Slayer, Interrupted (Part 1 of 4), Act 1
Plot: Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
Pencills: Cliff Richards
Inks: Will Conrad
Colors: Dave McCaig
Letters: Clem Robins
Cover: Brian Horton & Paul Lee
The story takes place before Buffy the Vampire
Slayer's first season
Jeremy's Brief Synopsis:
After breaking up with her
boyfriend, Pike, Buffy has returned home to parents
who no longer trust her (on top of the marriage
problems they had to begin with!) and a little
sister who has read her diary, and told her parents
about it! Logically, they conclude that Buffy must
be nuts.
Chad's Review:
Back in season six of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, in the episode Normal Again,
audiences across America learned that Buffy Summers
had attended a mental illness facility. This huge
secret was given to all of the fans of the
Buffyverse, yet nothing else was given. There was
no explanation of any kind as to what demonic
activity crept around in the halls of that
institution, but now we can all rest easy and await
the answers in the new comic arc: Slayer,
Interrupted.
This first issue deals with the
reasons that Buffy ended up attending the health
clinic. As you know from the previous arc, Viva Las
Buffy, Dawn scrimmaged through Buffy's belongings
and found her journal. Dawn unlocked the book of
privacy and read it. At ten years old, reading the
material written on the pages of a slayer can be
very frightening. Dawn, having this new evidence as
to why her sister may have run away, didn't even
second guess herself when she brought it to her
parents. They awaited her return, hoping the
thoughts that she has been experiencing hasn't
gotten her into any trouble… or gotten her
hurt.
Buffy arrives from Las Vegas
this issue, just after defeating the Sidle Twins
(or one of them, anyway). She arrives from a bus,
and strolls to her Los Angeles home. She walks up
to her doorway and raises her fist, unable to
knock. Joyce swings open the door and embraces her
daughter after missing her for all of the days she
was missing. Buffy's mother never thought she would
have to feel that way again (little did she know
she would have to feel that "I'm glad your back,
but how could you run away like that" embrace in
the episode Anne, in Season 3).
When Buffy arrives home, she is
confronted about her diary. The touch of Buffy
knowing that her little sister was the one who gave
her secret away was great…true sibling
instinct. Buffy reveals her story, but knows that
neither of them could understand. Buffy felt lost
in this issue; alone and secluded. Nothing could
pull her out of her slump. Not even SHOES, which
was Dawn's backup plan for cheeping her up. Buffy
reacted defensively when Dawn acquired that her
sister was gone, and was shouted at for writing
such weird stuff in her diary. After Buffy's much
not-needed confrontation with Dawn, she really
needed some alone time.
Walking the streets of Los
Angeles at night was no big deal for a slayer, but
for one that has only seen vampires, it may be a
little new. An attack takes place in an alley,
which Buffy happens to pass. A scream is heard, and
Buffy says this unforgettable line:
Buffy: There's a sound you don't
hear everyday…unless you're me.
This shows that Buffy is getting
used to her Slayer duties, but the following fight
foreshadows a lot more learning to come. She runs
into a Torque demon, which she believes is a
"super-vamp." She tries to stake it, but is taken
back when dust doesn't appear, but blue blood does.
Buffy hasn't seen everything there is to see in the
world of demons. Her former watcher, Merrick,
didn't have time to teach her all that she needs to
know. She needed some guidance at this time in her
life. She needed…
Giles, last arc, used forbidden
magicks to show that his competitor was up to no
good, but his act of goodness stabbed him in the
back. This arc, he is taken to the Blackshed, in
Ireland. In the Blackshed, Giles is to come to
terms with his faults, and prove that he is once
and for all ready to become the new slayer's
watcher. In the Blackshed, Giles recites an
incantation and is revisited by his old alter ego,
Ripper. Ripper, being the gentleman that he is,
knocks Rupert Giles in the head with a club (just
call it his way of saying hello). A big
confrontation in approaching, and I can't wait to
see how Giles handles it.
Buffy finally defeated the
Torque demon, by cutting off its head (which is
what the demon told Buffy to do to kill
it…idiot?). Coming home with blue blood all
over you may be easy to explain to your parents (or
not?), but it wouldn't be as easy to explain to a
psychiatrist. Buffy was met at home by her parents
and Dr. Stone. Buffy is sent to a mental
institution, her last sight of the outside world
being her parents, and the person her put her
there…her sister, Dawn.
Buffy's world is soon to be
rocked in the next issue, in which we will see her
handling life inside of the clinic. But all in all,
I say that this particular issue is a buy-worthy
one. Although there isn't much fighting, it is a
good beginning to what I am sure will be an awesome
arc. I can't wait to see the story unfold.
