The subject of this article is of alternative canonicity. While created as part of licensed material, it is not part of the original Buffyverse, but its own developed story. |
New School Nightmare is the first graphic novel from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Written and illustrated by Carolyn Nowak, it was originally published on September 25, 2018.
Synopsis[]
An exciting and hilarious new middle grade story for anyone who likes (or doesn't like) vampires!
Buffy Summers is just like any other student… except for the part where she's also a secret vampire slayer. In every generation, one girl is granted great strength to stand against the forces of darkness. Of course, power doesn't matter when it comes to eating lunch alone, getting picked on by the popular kids, or having way too much homework.
Luckily, Buffy finds her way with a can-do attitude, a weird Watcher, and new besties, Sarafina and Alvaro who might just have powers of their own. But will any of it be enough to turn the tide when an army of villainous vampires invade town? Can Buffy save herself, let alone the world?
Like Star Wars: Jedi Academy and DC Comics's Secret Hero Society, this action-packed and fun-filled story is told through comics, journal entries, class notes, doodles, text messages, and other in-world artifacts.[1]
Continuity[]
This story is a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer using the series' mythology. Some key differences are:
- Instead of being called at the age of fourteen (The Origin), Buffy is twelve.
- Buffy moves out from Los Angeles with her mother, after her parents divorce, not from Los Angeles to Sunnydale ("Welcome to the Hellmouth"), but to Cleveland, another town based on a Hellmouth ("Chosen"), similarly to her Wishverse counterpart.
- Her Watcher is Winnifred Sparks, instead of Merrick (The Origin) or the also librarian Rupert Giles.
- Buffy names her stake Mister Pointy, a reference to Kendra's lucky stake ("Becoming, Part One").
- The vulnerability during Halloween makes it a dangerous holiday for humans, while in the series attacks were traditionally avoided as the holiday for being a cliche ("Halloween," "All the Way").
- The Scooby Gang, as they also name themselves, is composed of Buffy and new characters Sarafina, Alvaro, and Miss Sparks, instead of Willow, Xander, and Giles ("The Harvest").
- The gang's headquarters is the library of Cleveland West Middle School, in reference to the original Sunnydale High School library ("The Harvest").
- Instead of the Master from season 1, the Scoobies' first Big Bad is the Primum Dominum — "First Master."
- Santa Claus is revealed to be a vampire who uses the letters he receives as invites to his victims' homes. In "The Body," he's described as a demon who disembowels children on Christmas night.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Agnes
- Alvaro
- Boone
- Susan Brown
- Miss Canter
- Santa Claus
- Primum Dominum
- Dracula (Only mentioned)
- Drusilla (Only mentioned)
- Hugo
- Kyle
- Roger McKay (Only mentioned)
- Mr. Dutch (Only mentioned)
- Melanie Dutch
- Murphy (Only mentioned)
- Rae (Only mentioned)
- Sarafina
- Winnifred Sparks
- Spike (Only mentioned)
- Regis St. Clair
- Buffy Summers
- Hank Summers (Only mentioned)
- Joyce Summers
- Wallop
- Richard Wilkins (Only mentioned)
- "Cowboy vamp"
- "Leo da Vampire"
- "Scary face"
Organizations and titles[]
- Big Bad
- Scooby Gang
- Slayer
- Watcher
- Watchers Council (Only mentioned)
- Witch
Species[]
- Bat
- Cat (Only mentioned)
- Demon
- Bohg'dar demon (Only mentioned)
- Brachen demon (Only mentioned)
- Dog (Only mentioned)
- Human
- Vampire
- Wolf (Only mentioned)
- Zombie (Only mentioned)
Events[]
Locations[]
- Egypt (Only mentioned)
- Rome, Italy (Only mentioned)
- United States
- Sweden (Only mentioned)
Objects[]
- Buffy Summers' diary
- Cleveland Times
- Cross (Only mentioned)
- Gem of Amara
- Holy water
- Stake
- The Rocket Prince (Only mentioned)
- Vampyr
- Watchers' Handbook (Only mentioned)
Rituals and spells[]
- "Abra-CaSNACKra"
Death count[]
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy at the parking lot.
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy at the cemetery.
- Unidentified vampire, slayed by Buffy at the cemetery (only mentioned).
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy at the street.
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Sarafina at the street.
- Leo da Vampire, slayed by Buffy (only mentioned).
- Regis St. Clair, staked by Buffy at the cemetery.
- Hugo and Agnes, staked by Buffy outside her house.
- Two unidentified vampires, staked by Buffy at the cemetery.
- Two unidentified vampires, staked by Buffy at the cemetery.
- Boone, staked by Buffy at the cemetery.
- "Scary face," staked by Sarafina at the cemetery.
- Ancient Egypt vampire, Roman gladiator vamp, sad Victorian poet lady, and vampire-Abraham Lincoln, slayed by Buffy (only mentioned).
- Two unidentified vampires, staked by Buffy at the hangar.
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Miss Sparks at the hangar.
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Miss Sparks at school.
- Unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy at school.
- Primum Dominum, staked by Buffy at school.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- In reference to her TV series counterpart's quotes, Buffy declares: "Destructo Girl. That's me." as in "Teacher's Pet"; "She irons her jeans! She's evil!" as in "Living Conditions"; "and date, and shop, and hang out, and go to school, and save the world from unspeakable demons. You know, I wanna do girlie stuff." in reference to "Faith, Hope & Trick"; "A cranky Slayer is a careless Slayer!" from "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date." Similarly, Miss Sparks informs: "when I said you could have a social life and be the Slayer, I did not mean at the same time." and "It should simply be plunge, and move on. Plunge and…," in reference to Rupert Giles in "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date," and declares "We are doomed." as Giles did in "The Harvest." Also, Sarafina says: "Your brain isn't even connected to your mouth, is it?" as Buffy did in "Homecoming," and Alvaro says: "I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away." in reference to Xander in the episode "Witch."
- Differently from other representations, when a vampire is dusted their body becomes a cloud of bats.
- The band "Nerf Herders" is a reference to actual band Nerf Herder, most noted for composing the theme to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and playing in "Empty Places."
- Alvaro wears a shirt with the logo for the Bronze club.
- Alvaro mentions the Mayor Wilkins apparently talking to a snake, a reference to his TV counterpart becoming the snake-like demon Olvikan.
Pop culture references[]
- Buffy compares Boone with the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci.
- Miss Sparks plays the game Jewel Swap.
- Buffy and Alvaro discuss the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
- Alvaro refers to the restaurant chain Domino's Pizza.
- The Scoobies watch the Times Square Ball drop.
- Alvaro mentions the ability of talking to snakes as an indication of being from the fictional school house Slytherin.
- Fina mentions a waiter from Flappy Jack's Pancake House.
- Buffy is certain she's slain statesman Abraham Lincoln.
Preview[]
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New School Nightmare.". Hachette Book Group. Retrieved on March 11, 2018.