So, in case you somehow missed the media kerfuffle - Buffy #12 is out. In more ways than one. (See what I did there?)

But let’s get to that in due course. Issue 12 is written by former Buffy/Angel scribe, Drew “Cloverfield” Goddard - the third writer to tackle Season 8, and the second to come from the TV series to do so. As with Vaughan’s run, the comic doesn’t miss a beat in the changeover, and Whedon’s initial arc remains the weakest. Jeanty’s artwork is looking better than ever - it might’ve taken me a while to get used to his style, but a year down the line he’s really reaching impressive heights, having nicely defined the look of the series.

There are two big moments in this issue that are worth mentioning - the second comes on the last page - the return of the Buffyverse Dracula. Some careful solicitation text, as well as the storyline title “Wolves at the Gate” lead many (including myself) to believe that Oz might returning. While I’m disappointed that he’s not back, Dracula is at least an interesting character to have return, having had only one previous appearance and escaping then without much resolution. Anyway - turns out that a gang of Japanese vampires with an oddly familiar bag of tricks - transforming into animals and smoke - may be connected with the aforementioned Unholy Prince. They broke into the Slayer Castle and took Buffy’s scythe, and she wants it back. Hence, Dracula receives a visit.

Now, as if that wasn’t good enough - the first reveal is actually the more popular one. Having learnt last issue that slayer-in-training Satsu is in love with her, we find out this issue that Buffy has done gone ahead and slept with her. Hoo boy. A bold move by the Whedon camp, that’s for certain, but as a lifelong Buffy fan, something I’m definitely intrigued by. It’s certainly in-character for Buffy to get horizontal with the nearest emotionally available person, and the idea that it might be someone who’s female doesn’t seem outside the realms of possibility, as well as being an appropriate topic for a series about female empowerment.

But that said, it is dangerous ground - dangerously close to fanfic, that is - but from what we’ve seen, it should be a development that works, not because Buffy’s going to be gay from now on, but because it’s being treated merely as something that happened between two adults, not as Willow Season 4-style character redefinement. In any case, it results in a hilarious farce scene immediately afterwards that justifies the act alone, being perhaps the funniest Buffy scene never to make it onto TV.

If there’s any real problem, it’s that this whole thing kind of overshadows the rest of the issue a bit, which is still all good. Xander’s relationship with his own slayer-in-training is certainly getting interesting, though this issue does pretty much kill off the Xander/Buffy hopes that I’d still been harbouring. Oh well. As ever, I cannot wait for next issue.

Tags: Buffy, Drew Goddard, Georges Jeanty, Joss Whedon
Publisher: Dark Horse