Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer #1-4

by Casey Gilly, Joe Jaro (Penciller)

Buffy Summers is the last Slayer in a dark alternate future ravaged by a catastrophe that nearly blotted out the sun. Now in her 50s and hardened by loss and a life looking over her shoulder, Buffy stands alone against a world of vampires who can daywalk unimpeded. Her adventure isn't over though, and when she discovers a spark of hope in the form of a prophecy, Buffy embarks on an epic post-apocalyptic journey to protect the future of humanity.

Collects the complete Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer #1-4.

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

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2022

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Elseworlds Buffy story where she's lived to her 50's. Vampires have become citizens and slaying is illegal. There's too much world building here for a 4 issue story. It would have made more sense to just base this 30 years after the actual show ended to minimize this. Instead this is a future where Willow and Tara got married and had a family, but the rest of the universe is close to the same adding unnecessary complications. There's not enough focus on the actual story in the current time. It's all vague and poorly fleshed out leaving me uninterested.

The art's OK. The characters suffer from same-face which can be a real issue for a comic that uses actors' likenesses.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book at the end. I would have given this nook 3.5 stars but the final fight and last chapter/issue rounded it up for me.

The world has changed and Vampires do not need to fear the sun, slaying them is illegal and Buffy Summers has grow old, obsolete with her friends either dead or alienated. Life goes on but us their anything or anyone left to fight for?

I think this book would have benefited from being six issues. I would not have minded two issues/chapters of past stories. The ending made up for a lot for me. I was a little concerned when 51 year old Buffy was talking like teenage Buffy, luckily that stopped about halfway through the book.

The book finishes with a varient covers gallery. All in all a good book for old Buffy fans, there is still more to this universe I would not mind another book.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This actually works for me.
More so than the current series at Boom...which I'm reading but not really liking
Series?

[TJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this, and while it's easily better than anything else BOOM! has put out for Buffy in at least a year or two, this isn't the book I wanted or needed. It's just another fanfiction AU, and not even one based off of the show continuity. This could have easily been established in a continuity with at least the show to make me care, but they didn't even try. They randomly selected names out of a hat to fill lines of dialogue. This reads like a story someone wanted to do, and then BOOM! was like "Oh make it Buffy!" The writing is pretty basic and average, so I'd give it a 2/5 as a casual reader. But as a fan? I'm tired of BOOM! refusing to publish actual Buffy content. This isn't the Buffy people love. It's lifeless, even moreso than the vampires in it. It lacks passion... Even if this isn't the book I want as a fan, I can't even say it's worth picking up because the overall execution is also pretty meh to bad. If BOOM! is committed to Buffy AUs, they need to at least make them well written and know how to please fans of the show. The In Every Generation novel is coming out soon, and while it has many (many) problems, you can at least tell the writer is a huge fan and wanted to have fun with it and write it for other fans. I didn't feel this here. At all. I'm always going to consume new Buffy content, but it's been a rough few years for the Buffster. Dark Horse went out with a fart and then a whimper, and BOOM! just hasn't figured out how to tell Buffy stories since. Fans deserve quality content they should care about. Anyways, no one is shocked that another Buffy comic is a miss. Sorry, folks. Maybe the meta actor Angel AU series will be better? (*sarcasm) Go reread some of the Dark Horse seasons instead when BOOM! finally gets around to reprinting them.

Terrible. You can tell the writer has no idea who these characters are. It reads like they casually watched the show as it aired but haven’t seen it since and are going off of memory. So bad I laughed multiple times. Willow naming her child after a comic character apparently because she’s a lesbian… (When that reads more like a Xander trait, not Willow.) And the marriage certificate moment made me lose it because it was just too funny in a bad way, disregarding everything Buffy is and was. This is NOT a Buffy story; it’s just using the names of characters we love, wearing their faces. I have to say that this makes the new YA novel In Every Generation look 1000% better than it is because this is just so bad it’s laughable when not depressing. BOOM’s Buffy line needs desperately saved or slayed at the very least.

This comic has Buffy tell Spike, “I’ve never said no to you and I’m not gonna start now.” That’s all you need to know about this hot (sometimes tone deaf) mess. It’s so laughably bad. There’s an appearance from a dead character in this issue (4) that should have been good, but it didn’t stand a chance, sadly. Also the BS mythology in this? So bad. It’s even insulting to Buffy Summers as a character. I’m so depressed this garbage is releasing on the show’s 25th anniversary.

[Chantaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, so. I haven't consumed anything Buffy in years, and I thought it would be neat to dip my toe back into the world with a fun What If type of story. This was probably not the best place to start.

The idea itself is fun - Buffy is 50 years old, still alive and kicking in a climate-ravaged future where vampires are in the open, staking them is illegal, and most of her friends are dead. Suddenly, a young girl shows up claiming to be a new Slayer, and the story kicks off.

Four issues was nowhere near enough for this story to make much sense. Everything about the main supposed plot rushed by so quickly that I still have no ideal idea why or how any of it was supposed to make sense. The only thing that this possibly had going for it was to play on Buffy fan nostalgia, but even that felt empty and off.

This wasn't entirely terrible, and I did enjoy some moments that revealed what happened to the various Scoobies. I even teared up a bit toward the end. The art was neat, though kind of hard to follow at times - especially in the big fight scenes. Too much going on, not enough clarity. Outside of the fight scenes, the art was pretty good.

So, probably not the best thing to check out after years of not consuming a Buffy story, but not entirely terrible, either. The overall story was a good idea, but the execution was sorely lacking.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, only O.K. I didn’t love the art, and the story was pretty depressing. I miss writers like Christos Gage, who was able to match the humor and vibe from the original while still coming up with original plots.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vampires won, and Buffy has spent the last 30 years trying not to be a Slayer. But when the child of some of her dearest friends turns up on her doorstep, she'll need to pick up the stake one more time to make sure she lives to tip the scales back in the forces of good's favour.

With all of the mess going on in Boom's main Buffy title, I was wary going into another one. But this is actually a pretty good little What If/future flashforward kinda story. The grizzled old Buffy manages to feel realistic without losing the snark and wit that made her Buffy in the first place, and new character Thessally bounces off of her really well. Even grumpy old Anya is a good fit for the book, and writer Casey Gilly manages to set up the status quo with enough background that it feels important when it all gets upended.

If anything, this book's a bit too short. I'd love to see this world revisited again, because it feels like this story is just beginning by the time it comes to a close.

[Ronald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all but issue #3 as single issues and was not impressed.
I read all the issues collected in the trade and it was a much better read, partly getting everything in one read so I did no forget what was going on. But I can hear the pitch, lets do "Old Man Logan! with Buffy!" It could have been epic but fell far short.

Spoilers:
1) Buffy is actually not the last Slayer
2) The setting is not actually post apocalypse just in the "future"

I mean immediately contradicting not just the book title but advertisements is annoying. Otherwise this was just a typical Buffy story.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

own the individual comics, not the compilation

BY FAR MY FAVORITE BUFFY COMIC. succinct but wonderful. I cried and swooned. A perfect little epilogue.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice Elseworld-y Buffy story, until it got insufferably maudlin in the last half dozen pages.

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was sick as hell!! I really, really enjoyed this. I could literally hear the character's voices in my head, I've never been happier. I've always loved Buffy so when I learned that there were comics many years ago, I knew I'd have to get my hands on one somehow, and now that I've read this, I'm even more motivated to read more. Wow.

[Micko · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven imitation of Old Man Logan

Read upon the release of each single issue

There is much to like in this series; Gilly nails the voices of Buffy, Spike and Anya and seeing Buffy as an angry old woman is a fun experience.

But there is too much world-building and too many mentions of what happened in the past - and not enough forward momentum in a story that seems a bit uninspired.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

i can’t lie, i’m not positive this deserves 5 stars based off content alone but i felt really touched by this story. i’ve read a lot of the buffy comics, and feel like most of them don’t really distinguish themselves, but this one absolutely does and provides a beautiful ending that does the series justice (as much as an au like this can)

[Romano · Rating 2 out of 5]

Borderline fanfiction, its fine I guess, there is not really connection with the main continuity.

It has its moments, but generally it is dull and plotless.

[iamjacsmusings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old Man / Last post-apocalypse books have become their own comic sub-genre at this point.

Slayer Buffy is somewhere between mutant Logan and Turtle Ronin in quality.

I dropped out reading BOOM! era multiverse BtVS but this standalone(?) what if? tale is good enough to tempt me back again.

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had fun with this one! I've always wondered what Buffy would be like as an older person and this was a pretty fun take on it. I wish it had one or two more issues so it'd be able to develop and explore some aspects more in depth, but this was a nice arc overall. The art was also great!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not going to lie, really loved the ending.

[Robert Pierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick little read and an interesting take on an older Buffy in an alternate timeline though the story wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful either I might read the rest of these.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awe Buffy.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

[Aleksandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

MILF Buffy, my beloved

[jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely amazing, life-affirming, cured my depression etc etc

on my third reread: this is still the best piece of btvs non-show media i've read so far, it's just. excellent. i love it so much. i cry about four times every time i read it.

[thetinydemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Round up to 3.5.

This felt incomplete and rushed, at only four issues. I liked the concept a lot, and would've liked more time to get to know the universe and this version of Buffy.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today's fiction post is on Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer by Casey Gilly and Joe Jaro (Illustrator). It is 112 pages long and is published by BOOM! Studios. The cover has Buffy with her back to the reader in a ravaged landscape. The intended reader is someone who likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer and dystopian settings. There is mild foul language, no sex, and action violence in this graphic novel. The story is told from third person close, following Buffy mostly. There Be Spoilers Ahead.
From the back of the book- It’s the final Slayer tale in this apocalyptic Buffy The Vampire Slayer adventure like you’ve never seen before!
On an alternate earth ravaged by climate change, vampires daywalk unimpeded under a polluted sky. But even amidst the dystopian harmony between the vampire regime and their human cattle, a hardened, 50-year-old Buffy Summers stumbles across hope in the form of a little girl that believes she is the last Slayer. A rebellion is brewing—a new Scooby gang for Buffy, led by a secret leader. Can this familiar face, along with Buffy and the rebellion, turn the tide by bringing back the sun through science… and possibly even magic?
The Multiverse explodes as writer Casey Gilly (Star Wars, My Little Pony) and artist Joe Jaro (Firefly) along with colorist Joana LaFuente (Fence) and letterer Ed Dukeshire (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) bring you a dystopian tale of Buffy Summers as you’ve never seen her before! Collects Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer #1-4.

Review- This is a great, fast-paced story starring Buffy in a new dystopian way. Vampires and other creatures of the night can now walk in the daytime because something made the sun less powerful. In addition in an act of terrorism, all other Slayers were killed, leaving Buffy the last one. She is in hiding because she is a danger the 'peace' with the creatures of the night. But fate loves Buffy and is not going to let her die quietly. I had a really good time with this graphic novel, it had everything I wanted. From good action scenes to Buffy and Spike together again and unique world to explore. The ending is good and quite final but I would like to see more and see what trouble Buffy, Spike, and the new Scoobies can get into. I would recommend this graphic novel.

I give this graphic novel a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this graphic novel from my local library.

[Adam Rodgers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essentially an alternate universe take, 30 odd years on from the main BTVS continuity, where an aging Buffy is still fighting the good fight in a world overrun with vampires.

Gilly creates a lot of interesting things early on but unfortunately its all crammed into only 4 issues. The limited run means a lot of the elements brought up in issue 1 either go unaddressed or entirely forgotten. The conclusion also feels very rushed and finer details of the plot feel somewhat glossed over.

This is a shame as despite the well used 'hero in their old age steps up once more' trope, has a great set up: vampires haven't exactly just taken over ther world - but integrated with it. Though this is only loosely explained at the beginning; pollution has blocked out the sun allowing vamps to walk around freely by day, humans can voluntarily 'donate' themselves and staking a vampire/'extra-human' is outlawed. Buffy is now more a vigilante than hero. With this interesting dynamic, Buffy's internal monologue acts a narrator and we see her lonely struggle in this new world order. This is actually the strongest part of the book; moments with Buffy aware of her mortality and questioning what difference she has really made.

It's never exactly explained what has happened to the rest of the BTVS cast, though its aluded that most of them have either died or are estranged (apart from Anya). While this works for the main premise, its frustratingly vague and never fully addresed, which would be fine if this was a longer a story, but not as it is. It almost feels like a different person picked up the latter part of the story, jetisoned all the dystopian set up and decided a big battle was better, stake some vamps...the end. Inconsistencies pop up with enemies that were killed suddenly alive again with no explanation and the grand plan being traded for Buffy accessing some unknown power to save the day.

On the whole the artwork is okay, as Jaro attempts to portray likenesses of the TV cast but he is inconsistent in places, often making it unclear of what exactly is going on.

This is worth a read, but unfortunately is merely good when, if allowed to develop over a longer period, could have been great.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

None of this makes you horrible. It makes you human. Hasn’t anyone told you that friendships take breaks? That some friendships are sharper, pointier than others? Slayers don’t usually live this long. No one bothers to teach you about other people, I suppose.

Old Man Buffy.

Climate change has wracked the planet. A series of supernatural terrorist attacks have killed Buffy's friends. Vampires are protected by the law. And Buffy, now in her 50s, is living alone as her powers seem to be supercharging. That is until she runs into the daughter of Willow and Tara, who claims to be a slayer.

This, as seems to be the model Boom Studios is following, is an elseworld existing in its own continuity. Tara survived long enough to marry Willow and raise a daughter with her. Anya is still alive and demony. Cordy is in the flashbacks with a two eyed Xander as though to tell us that continuity is all wacky. It wouldn't be hard to make this fit with the show or even the Dark Horse Comics. I obviously don't know why they chose to do it this way, but I have a theory. I think it lets them off the hook a little. It makes the whole thing a little less sad by making it clear that this isn't our Buffy, just a possible Buffy. I think that's a bit of a cop out, but not a deal breaker.

I really liked this. It's moving and exciting, and I even got a little teary during the final issue. This is one of the best things Boom did with the license. The difference in the end between this and Old Man Logan is that that comic was mean spirited and cruel, and this one has a heart. Buffy's life ended up being really hard, but that was always going to be true. Dark Horse gave Buffy a happy ending that I really struggled to believe. The place this leaves her is still a happy ending, but a bittersweet one that I found believable for the character.

[Jamsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honestly so scared to read Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer. It's not that I don't enjoy most of Buffy comics in the past but they never wow me and since this one has an older Buffy it honestly scared me that I wasn't going to like it but I had seen some Spuffy content in Instagram, so I decided to give it a chance.

Buffy is in like her 50s and pretty much given up after loosing her friends and feeling like a failure after in her mind, getting other girls killed. I liked the world even though I was so confused about it. Like what happened to the sun and why is it illegal to stake vampires?

I usually just wait for the spuffy content to begin while reading comics but I was so invested that I wouldn't have cared that much if Spike wasn't in the comic at all. I liked that we got Willow and Tara being together and having a child and even just Buffy becoming like a mentor to her. I loved Buffy having a friendship with Anya since that's something I always wanted in the show but we didn't really see them interact without Xander.

I was confused about how some characters who died in the show were alive. I knew this was alternative universe but how was it so different? And what happened to Buffy's other friends and where did Angel disappear to?

I loved this comic and wish we had more volumes. I can't wait to read Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer: The Lost Summer which I think is set four years after this one. Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer gave us Spike and Buffy reunion I was so exited about but it also gave all these other relationships I didn't know that I needed.

[Richard Pulfer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is a fun read, especially for fan looking for something to tide them over until the Hulu sequel series hits.

The idea of an older Buffy fighting vampires in a dystopian future is certainly a fun one, and the story is written with the same quirky flare Buffy fans have come to expect. There is plenty to like, with an exploration of the years toll on Buffy as well as her training a protege with a surprising connection to her past.

That said, the story doesn't go quite as hard as many previous dark future storylines i.e. Old Man Logan, Dark Knight Returns. While a 50-year old Buffy is considerably older than the character of the TV show, the character looks considerably older in the art style, though I think this is more of a criticism of the comic medium in general, which probably needs to draw older characters more frequently anyway.

Still, it was a fun read, and I definitely like that the Buffy franchise has embraced the multiverse approach to explore a variety of stories outside the traditional setting.

[Aden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm engaged enough to read more, but maybe not but it, so four feels like a good number of stars.

I was obsessed with Buffy back in the day, and I'll be the first to go into the diatribe about how problematic is and the show runner can be. But. Buffy was a good character with a good ensemble, she always was. And this is an interesting but not entirely untreaded concept. What else could you do with this woman? Giving her children seems cruel, I think you could find a good story in it sure, but putting someone else's kid in her hands feels so much more right. Especially with her being tied to the group.

It was silly, but silly like Buffy can be. The strong lady friendships and support are still there in good and a little surprising ways. I absolutely forgot they handwaved Anya's death from the original series, but it was a dumb death. More Anya is better. The ending was cool, not really expected. Go read it.

[millie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading this comic awhile ago but forgot to review it so! Better late than never I guess!
I actually enjoyed this comic way more than I thought I would!! The storyline felt a tiny bit confusing at first but overall it was understandable and I think it fit into the buffyverse pretty well! Seeing how being a slayer in the new world changed Buffy was really bittersweet, but I appreciated how she never fully lost her will. I liked that Anya was a part of this comic, even if it felt a bit odd in the beginning. I loved the idea of Tara and Willow with a daughter, but I’m very sad to know they’re no longer with us in that universe. I do however love the setup for a possible vampire Tara, that’s very fun!! I also loved Spike + Buffy’s relationship in this comic, it was so sweet, I need more of it! Thessaly was an interesting character, and I loved watching her grow into her powers. Overall, I thought it was a fun story, and I’d say one of the better buffy adaptation type comics! 4 stars from me!