It’s taken a couple of issues for me to warm up to the new art style, which is a pretty radical departure from Dan Mora’s clean lines. David Lopez’s linework lacks some of that elegance, but I like his dynamic style. His panels of Robin mugging with a beetle demon carcass while Buffy and Willow argue are hilarious! Likenesses aren’t Lopez’s strong suit, but I don’t think you’ll ever really have trouble recognizing the characters. Raul Angulo’s colors lend a nice sense of continuity, and the lettering by Ed Dukeshire captures the tone of conversations very effectively.

After a rather awkwardly paced Issue #5, it would appear that Jordie Bellaire is back to fighting form here, delivering a snappy and fun issue with some major developments and surprises all around. There are hints that a character may be lurking in the shadows (Or maybe the snake-demon lady needs an abacus?), some suggestions about the duality of Willow’s character, and then there’s the bombshell of a reveal about… you’ll see. This actually feels like classic Buffy but with some refreshing new ideas mixed in, which is all you can really ask for in a reboot. While I don’t think that it’ll ever be possible to read Buffy without the quippy tone that Joss Whedon established in the '90s, I think that Bellaire is doing an excellent job of giving those voices new things to talk about.

Overall: Things pick up considerably. A lot happens, and none of it seeming out of place.


Creative Team: Jordie Bellaire (writer), David Lopez (artist), Raul Angulo (colorist), Ed Dukeshire (letterer)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
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