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The canonicity of this article's subject remains dubious. Though it doesn't contradict official continuity, it has not been referenced in any confirmed canonical material. |  |
Wilderness, Part One is the first issue of the Willow & Tara: Wilderness comic book miniseries. Written by Amber Benson with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Ajit Jothikaumar, it was originally published on July 10, 2002, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
Amber Benson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Tara, and acclaimed Buffy novelist Christopher Golden team up with one of the hottest new animation-to-comics transplants — artist Ajit Jothikaumar — to bring you the eagerly anticipated follow-up to last year's Willow & Tara special. In Wilderness, Willow, Tara, and Buffy's little sister Dawn are drawn into a web of magical intrigue and horror after stumbling upon a stretch of cursed earth just off the Pacific Coast Highway. Something controls the forest animals, causing them to attack and kill any human who wanders too far into the woods. Can the girls put an end to the mysterious force that's corrupting the natural order and make it back to civilization alive? Or will the woods claims three more victims?[1]
Summary[]
Willow and Tara are out on a day trip to find some mystical power spots along the Pacific Coast Highway, and they have taken Dawn along. They first stop is the haunted Anson house. When they try to enter it, they are returned to the entrance by some kind of warding spell. Willow figures she can break the seal, but Tara stops her, arguing the ward must be there for a reason.
A little later, they are having lunch in a local diner when outside residents of the little town protest against a logging company. The girls discuss this and a local join their conversations, warning that what goes around comes around. After they finish their lunch, a petitioner approaches them outside asking for their signatures. As they discuss the local situation, a grief-stricken window, Dolores, begins rambling on about the forest fighting back. The petitioner explains that Dolores believes her logger husband was killed by squirrels.
In the car, Willow, Tara, and Dawn discuss that the earth goddess Gaea would never use killer squirrels, and something odd is going on. They figure that their next stop, the Altar of the Green, will provide answers. After driving for a while, they pull over next to the forest, which is protected by an electrified fence. They scale it and enter the forest. They walk for some time and find a patch of land where many trees were cut down. A forest ranger catches them, but, before he can arrest them, a possessed buck attacks and kills the man. Willow and Tara cast together a "pulses discedo" spell, releasing the buck from the darkness, and it runs off.
Willow wants Dawn to go back to the hotel so she and Tara can investigate, but Dawn insists that she joins them. They continued on toward the Altar of the Green, but they are attacked by possessed wolves, owls, bucks, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, and squirrels. Willow and Tara drive them off with a spell and calls for the one behind the possession to reveal itself. Many wood sprites appear. Willow and Tara try to argue with them not to kill anyone, but the sprites refuse and let a boggart loose on Tara.
Willow threatens the wood sprites, and they call back the boggart. They lead the girls to their king, who they call Jack. Willow and Tara recognize him as an evil greenjack, and they accuse him of using the innocent creatures to murder for him. He agrees and moves to attack Willow.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Dolores
- Rupert Giles (Only mentioned)
- Alexander Harris (Only mentioned)
- Hecate (Only mentioned)
- Jack of the Green
- Anya Jenkins (Only mentioned)
- Tara Maclay
- Willow Rosenberg
- Dawn Summers
Organizations and titles[]
Species[]
- Centaur
- Demon
- Boggart
- Greenjack
- Higher being (Only mentioned)
- Human
- Wood sprite
Locations[]
- Altar of the Green
- Anson house
- Pacific Coast Highway
Objects[]
- Herrell's Hex Handbook
Rituals and spells[]
- "Noceo nullus"
- "Pulses acerbus discedo"
- "Pulses discedo"
- Reversal spell (Only mentioned)
Death count[]
- The forest ranger, attacked by a possessed buck.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- The photo cover features promotional pictures for Buffy the Vampire Slayer seasons five and six.
- The Matsuda Place indicated where the protests take place is a reference to the Buffy artist Jeff Matsuda.
Distribution[]
- Wilderness, Part One was the 122nd best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 16,369 sales in July 2002 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
- Willow & Tara
- Classic 45: Wilderness
- Omnibus, Volume 7
Pop culture references[]
- Dawn suggests to Willow to use "expelliarmus," a spell from Harry Potter.
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara -- Wilderness #1 (of 2)." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on February 16, 2023.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics--July 2002." ICv2, June 25, 2002.