Fan, meet…poo.
Creative Staff:
Script: Christos Cage
Art: Megan Levens
Colors: Dan Jackson
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
What They Say:
“In Pieces on the Ground Part Four”
With the Restless Door artifact, the Mistress and the Soul Glutton have continued to open portals to other dimensions, bringing dangerous demons to earth. To help fight what seems to be a failing battle, Buffy and team have used the Vampyr book to increase the powers of the Magic Council. Now, if only the Scoobies can stick together, they just have to wait for the Big Bads to open another portal, leading them and the Council to what they anticipate will be the final showdown…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
So one down, two to go (ruining my Yes song reference!) and the Restless Door that opens portals to dimension with demons and other things hell bent on killing everything in their path, which is under the control of the two remaining. This doesn’t seem too difficult…
They’ve…got a few more things to deal with first. Like that Giles has a girlfriend in the fey dimension and Buffy isn’t too keen on it. Giles is a teenager now, or at least is in the body and has the hormones of one, but he still has the intelligence of his old self. To Buffy, all she sees is a little brother by this time. Both of them, in truth, are acting a little selfishly. Giles wants dimensions opened easier so he can visit the bae, Buffy is treating Giles—the closest person she’s ever had to a father—like she’s his mom. They’re both saying not too unreasonable things, but are doing it completely unfairly. Buffy would plow through a hoard of anything to get to the one she loves, and I’m not sure she understands that what Giles is feeling is love—even if that love is sort of reboundish because she’s the first being to accept him for who he is rather than how he looks since he was brought back. But Giles also can’t just ask to make it easier for him to traverse dimensions to see his girlfriend. They need to get on the level that, in some matters, Buffy is the superior. And this comes from the former watcher-slayer team, so that’s going to be hard, even if they’ve managed well enough so far.
Xander’s going through his own stuff with ghost Anya that’s not really Anya. He would like nothing more than for the fake psychic’s weirdly real statement to be a farce, but he knows it in his heart of hearts to be true. Anya died. And she wasn’t the type to come back and haunt Xander like this, even if the speech is like the real Anya. Whoever fake Anya is is going to ruin this big climax in some way—and I use ruin in the “going to be bad for Buffy and the gang” way.
But when it’s all said and done, one thing rings true, and it’s the same thing that’s always rung true: when worse comes to worse, everyone sticks together. Giles is still right behind Buffy and supporting in any way he can. Because their petty problems, while giving the story dramatic thrust, don’t mean anything in the face of the entire world ending.
In Summary:
Dawn was originally created as the physical embodiment of a key that can unlock gates between all dimensions and put into the care of the slayer, Buffy, because that was the safest place for her. Michelle Trachtenberg’s sometimes alright, usually terrible performance aside, Dawn became a very important part of season five and beyond until now, and not just as the key. Dawn is her own person now, but they’re decided to use her utilitarianly. The execution here is going to be, excuse the pun, key. If the rest of em force Dawn into this role as the last panel suggests, then it’ll go a lot worse than it could.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: February 17, 2015
MSRP: $3.50
