Just trying to right what’s been wronged.
Creative Staff:
Script: Christos Cage
Art: Rebekah Isaacs and Richard Corben
Colors: Dan Jackson and Beth Corben Reed with Richard Corben
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
What They Say:
“Return to Sunnydale Part One”
The rules of magic are literally being rewritten. With day-walking vampires and a male Slayer, Buffy & Co. are trying to keep the weirdness under control. Willow is focused on learning the new rules, while Giles is coming to terms with his newfound youth, and Xander is trying to save his relationship with Dawn. Still, Buffy has her family together again—and since their mission doesn’t yet feature Apocalypse being spelled out in big letters, life is pretty good…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After a brief and needed interlude between giant arcs, we’re back into Big Bad mode with an “off-brand Cthulhu” as Willow calls it. A Slayer almost killed him and did kill his family several centuries ago—from the looks of it, barely a few hundred years AD, if that. (This part was drawn by Richard Corben and Beth Corben Reed. I liked their art style that was reminiscent of an old painting. It was a nice departure from the more realistic Buffy artwork.)
The bigger threat is Andrew, who is just trying too hard to do good. His former buddy Warren, now definitively not coming back to life as a result of the book “that evil creatures could just use to make evil things happen,” his sort of buddy Jonathan, and the friend that was caught in a crossfire are at the impetus of Andrew’s actions. He wants to bring Jonathan back (probably) along with Tara.
This was obvious, if you’re paying attention. Andrew takes the book and he talks to Jonathan about killing him. Andrew obviously regrets it and wants to fix what’s wrong. Resurrection is set up. Near the beginning, Buffy brings Tara back up, another one of Andrew’s mistakes.
What brought Andrew to do this, I don’t know, but he’s clearly wrong for doing so. Just by trying to make himself cooler, Dracula almost killed himself and nearly brought back an Old One. Angel and Faith nearly killed themselves trying to bring Giles back and, sort of as a result of their venture, made London into Magic Town. Nothing good can come of bringing someone back to life. Just ask Buffy, who referenced her own resurrection from “…heaven, or wherever [she] was.” Nothing good can come of it.
Yet he tries. That’s Andrew: always trying too hard to make up for things that no one blames him for anymore.
In Summary:
Both Andrew and the off-brand Cthulhu are trying to right something that’s been wronged. They’re both going about it the wrong way. Willow did the same thing as off-brand Cthulhu in season six and nothing good came of it. Buffy’s friends tried to do the same thing Andrew is in season six and nothing good came of it either. But humans, as we’ve learned, always make the same mistakes. Over and over again.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A-, A for pages 6–8
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: October 22, 2014
MSRP: $3.50