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Released by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: Apr. 23, 2014
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As the “New Rules†of the story title continue to get defined for the Slayer and her group, people are finally settling in a bit to this new reality. The shape-shifting, sunlight-defying vampires' leader, Vicki, calls for retreat at the moment, promising that she and her pack are the future as they're the “only ones changing†here.
This respite gives Buffy time to connect with the adolescent-bodied Giles, finally, along with the rest of the gang. Faith, her work done for the moment, leaves with Kennedy's security firm of fellow Slayers after sharing a brief good-bye with Buffy and Giles. The strong ally demon Koh also departs but it all feels pretty temporary, that we'll be seeing them all again very soon.
Giles asserts himself with the group of new recruits who fancy themselves Slayers and Watchers, confusing Giles since Slayers can only be females but that seems to have now changed. Quick to capitalize on this, though, he goes back to the ancient tome, Vampyr, and they see now that pages previously blank are now filled with ancient writings. As the group begins to wrestle with the idea of the rules getting re-written they begin to wonder/worry about who's potentially behind it all.
They all have questions for Giles but, as he has to bluntly put it to them, he's not quite who he was before - his adolescent mind can't hold the same attention it once did, it has yet to mature. So they set out to answer their own questions, sending Buffy and Spike off to see Det. Dowling, the sort-of boyfriend of Buffy. Their first date apparently nearly got him killed but, when they meet up with him again, you wouldn't know it. But they both quickly agree they're better working together, leaving Buffy Summers yet again alone but with some messed-up relationships.
Xander and Dawn head off to visit Dracula, to see what ancient knowledge he might be able to bring to the whole story. The couple, though, are on the edge of breaking up and Xander's very frustrated. The ghost of his former fiancee helps him out a bit, though, in getting him to talk with Dawn. But their conversation is interrupted by Dracula who still has some power over Xander, despite him thinking the opposite.
A great many pieces get moved around here in Christos Gage's story but it's all very much in the spirit of the entire series. They're all still fairly young but, by now, carry significant amounts of baggage of damaged relationships, mostly with each other. Rebekah Isaac's artwork continues to impressively and playfully detail a great variety of action and scenery and really makes the work flow seamlessly panel to panel as well.
