Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 8: Wolves At The Gate

Wolves At The Gate was fantastic. I am really enjoying what Joss Whedon and his team have done with Buffy in the comics. I have so many reactions after reading this third installment. I love Dracula! Poor Xander. I can’t believe Buffy did that…twice! What is happening to Willow? Who/what is Twilight?

Minor SPOILERS

I loved the overall arc of this comic/graphic novel. These vampires have strange powers and the slayers have to deal with them. Enter legendary vampire Dracula, who seems to have a very strange relationship with Xander. I don’t know if the slayers would have been able to defeat the vampire army without him.

One minor problem, why haven’t they fixed Dawn yet? I was thinking they would by now, or at least have a line on how to make her normal sized again. Having her giant-sized was a part of this arc and I know she’s really useful as a giant. Still, this is the third book with her problem not only unchanged, but not really addressed in this installment either.

As with the first two graphic novels, the art was fantastic. The personalities of the characters stay true to the television series, while continuing to evolve. The artists do a wonderful job of capturing their expressions so that their faces and body language help emote what they’re feeling. The writers have not only created a good story, but also kept the quirky personalities intact. I love the little conversation Buffy and Willow have as they watch a falling Satsu.

I’d also like to briefly mention A Beautiful Sunset, the single issue story included with Wolves At The Gate. Unlike the first two graphic novels, A Beautiful Sunset came at the beginning instead of the end. I’m not sure I like that. By the time I reached the end of the novel, my recollection of the single issue story was a bit vague. What I do remember and liked about it, was our glimpse at Twilight, what can probably be thought of as the big “baddie” of Season 8.

After Wolves At The Gate, I’m eager to read the fourth book in Season 8. With my last novel not really “entertaining” me the way I thought it should have, I wanted something I thought would be fun. That’s what this graphic novel gave me. Though not the best of the three I’ve read so far, I was not disappointed and I don’t think other fans will be either.

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