Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ugly Little Monsters

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (trade paperbacks) #12

by Tom Fassbender, Jim Pascoe, Cliff Richards

While still grieving over the loss of her mother, Buffy is forced to confront a woman who blames her daughter's death on the Slayer, and then Buffy and her friends find themselves targeted by a trio of small, malicious monsters.

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

104 pages, Paperback

Published August 27, 2002

Reviews

[kory. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#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 ★★★☆☆

i honestly can’t stand the way spike is treated, especially when he’s genuinely just trying to help.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this comic as what I liked it followed through from the previous issue and continues the story and expands on some issues that were brought up in the TV series.

This story takes place sometime after Buffy's Season 5 episode "The Body".

My Review
The first story is about Buffy still dealing with the loss of Joyce and the emotions of Buffy and her friends are running high, and lots of little things are causing lots of little problems. With everybody preoccupied with grief, anger, guilt, and regret the fight against the forces of darkness doesn't seem like a top priority.

Remember in the last issue? That human girl in love with a vampire (sounds familiar?) but instead bargains with a voodoo demon for immortality but lost her own life in the process when she couldn't deliver what she promised - the Slayer, yeah that girl who remained nameless.

Her mother is after revenge and plots the slayer's demise and Buffy must battle her emotional trauma as she deals with her own loss of her mother's death and struggles to fight against mind-controlled zombies and vampires under the control of Vengeance Mumma Bear.

In the second story, there is a swarm of angry, deformed, green gremlins who are proving to be menace. This couldn't come at the worst time as emotions are running high within the Scooby Gang I liked this comic and explored further themes and issues that were dealt with in the TV series of jealousy and resentment, especially Xander/Anya and Tara/Willow.

Despite Spike's faults and yeah ok he doesn't have a soul like Angel, and true he hasn't made the best decisions but it really irks me how the Scoobies treat him especially when he's genuinely just trying to help, but I liked the end scene between Dawn and Spike as it opened the door of some goodwill that may help heal the wounds.

What I liked was how the characters in this comic dealt with their varied emotions when someone is grieving or any sort of intense emotions are being felt and how we all know that sometimes we don't always make the best decision when we're upset, angry or whatever, it was great to see the character development being present not just for the main characters but the side characters as well, showing the consequences of their decisions and how they learned from that (both good and bad) and the importance of not bottling it up and talking about it and not letting it fester.

[Craig Lotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buffy's mom is dead. Emotions are running high, and slaying isn't maybe at the top of the agenda any more. But grief can some times lead to anger and the need for revenge - and it may even come from the other side of the Slayer business. Then there are the three little demons that seem intent on causing chaos while feeding off the jealous emotions of the Buffy's closest friends. Secrets, jealousy, and emotion collides, and salvation may just have to come from one very unexpected source... Spike! Fassbender and Pascoe put together two stories here, the one dealing directly with the Slayer and her grief being pitted against another whose grief she caused to powerful effect. The second tale is another emotionally charged story as frustrations, jealousies, and tensions within Buffy's inner circle of friends reaches breaking point - just the crack in the door that demonic forces need to filter through. It's definitely one of the heavier, more drama-filled books in this line of classic Buffy comics, and for the most part there isn't much lightheartedness or quips to be had. It's a satisfying read for fans and followers of the franchise, buoyed by the always reliable and good looking art from Richards and Pimental, who continue their good work at capturing the likeness of all the tv show actors with their clean lines and heavy shadows.

[WyrmbergSabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about these older books is they fit in during the original run of episodes. This one takes place just after the death of a major character (no spoilers here) and the fallout from that. Each character gets their own development and the story doesn't forget that it has a lot of balls to juggle.
I really enjoyed myself reading this; it capture that era into show and it felt like it could be a mini episode which is a good sign for a tie in graphic novel.
One for fans and casual readers too.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

One the one hand, this was a fun story about nasty little critters causing havoc, on the other, it was a mystery as to the origins of these creatures that was obvious from the beginning, so not very mysterious.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall nothing special, but it was fun!

[Slayermel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading this one and I have to say it was not bad.

In the first part of the story we find out that Buffy's mum has passed away and Buffy is trying to deal with it all now that the distractions of planning a funeral are over. However in the mist of all this, a grieving mother is seeking revenge on the slayer for killing her daughter (flash back to "Autumnal", Verena the voodoo girl), and has concocted quite the hair brain scheme.

In the second part of the story emotions are all running hay wire as accusations of jealousy and theft are thrown back and forth between team Xander / Anya and team Willow / Tara. Three little Demons who have been compared to gremlins in personality are on the loose and feeding off of all the negative emotions. Top that all off with a dose of Spike just trying to help the slayer and getting nothing but grief back for his efforts and you are in the middle of a Buffy episode.

I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoyed the Buffy TV show.

[Krista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but it did feel like it lacked a little flow (or that maybe pages stuck together and I didn’t notice).