Another single-issue Joss Whedon story? I thought Christmas was over already! Whedon’s last two single-issues have been the best the series had to offer, and this is no different. It’s a classic, X-Men-style “down time” issue between arcs, with the natural interruption of the season’s big bad at an entirely unexpected moment just to keep you on your toes. It’s not quite the Mayor strolling right into the Library, circa Season 3, but it’s pretty good nonetheless.

There’s some dealing with the blink-and-you-missed-it subplot of Satsu’s feelings for Buffy, which is entertaining and gives some truly excellent material, but it doesn’t really feel like the intricately woven subplot that it could’ve been. Strangely evident in these scenes is that Whedon appears to be writing his Buffy’s voice somewhere around Season 4. There’s far more of the humour and stream-of-consciousness dialogue than the latter Buffy ever displayed, which is good because part of the problem Season 8 had to address was that by the time the show finished, Buffy was no longer the best character in her own series. Giving her some direction and easing the responsibilities slightly seems to have left her far less earnest, mopey and distracted, hence the lighter tone.

Jeanty continues to deliver, though the first decent appearance of actual vampires in the Buffy comic unfortunately shows us that he’s no better at depicting vampires on the page than any other Buffy artist has been. Oh well. Twilight’s fight with Buffy is a nice sequence, though it’s a little bit of a groaner to hear Buffy calling him the most powerful villain she’s ever seen, because that’s the standard, Buffy, “I don’t know if I can fight this!” trick to try and make the villain seem like a threat, and doesn’t really work because… well, she’s Buffy, she’s going to win - don’t make it about whether she will, but about how she will.

The idea of tricking Buffy into believing she’s on the wrong side is a definite move for genius, and once again, the perfect place to go with the story, especially after Buffy’s recent jewel-thieving antics. The “unmasking” scene had me laughing harder than almost anything in the TV series, and sets up my most favourite of all mysteries. WHO’S UNDER THE MASK? Someone Buffy knows - or at least, who knows Buffy. I’m going to say that it’s Ethan Rayne, because he’s one of the least likely candidates, being, y’know, dead and stuff.

I sometimes wonder if I use the word “genius” a little too liberally when describing Joss Whedon. But then I decide that no, I haven’t. So let me reiterate: This is genius. Genius, genius, genius. Genius.