Night of a Thousand Vampires

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.

"Night of a Thousand Vampires" is the thirty-ninth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic series. Written by Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe, and illustrated by Cliff Richards, it was originally published on November 28, 2001 by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis

Don't you hate it when you go to a funeral and unwittingly open an ancient portal to a prison dimension and summon forth a rampaging horde of blood-starved vampires? In this issue, that's exactly what happens to Buffy! These extra dimensional nasties have got only one thing in mind — dinner. And Sunnydale is on the menu — literally. It's just one of those days.^[1]

Continuity

• Buffy has flashbacks of finding Joyce dead in "I Was Made to Love You" and talking to Angel in "Forever".
• Buffy is accused of killing Verena, with whom she encountered in Cemetery of Lost Love. She was actually killed by Baron Samedi.
• Verena's mother has access to Dr. Flitter's studies to create his bad blood formula, from A Boy Named Sue.
• Anya mentions a grief demon she used to know; she will see Veeya again in Lost and Found.

Appearances

Individuals

• Angel (Only in flashbacks)
• Flitter (Only mentioned)
• Rupert Giles
• Xander Harris
• Anya Jenkins
• Mrs. Maclay (Only mentioned)
• Tara Maclay
• Willow Rosenberg
• Buffy Summers
• Dawn Summers
• Joyce Summers (Only in flashbacks)
• Tony (Only mentioned)
• Veeya (Only mentioned)
• Verena (Only in photograph)

Organizations and titles

• The Key
• Scooby Gang
• Slayer
• Wallaroos
• Watcher
• Witch

Species

• Demon (Only mentioned)
• Human
• Vampire

Locations

• Sunnydale
  • 1630 Revello Drive
  • Hellmouth (Only mentioned)
  • Maple Court
    • Espresso Pump
    • Magic Box (Only mentioned)
  • Sunnydale Cemetery
  • University of California, Sunnydale

Weapons and objects

• "Bad Blood: A Study in Alchemical Necromancy"
• Stake

Death count

• Twelve vampires, staked by Buffy Summers.
• Unknown number of vampires, killed by other vampires.
• Unidentified vampire, staked himself.
• Verena's mother, bitten by an unidentified vampire.

Behind the scenes

Production

• Editor Scott Allie has revealed that Jeff Matsuda cover was commissioned with the purpose of saving it for whenever schedule became tight. An year later, as Allie noticed they wouldn't have this problem anymore, he gave the drawing to writers Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe so they'd write a story around it. This resulted on Night of a Thousand Vampires, which indeed includes the scene on the cover.^[2]
• The photo cover features a promotional picture taken for Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3.
• Dr. Flitter's book has "Dark Horse" as publisher, a reference to Dark Horse Comics itself.
• Verena was first mentioned in Cemetery of Lost Love as "Verona". Since she's called each name once, it's unknown which is her actual name and which was a mistake.

Distribution

• Night of a Thousand Vampires was the 132nd best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 16,000 sales in November 2001 at comic specialty stores.^[3]

Collections

• "Ugly Little Monsters"
• "Omnibus: Volume 7"
• "Classic 42: Night of a Thousand Vampires / Ugly Little Monsters"

Pop culture references

• Verena's mother takes fluoxetine hydrochloride antidepressant pills.
• Xander mentions cards from the board game Monopoly.
• Buffy compares an item with the film The Lord of the Rings (2001).

Gallery

Jeff Matsuda cover

Original picture for photo cover

Add a photo to this gallery

References