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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 12 #1-4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 12, Vol. 1: The Reckoning
Joss Whedon's Buffy and crew are confronted by a future Big Bad who has travelled to the present, intent on stealing the power of the Slayers, becoming all-powerful, and destroying the world as we know it!
The lives of Buffy and the Scoobies haven't been too eventful for a while--at least as far as fighting demons and the forces of darkness are concerned. But that all changes when Angel brings news of an amassing a force that must be reckoned with: Wolfram & Hart, a legion of demons, and Harth, vampire from the future. Buffy knows Harth and his twin sister--the Slayer, Fray--from her meeting with them and Dark Willow in the future. But this army that has been gathered is more than she and her crew were expecting . . . Narrowly escaping an initial encounter, the gang travels to the future to recruit Fray and learn of their dismal fate should they fail to defeat this legion that has invaded the present. Harth is after the power of the Slayers, and being in possession of all their memories, he knows how to rewrite the outcome of this ultimate battle before it occurs. This is the reckoning . . . and it could be the end of Buffy, Fray, and all the Slayers, forever.
Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Christos Gage (Angel & Faith, Buffy, Amazing Spider-Man), alongside artist Georges Jeanty (Serenity, Buffy), bring a battle-fueled Buffy saga for the ages!
The lives of Buffy and the Scoobies haven't been too eventful for a while--at least as far as fighting demons and the forces of darkness are concerned. But that all changes when Angel brings news of an amassing a force that must be reckoned with: Wolfram & Hart, a legion of demons, and Harth, vampire from the future. Buffy knows Harth and his twin sister--the Slayer, Fray--from her meeting with them and Dark Willow in the future. But this army that has been gathered is more than she and her crew were expecting . . . Narrowly escaping an initial encounter, the gang travels to the future to recruit Fray and learn of their dismal fate should they fail to defeat this legion that has invaded the present. Harth is after the power of the Slayers, and being in possession of all their memories, he knows how to rewrite the outcome of this ultimate battle before it occurs. This is the reckoning . . . and it could be the end of Buffy, Fray, and all the Slayers, forever.
Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Christos Gage (Angel & Faith, Buffy, Amazing Spider-Man), alongside artist Georges Jeanty (Serenity, Buffy), bring a battle-fueled Buffy saga for the ages!
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 24, 2018
2 people are currently reading
470 people want to read
About the author
Christos Gage
1,532 books128 followersChris N. Gage is a writer for comic books and television.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 25, 2018
Okay, there’s too much to unpack here. Let’s talk about how this comic broke my heart in too many ways.
Heartbreak #1: It's all over
Buffy has been living in the Dark Horse comics for 11 years. That's four whole years more than the TV show got. It wasn't just a continuation of the show at this point, it was just a space where Buffy lived.
And now she's gone.
I don't know if it's the Disney/Fox merger that is to blame for Dark Horse losing their Buffy license, and frankly I don't care. But now I think I know how Star Wars fans felt when Disney nullified the old extended universe. It's not like the old canon stories suddenly stop existing, we just won't get any new ones, at least not in this continuity that was a home and a world for Buffy for so much longer than the TV show.
Heartbreak #2: Buffy goes Boom!
The new owners of the Buffy license are Boom! Studios, and while there is still hope that their new Buffy comics will be just as good, the promo image they recently released gives me a reason to worry.
That's Buffy, holding an iPhone, back in high school. Fucking hell. Buffy got over high school three years into the TV show, and she hasn't worked in school since season 7. Putting her back in high school in whatever capacity sounds regressive and plain bad. I’ll reserve my final judgment until at least the creative teams are announced, but yeah, so far this doesn’t look good at all.
Heartbreak #3: Rushed doesn't even begin to cover it
Season 8 was 40 issues long, season 9 was 60 if you count both Buffy, Angel & Faith and the miniseries (which you should), season 10 was 55 issues, and season 11 was 12 issues long, plus the same amount for the (abysmal) Angel series and the 4 issues of an (equally abysmal) Giles mini, and don't forget 8 issues of Fray. This gives us over 190 issues of comics, and I'm not even counting IDW's also canon Angel season 6 comics. Can such a massive connected body of work be given a proper sendoff with a measly four-issue long season 12? Take a guess.
Heartbreak #4: Joss Whedon has totally lost it
When Joss Whedon came back for the Giles miniseries back in season 11, it was a cause for celebration — after all, the man himself felt the need to finally tell (well, co-plot) the story in the universe he hasn't touched in years. Unfortunately, that Giles mini was such an awful book that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it, and I've finished every single Buffy comic before, even the really bad ones (I'm looking at you, season 8).
Unfortunately, Joss also came back to plot season 12, while Christos Gage, the guy responsible for all the best Buffy comics, was demoted to just the scripting. It's so painfully clear how out of touch Joss has become with his own creation, and at the same time how in love he is with himself and his ideas from the good old days when he could still write something worth a damn. Instead of relying on an already established rich comics lore he decided to undo years of character and story development by separating Buffy and Spike out of nowhere, by basing this final arc all around Fray and her world of the future, and by bringing back mayor Wilkins of all the characters — yet another relic of a long forgotten past that should have been left alone in his metaphorical grave. I'm surprised Joss also didn't resurrect Tara and Anya, because that kind of shit would fit right in. Story-wise this has been one of the absolute worst Buffy comics, right down there with Angel season 11, not just because of the stories it could have told instead, but because of how bad was the story it actually did tell.
Heartbreak #5: The Fred problem
Poor, sweet, lovely Fred. You never deserved to die as gruesomely as you did in the first place, but what you deserved even less is all the bullshit that followed — the resurrection, the fusion with Illyria, Angel’s near-incestual relationship with Illyria courtesy of Corinna “the worst Buffy writer ever” Bechko, and now you are trapped in Illyria’s body in the literal motherfucking hell, and nobody even remembered about that. Not the writers, not the characters, only us, the heartbroken fans.
Heartbreak #6: The art
While Christos Gage was only demoted, his wonderful teammate Rebekah Isaacs and her definitive Buffy artwork was nowhere to be seen in this book at all, replaced instead by the worst Georges Jeanty art I've ever seen. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
These are just a few of the examples taken from one issue, but the entire four-issue series looks that bad or even worse. I don't know what happened to Jeanty over the years, but I know that Rebekah Isaacs would have done an astonishingly better job regardless.
Heartbreak #7: The wasted opportunities
In the end, there were so many things and plots that Dark Horse comics only teased or barely touched upon. Sophronia and Lavinia never really got their spotlight, just like most of the original characters introduced in the comics. We also have barely seen Gunn, Connor and the rest of Angel’s characters ever since Dark Horse rolled IDW’s Angel continuation under their wing, and a lot of Buffy’s supporting cast was either MIA or barely used, too. There was always this feeling that they might bring some of those guys back, but now there is absolutely no chance of that happening.
TL;DR/Epilogue
So I guess this is it, then. It’s pretty obvious by this point that I’ve grown attached to these Buffy comics. Buffy is one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and at their best, the comics were just as good. In my mind, Buffy comics were also one of the pillars of Dark Horse together with the Hellboy universe, and Buffy couldn’t have had a better home. I can’t help but feel bad for Dark Horse, for Buffy and for thousands of fans like myself who lost such a significant part of our lives among all of this noise. Of course, all good things must come to an end, but I would feel much better about the whole ordeal if this final season wasn’t so terrible and disrespectful to everything that came before it. If there is a silver lining, it’s that we’ll always have these 11 years of mostly great stories, and the best thing Boom! could do with their license is reprint those old comics in some attractive and affordable format. Y’know, like Dark Horse used to do.
Heartbreak #1: It's all over
Buffy has been living in the Dark Horse comics for 11 years. That's four whole years more than the TV show got. It wasn't just a continuation of the show at this point, it was just a space where Buffy lived.
And now she's gone.
I don't know if it's the Disney/Fox merger that is to blame for Dark Horse losing their Buffy license, and frankly I don't care. But now I think I know how Star Wars fans felt when Disney nullified the old extended universe. It's not like the old canon stories suddenly stop existing, we just won't get any new ones, at least not in this continuity that was a home and a world for Buffy for so much longer than the TV show.
Heartbreak #2: Buffy goes Boom!
The new owners of the Buffy license are Boom! Studios, and while there is still hope that their new Buffy comics will be just as good, the promo image they recently released gives me a reason to worry.
That's Buffy, holding an iPhone, back in high school. Fucking hell. Buffy got over high school three years into the TV show, and she hasn't worked in school since season 7. Putting her back in high school in whatever capacity sounds regressive and plain bad. I’ll reserve my final judgment until at least the creative teams are announced, but yeah, so far this doesn’t look good at all.
Heartbreak #3: Rushed doesn't even begin to cover it
Season 8 was 40 issues long, season 9 was 60 if you count both Buffy, Angel & Faith and the miniseries (which you should), season 10 was 55 issues, and season 11 was 12 issues long, plus the same amount for the (abysmal) Angel series and the 4 issues of an (equally abysmal) Giles mini, and don't forget 8 issues of Fray. This gives us over 190 issues of comics, and I'm not even counting IDW's also canon Angel season 6 comics. Can such a massive connected body of work be given a proper sendoff with a measly four-issue long season 12? Take a guess.
Heartbreak #4: Joss Whedon has totally lost it
When Joss Whedon came back for the Giles miniseries back in season 11, it was a cause for celebration — after all, the man himself felt the need to finally tell (well, co-plot) the story in the universe he hasn't touched in years. Unfortunately, that Giles mini was such an awful book that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it, and I've finished every single Buffy comic before, even the really bad ones (I'm looking at you, season 8).
Unfortunately, Joss also came back to plot season 12, while Christos Gage, the guy responsible for all the best Buffy comics, was demoted to just the scripting. It's so painfully clear how out of touch Joss has become with his own creation, and at the same time how in love he is with himself and his ideas from the good old days when he could still write something worth a damn. Instead of relying on an already established rich comics lore he decided to undo years of character and story development by separating Buffy and Spike out of nowhere, by basing this final arc all around Fray and her world of the future, and by bringing back mayor Wilkins of all the characters — yet another relic of a long forgotten past that should have been left alone in his metaphorical grave. I'm surprised Joss also didn't resurrect Tara and Anya, because that kind of shit would fit right in. Story-wise this has been one of the absolute worst Buffy comics, right down there with Angel season 11, not just because of the stories it could have told instead, but because of how bad was the story it actually did tell.
Heartbreak #5: The Fred problem
Poor, sweet, lovely Fred. You never deserved to die as gruesomely as you did in the first place, but what you deserved even less is all the bullshit that followed — the resurrection, the fusion with Illyria, Angel’s near-incestual relationship with Illyria courtesy of Corinna “the worst Buffy writer ever” Bechko, and now you are trapped in Illyria’s body in the literal motherfucking hell, and nobody even remembered about that. Not the writers, not the characters, only us, the heartbroken fans.
Heartbreak #6: The art
While Christos Gage was only demoted, his wonderful teammate Rebekah Isaacs and her definitive Buffy artwork was nowhere to be seen in this book at all, replaced instead by the worst Georges Jeanty art I've ever seen. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
These are just a few of the examples taken from one issue, but the entire four-issue series looks that bad or even worse. I don't know what happened to Jeanty over the years, but I know that Rebekah Isaacs would have done an astonishingly better job regardless.
Heartbreak #7: The wasted opportunities
In the end, there were so many things and plots that Dark Horse comics only teased or barely touched upon. Sophronia and Lavinia never really got their spotlight, just like most of the original characters introduced in the comics. We also have barely seen Gunn, Connor and the rest of Angel’s characters ever since Dark Horse rolled IDW’s Angel continuation under their wing, and a lot of Buffy’s supporting cast was either MIA or barely used, too. There was always this feeling that they might bring some of those guys back, but now there is absolutely no chance of that happening.
TL;DR/Epilogue
So I guess this is it, then. It’s pretty obvious by this point that I’ve grown attached to these Buffy comics. Buffy is one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and at their best, the comics were just as good. In my mind, Buffy comics were also one of the pillars of Dark Horse together with the Hellboy universe, and Buffy couldn’t have had a better home. I can’t help but feel bad for Dark Horse, for Buffy and for thousands of fans like myself who lost such a significant part of our lives among all of this noise. Of course, all good things must come to an end, but I would feel much better about the whole ordeal if this final season wasn’t so terrible and disrespectful to everything that came before it. If there is a silver lining, it’s that we’ll always have these 11 years of mostly great stories, and the best thing Boom! could do with their license is reprint those old comics in some attractive and affordable format. Y’know, like Dark Horse used to do.
December 31, 2018
Buffy's last stand!
I bought this in its single comic book issues, but I've chosen this TPB edition to make a better overall review.
This TPB edition collects "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - Season 12 - The Reckoning" #1-4.
Creative Team:
Writers: Joss Wheddon & Christos Gage
Illustrator: Georges Jeanty
Cover art: Stephanie Hans
THE END OF AN ERA
Dark Horse Comics were publishing Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (along with tons of other related titles) since 1998, and after 20 years, this massive journey of comic books comes to an end, since next year (2019), it will be Boom Studios who will take the title (getting back to Buffy's high school years).
At the beginning, Buffy comics were the typical media tie-in product where you read stories that while tring to be faithful to the franchise, those comics weren't canonical,...
...BUT...
...in 2007, that changed, pioneering in the marketing of comic books, since Joss Wheddon approach Dark Horse, starting a new line of Buffy comics with the "Season 8" indicator, and certifying that the comics were not only canon but the official continuation of the Buffy universe, after the finale on the TV series.
This take for Buffy, the Vampire Slayer did a revolution in how to manage the media tie-in comics for pop culture franchises, where soon enough many other franchises granted the "canon" status to their own comic book titles, giving a major boost to the readers to decide in buying those comics.
But nothing last forever, and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer comes to an end (for a while at least) since as I already commented, Boom Studios will take back to Buffy Summers to her high school's years, therefore, The Reckoning (Season 12) will be the most updated adventure of Buffy and the Scooby gang.
PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE ARE INVITED
Buffy Summers has enjoyed a rare year of peace and quiet, in the field of paranormal threats. Xander Harris is married to Dawn Summers and they already have a baby girl, Joyce. Willow Rosenberg is in charge of the remaining Slayer army along with a new bunch of Wiccan trainees...
...however that tranquility is coming to an end due a menace from the future, that Buffy knows too well...
...Harth, the twin brother of Melaka Fray, the Vampire Slayer of the future, that due their singular share birth, giving to him the full memories of the Slayers from the past, but when Harth was bitten by a "lurk" (vampires' name used in the future), now Harth is very dangerous enemy for not only her sister but to all the Slayers legacy.
Harth is travelling to the present, making an unholy alliance with the infamous Wolfram & Hart legal firm, to build a fearsome force of demons and monsters...
...adding a secret surprising old enemy long thought beaten!
Harth is using his access to the past memories of all previous Slayers (Buffy included!) to know how to manipulate the legendary Reckoning crisis on his benefit!
Buffy, Willow, Xander & Dawn, need all the possible help so...
...Giles, Faith, Andrew, Spike, Angel and Illyria (in possession of Fred's body) will risk everything to stop this final challenge!
Buffy Forever!!!
I bought this in its single comic book issues, but I've chosen this TPB edition to make a better overall review.
This TPB edition collects "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer - Season 12 - The Reckoning" #1-4.
Creative Team:
Writers: Joss Wheddon & Christos Gage
Illustrator: Georges Jeanty
Cover art: Stephanie Hans
THE END OF AN ERA
Dark Horse Comics were publishing Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (along with tons of other related titles) since 1998, and after 20 years, this massive journey of comic books comes to an end, since next year (2019), it will be Boom Studios who will take the title (getting back to Buffy's high school years).
At the beginning, Buffy comics were the typical media tie-in product where you read stories that while tring to be faithful to the franchise, those comics weren't canonical,...
...BUT...
...in 2007, that changed, pioneering in the marketing of comic books, since Joss Wheddon approach Dark Horse, starting a new line of Buffy comics with the "Season 8" indicator, and certifying that the comics were not only canon but the official continuation of the Buffy universe, after the finale on the TV series.
This take for Buffy, the Vampire Slayer did a revolution in how to manage the media tie-in comics for pop culture franchises, where soon enough many other franchises granted the "canon" status to their own comic book titles, giving a major boost to the readers to decide in buying those comics.
But nothing last forever, and Buffy, the Vampire Slayer comes to an end (for a while at least) since as I already commented, Boom Studios will take back to Buffy Summers to her high school's years, therefore, The Reckoning (Season 12) will be the most updated adventure of Buffy and the Scooby gang.
PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE ARE INVITED
Buffy Summers has enjoyed a rare year of peace and quiet, in the field of paranormal threats. Xander Harris is married to Dawn Summers and they already have a baby girl, Joyce. Willow Rosenberg is in charge of the remaining Slayer army along with a new bunch of Wiccan trainees...
...however that tranquility is coming to an end due a menace from the future, that Buffy knows too well...
...Harth, the twin brother of Melaka Fray, the Vampire Slayer of the future, that due their singular share birth, giving to him the full memories of the Slayers from the past, but when Harth was bitten by a "lurk" (vampires' name used in the future), now Harth is very dangerous enemy for not only her sister but to all the Slayers legacy.
Harth is travelling to the present, making an unholy alliance with the infamous Wolfram & Hart legal firm, to build a fearsome force of demons and monsters...
...adding a secret surprising old enemy long thought beaten!
Harth is using his access to the past memories of all previous Slayers (Buffy included!) to know how to manipulate the legendary Reckoning crisis on his benefit!
Buffy, Willow, Xander & Dawn, need all the possible help so...
...Giles, Faith, Andrew, Spike, Angel and Illyria (in possession of Fred's body) will risk everything to stop this final challenge!
Buffy Forever!!!
October 3, 2019
Disappointing.
It appears Joss Whedon came in and tacked on an ending he planned from season 9. This was out of left field and didn't have much to do with where the story really was. Buffy and Spike were in a good space and between the end and this they have separated. Crap.
Everyone came together, Faith, Angel, everyone that's left standing.
The ending for season 11 is the best ending. Personally, for me, I don't consider this part of the Buffy verse and from now I will will stop at the end of Season 11.
Even the artwork changed again for the last issue. It's so weird. There isn't much continuity from last season to this and Willow doesn't get much time in this novel, nor does Xander really. Everything is wonky.
A terrible ending to a good story run. It truly sputtered to it's death here.
It appears Joss Whedon came in and tacked on an ending he planned from season 9. This was out of left field and didn't have much to do with where the story really was. Buffy and Spike were in a good space and between the end and this they have separated. Crap.
Everyone came together, Faith, Angel, everyone that's left standing.
The ending for season 11 is the best ending. Personally, for me, I don't consider this part of the Buffy verse and from now I will will stop at the end of Season 11.
Even the artwork changed again for the last issue. It's so weird. There isn't much continuity from last season to this and Willow doesn't get much time in this novel, nor does Xander really. Everything is wonky.
A terrible ending to a good story run. It truly sputtered to it's death here.
November 10, 2020
Harth, the evil brother vampire from Fray comes back from the future to try and take out all of the Scooby gang. It's been a year in the Buffy universe. All the relationships have changed and it feels much more time than a year has passed. Buffy's turning thirty. But after mentioning all the changes the rest of the book focuses on the punchy-punchy. The book feels rushed and a bit sad for the finale of not only a great TV show but some really great comics.
Georges Jeanty's art has gotten weird. Everyone seems to be going all Benjamin Button and turning into children. It's even fuglier than normal. I wish they had kept Rebekah Isaacs or Megan Levin around.
Georges Jeanty's art has gotten weird. Everyone seems to be going all Benjamin Button and turning into children. It's even fuglier than normal. I wish they had kept Rebekah Isaacs or Megan Levin around.
November 29, 2018
Wow. Not the ending Dark Horse's Buffyverse needed or deserved. I agree with others that everything felt way too rushed. It seems like in his cockiness Whedon brought characters back and changed character relationships without rhyme or reason and slapped a completely lackluster plot on the whole thing to get some kind of a conclusion, and all because he wanted to be the one to finish the series. It honestly felt like he either didn't care about his characters anymore or that he just didn't bother thinking things through.
February 2, 2025
This was a sudden and rushed ending to the Buffy comics seasons, which the writers have been open about because of behind the scenes things, and it definitely reads that way. It also has the misfortune of following up some of the worst runs in the series history, Angel and Giles Season 11; so it also had to incorporate some of those horrible plots. That said, overall, this was as good an ending as we could have gotten, given the circumstances. It does what it needs to do, and satisfies just as much as minimally needed. The art is pretty meh at times, and while I understand bringing Jeanty back for sentimental reasons, Isaacs should have finished out the series, mainly for quality reasons, if we’re being honest. My personal feelings about the treatment, or lack of, towards Fred are seething, but I won’t let that affect this review. Just know I’m pissed with how they’ve decided to wrap up, or blatantly ignore, her character arc, so other fans of the character should go in expecting very little — AKA nothing. 4/5 stars.
August 28, 2019
Since this is effectively the end of the canonical Buffyverse I have been in love with since I was 10, I wanted to give it 5 stars. I just couldn't quite get there.
The writing tried its best. It referenced the more recent comics as well as the original TV show. An old villain from the show made a surprise appearance, and even Buffy's career day suggestion of law enforcement ended up referenced in a big way.
As a man who always identified with slayers, how do I feel about the villain being a man who tried to take slayer power? And without anyone even mentioning the one gay male quasi-slayer, Billy? Where has he even been? He didn't get to participate in the action, no one even mentioned him, and I'm just... sad.
Not the best Buffy story nor the worst. It was an attempt to neatly wrap up all the remaining plot lines without offending too many people. For what it was, it was happy.
The writing tried its best. It referenced the more recent comics as well as the original TV show. An old villain from the show made a surprise appearance, and even Buffy's career day suggestion of law enforcement ended up referenced in a big way.
As a man who always identified with slayers, how do I feel about the villain being a man who tried to take slayer power? And without anyone even mentioning the one gay male quasi-slayer, Billy? Where has he even been? He didn't get to participate in the action, no one even mentioned him, and I'm just... sad.
Not the best Buffy story nor the worst. It was an attempt to neatly wrap up all the remaining plot lines without offending too many people. For what it was, it was happy.
July 7, 2018
5 🌟
Nice to see how Buffy and the game have been doing. Sad that Buffy and Spike broke up again. Interesting that Dawn and Xander now have a baby. Hope that they will be able to stop Harth.
Nice to see how Buffy and the game have been doing. Sad that Buffy and Spike broke up again. Interesting that Dawn and Xander now have a baby. Hope that they will be able to stop Harth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2020
So apparently Dark Horse has lost the rights to Whedon properties which doesn't really explain No Power in the Verse since that had a cliffhanger suggesting that they expected to write more, but it does explain this mess of a comic.
I picked this comic up because it's the last one and promised to end the Fray story, although it's only doing that along with all the other stories they had going so it felt almost like an afterthought. This is a conclusion to Fray, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel, and it's four issues long so that's a pretty tall order. Was there some reason this was only four issues long? I understand that they lost the licence, but they were able to release this. It felt like it was a 6 or 7 issue long story squeezed into 4.
I haven't read the Buffy comics for about 5 years, so there was a lot that annoyed me here that I expect is left over from those comics, such as Angel being in a relationship with Illyria, and Dawn and Xander having a kid together, and other things such as Dawn now being able to open doors to other worlds. So I forgive it for the baggage that other writers left it with. I don't forgive it for all the terrible choices it makes on its own.
Harth, Fray's evil brother, has suddenly acquired the ability to travel backwards in time and has decided to do so to take advantage of the even that robbed magic from the world (I thought that happened already) and seize it all himself. So Buffy and a whole bunch of other characters travel into the future where they run into Harmony who gives them a quick 8 page plot exposition. It turns out that Dawn opened a portal that sucked all the demons into Hell and Buffy had to go too for reasons. The characters decide to go back and not let this happen.
This was really bad. I know I should not expect much from comic books based on 90s tv shows, but this is really bad. Buffy's had a half dozen endings now and the first one (season 5) is still the best one. Also I still like to think that the whole cast of Angel
It still would have been bad if it was longer, but it would have been less bad. Whedon plotted this, which I think shows that eventually the original creators have no idea what to do with their properties.
EDIT: I've been thinking a lot about why this comic is so bad, and I stand by all my earlier assessments, but I was flipping through it and I realized the other thing about it that bothers me; it's an ending. Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer both end on points of uncertainty, because life doesn't have endings. Buffy the Vampire Slayer ends with Dawn asking Buffy what they're going to do next, and she smiles. Angel ends with the aforementioned alley. The comic's ending changes that into a simple happy ending with everything turning out perfectly. This might be the ending these characters deserve, but I don't believe for a second that it's the one that they get.
I picked this comic up because it's the last one and promised to end the Fray story, although it's only doing that along with all the other stories they had going so it felt almost like an afterthought. This is a conclusion to Fray, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel, and it's four issues long so that's a pretty tall order. Was there some reason this was only four issues long? I understand that they lost the licence, but they were able to release this. It felt like it was a 6 or 7 issue long story squeezed into 4.
I haven't read the Buffy comics for about 5 years, so there was a lot that annoyed me here that I expect is left over from those comics, such as Angel being in a relationship with Illyria, and Dawn and Xander having a kid together, and other things such as Dawn now being able to open doors to other worlds. So I forgive it for the baggage that other writers left it with. I don't forgive it for all the terrible choices it makes on its own.
Harth, Fray's evil brother, has suddenly acquired the ability to travel backwards in time and has decided to do so to take advantage of the even that robbed magic from the world (I thought that happened already) and seize it all himself. So Buffy and a whole bunch of other characters travel into the future where they run into Harmony who gives them a quick 8 page plot exposition. It turns out that Dawn opened a portal that sucked all the demons into Hell and Buffy had to go too for reasons. The characters decide to go back and not let this happen.
This was really bad. I know I should not expect much from comic books based on 90s tv shows, but this is really bad. Buffy's had a half dozen endings now and the first one (season 5) is still the best one. Also I still like to think that the whole cast of Angel
It still would have been bad if it was longer, but it would have been less bad. Whedon plotted this, which I think shows that eventually the original creators have no idea what to do with their properties.
EDIT: I've been thinking a lot about why this comic is so bad, and I stand by all my earlier assessments, but I was flipping through it and I realized the other thing about it that bothers me; it's an ending. Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer both end on points of uncertainty, because life doesn't have endings. Buffy the Vampire Slayer ends with Dawn asking Buffy what they're going to do next, and she smiles. Angel ends with the aforementioned alley. The comic's ending changes that into a simple happy ending with everything turning out perfectly. This might be the ending these characters deserve, but I don't believe for a second that it's the one that they get.
April 15, 2020
Loved the official Buffy canon comics, but this felt wayyyy too rushed.
It was great they addressed the flashback in Fray, but this battle was anything but epic. Illyria seriously could've beat a small army of second rate demons on her own, the same way she cleaned house with Wolfram & Harts in the alley during After the Fall without pushing herself into a portal, especially when she can make her own. So much was wrong with this, but its still a decent read and A for effort at the very least.
It was great they addressed the flashback in Fray, but this battle was anything but epic. Illyria seriously could've beat a small army of second rate demons on her own, the same way she cleaned house with Wolfram & Harts in the alley during After the Fall without pushing herself into a portal, especially when she can make her own. So much was wrong with this, but its still a decent read and A for effort at the very least.
July 30, 2018
A bit rushed, the way final seasons and their exposition bombs to set the scene always feel rushed. Lots of good stakes. Maybe jumped the shark on one of the small bads but we’ll see how it plays out.
July 30, 2019
Skip it. Season 11 offers are far more satisfying ending for these iconic characters. Season 12 is just too rushed.
September 30, 2018
Read in comic book form.
So happy with Season 12, especially after the Giles miniseries debaucle. Season 12 had everything I love about the Buffy comics: fun cameos, the gang all together again, a happy ending...? (Well, about as happy as it can get for now in the Buffyverse.)
Only one problem...
So happy with Season 12, especially after the Giles miniseries debaucle. Season 12 had everything I love about the Buffy comics: fun cameos, the gang all together again, a happy ending...? (Well, about as happy as it can get for now in the Buffyverse.)
Only one problem...
January 22, 2019
This series deserved a better sendoff and probably would have gotten it had Christos Gage been left in charge of the story instead of Joss Whedon; had it been given more than four issues to wrap up; and had they kept Rebekah Isaacs in place as the artist instead of bringing back Georges Jeanty, who draws every character’s face like it’s been surgically reconstructed after being run over by a bus.
February 3, 2019
Started a little slow, but by the halfway point I was hooked! This was a great conclusion to the comic series, although I’m also devastated there won’t be more!! I’m very much not a fan of the art style though- I found it really hard to connect to the characters because of it, but the dialogue was fantastic.
October 5, 2018
Really, that's how you end things Joss?
October 28, 2018
Honestly, Buffy and the Scoobies deserve better. The post-television comic seasons have certainly had their ups and downs, but the last couple were pretty great. I don’t know what happened to Georges Jeanty’s art since he was last on the book, but something certainly did. I loved his earlier work and even though I’ve adored Rebekah Isaac’s take on the characters, I wasn’t against him returning for the final season. However, the art in this arc seemed sloppy and rushed.
In fact, everything seemed sloppy and rushed: not just the art, but the entire story. Christos Gage has been crushing it on both Buffy and Angel and Faith, and the only element that’s changed here is that Joss Whedon returned to co-plot the story. I’m pretty much the biggest BtVS fan ever so it pains me to say this, but Whedon no longer knows how to write these characters.
I do think that the arc wrapped up nicely, but the way that the story got there was anything but. I’m sad to see this series end, knowing that when Buffy returns in comic form, it will be for Boom Studios and she’ll be back in high school once again. Having grown up with these characters, I’ve really enjoyed this canonical comic journey, despite its undeniable highs and lows.
I’ll keep following the adventures of the Scoobies, no matter what form they take because I can’t help myself. Even still, for their final story with Dark Horse, this brief arc was extremely disappointing. I gave it three stars, but that was basically just because I appreciated the resolution. All in all, I’m feeling incredibly underwhelmed right now. At least I still have Kiersten White’s Slayer novel to look forward to!
In fact, everything seemed sloppy and rushed: not just the art, but the entire story. Christos Gage has been crushing it on both Buffy and Angel and Faith, and the only element that’s changed here is that Joss Whedon returned to co-plot the story. I’m pretty much the biggest BtVS fan ever so it pains me to say this, but Whedon no longer knows how to write these characters.
I do think that the arc wrapped up nicely, but the way that the story got there was anything but. I’m sad to see this series end, knowing that when Buffy returns in comic form, it will be for Boom Studios and she’ll be back in high school once again. Having grown up with these characters, I’ve really enjoyed this canonical comic journey, despite its undeniable highs and lows.
I’ll keep following the adventures of the Scoobies, no matter what form they take because I can’t help myself. Even still, for their final story with Dark Horse, this brief arc was extremely disappointing. I gave it three stars, but that was basically just because I appreciated the resolution. All in all, I’m feeling incredibly underwhelmed right now. At least I still have Kiersten White’s Slayer novel to look forward to!
March 9, 2019
Book source ~ Library
Buffy and gang have been living their life in the wake of the last big near-apocalypse. Magical creatures are laying low and life is quiet. Buffy and Spike have broken up, Dawn and Xander are married with a baby and living in the burbs of San Fran, Giles is his old self again, and Willow is teaching women how to empower themselves. But something big is coming. Bigger than anything they’ve ever faced before. And they’ll need everyone on board to stop it.
This graphic novel says Volume One, but it feels an awful like The End to me. I know I read that Joss Whedon and Dark Horse were parting ways after Season 12, but I’m not sure if there will be a Volume Two to this one. Maybe?
I’m really not happy with the fast forward. What the fuck? So many changes and no explanations. Then Angel and Illyria show up and I find out they are lovers? Again, I say wtf?! Where is all this coming from? Apparently the Angel and other comics have some major shit going on that I missed.
What I like about this last gasp: The humor, the appearance of some major characters, the fight scenes.
What I don’t like: the fast forward, the huge changes dumped on me with no explanation, a lot of the artwork is just…off. There were many times I couldn’t tell who was who in this. Ugh.
I really get the feeling this is it – the end. So, good-bye, my friends. I’ll miss you.
Buffy and gang have been living their life in the wake of the last big near-apocalypse. Magical creatures are laying low and life is quiet. Buffy and Spike have broken up, Dawn and Xander are married with a baby and living in the burbs of San Fran, Giles is his old self again, and Willow is teaching women how to empower themselves. But something big is coming. Bigger than anything they’ve ever faced before. And they’ll need everyone on board to stop it.
This graphic novel says Volume One, but it feels an awful like The End to me. I know I read that Joss Whedon and Dark Horse were parting ways after Season 12, but I’m not sure if there will be a Volume Two to this one. Maybe?
I’m really not happy with the fast forward. What the fuck? So many changes and no explanations. Then Angel and Illyria show up and I find out they are lovers? Again, I say wtf?! Where is all this coming from? Apparently the Angel and other comics have some major shit going on that I missed.
What I like about this last gasp: The humor, the appearance of some major characters, the fight scenes.
What I don’t like: the fast forward, the huge changes dumped on me with no explanation, a lot of the artwork is just…off. There were many times I couldn’t tell who was who in this. Ugh.
I really get the feeling this is it – the end. So, good-bye, my friends. I’ll miss you.
July 7, 2019
this was a decent ending. season 11 seems like an anomaly, in a way, this joins much more with season 10 (or 9? can't remember). season 11 I just didn't really buy - the government does a huge crackdown on the supernatural but then it's just a government rogue behind it all and they say sorry about all that? seems like they would have kept their heel on the necks.
I like the way they tied fray in to this. I didn't like the way during the battle someone asks giles "well, won't x happen and then it'll be fine?" and he says "well, x isn't happening because y". and then x happens anyway and saves the day. it would have been better if he had said something more like, yes, x should be happening, maybe y is holding it off, I don't know...
anyway, so that's it. now we begin the updates and reboots. maybe we'll get a revisit season 13 sometime in the future.
I like the way they tied fray in to this. I didn't like the way during the battle someone asks giles "well, won't x happen and then it'll be fine?" and he says "well, x isn't happening because y". and then x happens anyway and saves the day. it would have been better if he had said something more like, yes, x should be happening, maybe y is holding it off, I don't know...
anyway, so that's it. now we begin the updates and reboots. maybe we'll get a revisit season 13 sometime in the future.
January 13, 2019
3.5 stars
That felt like a definitive ending. I wonder if it really is. If so, The Reckoning was a good story to end with, even if some of the plot points bummed me out. A villain I never thought I’d see again showed up, and his goofy lines made me so happy. I felt a little lost because I hadn’t kept up with the Angel comics, but it wasn’t hard to get up to speed, even if I hate feeling like I missed part of the overall story. The artwork was good, and the cover art was spectacular as always.
That felt like a definitive ending. I wonder if it really is. If so, The Reckoning was a good story to end with, even if some of the plot points bummed me out. A villain I never thought I’d see again showed up, and his goofy lines made me so happy. I felt a little lost because I hadn’t kept up with the Angel comics, but it wasn’t hard to get up to speed, even if I hate feeling like I missed part of the overall story. The artwork was good, and the cover art was spectacular as always.
January 14, 2019
Blergh. Not the ending I wanted! The art... bleh most of the time. And did we really need to pull in literally every character that ever existed? I'd have much preferred like a Buffy/Willow/Xander/Giles old school resolution or something. Anyway.... meh. :(
June 22, 2018
It's all coming together! Giles is back to his old self, Buffy and Spike are finally over, sadly Angel and Illyria aren't... and Joss threw in a baby a la Angel season three... and of course Fray!
May 21, 2019
I expected more of the Buffy comics same, but I didn't expect a full on sequel and wrap up to Fray. Definitely worth the read.
May 24, 2019
This was just too short of a conclusion to Buffy at Dar Horse. Why couldn't they have tagged this onto Season 11, at least then it wouldn't have felt so abrupt.
January 13, 2025
This is it. The ending of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had such high hopes for it, specially because the last seasons have been great. But this ending kind of sucks.
First of all, the plot. It's coming out of nowhere, it seems. We had already dealt with this future vampire slayers, was it season 8 or 9?. Everything was resolved. On one hand, I like that this gives us an "alternate ending" to that universe, one in which Buffy and her friends don't have to suffer so much. But... Why now? Why not.... Closer to when it originally happened? It would have been a good addition then. The other seasons would have been a good continuation of that. Bringing it up now doesn't make much sense, plot wise.
Second of all: the length. 4 issues to finish up a show? I don't think so. It didn't have to be super long- the last season had only 12 issues and was phenomenal. I wish we could have had the continuation of that. But instead we got this.
Thirdly: character relationships. I'm going to point out the obvious: how can it be that the latest issue ends with Buffy telling Spike she loves him, and in this season they have... Broken up? And without any reason? After feeling something for each other since the TV show, starting a relationship and getting through their problems and fears, it seemed like they were totally going to last. And they just call it quits?? And what bothered me the most is, this is brought up many times. How "it would have never worked out, never will". That doesn't make any sense with the character development we've had in the previous season. Angel also appears out of knowhere, and Buffy was happy for that, but he is with this other new girlfriend, idk. It all seemed pretty rushed.
Dawn and Xander have a BABY?? If more time had passed this would have been great, but um... Are we forgetting Dawn is still in university? And that she wants to finish her studies? Idk. I also didn't like her and Xander fighting over who takes care of the baby while there is a fight going on. The last seasons brought up delicate topics such as SA, racism and immigration beautifully, and in this season I felt like everything was a bit more blunt? Even if was just banter, I didn't like the implications behind it. Didn't really seem like Xander and Dawn at all.
Giles and Willow: we barely know about their personal lives in this issue. Is Giles back with Olivia now that he is an adult? And what about Willow? I really wanted her to have a nice relationship too.
And Buffy and Faith? I always wanted Buffy to finish uni... She always seems so sad she had to drop out. Afterwards, it would have made sense for her to work for the police, but I always kinda envisioned her more as a private investigator, like Angel? I don't really believe that both Buffy and Faith decided to leave their independence and work for the government... When in past seasons they have refused to do so.
Even the art in this book seemed a bit rushed. The characters don't look like themselves sometimes... I liked the drawing style in previous editions better.
So to sum up: this wasn't a very good finale. I'm kinda ditching it. Counting it as an special episode, and I'm counting season 11 as the finale. It has a deep plot, and not a very definitive ending. Life goes on, and Buffy will keep fighting evil surrounded by her loved ones, and with Spike, too.
Update: After reading some reviews, it seems the sudden change in the narrative is because the creator of Buffy got back on the boat to finish it. Well, he seems to habe been disconnected from his characters for quite some time. Christos was doing an amazing job with the previous seasons... Wish he could have been in charge of this one as well.
First of all, the plot. It's coming out of nowhere, it seems. We had already dealt with this future vampire slayers, was it season 8 or 9?. Everything was resolved. On one hand, I like that this gives us an "alternate ending" to that universe, one in which Buffy and her friends don't have to suffer so much. But... Why now? Why not.... Closer to when it originally happened? It would have been a good addition then. The other seasons would have been a good continuation of that. Bringing it up now doesn't make much sense, plot wise.
Second of all: the length. 4 issues to finish up a show? I don't think so. It didn't have to be super long- the last season had only 12 issues and was phenomenal. I wish we could have had the continuation of that. But instead we got this.
Thirdly: character relationships. I'm going to point out the obvious: how can it be that the latest issue ends with Buffy telling Spike she loves him, and in this season they have... Broken up? And without any reason? After feeling something for each other since the TV show, starting a relationship and getting through their problems and fears, it seemed like they were totally going to last. And they just call it quits?? And what bothered me the most is, this is brought up many times. How "it would have never worked out, never will". That doesn't make any sense with the character development we've had in the previous season. Angel also appears out of knowhere, and Buffy was happy for that, but he is with this other new girlfriend, idk. It all seemed pretty rushed.
Dawn and Xander have a BABY?? If more time had passed this would have been great, but um... Are we forgetting Dawn is still in university? And that she wants to finish her studies? Idk. I also didn't like her and Xander fighting over who takes care of the baby while there is a fight going on. The last seasons brought up delicate topics such as SA, racism and immigration beautifully, and in this season I felt like everything was a bit more blunt? Even if was just banter, I didn't like the implications behind it. Didn't really seem like Xander and Dawn at all.
Giles and Willow: we barely know about their personal lives in this issue. Is Giles back with Olivia now that he is an adult? And what about Willow? I really wanted her to have a nice relationship too.
And Buffy and Faith? I always wanted Buffy to finish uni... She always seems so sad she had to drop out. Afterwards, it would have made sense for her to work for the police, but I always kinda envisioned her more as a private investigator, like Angel? I don't really believe that both Buffy and Faith decided to leave their independence and work for the government... When in past seasons they have refused to do so.
Even the art in this book seemed a bit rushed. The characters don't look like themselves sometimes... I liked the drawing style in previous editions better.
So to sum up: this wasn't a very good finale. I'm kinda ditching it. Counting it as an special episode, and I'm counting season 11 as the finale. It has a deep plot, and not a very definitive ending. Life goes on, and Buffy will keep fighting evil surrounded by her loved ones, and with Spike, too.
Update: After reading some reviews, it seems the sudden change in the narrative is because the creator of Buffy got back on the boat to finish it. Well, he seems to habe been disconnected from his characters for quite some time. Christos was doing an amazing job with the previous seasons... Wish he could have been in charge of this one as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2019
I have become a big fan of George Jeanty's Buffy art, plus this had the Joss Whedon touch. Unlike some of the comic seasons, it also had a bit of closure to it.
I loved seeing Fray again - I would've like more of her in this comic. I liked the twist actually. Time travel tempts the author to do stupid things so it's always dicey, so I was a bit concerned at our heros dilemma and wondering how they could get through it. I did realize I missed some episode of somethings in 2018 as to where the relationships and people were at the beginning of the book, or maybe some previous read had not impacted me as much as it should've so I will have some re-reads to do - but that hasn't really hurt most of my enjoyment of this series as much as I would've thought. It's just hard to keep up. Am I not geek enough? Or is it a normal problem for a woman who is juggling her geekness with writing, singing/songwriting, and a mundane career in IT? I will go with the later.
The main point is that I finally got a moment to enjoy Buffy enjoying saving the world for a change. And that for was appropriate for all the characters age. And a nice tingling threesome feeling from the situation with Angel, Spike, and Buffy. Might not happen, but nice to consider.
This was my first read so I might come back and upgrade this review later. I often gobble these graphic novels in one read and re-read later to get more details. Overall, yes, I liked this one.
I loved seeing Fray again - I would've like more of her in this comic. I liked the twist actually. Time travel tempts the author to do stupid things so it's always dicey, so I was a bit concerned at our heros dilemma and wondering how they could get through it. I did realize I missed some episode of somethings in 2018 as to where the relationships and people were at the beginning of the book, or maybe some previous read had not impacted me as much as it should've so I will have some re-reads to do - but that hasn't really hurt most of my enjoyment of this series as much as I would've thought. It's just hard to keep up. Am I not geek enough? Or is it a normal problem for a woman who is juggling her geekness with writing, singing/songwriting, and a mundane career in IT? I will go with the later.
The main point is that I finally got a moment to enjoy Buffy enjoying saving the world for a change. And that for was appropriate for all the characters age. And a nice tingling threesome feeling from the situation with Angel, Spike, and Buffy. Might not happen, but nice to consider.
This was my first read so I might come back and upgrade this review later. I often gobble these graphic novels in one read and re-read later to get more details. Overall, yes, I liked this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2019
I read the whole Volume, and was shocked that there is Only this #1 for the whole season. It is very unBuffy, but i am guessing it has something with the whole Dark Horse/Whedon/Buffy loss. I was a little disappointed in a few things such as the change in art work and *Slight Spoiler the Season 3 Principal Demon coming back from Hell. I wish that this had 'ended?' in a more complete way. There have always been books on 'Buffy' and it hasn't always aligned with the Buffy we know from the series; I am now wondering if the new books (that I heard some other people who have written their reviews mention) are going to go with the movie Buffy, the Series Buffy, or a new Buffy. I am really hoping that they don't try to repeat the series because I really don't think they can Ever make it that Perfect.
February 16, 2019
I've stood by the Dark Horse Buffy seasons up until this point. I watched as my beloved characters faced new and, often, improved big bads. Everything felt reasonably changed and altered from the TV series. Old scoobies and baddies returned, and new friends were introduced. The Angel & Faith cross-overs and side-issues with Willow and Giles were all so well done.
But Season 12 doesn't pay off in the end. It feels rushed, fan-serviced, and too chaotic. I hate admitting this, but this extended Buffy team probably should have ended the comic continuation with season 10.
If anything, the end of Season 12 leaves me extremely excited to put these canonical seasons behind, once and for all, and start a new journey with the BOOM! Buffy series which drops later this month.
But Season 12 doesn't pay off in the end. It feels rushed, fan-serviced, and too chaotic. I hate admitting this, but this extended Buffy team probably should have ended the comic continuation with season 10.
If anything, the end of Season 12 leaves me extremely excited to put these canonical seasons behind, once and for all, and start a new journey with the BOOM! Buffy series which drops later this month.
July 5, 2019
I'm not quite sure how to rate this. It's somewhere between a 2 and 3 stars. Maybe 2.75?
I was just really confused. I felt like I was dropped right into the middle of an ongoing story. Now I'll admit I haven't read all the Buffy/Angel/Faith/Giles/Fray and whatever other comics are out there, so my confusion is probably my own fault. But regardless, it made reading this less fun.
I also hate that Buffy and Spike were broken up all of a sudden?? And we weren't given any explanation as to why other than it was "mutual and the right decision". Um... okay. Seemed like a cop out to me. A way to not piss off either the Spuffy or Bangel fans, which is just bull. They had such a solid relationship at the end of season 11. There's no reason for them to not still be together.
I was just really confused. I felt like I was dropped right into the middle of an ongoing story. Now I'll admit I haven't read all the Buffy/Angel/Faith/Giles/Fray and whatever other comics are out there, so my confusion is probably my own fault. But regardless, it made reading this less fun.
I also hate that Buffy and Spike were broken up all of a sudden?? And we weren't given any explanation as to why other than it was "mutual and the right decision". Um... okay. Seemed like a cop out to me. A way to not piss off either the Spuffy or Bangel fans, which is just bull. They had such a solid relationship at the end of season 11. There's no reason for them to not still be together.
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