Buffy: The High School Years - Parental Parasite

Buffy: The High School Years #3

by Kel McDonald (Script), Yishan Li (Art), Joss Whedon (Executive Producer)

Buffy struggles to deal with her mom Joyce’s newfound interest in spending time with her. Balancing that with her schoolwork, her friends, and her regular vampire-slaying duties is a challenge. However, when Joyce becomes hypnotized by a child-like demon that craves motherly care, Buffy experiences a new kind of sibling rivalry—except in Buffy’s case, her “sibling” is actually a monster!

Author Kel McDonald (Misfits of Avalon) and artist Yishan Li return for more high school adventures of Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

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

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2017

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parental love is murderous!


This is the third book of three, part of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer – The High School Years”, featuring new stories set at the very early arrival of Buffy to Sunnydale. Most likely before the TV episode “The Pack”, even I guess that they’re set even before of “Teacher’s Pet”. Published in prestige format and in a special reduced size. Each story is stand-alone, therefore each book (of three) can be read in any order.


Creative Team:

Writer: Kel McDonald

Illustrator: Yishan Li

Cover artist: Scott Fischer


PARENTAL PARASITE

This third book isn’t as good as the first one (Freaks & Geeks), certainly the change of writer (the one in the first book) affected since in this third story, you may find a compelling one, but using something that reminded me too much to the “Gingerbread” TV episode, therefore, I expected something more original to justify returning to that particular time of the franchise.

The good ol’ high school years!

This kinda of miniseries, featuring three separate stories, not only set in Buffy’s High School Years, BUT set back when Buffy was just beginning her Slayer duties in Sunnydale…

…The Slayer is still only one in the world, Cordelia is still antagonist to the “Scooby Gang”, Willow is just a computer hacker, Buffy doesn’t know that Angel is a vampire (with soul), and even Flutie is still principal of Sunnydale High School.

HERE…

…Joyce Summers is too worry about Buffy since she is skipping classes (of course, due Slayer business, but Joyce doesn’t know that!) so she thinks that she should invest more time with Buffy.

That, can become something complicated if Buffy wants to keep private her role as The Slayer from her mother…

…and things get even more complicated when suddenly Joyce instead isn’t interested in passing time with Buffy at all!

Not matter what, Buffy’s life is never easy…

…or absent of forces of darkness!

Oh! And Angel made a couple of cameos appearances here!

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh for those halcyon days when Buffy was a dateless teenager and Angel was still a good guy with all the answers.
In this installment we have a demon walking around looking like a little girl and making people care for it. Buffy’s mom falls victim again (how did it take her so long to catch on?) Buffy has to destroy the demon with the help of Giles, Willow and Xander. Excellent art and story! Brings back good memories. 😊

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every now and again, there is a graphic novel that captures my attention and a series that I started last year was Buffy: The High School Years. Buffy Summers is in High School, and it's only early days still that she discovered she is this generation's Slayer of everything evil. With her new responsibilities, Buffy is finding it difficult to juggle school, homework, friends and of course slaying bad guys and her Slayer training with Angel. The school rings her mother and her mum talks with Buffy that she will become more attentive to her needs. This doesn't last long as a new demon is on the loose. It attaches itself to parental figures and hypnotizes them and eventually when it's had enough, kill them and move on to a new one. The parental parasite demon now has its claws into Buffy's mother, and now Buffy must learn how to kill one of these to save her mother from danger.
As this is a graphic novel, it was a quick read and only took about 10-15 minutes to read.
Fans of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer will love as it brings back memories of the TV Show.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these installments. It always manages to take me back to the early seasons of the show when the relationships were new and everyone was still finding their way. And the artwork in this one was almost spot on - not sure what happened to Angel but it was nice to see him.

But my favorite part of this was how it featured Joyce. Parents are hardly featured in YA shows/books/movies etc but in the Buffyverse, Joyce was a very hands on parent who loved her daughter and just wanted what was best for her. Even after finding out Buffy was the slayer, Joyce stood by her and worked to understand her daughters new role. And that wasn't lost here. Joyce encounters a problem with Buffy and she activates mom mode to do something about it. I absolutely love their relationship.

Plus it was nice to see the original Scoobies all together in the library again.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very quick read without a whole lot of content... it would be okay for a one-shot comic, but wasn't up to snuff for the inflated price of the graphic novel format. The art was okay, but nothing special... it bordered on the flavor of manga in places where it didn't really fit. If the Buffy kids cartoon had ever happened, this could have been an episode.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third collection of a series and each one can be read as a stand alone. This series brings us back all the way to season one of the television series. In this one, there is a demon that takes form of a child who has the ability to enthrall a person into serving it at the sacrifice of one's own body. This demon has taken someone close to Buffy.

I believe this is the best one of the series. I believe part of that assessment is because I am use to the artwork. I am still not a fan of it but it doesn't irk me as much as it did in the first collection. Although the artwork for Angel was not even close. I liked his cameo and I liked how this involved another character into the story. As for the story itself, it worked and I could picture this being an episode in that season as that season wasn't the strongest with the show trying to find its identity. The strength of these collections is the dialogue. They nail it. I can hear SMG reciting the Buffy lines as well as the other actors.

This was a nice book if one is feeling all nostalgic or wants more Buffy in their life. (let's be honest. Who doesn't?) As for newcomers to this universe, I don't think this series is the best place to start.

[Gary Butler · Rating 2 out of 5]

51st book read in 2017.

Number 569 out of 615 on my all time book list.

[Penelope (Penelope’s Picks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was like the Gingerbread episode...but not nearly as good.

[Meg Grehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun and the art style is super cute!

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An effortless little read, the halcyon days of yore when the most Buffy had to worry about was getting her school clothes dirty and making it to homeroom. I still geeky Willow the best.

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Captures early-Buffy immaculately. Beautiful artwork.

[Fyre.Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demon looks like a child takes control over adults- decides Joyce will be a good 'parent'. Buffy saves the day.

[kory. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 buffy: the high school years - freaks & geeks ★★★☆☆
#2 buffy: the high school years - glutton for punishment ★★★☆☆
#3 buffy: the high school years - parental parasite ★★★☆☆

nice to see buffy’s mom but not nice to see angel. ick.

content/trigger warnings; physical violence, death,

[Daniel Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The High School Years is a really strong premise. Buffy is great for many reasons, and one of the most prominent reasons is that the characters evolve. Their situations and relationships change as they mature, just as any real person's would.

The initial setup of the TV series was so strong though, that it was a shame it only existed for the shorter first season of the TV show. Willow loves Xander, Xander loves Buffy, Buffy is attracted to Angel (who is hot and cold with her and very mysterious), Xander is jealous of Angel, and Giles just hopes he can direct the kids enough to slay the ever-present demonic threats. This romantic triangle (square?) adds such great tension on top of the budding friendships.

That's what makes revisiting the early era of the show so great. For the first time in The High School Years series, I feel like the character dynamics are really recaptured well in this book. Maybe it's the presence of Angel and Joyce in addition to the core of Giles, Willow, and Xander. The first two entries were fun reads, but this really feels more like the show. I probably would have tossed Dawn in here too, but there's a good argument to be made either way for her inclusion.

The physical size, price, and Japanese manga-style artwork all suggest this is aimed at younger readers. They often opt for the smaller, cheaper manga compared to the superhero-dominated American comics. At least they did in the early 2000s; I'd love to know how Dark Horse's sales and marketing are doing with this series. Suffice it to say, this is very much counter-programming to the older and more mature content (and characters) featured in Dark Horse's continuing Buffy seasons in comic books.

The manga style art does nothing much for me. It's inoffensive, but I don't have the automatic love for the big eyes and largely homogenous art style that many seem to. I will say that the art here is very well done though, in that there is a good amount of actor likeness put into the cartoony style. Sarah Michelle Gellar's distinctive nose looks cute and recognizable on manga/anime Buffy. Angel's likeness isn't nearly as strong, but Joyce is immediately recognizable. That's quite a feat for any cartoonist, especially one this far on the cartooniness-scale. The backgrounds are well done too, the artist has a good feel for the spaces of the library and the Summers' home. That's good, because I know those place inside and out, so mistakes would be jarring.

Joyce is really the standout here, with her relationship with Buffy the focus of the story. It's tough to find a story angle that wasn't thoroughly examined in the show, but this succeeds pretty well. Joyce in the TV show often mentioned trying to work with Buffy to help with her "troubles" but we never saw her really follow through. Well, here we do!

This story taps into the desire most of us have as teenagers for our parents to leave us alone. However, when something like a new child or love interest comes along to take the parent's love, affection, and attention away, that can be a very scary thing. While not terrifying, I found this to be surprisingly creepy and scary. That's a feat given that I know all the main characters survive these events, and that the young-reader friendly nature of the book limits any blood or gore.

Like in the episode Ted when Joyce has a new relationship with a man, this book presents a double-threat to Buffy. The demon presents as a child, and any older sibling knows how upsetting it can be when a parent dotes on the younger child. It's very easy to feel neglected and unloved. Similar to Joyce's relationship with Ted, part of Buffy is left wondering where she stands if it's no longer just the two of them.

Because it's the Buffyverse, every metaphor is also a physical threat. So in this case the 'new child' is a demon whose demands could literally kill Joyce. There is no threat more personal than to Buffy's mother, so this is quite scary. Just as it is with Ted, Joyce's life is on the line, and it's up to Buffy to discover and defeat the threat to save her mom.

Knowing that Joyce only has a few more years to live adds an extra level of poignancy to her appearance here. That's some emotional resonance that I'm bring to the reading myself. Her death was so affecting, it's impossible to read this without knowing that in some way she is ultimately very mortal.

Overall this book manages the difficult feat of providing an entertaining and unique read to a Buffy fan of 20+ years, while remaining accessible to new and younger readers. It's short, simple, and fun. Packing a good story into this length for this audience is quite an accomplishment.

[Matthew Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

After Slayer left me with positive vibes towards Buffy the Vampire Slayer continuation/spin off media, I decided to give some of the comics another try. But as I wasn't feeling positive enough to actually buy any, and my library doesn't have much of Season 9 in physical format, I ended up going for volume three of Buffy: The High School Years (which, in fairness, I had once upon a time planned to read).

My response to this volume was pretty much the same as my response to volumes 1 and 2: both art and script lack dynamism and are thus unengaging; the concept is strong, but the execution weak; I'm struggling to see who these stories are for. I didn't laugh out loud at this one, though.

Dawn: "I tell you I have this theory? It goes where, you're the one who's not my sister. 'Cause mom adopted you from a shoe box full of baby howler monkeys, and never told you 'cause it could hurt your delicate baby feelings."
Buffy: "That's your theory?"
Dawn: "Explains your fashion sense... and smell."
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5, Episode 5: "No Place Like Home"

The specific problem with "Parental Parasite" is pretty much what I expected: this story is pretty close to that of "No Place Like Home", in which Buffy suspects that her little sister Dawn is somehow causing her mother's illness, except that in this story, the little sister actually is evil. The concept is a good one - a demon that takes advantage of Joyce Summers' parental concern to show up how Buffy fails to meet her expectations, then reveal that Buffy is actually the better daughter because she's not so dependent on her Mom, or something. But the sense that we've been here before, and done better, never went away.

I'm not unaware that my pro-Dawn stance is a minority position, but redoing that story, set at an earlier date, but then having it go completely without comment at the later event strains my credulity a little. Not to mention that, for me, the most interesting possibility in doing new BtVS stories set in the High School years is showing those events as Buffy and friends remember them following the alteration of their memories by the Monks of Dagon. The demon in this story doesn't even get the chance to come across as sinister as Dawn does, either, and I can't imagine that there's any BtVS fan out there who wouldn't make that comparison.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

While marginally better than the last one, this brief little episode missed the mark as well. The genius of the early Buffy series was in the somewhat subtext the supernatural storylines presented. Each Monster of the Week was a heavy-handed metaphor, and I say "heavy-handed" with love because it was the 90s and I was in high school too.

This story clearly went for that same ideal: Joyce wants to get involved and take care of Buffy. Demon hypnotizes Joyce and forces her to take care of it like a child. Buffy ends up taking care of Joyce in the end.

But this doesn't really make sense. It doesn't illuminate the characters in any way, and it doesn't resolve any of the issues outstanding at the start of it. So it's just another shallow attempt. There was potential here, but I wish this were twice as long and really dug into its themes.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. This series is super inconsistent. The first volume was fine, but not great, I really liked the second volume a lot, and this one is back to being meh.

This is definitely my least favorite so far--there's little humor, too much Angel, and the demon of the week just...wasn't particularly interesting to me. I think the main idea behind this one is that Buffy takes her mom's concern for her for granted, and then she learns to appreciate it after it's taken away, but I don't feel like that comes across very well, and the thing is so short that there isn't really any time to get concerned about anything. And as usual, sometimes the art...isn't great.

So, I dunno. Am I going to keep reading these high school years books? I might not.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was maybe better than the second volume. I like Buffy but I'm no hard-core fan who knows all episode by heart. For this reason, all the stories I read seem pretty new to me.

This one is about a demon who hypnotized its victims and force them to take care of it, regardless of their own safety. The victim here is Buffy's mom, who's always been a personal favorite.

I don't understand Angel's sudden appaarence, though. I know that these stories take place during season one but... I don't know, a sort of nicer - and longer - introduction about Angel and why he spends so much time with Buffy. It would have helped a lot.

I actually don't know if there will be more of these. If I remember, I'll keep on eye on them.

[Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This issue felt a lot more like an episode out of Season 1. A new demon arrives. The scoobies have to stop it, paired with the obligatory Giles scene explaining the demon and warning what they are getting themselves into. It hits Buffy at home and ends with that warm and cozy feeling that everything is okay now, if not better.

A little reminiscent of the Gingerbread episode, but holds its own nonetheless. I especially enjoyed seeing a bit from Joyce's perspective, her at work, something we didn't much get in the show.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I keep thinking these will get better. Spoiler alert: they don't. Who allowed the artist to get away with these renderings of the characters, especially the men - they all look exactly the same! I feel like ach of these stories has a good concept laid out in the synopsis that isn't developed any further once you open the book. The concept has so much potential which makes it even more disheartening that the story doesn't deliver.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I feel bad for the people who follow me on here only to get inundated with whatever comic I'm hyper-fixated on.
Anyway, Buffy's mum becomes concerned about her grades and tries to spend time with her. Meanwhile a demon hypnotizes people by convincing them they are its parent. It's sweet and fun, like all these high school years ones have been. I wish they did more of these, but that's not their fault.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the second one, but still fairly true to the Buffy-verse in this timeline. Still like the art and dialogue; would have liked more Willow - I feel like her presence was felt more in every episode and that didn’t carry to this volume.

I read this in about 15 minutes walking around my kitchen.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably liked this one the most of the three in this series, but the whole series is not that impressive. The plots feel too similar to episodes that were actually in season one, and they somehow lack the charm that Buffy had even in its infancy. I did like this one a bit more than the others, and they are quick reads, but they are probably only for die-hard fans.

[Bells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foi uma delícia ver mais da Joyce nesse volume, especialmente com a preocupação presente e ela tentando compensar pela falta de envolvimento. Espero que não demore para o próximo sair! Enquanto isso, vou ler as outras temporadas...

[Lizzy Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/TheCi...

[Melody Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first volume (my major complaint is not enough Buffy-style humor), but good nonetheless. A quick read with a delightful demon-of-the-week.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series keeps steadily improving. This one was much more character focused and was much better. This could easily have been a season 1 episode.

[Mandy Casto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this one! Wish it was longer...

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and to the point and best described as an outline for a lost episode of the series, this fits right in with the established style and content one has come to expect in the Buffy-verse.

[Edward Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick read from the Buffy gang, but at least it was entertaining.