The Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise has a rich history in the comic book realm, with multiple publishers adding to the mythology of the classic TV series. Now Dynamite Entertainment has become the newest home for Buffy comics, with the publisher announcing a pair of interconnected titles – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Both books will be written by Absolute Wonder Woman and Birds of Prey writer Kelly Thompson and feature cover art by David Nakayama. No interior artists have been revealed yet.
Little else is known about the new Buffy and Angel comics at this stage, other than that they’ll follow the example of the original shows and feature a tightly intertwined continuity. Judging from Nakayama’s art above, it would seem the books are set in the classic Buffy era rather than the time period of the upcoming Hulu revival series.
“In my early days trying to figure out how to be a writer and what stories mattered to me and why — no heroine quite broke through for me like Buffy Summers,” said Thompson in a statement. “She was somehow everything my young geek heart had always wanted but hadn’t known to ask for. Something about that delicate alchemy of horror, fantasy, and comedy paired with a hero so pure of heart and yet flawed and relatable was… impossible to deny. I fell deeply in love with Buffy, and following that, her whole world. Her ex-boyfriend is now a supernatural detective in Los Angeles you say? Inject it directly into my veins! But unlike a lot of other worlds I loved, the world of Buffy and Angel somehow never fell to the wayside. I could always come back to it and find something new, or something I’d missed, or something I needed. And I hope this new story we’re telling can do the same for old and new fans everywhere.”
Editor Nate Cosby said, “There was one name on my wish list of writers for Buffy: Kelly Thompson. There was one name on my wish list of writers for Angel: Kelly Thompson. Her passion for these characters is second-to-none. The interweaving story she’s crafted for both books is going to knock everyone’s socks off.”
Previously, both Dark Horse and BOOM! Studios held the rights to the Buffy franchise at different points. Dark Horse published Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 and its sequels, continuing the continuity of the TV series with the involvement of creator Joss Whedon. BOOM!, meanwhile, published a 2019 reboot that acted as a sort of Ultimate Universe-inspired take on Buffy. It remains to be seen if Dynamite’s Buffy comics will reflect the events of the Dark Horse books or act as an alternate sequel to the TV series.
Dynamite is teasing more news about the Buffy creative teams and release dates soon.
For more on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, check out the top 15 episodes of the classic series and learn why maybe it’s not a good thing that Buffy is getting a revival.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
