Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31 (Dark Horse)

"You went--THROUGH GAY--to me!": Xander Harris ( ;-9 ), 1982~present.

So it's the "Comic Book Week" of January 13, 2010, and time for (drumroll) KARA'S SECOND REVIEW!!

This week, Kara (that's me! ☺), presents the latest episode in the greatest television show ever made: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31. For anybody out there who doesn't know what I'm talking about, then you clearly aren't a Buffy fan. But that's fine.....because you should be! After years without the divine Ms. Summers, about 2 ½ years ago SMGsª BFFªª, Joss Whedon, decided to keep the story of the slayer going and start season eight in comic book form-.....and BTVSªªª fans rejoiced!

Now, to get you all up to speed, when season seven reached it's end, Buff and the Scoobies had hit the road after their hometown of Sunnydale was destroyed, and hundreds, maybe thousands, of young girls had been "activated" to gain slayer powers (all short-formy!).

Fast forward over the summer, slayer-time, & Buff's the general of a slayer army at war with Twilight.....and a supervillain also named Twilight ☺). "Turbulence", by m'lud Joss & his buddy Georges Jeanty, is the next episode of the current war, bridging the gap from the bad guys' attack last issue, and the "climatic"ªªªª reveal of Twilight's identity in the upcoming storyline. As such, the storyline doesn't advance much, making it a quiet issue, except that IT BLEW MY MIND!!

See, Buffy's got superpowers. No. Not her usual slayer, vampire-stabby powers. Like, omg, "Look.....up in the sky!" superpowers (which considering the blond-hair-blue-eye-young-girlishness is probably a little too close to a certain Krypytonian in a red/blue skirt)! This is fun. But what's more fun is the character development, with a reunion with an old boyfriend, a new romantic entanglement, and a touching death scene. And it all ends with a Willow joke. Perfect!

Many Buffy Fans feel that while the current season started strong (the second arc starring Bizarro-Buffy Faith was the climax for me), it has been limping a bit for a little while. In this issue, however, Papa Joss reminds us why we loved the Scoobies in the first place. And Georges Jeanty provides the best likenesses of the series in this issue, aided by Andy Owens on inks, Michelle Madsen on colors, and Jimmy Betancourt's letters.

And I ♥ the cover!

All in all, when I started reading this issue, I expected to like it. Then, 2 separate scenes nearly broke my heart, and I fell for Buffy all over again. For this......


RATING: 9 bloody broken hearts out of 10

One more item worth mentioning......BOP IS BACK BABY!! ♥♥♥♥♥
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/01/13/dcu-in-2010-welcome-back-the-birds-of-prey/
*Gail Simone* returns to the ladies of *Birds of Prey*! i.m.happy!☺ (Some *Nicola Scott* art would be bonus, but that Ed Benes guy's okay too!)

ª "Sarah Michelle Gellar's", natch!
ªª "Best Friend Forever", oc!
ªªª "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".......shame on you!
ªªªª google it......the surprise has been spoiled.......or has it? \:-S