Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight review – Issues 23 and 24

I sat down to review issue 24, and realized I’d missed the review for #23. They are two one shot stories by different creative teams, but I’ll do them as a joint review anyway.

General Information

Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23-24

Credits:

Credit Issue 23 Issue 24
Writer Drew Greenberg Jim Krueger
Pencils Georges Jeanty Cliff Richards
Inks Andy Owens Andy Owens
Colours Michelle Madsen Andy Owens

Cover Date: March and April 2009

Cover Price: $2.99 US each

Premise

Issue 23: Andrew tracks down Simone once her lieutentant falls into the trap of a Ragna demon, so he and Buffy head to Italy to check it out. Once there, they encounter Simone, and certain uncomfortable truths about the nature of the Ragna demon are revealed.
Issue 24: Faith and Giles get word of a Slayer Sanctuary, and head out to take a look at it. When they find it, it doesn’t turn out to be what they’d expected.

High Point

Travelling with Andrew. Highly amusing geek chatterbox.

Low Point

The resolutions have been coming quickly lately, likely because there have been so many single issue stories instead of longer arcs. Things just feel a little too “pat” when a Buffy story wraps up in 10 minutes reading time.

The Scores

This has an original feel to it, bringing nice growth to both Faith and Andrew, positioning things nicely for a large scale climax. I give it 5 out of 6.

The artwork is good by both teams. Richard and Jeanty are similar enough to work smoothly as a transition between two completely different stories. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story told in each issue feels abbreviated. They are both good stories, but both feel like they should have had an extra half an issue or so. I give it 4 out of 6.

The characterization is great. Everyone’s in character, and the characters are developing and moving forward nicely. I give it 6 out of 6.

The emotional response is pretty good. The only complaint is about brevity, which leads to the “it’s over already?” dissappointment, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I give it 5 out of 6.

The flow is nice in each issue. The latest string have been one shot stories that deal with the effects of other issues indirectly. (For example, both issues follow issue 22, but they are otherwise interchangeable.) I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, these are two more good entries. I just wish they were a bit longer. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #23-24 receives 35 out of 42.

Past “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight” Reviews

2 replies on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight review – Issues 23 and 24”

Comments are closed.