Posted By Ian Menard on May 9, 2013

To recap the story so far: Buffy, in an attempt to save the world from an invading horde of demons, destroyed the source of all magic, plunging Earth into a slow downward spiral. Vampires are no longer able to properly sire, instead creating brutal, animal-like “zombie vampires.” Rainbows have three colors, and no new art is being produced. What little magic remains – in the form of enchanted objects – is being hoarded by the greedy or guarded by a select, powerful few. Buffy herself is at a low point – no longer leading an army, on the outs with her friends, and generally feeling responsible for the sad state of the world. Oh yeah, and Dawn is dying.

Dawn, of course, is a magical construct – a being created to hide the key to another dimension. Without magic around to sustain her, she has grown steadily weaker. Not only are her memories fading, but memories of her are beginning to fade as well. Only those closest to her (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Andrew, Spike) remember her at all. Xander, desperate, was approached by Big Bads Severin (The Mana Drain) and Simone (the angry Slayer). Severin, having stolen Illyria’s time-traveling abilities, believes that he can fix the world and save his girlfriend by traveling to the past and killing Angel before he became Twilight. All he lacks is a sufficient power source.

When Xander returns to our heroes, he discovers that Willow – freshly re-imbued with magic – is trying her hardest to save Dawn. Unfortunately, Severin isn’t the only one in need of a bigger source of power. Luckily, Xander turns against the Diabolical Duo and explains what they’re after – the Deeper Well (resting place of the most powerful old demons). So, the Trio packs up and heads to England for one of two entrances to said Well, leaving Billy, Andrew and Anaheed to deal with another problem – Slayers getting turned into “zompires.” Also Spike returns.

This was a highly satisfying issue. Buffy and Willow were in dire need of some reconciliation, and it was very nice to see them talking again. It was equally nice to see Xander and Buffy begin patching up their relationship as well. It would have been cool to see a little more of Xander and Willow re-connecting after so long apart, but there was a nice shot of them hugging and bantering like old times, which is enough. The issue of Dawn is a great motivation for Buffy, both as a character and a series. While Show!Dawn was typically the most obnoxious part of the series, Comic!Dawn has proven to be a general improvement in every way. She’s not only Buffy’s sister, but Xander’s girlfriend and Willow’s friend, which gives the heroes great personal stakes. The Deeper Well is a great piece of continuity, tying into Angel, Fray, and Buffy: Season 4 (primarily). The scene is set for a rather impressive battle next issue, and the final act of the season.

As for the art, Georges Jeanty makes a triumphant return after an issue break. His work is consistent as always, and delivers in just about every scene, whether it’s Buffy’s manic relief when Dawn wakes up, the Lovecraftian beasts of the Deeper Well, or D’Hoffryn and his collection of magical guardians. Overall, this series has been improving tremendously over the last several months, to being every bit as good as the high-points of last season.

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Categories: Comics
Tags: Andrew Chambliss, Buffy Season Nine, Georges Jeanty