Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones #1 Review
Writers: Mairghread Scott, Celia Lowenthal, Alexa Sharpe
Artists: Ornella Savarese, Celia Lowenthal, Alexa Sharpe
Colorist: Wesllei Manoel
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Boom! Studios
I am a sucker for anthology series based on already established stories. There is something so interesting about seeing different writers and artists take a concept and apply it to their own vision for their story.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones is a wonderful example of this and actually brings something a little more interesting to the table. Instead of this just being different stories about Buffy and the rest of her gang, it is about other slayers in time as they discover that they are Chosen Ones who are called to be slayers or just about slayers being slayers. This opens up the series to allow writers to play with the concept of the lore of Buffy with more creativity and this first issue gives us a look at how awesome that can be.
The first story, “The Mission,” is about a Spanish man who takes over his cousin’s business right in a location where people have been killed. He meets Hutash, a slayer who has been battling the vampires completely on her own with no knowledge of vampires and their history. Hutash is as badass as can be and smart and independent. This opening story is exciting and well told thanks to Mairghread Scott’s writing. She uses this story to tell a longer and deeper story of Hutash’s village and how Hutash discovered her ability to kill vampires.
Scott is aided by artist Ornella Savarese and colorist Wesllei Manoel who provide gorgeous artwork for the story to really take form. Both the illustrations and the coloring are right up my alley so I was immediately in love. Savarese’s illustrations are dramatic and thrilling while Manoel’s colors are haunting which creates a great atmosphere.
The second story, “The Eating of Men,” is a bit of a slower story, but still an entertaining one. Writer and artist Celia Lowenthal tells the story of Silvia, a tough young woman whose nanny has been teaching her how to be tougher, but with more discipline. This story is also written beautifully and is complimented by Lowenthal’s own incredible artwork. Again, this story has an eerie tone that is set by not just the writing, but also by the illustrations and especially the colors.
The last story, “Behind the Mask,” is one that is a lot less dense than the first two, but still great nonetheless. In this story, we attend a masquerade with Adelaide and her friend in Paris during a time when kidnappings are apparently being reported. This story is well-written but the stand out is the wonderful artwork. Writer and artist Alexa Sharpe’s artwork is almost innocent enough looking that the dark side of the story is even more exciting. The illustrations and colors are unique and stunning and provide a fantastic short adventure into the world of a slayer in Paris in 1820.
All three stories of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones #1 are entertaining looks into the history of different slayers. They give us new slayers to love and allows us to watch vampires get killed throughout history with some great storytelling and exquisite artwork.
Artists: Ornella Savarese, Celia Lowenthal, Alexa Sharpe
Colorist: Wesllei Manoel
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Boom! Studios
I am a sucker for anthology series based on already established stories. There is something so interesting about seeing different writers and artists take a concept and apply it to their own vision for their story.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones is a wonderful example of this and actually brings something a little more interesting to the table. Instead of this just being different stories about Buffy and the rest of her gang, it is about other slayers in time as they discover that they are Chosen Ones who are called to be slayers or just about slayers being slayers. This opens up the series to allow writers to play with the concept of the lore of Buffy with more creativity and this first issue gives us a look at how awesome that can be.
The first story, “The Mission,” is about a Spanish man who takes over his cousin’s business right in a location where people have been killed. He meets Hutash, a slayer who has been battling the vampires completely on her own with no knowledge of vampires and their history. Hutash is as badass as can be and smart and independent. This opening story is exciting and well told thanks to Mairghread Scott’s writing. She uses this story to tell a longer and deeper story of Hutash’s village and how Hutash discovered her ability to kill vampires.
Scott is aided by artist Ornella Savarese and colorist Wesllei Manoel who provide gorgeous artwork for the story to really take form. Both the illustrations and the coloring are right up my alley so I was immediately in love. Savarese’s illustrations are dramatic and thrilling while Manoel’s colors are haunting which creates a great atmosphere.
The second story, “The Eating of Men,” is a bit of a slower story, but still an entertaining one. Writer and artist Celia Lowenthal tells the story of Silvia, a tough young woman whose nanny has been teaching her how to be tougher, but with more discipline. This story is also written beautifully and is complimented by Lowenthal’s own incredible artwork. Again, this story has an eerie tone that is set by not just the writing, but also by the illustrations and especially the colors.
The last story, “Behind the Mask,” is one that is a lot less dense than the first two, but still great nonetheless. In this story, we attend a masquerade with Adelaide and her friend in Paris during a time when kidnappings are apparently being reported. This story is well-written but the stand out is the wonderful artwork. Writer and artist Alexa Sharpe’s artwork is almost innocent enough looking that the dark side of the story is even more exciting. The illustrations and colors are unique and stunning and provide a fantastic short adventure into the world of a slayer in Paris in 1820.
All three stories of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chosen Ones #1 are entertaining looks into the history of different slayers. They give us new slayers to love and allows us to watch vampires get killed throughout history with some great storytelling and exquisite artwork.
A Look Inside
