I've been stopping and starting with this for so long but found this very underwhelming and slow burn, normally I don't mind slow burns if there is a I've been stopping and starting with this for so long but found this very underwhelming and slow burn, normally I don't mind slow burns if there is a big reward at the end. Not for me. ...more
Interesting concepts with likable characters and their backstories and how they overall affected the arc of the story. The end revelation was good. OvInteresting concepts with likable characters and their backstories and how they overall affected the arc of the story. The end revelation was good. Overall I found it to be an enjoyable read but similar tropes that I've read before....more
I didn't mind the changing of POVs, my only wish is that the author clearly labeled whose POVs instead of just only changing the font. I just found itI didn't mind the changing of POVs, my only wish is that the author clearly labeled whose POVs instead of just only changing the font. I just found it confusing and took me a while to realize whose POV it was every time.
Eventually, it all came together but some POVs were more interesting than others.
Frankly, Number Four/John is annoying the crap outta me, why? Because of his poor decision-making and actions that come across as selfish and impulsive whose single-track mind to rescue his human girlfriend who supposedly betrayed him to the humans and the Mogs is hell-bent on rescuing her?! A good way to get yourself killed and make it easier for the Mogs to destroy the rest of your species, the Lorien, and eventually dominate the human race all over a tween romance that's just puppy love?!
I much prefer Six, Ella and Marina are interesting though I would like to see more character development with their characters, just feel like something was missing.
What's unbelievably frustrating is that a lot of this book is just filler, to get these characters to all meet up, and the two groups are separated the majority of the book, on road trips and teleporting here and there until they all reunite with the final showdown with Setrákus Ra, leader of the Mogadorians, whose also been torturing Sam and Sarah for details about the group, with only Sarah and Six being rescued and Sam is still in enemy's hands, other than that NOTHING NEW is added to the story.
Overall, I feel like the author should've explored more in developing the characters' distinctive personalities more, cuz having too many POVs that are not written well is just a hot mess. As I wanna know more about Number 6, Number 7, and Number 10, the rest I don't care about and actually want the bad guys to win because I don't find any other character sympathetic or endearing to cheer on, even the main villain is a yawn-fest, where's did the story and its characters' purpose go? cuz it definitely feels like it vanished into the vortez!!...more
The first story is where humanity has caught on that vampires are real thanks to video footage and Harmony is now famous and the spokesperson for all The first story is where humanity has caught on that vampires are real thanks to video footage and Harmony is now famous and the spokesperson for all vampires and slayers are hunted and feared to the Slayers Organizations' shock.
My question is: who came up with the villain's name in the first place I mean really? I'm sure there are more names that will scare the bejesus outta everyone than "Twilight" cuz every time admittedly I giggle and think of sparkly vampires lol ...
oh, the latest Twilight's latest flunkies were vampire cats crossed with body snatchers? okay lol
The only parts I thoroughly enjoyed were Predators and Prey and Safe respectively continued on with the previous story arcs about Simone and her army of rogue vampire slayers, where there is a cute Buffy/Andrew bonding moment over pop culture references, maybe it's cuz I'm not a huge Daniel Craig fan.
I loved the many other pop culture references ie: Jedi/Superman, Terminator Heath Ledger and of course my fave: stargate sg1 with quirky Buffy-style lingo that reminds me of the TV series.
But it's nice to see these two bond still with the bickering but you can see Andrew's growth as a character, he may be annoying (reminds me of Joxer from Xena in some ways) but he's got, a heart.
It was awesome seeing Faith and Giles continue to work together, she clearly respects and listens to his advice even though she's still battling with her inner demons as she tries to help a new slayer, Courtney, whom they've encountered and a mysterious Slayer Sanctuary that holds a deadly secret.
What was interesting to see play out was the aftermath of the surviving Watchers after The First's attack on the institute back in Btvs S7 and even before then when Buffy defected from the Council in S3 when they refused to help save Angel after Faith poisoned him.
Here it comes to a head with the surviving members as many members, including Duncan whose introduced here bear a grudge and resentment towards Buffy and Slayers in general due to past events since Buffy and Faith rejected the Watcher's Council.
Duncan even coldly recalls Jenny's death with no regard to Giles' feelings on painful memories but instead blames the fall of the Watcher's Council for the former defecting in the first place cuz Buffy fell in love with a vampire so he uses a demon to as a protection ward against the vampires who are milling outside the village's borders unable to enter as the price for the demon's protection is Slayers who unwittingly under false pretenses think they've found sanctuary, die.
That is until Faith, Giles, and Courtney rock up, and with the demon's and Duncan's death, Giles becomes the last member of the extinct Watchers Council other than the potential slayers from BtV S7 and the Scoobies have formed the new Slayers Organization with a more holistic approach when it comes to training Slayers, even welcoming witches and other species who are aligned with the forces of good.
The quote that stood out for me here really shows the continual personal growth of Faith's character, she's learned from her past mistakes and ideologies that have been very similar to Gigi and now Simone, but thankfully due to Angel's, Wesley's, and now Giles' influences, she's changing for the better.
Courtney: "That's not our problem. You're murderers! You deserve to die!" Faith: "Probably. But we're Slayers, and we don't let people die. Not even the crappy ones. You, people, wanna live? Then you fight."
Oh, Dawn's not a centaur anymore, she got turned into a doll ... and now she's human again and made peace with Kenny, cool, glad that's over with.
I would've been happier if this volume completely 86 Harmony/Dawn from the story completely it didn't interest me (though the public finding out about the existence of vampires and slayers was good) I would've been happy if the entire volume focused on Simone and Faith/Giles' adventures but still a good read....more
We get to see more of Charles Gunn's background when he encountered his first vampire and the beginnings of how he became the vampire hunter we first We get to see more of Charles Gunn's background when he encountered his first vampire and the beginnings of how he became the vampire hunter we first met in his first TV appearance on "Angel" and how this story explores the themes of Gunn's and Illyria's identity crisis following the previous events of Illyria's resurrection and the Fall of L.A and Gunn's brief stint as a soulless vampire back to human again.
An old villain makes a return appearance: The Scourge with the same goals as last time, wipes out humanity and Gunn/Illyria manages to stop them and a demon from Illyria's past.
The flashbacks were fun and interesting to see the parallels between the similar journeys that Gunn/Illyria was experiencing in present tense but it still felt like something was missing just can't put my finger on it.
Perhaps it's me wishing that the themes in this comic were explored further perhaps extending the story into a three-parter or something as it feels like Illyria is still very dismissive of Fred's legacy even though she's still trying to adapt to her new situation, "her humanity". ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this comic as what I liked it followed through from the previous issue and continues the story and expands on some issues that weI thoroughly enjoyed this comic as what I liked it followed through from the previous issue and continues the story and expands on some issues that were brought up in the TV series.
This story takes place sometime after Buffy's Season 5 episode "The Body".
(view spoiler)[My Review The first story is about Buffy still dealing with the loss of Joyce and the emotions of Buffy and her friends are running high, and lots of little things are causing lots of little problems. With everybody preoccupied with grief, anger, guilt, and regret the fight against the forces of darkness doesn't seem like a top priority.
Remember in the last issue? That human girl in love with a vampire (sounds familiar?) but instead bargains with a voodoo demon for immortality but lost her own life in the process when she couldn't deliver what she promised - the Slayer, yeah that girl who remained nameless.
Her mother is after revenge and plots the slayer's demise and Buffy must battle her emotional trauma as she deals with her own loss of her mother's death and struggles to fight against mind-controlled zombies and vampires under the control of Vengeance Mumma Bear.
In the second story, there is a swarm of angry, deformed, green gremlins who are proving to be menace. This couldn't come at the worst time as emotions are running high within the Scooby Gang I liked this comic and explored further themes and issues that were dealt with in the TV series of jealousy and resentment, especially Xander/Anya and Tara/Willow.
Despite Spike's faults and yeah ok he doesn't have a soul like Angel, and true he hasn't made the best decisions but it really irks me how the Scoobies treat him especially when he's genuinely just trying to help, but I liked the end scene between Dawn and Spike as it opened the door of some goodwill that may help heal the wounds.
What I liked was how the characters in this comic dealt with their varied emotions when someone is grieving or any sort of intense emotions are being felt and how we all know that sometimes we don't always make the best decision when we're upset, angry or whatever, it was great to see the character development being present not just for the main characters but the side characters as well, showing the consequences of their decisions and how they learned from that (both good and bad) and the importance of not bottling it up and talking about it and not letting it fester. (hide spoiler)] ...more
Every time a past slayer travels through time to aid Buffy and the Scoobies, expanding on the established Buffyverse is always a thrill for me!
The fiEvery time a past slayer travels through time to aid Buffy and the Scoobies, expanding on the established Buffyverse is always a thrill for me!
The first story is all about this time portal-jumping demon who is after our Slayer. Then comes Adja, who from the 11th century Buffy and the gang encounter and therefore have to figure out why this demon's targeting Buffy and the other question as to Adja's purpose as there is a language barrier which Giles is trying to decipher as to why both an 11th-century slayer and this demon ended up here in present time.
The second story starts off with some pretty unusual happenings such as maggots spilling out of Buffy’s school bag EWWWWW!! I hate bugs!! and RATS are EVERYWHERE!!
SPOILERS!!!! (ok honestly should've put this warning above, but anyways! ...more
This story takes place after Buffy learns the truth about Dawn and that she's the key Glory's after, but the Scoobies are still in the dark, so Giles This story takes place after Buffy learns the truth about Dawn and that she's the key Glory's after, but the Scoobies are still in the dark, so Giles is her only confidante.
There are frequent flashbacks, and key memories ie: Prophecy Girl where Dawn was there and Xander gave CPR to Buffy after she was killed by the Master, Angelus attacking Dawn after he lost his soul and was saved by Ms. Calendar, Willow and Xander, but of course, Buffy knows the truth, everyone else isn't caught up yet so they're not understanding Buffy's frustration towards Dawn.
It must be Tuesday cuz Dawn has vanished without a trace (they really should put a LoJack on that girl lol!) and the Scooby gang has no clue where to find her Buffy finds her hiding out at Spike's crypt and that's where Dawn reveals a missing 2-year gap in the Slayer timeline.
Buffy finds herself against a cadre of crazed, bloodsucking monks and a former Vampire Slayer turned Slayer Vampire, Yuki Makimura, who was turned by the Master as she was afraid of death and didn't want to die and ever since then was loyal to the Master.
In this comic, Yuki comes back to resurrect her sire with a ritual, and comes a close second in succeeding but is defeated by the combined efforts of Dawn, she sneaked in, saving Xander and Buffy, and the Scoobies battling the vampires.
What was interesting was all the callbacks to previous episodes I liked the little backstories and wish there was more about Yuki, as she planned to take revenge on Spike for killing the Anointed One, and the action scenes were beautifully illustrated!
The only criticism I have is I wish the author played with the concept of a Vampire Slayer turned vampire more deeply as you would think that this couldn't be a more recurring issue within the slayer line of other past slayers not wanting to die and would rather be a vampire like Yuri, it feels like a missed opportunity to me, but other than still a captivating read!...more
This story takes place sometime in Btvs S4 where innocent people have begun to transform into giant, demonic insects - at first, I immediately thoughtThis story takes place sometime in Btvs S4 where innocent people have begun to transform into giant, demonic insects - at first, I immediately thought of the giant demon bugs that Angel Investigations faced in Season 3 Fredless but nope these were entirely different species that could infect a human host and some serious The Faculty and Bodysnatchers vibes!!
Storywise? Entertaining enough. The illustrations are really well done, the action scenes are getting better and better which is awesome!
Though to be fair, I don't have all these comics to read them all in order as I'm missing some from my collection. I'm aware I've missed several plot points that have transpired in previous comics leading up to this one. I don't know how this one affects the major overall plot, I'm guessing that these bug demons are just run of mill the demon of the week, so I'm gonna go with that.
Get some character development which I liked concerning: Giles, Buffy, Willow, and Tara. As Giles gets a love interest and of course, Buffy is super protective and instantly on guard against Rebecca, as the poor guy hasn't had a lot of luck (since his last girlfriend was murdered), so it's nice for there to be a reconciliation between Giles and Buffy; especially the latter coming to realize Giles is a big boy, he can make his own decisions but the Scoobies would always be there.
Loved the Willow/Tara scenes, it reminds me of the early season 4 and at the beginning of Season 5 where Tara feels like an outcast and unsure of her place within the Scooby Gang and these feelings are continued to be explored in this comic.
It's always a blast to have Spike around! Loved the banter! The author did well in capturing the voices of the characters. I'm not a huge fan of Riley, but meh, I much prefer Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Spike and even better Fuffy! lol
I would still recommend this to any Buffy fan to read! I'll give this a 4-star rating...more
I know I've skipped a few issues, mainly cuz I don't have them all, so the story takes off continuing the feud between Buffy and Selke in a final confI know I've skipped a few issues, mainly cuz I don't have them all, so the story takes off continuing the feud between Buffy and Selke in a final confrontation.
Selke moves closer to finishing off the Slayer and Buffy finds herself face to face with a mirror image of herself created by Selke: The Dark Slayer.
When Dark Slayer Buffy couldn't see her reflection in the mirror I immediately thought of Harmony and Buffy's comment on the TV show, from S4 Buffy?
Harmony's a vampire? She must be dying without a reflection.
ah... good times lol
I think this story takes place in Season 2, mainly cuz of Spike and Drusilla's appearance in the comic. Yay!! Selke as a villain? Hmm ok, I much prefer Buffy vs her evil twin, that was interesting and I liked the scenes with the deformed Buffy who Selke and the doctor abandoned as they saw her as a failed experiment, it reminded me of Alien Resurrection where Ripley found all her other clones - the failed experiments left to rot - wish there were more scenes but with Spike and Drusilla's appearance at the end i can't help but wonder what mischief is in store!
Again the artwork is amazing (wish I could draw like that!), the dialogue and capturing the character's personalities were on point too! ...more
I didn't expect to like this as much as I did, which was a nice surprise since the last couple of comics has been easy and fun to read but Buffy the VI didn't expect to like this as much as I did, which was a nice surprise since the last couple of comics has been easy and fun to read but Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Bad Blood was really well written and the illustrations were on point, well done!!
The only part of the Selke story that I find difficult to swallow is with the plastic surgeon and Joyce acted out of character for me of being willing or toying with the idea of plastic surgery.
I guess I was drawing from Kristie Sutherland's performance as Joyce Summers from the TV show and my impression was that she was always comfortable in her own skin, even though, on the show AND in this story, Joyce struggles with self-doubt and self-image due to her age and her desire to find love and that is an honest fear anyone would have, no matter anyone's age.
I also liked the beautiful scene between Buffy and Joyce too, concerning this issue, and this mother and daughter duo appreciating inner beauty and self-worth.
I really liked the end story with the sea monster whose similar life mission echoes Buffy's responsibility as the Chosen One....more
Several short stories where Buffy battles ice imps, Puritans, hellhounds, and even a demon for good measure! The author did a good job of capturing thSeveral short stories where Buffy battles ice imps, Puritans, hellhounds, and even a demon for good measure! The author did a good job of capturing the character's voices from the show and their personalities. I enjoyed the Puritan/Hellhounds and the demon vampire Cynthia story more than the first story but that's ok, you can't like them all!
I loved the illustrations, sometimes I wonder why they make the vampires look green but I guess it's to make the demons/vampires stand out from the Scoobies, and make it all dramatic.
I give this a 3.5-star rating. Still recommend this to any Buffy fan as it was a fun and easy to read....more
The short stories weren't bad, I enjoyed the humour but I just couldn't connect with the story as much as I would've liked to, it's disappointing but The short stories weren't bad, I enjoyed the humour but I just couldn't connect with the story as much as I would've liked to, it's disappointing but it happens, the illustrations were really well-done kudos to the artist! ...more
I'm a huge Btvs/Angel fan and it's been a while since I read any of the comics from my collection so here is my review.
Things I liked I really liked thI'm a huge Btvs/Angel fan and it's been a while since I read any of the comics from my collection so here is my review.
Things I liked I really liked the humor as I thought it was pretty honest with the tv show and I could hear the actor's/actresses' voices which is good.
The characters seemed pretty on point with their tv counterparts, though Willow seemed a bit off and Xander seemed helpful to find Angel which was surprising.
The artwork was really good, and I thoroughly enjoyed the action within the story.
Inconsistences I'm wondering where Giles's niece came from as there was no mention of Giles having any siblings so that came outta nowhere here and she really didn't contribute ANYTHING to the story.
Not only that Lilith is the mother of all vampires. Ummm okay, since on the show Archaeus is the creator of the vampire species, so unless the author of the story used the mythos of Lilith and her spawn of vampires as "cousins" then I could accept that but it's still pretty inconsistent with the world mythology of Buffy the Vampire Slayer already created.
Overall I still enjoyed reading this, it's Buffy, and with comics/novels, I should be aware that they may be inconsistencies that would contradict the TV show. I just think that this deserved a two-parter to flesh out some of the other details ie: Lilith and Lamia, the vampires descended from Lilith's line and etc....more
It started off promising. I liked the first half of the book and didn't mind the dark themes throughout.
I just couldn't connect emotionally to the chIt started off promising. I liked the first half of the book and didn't mind the dark themes throughout.
I just couldn't connect emotionally to the characters to care about their journey which I found frustrating as I really wanted to like this this book sounded right up my alley but somewhere in the middle of the book I just got bored and just wanted the story to end.
I realize that my review is very vague but I don't wanna give anything away and leave it for others to make up their own mind about this, unfortunately, it just left me feeling underwhelmed by this retelling though I did enjoy the interaction between Alice and Thatcher.
I found this book in a book swap library and decided to take it with me to later read since I had started reading another book series, the Deltora QueI found this book in a book swap library and decided to take it with me to later read since I had started reading another book series, the Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda and I remembered this series when I was a kid but never read.
(view spoiler)[My Review This is a coming-of-age story about Rowan of Rin, whose labeled as weak and cowardly compared to other members of the small village he lives with shame knowing that his father died saving the lives of his mother, sister and while his father was saving Rowan's life, tragically lost his own life.
So for several years, Rowan had been living with survival guilt. He was already quiet, introverted, and happier with the animals than with people (other than his close relationship with his mother and younger sister) though he constantly deals with bullying and the village's stereotypes to the point several of the villagers publicly shame Rowan (who is a CHILD mind you for being cowardly, weak and constantly comparing his personality and behavior to his father!)
For Pete's sake! Rowan is a CHILD, struggling with PTSD, and survivor's guilt and was already a shy and quiet kid the villagers value the strong over the weak, you think adults would know some common sense and know better, but sadly, pack mentality and traditionalists is a sad reflection of our history throughout many cultures.
World Building This story is set within a fictional world and this book begins in the small village of Rin, an isolated valley that rests at the foot of the forbidden Mountain a mission is begun to solve the mystery and find a solution to fix the mountain's water supply that is threatening to stop and cut of Rin's supplies and livelihood.
There are other mentions of other civilizations the Travelers and the Maris but the Rin are isolated and stick to themselves only venturing out for trading purposes.
Overall It was enjoyable though predictable but nice to see Rowan have a metamorphosis and find his inner strength and courage, realizing that he had this along.
I think t younger readers would find this more enjoyable and thrilling. I like the themes that were brought up and would make great discussions with family and friends about the issues of bullying, ostracization, and feelings of dealing what other people's perceptions of you and how to deal with stereotypes and despite the odds you can overcome anything you set your mind to it through patience, kindness, and love. (hide spoiler)]...more