminds me of the early season 4 and at the beginning of Season 5 where Tara feels like an outcast and unsure of her place within the Scooby Gang and these feelings are continued to be explored in this comic.

It's always a blast to have Spike around! Loved the banter! The author did well in capturing the voices of the characters. I'm not a huge fan of Riley, but meh, I much prefer Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Spike and even better Fuffy! lol

I would still recommend this to any Buffy fan to read! I'll give this a 4-star rating

[Slayermel]

So I'm going to have to say compared to some of the other stellar Buffy stories out there this was definitely one of my least favourite so far!
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Sunnydale is being invaded by bugs (ewww bugs) or better yet maybe it had something to do with the fact that it evolved human sized bugs.

In this story Sunnydale is hit by a heat wave and with that come swarms of insects, also Giles has a new lady friend in his life that he's dating. Buffy is trying to deal with the fact that Riley is in the hospital while also trying to figure out what's going on with the human size bugs.
Oh yeah and I almost forgot to mention the bugs have a contraption that is turning regular folks into giant mutant bugs. (shudder)

[kory.]

#3 buffy the vampire slayer: spike & dru ★★★☆☆
#19 the blood of carthage ★★★☆☆
#22 buffy the vampire slayer: out of the woodwork ★★★☆☆
#24 buffy the vampire slayer: false memories ★★★☆☆
#27 buffy the vampire slayer: ugly little monsters ★★★☆☆
#29 buffy the vampire slayer: the death of buffy ★★★☆☆

some giles feels, tara feels, spike moments, and unfortunately...riley.

[Ian]

Set after the fourth season of the TV series.
As college ends for the summer, Buffy and her friends find themselves facing an infestation of demonic insects who leave Riley hospitalised and in a coma.

This is a very boring tale of the Slayer. It's not outright bad, but it's also not the least bit engaging either.
There's lots of story potential in the concept of demonic insects, but none of it is explored here as the antagonists are basically just there for Buffy to beat up. What are their motivations and where did they come from? Well, if those questions were answered I must've missed it.

I was even less impressed with the character work for the main players here.
Buffy spends the whole book moping about Riley, a character who I have always hated at the best of times. Tara feels a little bit uncomfortable as the new member of the gang. Giles starts dating a woman who turns out to be... just a woman with no significant role to play in the plot. Spike is... also here.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Craig Lotter]

Summer vacation is here and it is pretty hot here in Sunnydale, in fact it feels hotter than it's ever been. The insect population has exploded, and all of a sudden a new threat other than vampires and ghosts has emerged from the darkness - giant insectoid creatures who are kidnapping and turning hapless victims into more of their colony's worker drones! It's up to Buffy and a distracted Giles to come up with a plan to stop this new terror, but an unexpected tragedy is about to upset the status quo. Fassbender and Pascoe come together to deliver a great Buffy story that is as far removed from vampires as what you can get. Buffy and Giles are on edge, there is love in the air, there is drama, action, and even a well placed misdirect or two. Penciller Richards and inker Pimentel continue their streak of delivering great looking, clean artwork that brings the Scoobies gang to life. Another decent addition to classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer line of comic books, and sure to be enjoyed by fans of the series.

[Estrella]

Divertido y lleno de aventuras, 😊

[Malcolm Cox]

This was quite a strong tale of Sunnydale being invaded by humanoid ant creatures. This was a lot of fun, felt like a cohesive story and could have been a pretty good episode on TV.

[Catherine]

I found this one a little predictable...but, still a good read.

[Elizabeth]

Heavy-handed but otherwise readable.

[Susie]

Poor Giles always getting ditched for stupid Riley. Wish Buffy could have gotten over her pretty boy drama and found a real man like Giles.

[Maria]

Meh. Not nearly as good as the comic seasons written last year and this year.