Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics

↳ Note: This article is about the meta-series. For other uses, see Buffy.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a comic book meta-series published by Dark Horse Comics in the course of twenty years (1998–2018). Initially, titles in this meta-series were a non-canon extension of the TV show, but it eventually introduced the official continuation of the series in the format of new seasons.

In 2019, a new series was announced to be published by Boom! Studios, reimagining the original story.

Other meta-series in the Buffyverse are the Angel, Fray, Tales, and Spike comics, some of them involving crossover events with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Synopsis

The meta-series focuses on the adventures of Buffy Summers and the Scooby Gang, as they fight against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness.

History

In 1998, Dark Horse Comics published its first Buffy comic story, "MacGuffins." The series was initially a non-canon extension of the television series, with little to no input from the show's writers. These comics were later renamed Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic, to differentiate from the upcoming canon series. In 2003, the production for the Buffy meta-series halted, and Dark Horse started producing canonical works in other meta-series: Tales and Fray.

In 2007, after a four year publishing hiatus, the first issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the TV series, was published. In 2011, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine followed, then in 2014 with Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten, and in 2016 with Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven.

In 2016, it also began the graphic novel miniseries Buffy: The High School Years, set during the first season of the television show. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven began in the same year, followed in 2018 by the the final season, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve. The story wrapped up in its finale when it was revealed that the license for the Buffy comics was moving from Dark Horse after 20 years.

Exceptionally, in 2018 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers published the first of a new graphic novel series, simply titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer, introducing Buffy Summers with a new Scooby Gang acting in middle school.

The 20th Century Fox-owned publishing house Boom! Studios picked up the license of the comics from Dark Horse, debuting in 2019 the homonym Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Described as the original television show reimagined for the year of 2019, the series was complete with 34 issues. After its conclusion, Boom! Studios announced the new series The Vampire Slayer, another series taking place in an alternative universe.

Stories

Main series

Canon:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight (40 issues)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine (25 issues)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten (30 issues)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven (12 issues)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve (4 issues)

Other:

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic (63 issues)
• Buffy: The High School Years (3 graphic novels)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Little, Brown) (2 graphic novels)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2019) (34 issues)
• The Vampire Slayer (16 issues)

Spin-off series

Canon:

• The Origin (3 issues)
• Willow: Wonderland (5 issues)
• Spike: A Dark Place (5 issues)
• Giles: Girl Blue (4 issues)

Other:

• Angel: The Hollower (3 issues)
• Oz (3 issues)
• Haunted (4 issues)
• Willow & Tara: Wilderness (2 issues)
• Hellmouth (5 issues)
• Willow (5 issues)
• Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer (2021) (4 issues)
• Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer (2023) (5 issues)

One-shots

Canon:

• The Ultimate Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift
• Willow: Goddesses and Monsters
• Riley: Commitment Through Distance, Virtue Through Sin

Other:

• The Dust Waltz
• Rogues Gallery
• Ring of Fire
• Spike and Dru: Paint the Town Red
• Stinger
• The Latest Craze
• Bad Dog
• Spike and Dru: The Queen of Hearts
• Spike and Dru: All's Fair
• Giles: Beyond the Pale
• Jonathan: Codename: Comrades
• Lover's Walk
• Willow & Tara: WannaBlessedBe
• Lost and Found
• Reunion
• Chaos Bleeds
• Chosen Ones
• Every Generation
• Faith
• Tea Time
• We Are the Slayer: Epilogue
• Buffy '97
• Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer Special
• The Lost Summer

Shorts

Canon:

• "Harmony Bites"
• "Vampy Cat Play Friend"
• "Always Darkest"
• "Harmony Comes to the Nation"
• "Magical Mystery Tour, Featuring the Beetles"
• "In Space No One Can Hear You Slay"
• "Love vs. Life"
• "Where Are They Now?"

Other:

• "MacGuffins"
• "Dance with Me"
• "Hello Moon"
• "Cursed"
• "Dead Love"
• "Play with Fire"
• "Killing Time"
• "Take Back the Night"
• "City of Despair"
• "One Small Promise"
• "Punish Me with Kisses"
• "Spike and Dru: Who Made Who?"
• "Spike in 'Rock 'n' Roll All Night (and Sleep Every Day)'"
• "Haunted"
• "Willow & Tara: Demonology Menagerie"
• "Mall Rats"
• "Angels We Have Seen on High"
• "No Need to Fear, the Slayer's Here"
• "Frenemies"
• "Conversations with (Vexing) Dead People"
• "Aughie and Camazotz in: Birthday Brew"
• "Wondrous and Surprising Magic"
• "Is This What I Wanted"
• "Mirrors Don't Lie"
• "Trust the Process"
• "25 Years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Collections

Trade paperbacks

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic:

1. The Remaining Sunlight
2. Uninvited Guests
3. Bad Blood
4. Crash Test Demons
5. Pale Reflections
6. The Blood of Carthage
7. Food Chain
8. Past Lives
9. Autumnal
10. Out of the Woodwork
11. False Memories
12. Ugly Little Monsters
13. The Death of Buffy
14. Note from the Underground
15. Viva Las Buffy!
16. Slayer, Interrupted
17. A Stake to the Heart

• The Origin
• Spike and Dru
• Angel: The Hollower
• Oz
• Haunted
• Willow & Tara

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight:

1. The Long Way Home
2. No Future for You
3. Wolves at the Gate
4. Time of Your Life
5. Predators and Prey
6. Retreat
7. Twilight
8. Last Gleaming

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine:

1. Freefall
2. On Your Own
3. Guarded
4. Welcome to the Team
5. The Core

• Buffyverse Sampler
• Spike: A Dark Place
• Willow: Wonderland

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten:

1. New Rules
2. I Wish
3. Love Dares You
4. Old Demons
5. In Pieces on the Ground
6. Own It

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven:

1. The Spread of Their Evil...
2. One Girl in All the World

• Giles: Girl Blue

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve:

• The Reckoning

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2019):

1. High School Is Hell
2. Once Bitten
3. From Beneath You
4. Frenemies
5. The Biggest Bad
6. Secrets of the Slayer
7. The World Without Shrimp
8. A Rainbow upon Her Head
9. Forget Me Not
10. We Are the Slayer

• Hellmouth (paperback)
• Hellmouth (hardcover)
• Hellmouth Gift Set
• Chosen Ones
• Willow
• Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer
• Buffy '97

The Vampire Slayer:

1. The Vampire Slayer, Volume 1
2. The Vampire Slayer, Volume 2
3. The Vampire Slayer, Volume 3
4. The Vampire Slayer, Volume 4

Omnibuses

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic:

1. Omnibus, Volume 1
2. Omnibus, Volume 2
3. Omnibus, Volume 3
4. Omnibus, Volume 4
5. Omnibus, Volume 5
6. Omnibus, Volume 6
7. Omnibus, Volume 7

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight:

1. Omnibus: Season 8, Volume 1
2. Omnibus: Season 8, Volume 2

Hardcovers

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight:

1. Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 1
2. Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 2
3. Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 3
4. Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 4

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine:

1. Season Nine Library Edition, Volume 1
2. Season Nine Library Edition, Volume 2
3. Season Nine Library Edition, Volume 3

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten:

1. Season Ten Library Edition, Volume 1
2. Season Ten Library Edition, Volume 2
3. Season Ten Library Edition, Volume 3

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven:

• Season Eleven Library Edition

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve:

• Season Twelve Library Edition

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2019):

• High School Is Hell Deluxe Edition
• Hellmouth Deluxe Edition

Legacy edition

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 1
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 2
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 3
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 4
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 5
6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 6

Miscellaneous

• Slay the Critics (letters to the editor)
• Creatures of Habit (illustrated novel)
• "The First Time" (prose short story)
• Panel to Panel (artbook)
• "HARM" (advertisement feature)
• Panel to Panel: Seasons 8 & 9 (artbook)
• Sunnydale High Sentinel (letters to the editor)