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Buffy the Vampire Slayer (trade paperbacks) #4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Crash Test Demons
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is back, expanding the mythos of the wildly popular television series. As Sunnydale becomes an increasingly hazardous place to re-kill the undead, the ante is upped as Buffy must again confront her old enemy Selke. And she's back with bad blood -- a supernatural brew that can dramatically increase a vampire's powers!
80 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2000
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178 people want to read
About the author
Andi Watson
150 books92 followersAndrew "Andi" Watson (born 1969) is a British cartoonist and illustrator best known for the graphic novels Breakfast After Noon, Slow News Day and his series Love Fights, published by Oni Press and Slave Labor Graphics.
Watson has also worked for more mainstream American comic publishers with some work at DC Comics, a twelve-issue limited series at Marvel Comics, with the majority at Dark Horse Comics, moving recently to Image Comics.
Watson has also worked for more mainstream American comic publishers with some work at DC Comics, a twelve-issue limited series at Marvel Comics, with the majority at Dark Horse Comics, moving recently to Image Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 17, 2024
The main story here follows on from Watson's 'Crash Test Demons' and sees Buffy having to face an evil duplicate of herself created by the vengeful vampire Selke.
In the back-up story Buffy has to confront a time demon before it destroys time itself.
The evil twin storyline has been done a thousand times across all media and this time adds nothing of interest. The whole plot was just a series of boring clichés that culminates in an entirely predictable ending.
The only good thing I have to say about it all is that this story finally puts an end to Watson's tedious 'Selke is the new Big Bad' pretensions.
Doug Petrie's back-up story is of higher quality but is so short as to be totally inconsequential.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
In the back-up story Buffy has to confront a time demon before it destroys time itself.
The evil twin storyline has been done a thousand times across all media and this time adds nothing of interest. The whole plot was just a series of boring clichés that culminates in an entirely predictable ending.
The only good thing I have to say about it all is that this story finally puts an end to Watson's tedious 'Selke is the new Big Bad' pretensions.
Doug Petrie's back-up story is of higher quality but is so short as to be totally inconsequential.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
April 27, 2023
Buffy again takes up her stake to take on various evil beings of the night. An enjoyable adventure with a recurring baddie.
December 21, 2024
This one ends abruptly with no ending, was it supposed to be continued in another tpb? But all of these kinds of releases were stand alone stories so it's odd.
March 31, 2015
The Buffy binge continues! This time we have the next three issues in the ongoing arc begun back in Bad Blood. Crash Test Demons collects issues #13-15 of the ongoing Dark Horse series, which can also be found in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume IV.
We start out on a weird note in Love Sick Blues, with Cordelia deciding her image needs revamped and deciding to compete with Willow in the school's "Quiz Bowl." Yeah, you heard that right. Of course, to have a hope of succeeding Cordy's going to need some supernatural help, and that comes with consequences....In the untitled following issue, things start to get serious as Buffy and Angel encounter several "super-vamps" that take a lot more killing than usual. Oh, and after Buffy saves his bacon, Todd (the creep from A Boy Named Sue) develops an unhealthy fascination with our favorite Slayer....Finally, Lost Highway sees Buffy attacked by a trio of super-vamps after a fortuitous (under the circumstances) hit-and-run. All the while, Selke and her pet doctor are trying to raise a new dark power in Sunnydale....
Meh. The art was great, with the briefly-confusing exception of a few moments where the super-vamp gang contains a member who looks just like Buffy. The writing though....not so great this time through. The first story was mostly okay, but the other two are plagued with unresolved subplots, like Spike & Dru showing up just long enough to work some mischief and (apparently, since they don't appear again) disappear without so much as a how-you-do. The characters' dialogue was all spot-on, but the plotting and pacing could use some work. Timeline-wise, for lack of any other information this continues to follow the previous so many stories, in the slot between Buffy S03E10: Amends and Buffy S03E11: Gingerbread.
CONTENT: No profanity that I can recall. Vampire violence consistent with the Buffy television show. Some mild sexual innuendo.... Buffyverse vampires could be considered occultic due to their demonic nature, but it didn’t bug me.
We start out on a weird note in Love Sick Blues, with Cordelia deciding her image needs revamped and deciding to compete with Willow in the school's "Quiz Bowl." Yeah, you heard that right. Of course, to have a hope of succeeding Cordy's going to need some supernatural help, and that comes with consequences....In the untitled following issue, things start to get serious as Buffy and Angel encounter several "super-vamps" that take a lot more killing than usual. Oh, and after Buffy saves his bacon, Todd (the creep from A Boy Named Sue) develops an unhealthy fascination with our favorite Slayer....Finally, Lost Highway sees Buffy attacked by a trio of super-vamps after a fortuitous (under the circumstances) hit-and-run. All the while, Selke and her pet doctor are trying to raise a new dark power in Sunnydale....
Meh. The art was great, with the briefly-confusing exception of a few moments where the super-vamp gang contains a member who looks just like Buffy. The writing though....not so great this time through. The first story was mostly okay, but the other two are plagued with unresolved subplots, like Spike & Dru showing up just long enough to work some mischief and (apparently, since they don't appear again) disappear without so much as a how-you-do. The characters' dialogue was all spot-on, but the plotting and pacing could use some work. Timeline-wise, for lack of any other information this continues to follow the previous so many stories, in the slot between Buffy S03E10: Amends and Buffy S03E11: Gingerbread.
CONTENT: No profanity that I can recall. Vampire violence consistent with the Buffy television show. Some mild sexual innuendo.... Buffyverse vampires could be considered occultic due to their demonic nature, but it didn’t bug me.
May 26, 2011
So after taking a day to think about my review of this book I have decided to downgrade it from three stars to two stars as I felt that through all the pages really the only new outcome is the dark slayer, we really haven't learnt anything new and that's just not good enough for me. Especially when there is so much to write about with the new stronger vamps on the bad blood, and Selke hashing out her big bad plan in the background and wait one small sene with Spike and Dru? For real that's all we get, come on they are like the über couple they deserve so much more page time.
Also I would have liked more info into the story line of Willow and Cordy at the competition, that whole plot line seemed over as soon as it got interesting.
With so many incredible Buffy writers out there this one just seemed rushed and not up to standards. Let's hope the next ones more up to par.
Also I would have liked more info into the story line of Willow and Cordy at the competition, that whole plot line seemed over as soon as it got interesting.
With so many incredible Buffy writers out there this one just seemed rushed and not up to standards. Let's hope the next ones more up to par.
January 3, 2014
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Crash Test Demons, Buffy’s enemy Selke is back in town, hoping to take over Sunnydale. She has a secret blood concoction which makes her young and strong and makes her crew super vampires, even stronger than the usual crowd.
In a parallel plotline, Cordelia abuses a charm in order to make herself smart enough to join the Quiz-Bowl team. However, she underestimates the power of the charm.
The plot of both strains are thin and the bad guys not particularly interesting. Not the best Buffy I’ve read.
In a parallel plotline, Cordelia abuses a charm in order to make herself smart enough to join the Quiz-Bowl team. However, she underestimates the power of the charm.
The plot of both strains are thin and the bad guys not particularly interesting. Not the best Buffy I’ve read.
December 23, 2014
Picked up this random older Buffy comic because it was super cheap. Was a good read. I'd definitely be interested in reading the other comics connected to it if I could find them. Not have read the story that comes previously to these made things a little confusing but not so much so as to take away from the enjoyment of it. Plus the high school years are my favorite, so I love any story set during that time.
August 12, 2011
Mediocre plot, but that's not atypical in the Buffyverse. So-so characterization, which does stand out as a detriment. But most importantly, the art - as much as I love Andi Watson on his own ventures, here he's just drawing nondescript white teens one after the other, to the point that I don't know who is dying or transforming or whatnot. A shame.
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December 16, 2008this book is pretty good but not the best outta the others...
July 21, 2012
It was a really good book well done.
May 24, 2013
great!!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews