The forces of Satan and his minions are on the march, the people of Sunnydale are being overrun by demon rats and snakes that threaten to destroy the world, but perhaps worst of all…the annual Sunnydale High School Halloween dance has been attacked!
Seriously, why anyone would want to live in a town built over a literal PORTAL TO HELL is completely beyond me, but if that was the case than we wouldn’t have an awesome series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Written by Jordie Bellaire and Jeremy LambertCover by Jenny Frison
Illustrated by Eleonora Carlini
Colored by Cris Peter
Lettered by Ed Dukeshire
BOOM! Studios today unveiled a first look at Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hellmouth #1, in partnership with 20th Century Fox. The five-issue series from writers Jordie Bellaire (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jeremy Lambert (Doom Patrol) and artist Eleonora Carlini (Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers) brings Buffy and Angel face to face in the world-ending event hundreds of years in the making—the opening of the Hellmouth!From beneath you, it devours…Buffy and the Scoobies will have to learn to trust each other again as they race to close the Hellmouth before whatever evil living there can be unleashed on, first, Sunnydale, and then, the world. Meanwhile, Angel, the vampire cursed with a soul, arrives in town to seek his redemption by doing whatever it takes to destroy the path to Hell…and no human, demon, or Slayer will stand in his way.
HELLMOUTH #1 features a main cover by fan favorite artist Jenny Frison (Wonder Woman), along with variant cover by acclaimed illustrator and movie poster artist Kyle Lambert (Stranger Things), as well as a variant cover by artists Kelly & Nichole Matthews (R.L. Stine’s Just Beyond) that connects to ANGEL #5 and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #8!
“Hellmouth” #1 is the first big event story of BOOM! Studio’s revamping of the Buffy franchise after Disney bought 21st Century Fox-the distributor of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer show-and got the rights to create new comics for the series.
Before we even open this comic, it must be acknowledged that it’s mere presence is incredibly bold and ambitious. This is a comic series that is trying to do something new and different with a franchise that has built a large and dedicated fan base over the years through an incredibly popular television show and a long running and almost equally popular comic book series that was previously published through Dark Horse. The fact that this book’s new corporate overlords wanted to separate themselves from the pack and establish a new identity for the long running series shows a lot of confidence in the publisher and creative team.
So, is “Hellmouth” #1 any good? Well, mostly yes.
“Hellmouth” #1 is a story about a small group of heroes facing overwhelming odds and the fate of the world hanging in the balance. In other words, it’s a proper event comic. Now, I’m not a die hard Buffy fan, but I’ve seen enough episodes of the show to know all about Joss Whedon’s writing and how he likes to set up his drama and portray his characters. Longtime fans will be pleased to know that “Hellmouth” #1 delivers all of the familiar quirks of Whedon’s style, courtesy of writer Jordie Bellaire. The comic combines massive, world ending events with rapid fire witty dialogue, highly intelligent characters with clear motivations and history, and a deeply traumatic emotional roller coaster that stretches Buffy’s will power to the absolute breaking point. This comic could easily be mistaken for an episode of the television show, which is the highest praise I can think of at the moment.
However, while “Hellmouth” #1 does a great job at being an event comic, the very nature of its existence creates some problems that might be a turn off for some readers. For starters, it is very clear that the canon is just different enough that new readers won’t get the most out of this comic unless they’ve read the prequel “Buffy” and “Angel” comics that came before it. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it would have been helpful to have a recap page at the beginning for new readers to understand what is going on. Granted, it’s a fair assumption that most of the people reading this comic will probably know the characters well enough to catch on to the differences quickly, but small time fans with a passing knowledge of the lore such as myself will probably have to turn to Google in order to figure out who these people are and why they are in the story.
Continued belowUnfortunately, this confusion over the characters does bleed over into the art. Artist Eleonora Carlini’s clean and minimal style doesn’t do a very good job at conveying details in appearance, and unless the reader is focusing on big details such as Giles’ glasses or Buffy’s blonde hair, it’s very difficult to tell who is who on the page. Also, this is an art style that comes across as very child friendly and doesn’t lend itself towards horror very well. This means that the comic misses out on a lot of potential atmosphere and moments of dread that might be more fitting for a story where creatures from the deepest depths of your worst nightmares walk the Earth.
However, “Hellmouth” #1 knows that it really isn’t a horror comic, it’s an action comic. Every critique on the lack of character detail and atmosphere can be countered by Carlini’s excellent use of motion and pacing. She absolutely shines in the action sequences and every panel oozes a frenetic energy and attitude that is easy to follow and fun to watch. In a way, the art style kind of emulates Buffy herself; with a headstrong desire to do its own thing and not really care what people around her might think, it is perfect for comic series that seeks to maintain a bit of familiarity while distancing itself from years of established lore and cannon.
While some of the quirks in the art style and story beats of “Hellmouth” #1 prevent the comic from being the absolute best it can be, it’s still a solid comic that strikes a fine balance between creating new and interesting material while keeping all of the quirks that have made Buffy and her friends some of the most engaging characters in the past twenty years.
Final Verdict: 8.4 – Hardcore fans of Buffy will love seeing all their favorite characters in a familiar setting with just enough unique story and style beats to be different, but newer readers would be advised to do their homework and read the comics that led up to this event first.
