dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
As a huge Buffy fan, I probably give this more stars than it deserves. It's a collection of comics/stories about Slayers (first half of the book) and about Vampires (second half). Some are crossovers, or involve characters with whom we are acquainted. Others are surprising or stand alone. They are uneven, since they were written and illustrated by multiple writers and artists. Some of the art is stylized for the time and works very well, such as the one set in the West, or horseback. Others felt out of sync, and I wondered where these artists came from.
_forestofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Child death and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit
jj7twin's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed all the Tales of the Slayers section. Some of the vampire stores were out there and odd but most were good too. Dracula's story was odd cuz it takes place after/during the comics right? I know they go see him for help and his hair is fine like before. Still Love Buffyverse!
chemwizard22's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
The art was inconsistent but generally good. The writing good and actually unpredictable at times, which is a plus. There was a Drucilla story and a Fray story and some Season 8 stories. All in all more enjoyable than I expected. 4.5 of 5.
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
4.0
A fun collection of stories about slayers and vampires - as with most story collections, it contains great stuff and not-so-great stuff, but overall I loved a lot more than I disliked.
The book is split into two parts: tales of the slayers (complete with a story written in verse!) and tales of the vampires (complete with a mystery!). Some are fairly subtle, some shove their point at you more insistently, some made me roll my eyes and think "Not this again" (nazis, Germany, nazi Germany). The art is all over the place, occasionally cartoon-ish, occasionally artsy, often good.
The book is split into two parts: tales of the slayers (complete with a story written in verse!) and tales of the vampires (complete with a mystery!). Some are fairly subtle, some shove their point at you more insistently, some made me roll my eyes and think "Not this again" (nazis, Germany, nazi Germany). The art is all over the place, occasionally cartoon-ish, occasionally artsy, often good.
shashashasha's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant stories, snippets. Surprising, different and unique illustrations. Great anthology for every Buffy fan!
waveycowpar's review against another edition
5.0
So first thing I'm impressed with is the presentation. It's a graphic novel, but it's presented like a book that belongs to high culture not popular culture. There's a jacket cover but the hard cover beneath it is just black with a Buffy B on it and it has a book mark ribbon; fantastic presentation.
The opening introductory story is simple but the artwork is stunning it really draws you in.
The first story is called "Righteous" and though there is a noticeable slip in the artwork standard the entire story is told as a poem, everything rhymes, also it has a shocker of an ending that really sums up Joss Whedon's work in only a few pages! I'm loving it already :)
Amber Benson's story drives a shocking punch to her French Revolution Slayer, leaving the reader reeling at what can happen when a Slayer is manipulated for political purposes.
Jane Espensen's story, the third/fourth in the book is amazing. It's called "Presumption" and totally plays on your prior knowledge of the world of Buffy, and then twists the story fantastically.
And the story of a Slayer at Sunnydale long before Mayor Wilkins founded it in 1899, brilliant!
This constantly surprised me and blew me away with the amazing artwork (not on every story but most of them)
It is full of twists and things you don't see coming!
The opening introductory story is simple but the artwork is stunning it really draws you in.
The first story is called "Righteous" and though there is a noticeable slip in the artwork standard the entire story is told as a poem, everything rhymes, also it has a shocker of an ending that really sums up Joss Whedon's work in only a few pages! I'm loving it already :)
Amber Benson's story drives a shocking punch to her French Revolution Slayer, leaving the reader reeling at what can happen when a Slayer is manipulated for political purposes.
Jane Espensen's story, the third/fourth in the book is amazing. It's called "Presumption" and totally plays on your prior knowledge of the world of Buffy, and then twists the story fantastically.
And the story of a Slayer at Sunnydale long before Mayor Wilkins founded it in 1899, brilliant!
This constantly surprised me and blew me away with the amazing artwork (not on every story but most of them)
It is full of twists and things you don't see coming!
jacob_books_corneryt's review
3.0
There were five stories that I would recommend to every Buffy fan. So do to that I am rating it a 3 1/2 stars. This could lower over time.
cassidee_omnilegent's review
4.0
If you follow me on Twitter, you've likely seen that I'm rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is definitely reconfirming it as one of my all-time favorite shows. Just got to Hush the other day and CRIED because it was so well done, it's always been one of my favorite episodes. It WAS nominated for an Emmy, so I guess it is warranted. Well, as you may have seen with my post of Fray, I'm delving into the Buffyverse by reading the comics. Fray was good, but Tales blew my mind.
The various contributors did a masterful job with this. These comics draw from the evil within humanity to shape their monsters, as well as myth and legend. We see characters that we know and learn some of their backstory. Jack the Ripper, Nazis, Dracula, Buffy, Xander, Spike, young Watchers. There's so much information to be learned. I loved how the illustrators matched their issue's style to the topic at hand. Jack the Ripper's style resembled a late 1800's Wanted Poster, black and white, hints of blue, very little color. The slayer in Nazi Germany realized that evil is all around her, and the style was reminiscent of the propaganda posters that the Nazis used as fear tactics. Spike and Drusilla were very realistic and as we know them on the show. There was a sweet little sing-song-y comic about finding a vampire and the style was like what you'd see on a holiday children's show. Lots of thought and effort was put into this collection. An outstanding round of applause for the creators!