Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 5: The Biggest Bad

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2019) #17-20

by Jordie Bellaire, Jeremy Lambert, Ramón F. Bachs (Illustrations)

WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS? Willow has returned to Sunnydale with a secret about Buffy and the Scooby Gang that’ll change everything you they ever that they knew! There’s just one problem - Willow can’t share this secret just yet. But a countdown may have have started on Buffy’s time as a Slayer, as the rotten truth about the Watcher’s Council that binds Robin, Giles and the Slayer Before will be revealed...starting with a young Watcher named Wesley. Award-winning writer Jordie Bellaire (Redlands) and Ramon Bachs (Marvel Rising, Star Wars: Rebellion) set the stage for the biggest Buffy story you’ve ever read with secrets and revelations - and then more secrets, of course - that you never expected. Collects Buffy The Vampire Slayer #17-20.

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

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2021

About the author

Jordie Bellaire is an American comic book colorist and writter who lives in Ireland and works for DC, Marvel, Valiant, and Image comic book publishers. She has colored Pretty Deadly, The Manhattan Projects, Moon Knight, The Vision, Magneto, Nowhere Men, Hawkeye, Batman, among other titles. As a writer, her most famous works are Redlands and the reboot of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Bellaire is credited with starting the "Comics are for everybody" initiative to make the comic book community more inclusive and compassionate.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

So the verdict is almost entirely in on this Buffy run. I wanted to like the setup a lot more than I actually did. I suppose if it was an entirely different cast of characters in a brand new kind of Buffyverse without any of the characters we grew to love, I might have gone head over heels for it, but I just hate where Xander went and Faith doesn't have the right style.

And Wesley? With a ghost Ethan following him around? I want to LIKE all these massive changes but... I don't. There is already great history. This would all have to be explored in long-form for it to stick, and none of it is sticking.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, this is dragging on a bit too long. I'm also really not a fan of all the relationship drama/angst.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last thing this book needs is a 3rd slayer and yet here comes Faith and Wesley. Willow comes back and talks to Xander. Kendra has completely lost her personality and slipped into normal teenager mode now that she has a girlfriend. Nothing much happens in the rest of this book. It's just spinning wheels and maybe some setup for the future. It's pretty clear now that Bellaire only had plans for the first year of stories. This book has been struggling for a while now. Ramon Bachs art is fugly. It looks like something that belongs in an all-ages Marvel Age comic.

[Valery Tikappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non so, mi aspettavo di più da questo volume.

Ormai siamo ben dentro l'azione ma di sostanza ce n'è pochina in questo capitolo.
Bello l'inizio, mi ha incuriosito e ha dato una svolta e un diverso punto di vista alle cose, ma poi si è perso.

Da Buffy mi aspetto sì una serie con le classiche tematiche adolescenziali ma anche scazzottate, vampiri, paletti di legno, nemici, incantesimi e colpi di scena.
In Il peggiore dei mali tutto questo mi è mancato.

Ci si focalizza più che altro sui rapporti di amicizia e le relazioni fra i personaggi, cosa che per carità, apprezzo, ma ormai le conosciamo queste dinamiche!
Potevano essere inserite come contorno alla storia paranormale che mi aspettavo fosse il fulcro del volume, e invece così non è stato.
Abbiamo più Beverly Hills 90210 che non Buffy the Vampire Slayer in questo capitolo.

Insomma, tutto un po' sottotono. Spero si riprenda nel sesto!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, rounded down.

While the Scooby Gang continues to fracture, new additions to Sunnydale threaten to bring the already shaky status quo as Kendra, Faith, and Wesley show up on the scene.

The first issue of this volume is perhaps my favourite of the entire run thus far - and it's told entirely from Wesley's perspective, so I'm as surprised as you are. This is the dour, semi-useless Wesley of old rather than the dark, unpredictable one we came to know and love on Angel, but with the usual Bellaire/Lambert twist so you don't know exactly what's up, including a ghostly appearance by a familiar face.

The other three issues go back to Sunnydale as the three Slayers attempt to deal with both Vampire!Xander and the problems that he's been bringing with him. I have enjoyed this plotline, but I think it's been running for a bit too long now, without really exploring anything about Xander himself. He's struggling, yes, but it doesn't feel as substantial as it should in terms of development for the poor guy.

Of more interest is the stuff that's hovering around in the background with Anya, but that'll come to the fore in the next volume instead.

At least the art seems to have settled down - Ramon Bachs pencils three of the four issues, while Runaways artist Andres Genolet pops over to Boom! for the Wesley issue. The book has floundered since losing Dan Mora and David Lopez in quick succession, and while Bachs isn't quite in their league, at least he's consistent.

The Biggest Bad feels like it should be a culmination, but it's really just the next step on the road for these characters - it's more of a mid-season finale than a final episode, but I am excited for what's coming next, even if it's still more of a B plot for now.While the Scooby Gang continues to fracture, new additions to Sunnydale threaten to bring the already shaky status quo as Kendra, Faith, and Wesley show up on the scene.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't know why I still bother. Not true. I do know. Vol.1 was a lot of fun with good artwork and a lot of promise. I loved the tone and the humour. With its detailed knowledge of the show and its new combinations of those details, vol. 1 was the right mix of nostalgia and newness for me.
Frustratingly, it was all downhill from there. With this volume, I could not bring myself to another hopeful/good will 3star rating. Jordie, please give us more of the good stuff.
Two stars, because I enjoyed Wesley's story in issue #17.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet another issue of Buffy where the title character is absent for whole issues at a time, and more pages are devoted to lesbian dating then vampire slaying.

[Armand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally don't write reviews for my books, but this was an interesting enough experience. While I didn't particularly enjoy most of this volume, I surprisingly found myself enjoying the conflict at the end as well as a very fascinating reveal of a fan favorite character.

Boom! Studio's take on Buffy by Jordie Bellaire leaves a lot to be desired, as so much character development gets skipped or rushed altogether due to the popularity of Buffy as a whole. They assume fans know these characters from the show, but still manage to change some of their background to fit this reboot. I wish there was a lot more character work, but whatever. I didn't think I'd be interested in reading more of this series...until the very end of this volume which is impressive I guess.

Also, Faith Lehane made her very first appearance in this, and I must say, her interactions with Wesley Wyndham-Pryce were so funny. Jordie, if you're reading this I would like more of that please.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. But at least Faith has made an appearance.

[Avid Reader and Geek Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay it was hard to understand after not having read one of these in a while. It wasn't very easy to get drawn into. Also, the whole Faith part was very weird. I did enjoy the majority of the characters. It was just an odd volume overall. Some good some not so good.

[Dika · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2/5.0

[Sarah M · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was way better and easier to follow than the previous one

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wesley is pretty much the only redeeming factor to this one. Can't believe I hate Willow even more than I did in the show. And Buffy herself is just... nowhere, again. Ugh.

[Joe Bogue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay! It only took four slow, confusing volumes but this FINALLY reads/unfolds like a Buffy show adaptation should

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quality of the series has dropped off again massively after a promising last issue. Think i'm done with it now.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just not sure I understand why they decided to start back from high school if the stakes were going to raised so high so early on. The world is already basically as complicated as it ended up in the previous comics. I was looking forward to some simpler times and nostalgia, and that's not what we're getting here. Also, not a huge fan of the art in this one. Their bodies are VERY extreme (tiniest waist in the world, but somehow jacked with huge booties) and the lumpiness reminded me of Rugrats somehow? Still too much relationship drama, which I realize was a lot of the show too, but there was almost no actual action in this volume. All that said... I still liked this one a little better, and will I keep reading this? yes, because Buffy. Also, yay Faith! Looking forward to more Faith!

[Lucie · Rating 1 out of 5]

And I am done with this series. It is not getting better on any level - story, characters or the art. I am not wasting time on this anymore. I was still hoping but after this one where it is more like teenage soap opera than anybody slaying anything and the main character (BUFFY) is not mostly even in it. No thank you.

[Melanie LB · Rating 2 out of 5]

The drawings are a bit cringe for my taste, and make it harder for me to enjoy the story.
I miss the original Buffy vibe, with the personality we learned to love from the series.

I wish I recognized more of the Willow and Buffy I know and long for. I started reading the comics to get more of them actually after finishing watching the series again. Sadly, I can't say I got what I was looking for. They kept the magic/slaying and the hair colors but that's about it.
(and the drawings, really...)

I guess it is still an interesting story

[Angela Herrera · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ I’m so disappointed. I was so excited for this revamped (ha) series and loved the first volume but it’s just gotten so boring and drab. I don’t enjoy the art work at all, and I can’t stay into the story at all.

[Brianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

New plots are being introduced with no rhyme or reason, and it's making the story drag. Also, the overly melodramatic characterizations aren't doing it for me.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the artwork in these issues. I couldn't even tell the difference between Buffy and Anya! I think they took all the effort into character design and put it all toward Ethan Rayne, and so a part of me kind of forgives the illustrators for doing my girls dirty because the late, great Robin Sachs deserves the effort they gave him here.

I'm not entirely happy with the way these character arcs are developing, but I'm withholding judgment until I can read the entirety of the finished product. Cos some of the things Anya was saying at the end of issue #20 hinted at a really intriguing story line that may make up for some of the meanderings of these four issues.

I love that we get to see Kendra and Buffy be friends because in the visual canon Kendra was killed off long before we got to know very much about her and while she and Buffy were friendly in the end, they weren't true *friends* yet. And we get an incarnation of Faith that isn't weighted down in trauma from pre-Sunnydale (her first Watcher wasn't murdered by Kakistos and she wasn't manipulated by excommunicated Watcher Gwendolyn Post), but instead we hilariously get to see a Faith that doesn't believe vampires are even real. It was a story line I was not expecting and I think could be a legitimately hilarious story arc for her. How this is all going to balance with three Slayers and the growing involvement of the Watcher's Council? I don't know. It could get way too crowded very quickly, but it also could allow for the kind of story that 11 year old me would have been fascinated by back when season 3 was originally airing. (Just please don't have Buffy stabbing Faith through the stomach over a boy that's already planning to leave her this time. Faith is so much more important than Angel could ever be.)

Another little aside I found interesting was that Deirdre was the name of one of the Watchers. Is this meant to be the same Deirdre that was part of Giles' rebellious magic group that summoned Eyghon? We never see her in the visual canon (she died before the start of the episode and Giles finds out when he calls up all the old members of his group, only to discover that he and Ethan are the only two still alive), but the name caught my attention. I'm going to believe it's meant to be the same woman because it's more fun if it is.

As to the plot of these issues, there isn't much of one. It's more of an emotional development in these issues. We do get the introduction of Wesley Wyndham-Pryce for this version of the Buffyverse, and I love him (as I have always loved Wesley), and we meet the ghostly version of Ethan Rayne and this version of Faith. But three of the four issues focus more on Willow trying to find her footing again after her friends learned to grieve and move on without her over the months she was abroad (very reminiscent of Buffy in 3x02 "Dead Man's Party"), and little moments of Buffy and Robin's developing romantic relationship and Kendra and Rose's romance. But because those four are getting closer and pushing Willow farther away, she's bonding more with the full on vampire!Xander (whose motives we still aren't sure about or understand), and seeing ravens everywhere (which in the Willow limited comic series run were the very human Xander trying to give her clues to help her out). There's also a little bit of Jenny and Giles, but I feel like they were just finding a reason to write Jenny out because they couldn't really think of anything to do with her.

An okay set of issues, but light on the action (which was fine with me, but probably made this feel really slow to a lot of comic fans) and very much filler. Necessary though to get to the next major plot line of the comics run.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of the complaints people have here kind of confuse me a little. The artwork is definitely inconsistent, and it does feel the pacing could be better, although I'd argue the pacing IS better. The problem was that early on the pacing was way too quick, probably because of that event, and now we're actually able to explore characters. But why are you annoyed that things are different? There's no point of doing this without things being radically different.

I like Buffy in this a lot, she's different than our Buffy, but still feels a different version of the same character. I do think it introduced Kendra too fast, but the Faith reveal I kind of liked because it filled what I thought was a clumsy plot hole regarding the hellmouth rules. These aren't perfect. They feel like they had a lot of behind the scenes issues, but they're cute and fun and I like seeing new approaches to the characters. We'll see if I change my tune after the soon coming writing swap. I also suspect these read better as fully released trades then they when they were monthly issue releases. It's like binging a tv show and not understanding why people were mad at the time because you didn't have to wait 4 months for a filler episode.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, we had good art for ONE VOLUME. Bachs is an improvement from some of the other artists that have been on this title, but his characters are unrecognizable enough that the reveals don’t hit. Faith doesn’t look a thing like Eliza Dushku, so you’re just like, “oh, that’s PROBABLY Faith??” And does that demon turn into Anya at the end? I’m genuinely unsure! (He also drives me nuts by putting the characters in these weird generic outfits they wear every single episode: Buffy in red pants and crop top, Willow in athleisure with a crop top? Does everyone need a damn crop top?? Anya in jeans?)

The Wesley one-shot is great and gets this volume an extra star. I love the idea of ghost!Ethan and artist Andrés Genolet gives us a really nice young Robin Sachs. Plus I just want to know more about what’s going on with the council. But then we end up back in Sunnydale— Willow’s back, Rose is fine, and Buffy & Robin are going strong, even though none of those things seemed to be the case when we left.

This whole series has just been a wild rollercoaster in quality.

[Katie Kaste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Xander is now the big bad and he has captured Jenny Calendar. Willow is back and ready to fight. She wants to save Xander, once and for all. Rose and Kendra are getting much closer. Buffy and Robin are having communication issues. I think that the biggest issue, other than feeling like story parts are missing, is that the characters are fighting all the time. I'm really tired of rooting for a friend group that is always mad at one another. What I loved about the original Buffy is the team aspect. The Scooby gang might have fought but there was enough friendship building you knew why they always stayed together. I'm not feeling that same sense. Now with the arrival of Faith, I'm not sure what is going to happen next. I'm still going to finish, but I wanted to love this series and so far it is falling flat for me.

[Debyi Kucera (Book&BuJo) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 5: The Biggest Bad by Jordie Bellaire continues in Sunnydale with The Scooby Gang battling more bad guys.

It’s fun to get some backstory on The Watcher’s Council and I love seeing Wesley’s character come in, mainly because I love Faith’s character in the TV series.

This Volume feels like more of a setup for future volumes and doesn’t make a lot of progress, but I still enjoyed it as I don’t mind character development and plot setups as I know they will be taking up somewhere in the future.

There are aspects of this series that I love and others I am not a fan of. I’m not loving where the character Xander is heading and Faith seems a bit off to me, but I am still liking it enough to keep going.

3.5 stars

[ribbonknight · Rating 2 out of 5]

The covers by Lopez look unprofessional imo :/ The interior art makes it hard to tell who’s who and the writing doesn’t always let you know. I spent a page thinking I was reading Giles & Jenny Calendar but it turned out to be Faith and Wesley. Willow didn’t sound like Willow to me here, not necessarily her actions but moreso her lines, the literal words. I have mild interest in the true state of Xander, but am feeling a little bummed about Buffy taking a backseat.
Also still intrigued about the overall interrogation of how fucked up the Watchers’ Council is for relying on hiding truths from the teenaged girls it relies on.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was better … more character and furthering of the plot. But it’s still got flaws aplenty. The writer just seems to be in a massive rush most of the time, jumping past events and resolving conflicts between issues. It makes for unsatisfying reading.

Also, the likenesses of characters are dreadful, to the point that I couldn’t tell who was supposed to be revealed at the end. I can guess, but I should know. Any impact it might have had is lost when I had to squint and figure out who it might have been.

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey-yo, Faith is here!

That being said, why do they never keep the artist I like? This one is not as bad as volume 2 and 3 where I couldn't tell who was who, but

There are a few continuity issues that I have with this series - and it's not plot-wise, but rather character wise. I mean Kendra from two volumes ago is a different Kendra from the current one. I am not sure what happened to the personalities of most of our characters, if I'm quite honest.

I adored the first issue - but that's my dark academia side talking.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Willow has come back. Her ex Rose and Kendra declare their love for each other. Buffy is desperate to have sex with Robin but he's not. Wesley is being haunted Ethan Rayne and gets assigned to be Watcher for a new slayer (Faith). Willow starts doing some magic and journeys through the astral plane to find Jenny but finds Xander instead. Seems like Anya is her vengeance demon self and is working for Megan? To right her wrongs.
No idea what the general plot is other than Xander is a vampire and Willow wants to save him but not sure if the others are on that page.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one well enough. It was a bit confusing to see ghost!Ethan with Wesley. And Wesley writing fiction with his Legolas like character??!! Anyway. I don't quite get the activation of Faith and her not even knowing anything about vampires and such. She should have had a watcher from the beginning; sorta like Buffy did back in LA and Kendra with Zabuto, but nope... Thought that was weird. Not sure her "voice" quite fits her either.

WHERE THE HECK IS ANGEL IN ALL THIS???