Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 4: v. 4 [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

If you would-be-buyers don't mind, I'll start this review off with a snippet from my review of the first three BUFFY omnibus volumes. Don't fear, it's as relevant here as it is there:

"Unless you're a completist with oodles and oodles of cash, this is the way to go if you want to collect the older Buffy comics. Before this, they have been collected (for the most part) into smaller trade paperbacks, each of which cost almost as much as this volume. Now, before I get into my review, let me explain the omnibus series, as I've seen a lot of people misunderstanding.when talking about it on message boards: This is not the only omnibus. There are to be seven of them all together(...)"

I didn't expect much when I bought this book. The first two omnibuses were good, but the third was mediocre at best, mostly because it was dominated by one-shot comics written by Andi Watson. Watson, who is probably the worst Buffy writer there is, also wrote the majority of this book. In fact, the first two hundred pages of this volume make up one story called "Bad Blood," written by Watson. It's story about a vampire named Selke who seeks revenge on Buffy for scarring her face. But first, Selke seeks out a plastic surgeon who resorts to magic AND mayonnaise to try to make Selke think he's successfully helping her. The few glimmers of good story you'll find here are snuffed out by the shocking lack of quality in Andi's writing. Everything that makes Buffy more than just your average genre show is not present in Andi's writing. The only thing that will keep you from skipping through these two hundred pages is the fact that Cliff Richards pencilled two thirds of it. There are two other Andi Watson pieces in this volume, but they're short enough that they won't take away from your enjoyment of the book more than "Bad Blood" already did.

Things start to look up a LOT when you get past "Bad Blood." The rest of the book is made up of one-shots and one more miniseries. The miniseries is called The Hollower, and shows Angel taking on a demon that sucks the demon spirit out of vampires. It's written by Christopher Golden, and is mildly entertaining. Hector Gomez's art does nothing but take away from that, but the story was good enough for me to ignore it. There are a few other Christopher Golden tales here that range from mediocre ("Who Made Who," a Spike/Dru story, and "Cursed," a pointless story about how bad Angel was in the past), to GOOD ("Stinger," which great dialogue and a demon with very interesting motivations), to GREAT ("Hello Moon," which Golden co-wrote with Daniel Brereton). The latter comic I mentioned, "Hello Moon," is one of my favorite Buffy comics ever, and I think it alone is worth buying this book.

Something that will make Buffy fans very happy is that this book includes two short stories written by Doug Petrie, who was a writer on the television series. Not only did he write great episodes, he also showed how good he was at writing comics, with the Angelus-centric Ring of Fire, which was featured in the second Buffy omnibus. The first story he contributes to this book is "Bad Dog," which deals with Oz going all wolfy and a nerdy sorcerer seeking revenge. It wasn't as good as I expected, but was way better than some of the other stuff here. Petrie also closes this volume with a short story called "Graduation Day," which catches up with Buffy and Angel right after they parted ways in the ground-breaking finale of the third season. Not only was it a perfect way to have a final statement about Buffy and Angel's relationship, it was also a great note to end the book on.

The art in this book was way better than what we saw in the third volume, but fans should expect about the same quality of writing. There are some great stories here, but most of it is still overshadowed by Andi Watson's work. I'd say it's definitely worth buying (both for the Golden and Petrie comics, and pretty much just to have it), but it's no where near as entertaining as the first two. I know that, with the fifth volume, things will be looking better (as there is no Watson work in sight).

6/10

The short stories aren't bad, but seeing as "Bad Blood" dominates this volume I'm basing my review on that story. The artwork is not very good in this volume, compared to volumes 1 and 2. It isn't necessarily bad, but the artists don't capture the likenesses of any of the actors. Furthermore, the artwork looks rushed. Most panels in Omnibus 1 and 2 seem like paintings; most of the work in this volume are nowhere near the same quality.

As for as Watson's story, it's full of things that make no sense; either that or quotes that seem to only be there to take up place. Sometimes though the story is interesting, but it took a long time to get through for me. Perhaps Watson isn't a bad writer, but he certainly doesn't have the knack for all-things-Buffy.

I have been collecting comics since I was very young, and the Buffy series by Dark Horse has been one of my favorites since it was first published. I needed a copy of Volume 4 to complete my collection[I have all seven of the Omnibus series]. The stories, the art and the characterizations in the comics are wonderful extensions of the television series, which remains one of my personal favorites as well as one of the best shows that has appeared on American broadcast television over the past twenty years. Joss Whedon created a world that has the richest tapestry of evocative stories and characters I've ever read or watched, this has only been expanded by the talented writers and artists who've worked on the comics past and present. This book would be a valuable addition to the collection of anyone interested in Buffy or the rest of the Whedonverse, I cannot recommend it highly enough.