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Buffy '97
The Buffyverse expands in this epic ‘90s throwback!
And… action! Welcome to “That Buffy Show,” a ‘90s infused blend of sitcom and teen drama!
However, things are more than they seem as the cast gets a taste of the supernatural when real vampires infiltrate the audience. The Scooby gang must come together to learn actual slaying skills from Buffy to survive... because they’re trapped in the show, unable to escape!
This softcover collection features the Buffy ‘97 one-shot, written by Max Bemis (Moon Knight) and illustrated by Marianna Ignazzi (An Unkindness of Ravens), in addition to 15 pages of short stories by Casey Gilly (Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer) & Bayleigh Underwood, Danny Lore (Black Panther) & Marianna Ignazzi, and Lilah Sturges (Jack of Fables) & Claire Roe (Nebula), previously only available as part of the Buffy 25th Anniversary Special.
And for long-time Buffy fans to sink their fangs into—a selection of classic Buffy comics from the 90s!
Collects the Buffy ‘97 one-shot as well as material previously published in Buffy 25th Anniversary Special along with a selection of classic, previously published material.
And… action! Welcome to “That Buffy Show,” a ‘90s infused blend of sitcom and teen drama!
However, things are more than they seem as the cast gets a taste of the supernatural when real vampires infiltrate the audience. The Scooby gang must come together to learn actual slaying skills from Buffy to survive... because they’re trapped in the show, unable to escape!
This softcover collection features the Buffy ‘97 one-shot, written by Max Bemis (Moon Knight) and illustrated by Marianna Ignazzi (An Unkindness of Ravens), in addition to 15 pages of short stories by Casey Gilly (Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer) & Bayleigh Underwood, Danny Lore (Black Panther) & Marianna Ignazzi, and Lilah Sturges (Jack of Fables) & Claire Roe (Nebula), previously only available as part of the Buffy 25th Anniversary Special.
And for long-time Buffy fans to sink their fangs into—a selection of classic Buffy comics from the 90s!
Collects the Buffy ‘97 one-shot as well as material previously published in Buffy 25th Anniversary Special along with a selection of classic, previously published material.
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
December 14, 2022
DNF @ 55%
If I leave you with one thing it’ll be this… just watch the show. It’s so much better than this flaming pile of S***!
If I leave you with one thing it’ll be this… just watch the show. It’s so much better than this flaming pile of S***!
July 15, 2022
Once again BOOM proves they have no idea what to do with Buffy. Also the disaster behind the scenes with 97… what a mess!
December 26, 2022
This was an EXCELLENT Christmas gift for me, because I am a big Buffy fan, I started reading it right away and I read it all on Christmas Day (which is a day that I set aside for reading graphic novels only).
But it wasn't very good. The art in the first piece was okay, but the artist makes the weird choice to not give anyone PUPILS so they all have these dead eyes and it's weird and creepy, and confusing in a story that involves humans and demons, it's hard to tell who is human. At least the other artists of the other pieces gave the characters pupils!
The story in all of these was never developed fully enough to be interesting. These all felt like "fanfic drabbles." Only read this if you're into that sort of thing.
But it wasn't very good. The art in the first piece was okay, but the artist makes the weird choice to not give anyone PUPILS so they all have these dead eyes and it's weird and creepy, and confusing in a story that involves humans and demons, it's hard to tell who is human. At least the other artists of the other pieces gave the characters pupils!
The story in all of these was never developed fully enough to be interesting. These all felt like "fanfic drabbles." Only read this if you're into that sort of thing.
December 27, 2022
I'm kind of thinking this graphic novel is around a 3.5 star read. I love everything about Buffy (Except Joss Whedon blah) and going into this one there were a lot of bad reviews. I however really enjoyed it. This is a collection of short stories that take place in the 90's I think? Or its a compilation of Buffy comics that were originally written in the 90s? Either way, it was a lot of fun. Nothing too heavy or complex, and you don't have to be totally up to date on the Buffyverse to enjoy it! There are so many graphic novels series and books being published that it is hard for me to keep up. But if you go into it just wanting to have a fun time its a great read!
HOWEVER! My witchy side is going to come out for a second because one slight detail really bothered me. In one of the Willow and Tara centric stories they refer to the Celtic Goddess The Morrigan as evil...She is NOT evil! She is the Celtic Goddess of death, and she is very serious and shouldn't be messed with but she's not evil! This one comment drove me crazy the entire rest of the story.
That was genuinely my biggest complaint about the novel!! Sorry I just had to put that out there!
Other than that this was a great read, and so much fun!
HOWEVER! My witchy side is going to come out for a second because one slight detail really bothered me. In one of the Willow and Tara centric stories they refer to the Celtic Goddess The Morrigan as evil...She is NOT evil! She is the Celtic Goddess of death, and she is very serious and shouldn't be messed with but she's not evil! This one comment drove me crazy the entire rest of the story.
That was genuinely my biggest complaint about the novel!! Sorry I just had to put that out there!
Other than that this was a great read, and so much fun!
September 11, 2023
This was a fun collection of some quick Buffy comics alongside the Buffy '97 magazine arc. Some were really quick and didn't add much, but the "Wanna Blessed Be" comic is a Tara x Willow comic I've read and enjoyed before, and it was nice to see that along with another comic for the couple here. Overall a fun read for anyone looking for filler content that takes place in between episodes of the main show.
November 30, 2022
A pointless and not very good one-shot for the 25th anniversary and 15 pages of stories from the 25th anniversary special plus some reprint stories. The one-shot is about the original Buffy and Willow getting trapped in a fashion magazine. It seems pointless when you can just go back and watch better TV episodes from back then instead.
Boom seems to make making a Buffy comic so much harder than it should be. Put a decent creative team on the book and let them tell stories without introducing every Slayer in history to the comic. When this book started with Jordie Bellaire and Dan Mora it was great. Then it quickly turned to hot garbage. Now I wish the license would just go back to Dark Horse.
Boom seems to make making a Buffy comic so much harder than it should be. Put a decent creative team on the book and let them tell stories without introducing every Slayer in history to the comic. When this book started with Jordie Bellaire and Dan Mora it was great. Then it quickly turned to hot garbage. Now I wish the license would just go back to Dark Horse.
December 5, 2022
2.5 stars. Some kinda enjoyable one shots that get back to true Buffy vibes.
February 5, 2023
I feel like this was written by someone who didn’t know the personalities of the Buffy characters. The only thing that gave it 2 stars vs 1 star - the Letterkenny crossover. No way you could convince me that wasn’t Jonesy and Riley!
March 11, 2023
Very disappointing - nice alternate covers though
December 16, 2022
The headline story in this thing is terrible. Buffy gets sucked into a fashion catalog and it makes just as little sense as that sounds. Characters are way off base in presentation, and the villain is just terrible. If this were an actual show episode, it would have been one of the worst of the run.
On the other hand, some of the shorts are decent to good. There's a Willow and Tara story about the Morrigan that was probably the best in the collection. I will say that character representations are not the greatest throughout - Tara especially looks nothing like her TV counterpart. There's also a weird Yearbook section that crosses Buffy and Angel that felt utterly out of place and also somehow incomplete, which was weird.
All told, this is only for the Buffy completionists. There are much better stories told in all of the other Buffy comic series, if you really want to scratch the itch. Go with the Buffy Omnibus collections of the original Dark Horse series; they're definitely a step up from anything here.
On the other hand, some of the shorts are decent to good. There's a Willow and Tara story about the Morrigan that was probably the best in the collection. I will say that character representations are not the greatest throughout - Tara especially looks nothing like her TV counterpart. There's also a weird Yearbook section that crosses Buffy and Angel that felt utterly out of place and also somehow incomplete, which was weird.
All told, this is only for the Buffy completionists. There are much better stories told in all of the other Buffy comic series, if you really want to scratch the itch. Go with the Buffy Omnibus collections of the original Dark Horse series; they're definitely a step up from anything here.
March 18, 2023
I didn’t go into this having high hopes but it somehow managed to really disappoint me. From the misleading title - Season Four was 1999 to 2000 - to the lacklustre story with the underdeveloped plot. The story had a lot of potential but the story was wasted on fluff and lame jokes.
Some of the stories contained in the volume were ok and felt more true to the actual series. And I think that’s the problem with the Boom comics. They feel like they are written by someone who’s only seen a few episodes and read about the series on Wikipedia. I have read far superior Buffy AU fanfic than what seems to be coming out of Boom. The ideas seem great but in execution they are too fast paced and the writers seem to focus on making the characters seem in character by focusing on trivia and tropes.
I don’t think I will be continuing with the comics.
Some of the stories contained in the volume were ok and felt more true to the actual series. And I think that’s the problem with the Boom comics. They feel like they are written by someone who’s only seen a few episodes and read about the series on Wikipedia. I have read far superior Buffy AU fanfic than what seems to be coming out of Boom. The ideas seem great but in execution they are too fast paced and the writers seem to focus on making the characters seem in character by focusing on trivia and tropes.
I don’t think I will be continuing with the comics.
February 20, 2023
Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes shopping for clothes with Willow while she should be helping Giles with his bowling game. Giles has a new girlfriend who bowls, so he needs practice. Buffy really wants to go to the one-night-only fashion show at the mall featuring a famous designer. They bow out of bowling and they wind up trapped by the designer who turns out to be more evil and magical than imagined. The story has an interesting idea but the art is rough. Sometimes I was not sure who was which character--a big problem in a graphic story.
The book comes with five other short stories. None of them are that impressive in story or in art. Even as a fan of Buffy, I found the whole book disappointing.
Not recommended.
The book comes with five other short stories. None of them are that impressive in story or in art. Even as a fan of Buffy, I found the whole book disappointing.
Not recommended.
April 17, 2025
What happened here? if you look this up, you find two different plot synopsises and two different writers. I assume the first had to leave, but this mess was clearly a rush job. So, we have a collection of stories here. The titular one is terrible. The next couple are kind of cute. The one about Spike gets Buffy lore so wrong that it hurts a little. And then the last two are really good... because they were written 25 years ago for a different collection. One of them is from Tales of the Slayer. I don't get why it's here except to pad the book with something tolerable?
This feels so emblematic of everything that went wrong with Boom's attempt at the Buffy license. I've been nice this far, but I'm getting really tired of the Boom era.
This feels so emblematic of everything that went wrong with Boom's attempt at the Buffy license. I've been nice this far, but I'm getting really tired of the Boom era.
May 15, 2023
Full of randomness if you aren’t able to read the back cover ahead of time to learn that this edition includes the Buffy ‘97 one shot (which is horribly canon inaccurate on several levels) and a collection of short comic one shots, some of them better than others. The Xander one? Fits nicely into the season 3/4 gap canon wise and builds growth. The Spike one? Canon inaccurate and serves no purpose. The first Willow and Tara one? Cute and pairs well with the longer second comic which is the best in terms of canon and overall plot.
If you’re not a hard core Buddy fan you can skip this one easily.
If you’re not a hard core Buddy fan you can skip this one easily.
October 5, 2024
Fans of the tv show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, would probably enjoy this graphic novel. It mentions various characters from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. My favorite part, in this graphic novel, was the potential relationship between Spike and Buffy because they’re my favorite OTP in the show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. They’re soo ccuuttee, a bad boy vampire and a good girl slayer.
To all the girls out there, we (me especially) love a bad boy (don’t know if that’s true in real life, but love to read about it and watch movies and shows about it).
To all the girls out there, we (me especially) love a bad boy (don’t know if that’s true in real life, but love to read about it and watch movies and shows about it).
February 24, 2024
A fun collection of new and previously published Buffy comics. It's always a treat to revisit these characters. There are some sweet, touching scenes depicting Willow and Tara, and one moment between Giles and Ms. Calendar that I also found very affecting. "Wondrous and Surprising Magic," about a young wannabe witch who idolizes Willow and Tara but also messes with powers that she doesn't yet understand, was probably my favorite story.
August 13, 2025
I love Buffy but I haven't necessarily loved the spin-off, tie-in comics that come with the show.
Alas, Buffy '97 does little to change that.
I struggled to determine at which point in the continuity these stories are all supposed to fit and eventually just gave up. Instead, I tried to enjoy the stories on their own merit, and ended up frustrated there also.
This may put me off Buffy comics for a bit. Which is a shame as my library has a shelf full of them.
Alas, Buffy '97 does little to change that.
I struggled to determine at which point in the continuity these stories are all supposed to fit and eventually just gave up. Instead, I tried to enjoy the stories on their own merit, and ended up frustrated there also.
This may put me off Buffy comics for a bit. Which is a shame as my library has a shelf full of them.
February 23, 2023
90’s throwback!
Buffy and Willow are sucked into a magazine.
Willow and Tara perform some spells and save the day.
Xander has a run in with a demon that holds an item with the power to show you your darkest desires.
Giles goes bowling!
I love all things Buffy! This is an wonderful comic. The colors are vibrant, and the storyline is just as cheesy as the show. Read in one sitting.
Buffy and Willow are sucked into a magazine.
Willow and Tara perform some spells and save the day.
Xander has a run in with a demon that holds an item with the power to show you your darkest desires.
Giles goes bowling!
I love all things Buffy! This is an wonderful comic. The colors are vibrant, and the storyline is just as cheesy as the show. Read in one sitting.
February 27, 2023
Um, this was fine? The synopsis here is wildly wrong, the Buffy 97 one-shot has Buffy & Willow getting trapped in a fashion catalog while Spike helps Giles with his bowling date? Really bizarre and when exactly is this supposed to take place?? Extra star for the compilation of past comics though, which are mostly pretty solid.
April 26, 2023
I gave this 4 stars because to me the bar for Buddy comics from Boom! Studios is so low that anything that doesn’t totally suck is so much better.
This was fine. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible like some of their other ones are. Amber Benson’s contributions are incredible.
This was fun but keep your expectations in check.
This was fine. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible like some of their other ones are. Amber Benson’s contributions are incredible.
This was fun but keep your expectations in check.
October 15, 2023
Kind of difficult to review:
On one hand the art style was gorgeous and I loved some of the stories
On the other hand some stories were really short and felt really out of place (like the last one) I would have loved the Spike one to be longer and was surprised when it stopped
I read it for free with comixology unlimited so it’s fine for me but I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it
On one hand the art style was gorgeous and I loved some of the stories
On the other hand some stories were really short and felt really out of place (like the last one) I would have loved the Spike one to be longer and was surprised when it stopped
I read it for free with comixology unlimited so it’s fine for me but I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it
January 25, 2024
This was a mixed bag. The one-shot was a little ooc in places and felt a bit flat. The fifteen pages of additional short stories were good, but it was the original 90's comics (written by Amber Benson and Christopher Golden no less - their names not being anywhere on the cover only the contents page seems odd) at the end that I really enjoyed.
April 3, 2024
A disappointing volume containing a few stories, only 1 of which is new. It has Buffy getting trapped in a fashion magazine. An interesting concept, but that's about it. The yearbook section was fun, but nothing special. I've already reviewed the other stories when they featured in other volumes, they're better than the feature story.
May 9, 2024
2.5 stars. This was ... okay in some places, maybe more readable if you've never seen the show, but mostly it's worse than you think. Buffy especially has NO personality in any of these stories, Cordelia and Angel are missing, and Spike??? The weirdest of weird AUs I've read never had him help Giles with his outfits.
December 4, 2022
Really enjoyed three of the reprinted stories - “Wondrous and Surprising Magic”, “Willow & Tara: WannaBlessedBe”, and “The Innocent” (the latter two written by Tara herself, Amber Benson). The new one-shot and the other reprinted stories were fine, I guess.
January 11, 2023
This was pretty bad. Not worth the read, I should have listened to the reviews. But at least the art wasn't horrific as volume 2+ from the Buffy reboot graphic novels, and I am sincerely grateful for that.
March 5, 2023
I think they got the Buffyspeak down-pat. I liked 'Wondrous and Surprising Magic' the best. The Innocent was great, but didn't really fit in with the other stories in the collection. Fun to see the different Buffyverses in these one-shots.
January 10, 2024
i love buffy but this was so Not interesting that i put it down for a couple of months. one or two cute ideas but mostly skimmed everything because not much was going on. nothing against short stories as theyre labeled on the back cover or one shots! i love them! but this isnt how to do them
March 9, 2024
there aren't any active buffy comic book series right now so I'm sort of catching up acquiring and reading the last few I don't have. the buffy 97 one shot about being trapped in a fashion magazine is kind of dumb. I will say the cover really grew on me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews