Delia's Gone

The subject of this article is non-canonical. While created as part of licensed material, it has not been confirmed as part of the "real" Buffyverse.

Bad Blood, Part Four: Delia's Gone (also known as Love Sick Blues, Part One) is the thirteenth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic series. It was written by Andi Watson and illustrated by Cliff Richards.

Synopsis

Beauty, popularity, and impeccable fashion sense are just a few of the qualities that help define the character of Cordelia Chase. When a gorgeous, mysterious beauty begins to invade Cordelia's spotlight with the men of the Bronze, though, she undergoes a shift in priorities. With an upcoming school quiz-show contest looming, Cordelia decides it's time to flaunt her intelligence… by any means necessary!^[1]

Continuity

• Buffy is sure she's seen Selke before, but fails to remember the two had confronted in Halloween.
• Selke avoid killing Buffy with the certain that her death would cause a potential to become the new Slayer, which already happened due to her first death ("What's My Line, Part Two").
• Surprising the Scooby Gang with her intelectual abilities, Cordelia would be accepted in prestigious colleges ("Choices") and revealed as top ten percent of her class ("Untouched"). Upon her impressive SAT score, she would declare she has "some experience in covering these things up" to preserve her popular image ("Lovers Walk").

Appearances

Individuals

• Angel
• Cordelia Chase
• Dr. Flitter
• Rupert Giles
• Alexander Harris
• Lyle
• Milo (Only mentioned)
• Daniel Osbourne
• Willow Rosenberg
• Rouleau
• Sarah (Only mentioned)
• Selke
• Buffy Summers

Organizations and titles

• Horton's military academy (Only mentioned)
• Quiz-Bowl Champions

Locations

• Bavaria, Germany (Only mentioned)
• Las Vegas, USA (Only mentioned)
• Sunnydale, USA
  • The Bronze
  • Espresso Pump
  • Dr. Flitter's clinic
  • Sunnydale Cemetery
  • Sunnydale High School
    • Sunnydale High School library

Weapons and objects

• Brooch of the Ottobeuren
• Stake

Death count

• Unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy Summers.
• Lyle, sired by Selke.

Behind the scenes

Production

• The title is a reference to the song "Delia's Gone" (1940), continuing the thread of classic songs for titles since Hey, Good Lookin', Part One.
• First published as Delia's Gone, the story was collected as Love Sick Blues, Part One.
• The photo cover features a promotional picture taken for Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 2.
• Differently from other representations, at this point the comic issues had vampires also able to transform into green creatures with red eyes, pointy ears, a wide mouth, and long teeth. Although, this seems more like an artistic choice, not having direct consequence to the stories.
• The Bronze differs in this appearance as well in the comics at this point; as the "Bronze Club", it has a consistent facade of two large statues, since its first comic appearance in Wu-Tang Fang.

Distribution

• Delia's Gone was the 85th best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 33,949 sales in September 1999 at comic specialty stores.^[2]

Collections

• "Crash Test Demons"
• "Omnibus: Volume 4"
• "Classic 23: Bad Blood"

Pop culture references

• The quiz-bowl is live broadcast at PBS.
• Cordelia mentions television host Joan Rivers.
• Lyle compares television and film screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski to novelist Charles Dickens.
• Buffy referes to television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• Buffy mentions the Planet of the Apes franchise.

Goofs, bloopers & continuity errors

• J. Michael Straczynski is refereed as "Strcynski".

International titles

• Italian: Cordelia È Andata (Cordelia Is Gone)
• Russian: Печальная мелодия любви (The Sad Melody of Love)

Gallery

Cover artwork

Jeff Matsuda main cover

Original picture for photo cover

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International covers

Cover in Russia

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References