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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 1 | 
 enlarge | Authors: Joss Whedon, Others, Eric Powell, Joe Bennett
Publisher: Dark Horse
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $8.86
You Save: $16.09 (64%)
New (35) Used (16) from $8.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 32055
Media: Paperback
Edition: Dark Horse Omnibus (6x9 inch)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.6
ISBN: 159307784X
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781593077846
ASIN: 159307784X
Publication Date: July 25, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Good Condition, delivery time 10 to 12 Working days, via Priority airmail from UK
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Product Description
The definitive comics collection of all things Buffy starts here. This first massive volume begins at the beginning - The Origin, a faithful adaptation of creator Joss Whedon's original screenplay for the film that started it all. The newly-chosen slayer's road to Sunnydale continues in Viva Las Buffy and Slayer, Interrupted. Next, high school, the Scoobies and an English librarian lead the way into Season One continuity. Plus, The Goon creator Eric Powell provides pencils to "All's Fair," featuring Spike and Drusilla at the 1933 World's Fair.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 If you are enjoying "Season 8" of "BtVs," maybe you would be interested in "Season 0" September 23, 2007
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
I did not collect the first "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comic book series mainly because I did not cotton to the artwork. I picked up the first issue but that was it, although I did pick up some of the associated minis-series. So I got "The Origin" when it first came out because I liked the idea of redoing the movie script to better incorporate it into the mythos created by the television series, as well as "Willow & Tara Wilderness," Joss Whedon's "Fray," and "Tales of the Vampires." More recently I bought the "False Memories" trade paperback collection because it sounded like it might be similar to a "BtVS" novel that I tried writing once upon a time. But with Joss Whedon writing and serving as "executive producer" for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8" (and now gearing up for "Season 6" of "Angel"), Dark Horse decided to reprint a definitive collection of the first "BtVS" comic series and its assorted spin-offs.
Initially I was sitting on the fence with regards to even checking out the series, but then I discovered that this omnibus series is organized chronologically following the timeline of the television series. In other words, the stories in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 1" take place before the show's first season. That, I decided, meant Volume 1 was at least worth a look and then I can see what I have missed:
"All's Fair" ("Spike & Dru" #3), script by Christopher Golden, pencils by Eric Powell, and inks by Drew Geraci & Keith Barnett. This is a Spike & Dru story where the love vamps are checking out the Chicago World's Fair of 1933, where a scientist has tapped into energy from a demon dimension. Meanwhile, there are people who want to make Spike pay for killing his first Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion. Those story lines are interesting on their own, but putting them together does not up the ante. There is a neat scene where Spike and Dru simultaneously put the bite on a pair of young lovers kissing, but sharing pages ends up hurting the two main plot lines (4 Stakes).
"Buffy: The Origin," adapted from Whedon's original screenplay by Dan Brereton & Golden, pencils by Joe Bennett, and inks by Rick Ketcham. What if the original movie version of "BtVS" had been filmed the way Joss wrote it and not turned into a camp comedy by the director? This three-part comic book story gives fans an idea of what might have been. Beyond making Buffy look like Sarah Michelle Gellar, it is cutting all that campiness that makes this worth reading and upgrading the supporting cast: for example, Merrick looks like a cross between Donald Sutherland and Richard Riehle, the actors who played the character in the movie and TV series respectively. Not great, but I like it way more than the movie (4.5 Stakes).
"Viva Las Buffy!" (#51-54), script by Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Cliff Richards, and inks by Will Conrad. What I like about this one is that beyond the whole idea of a road trip to Las Vegas (the number of times Buffy got out of Sunnydale on the TV series can just about be counted on one hand), is that it explains what happened to Pike: they run away to live and work in Vegas, but he becomes convinced that having a Slayer for a girlfriend is way too dangerous. I also like that it deals with how Giles came to be Buffy's second Watcher, although having Angel be in the story bothered me a bit until I remembered that according to "Becoming" he was hanging around keeping an eye on Buffy back then. But it was the insistence on working Dawn into these early outings that became too much for me. The neat thing this time around are the special siblings where only one is a vampire, which makes for an unusual scene, but overall this one tries to do too much with limited success (4 Stakes).
"Dawn & Hoppy the Bear," everything by Paul Lee. A demon goes after Buffy by giving her a "make-a-wish teddy bear." The only problem is that Buffy is off in Las Vegas (see previous story), so the delivery goes to Dawn instead. On the one hand, since Dawn was not really there at this point in history I have no idea as to what "really" happened that would justify this revised memory. But on the other hand, this is a cute little story (3.5 Stakes).
"Slayer, Interrupted" (#55-59) script by Lodbell & Nicieza, pencils by Richards, and inks by Conrad. While Buffy was off in Las Vegas, Dawn finds her sister's diary. When her parents read about how he has been fighting vampires and demons, they have her committed to a mental institution. Buffy actually likes not having to be the Slayer, but of course those running the place have a different agenda, making their patients brides of the demon Rakagore. Meanwhile, Giles has to face the consequences of having used Black Magic. The attempt to have early Giles jive more with later Giles does not really work because early Giles is so not the Ripper we meet in these issues. At the end of this the Summers move to Sunnydale, Giles is officially installed as her Watcher (there is a formal ceremony apparently), and the rest is history (4.5 Stakes).
There is also a Cover Gallery, because for some reason a lot of these reprint magazines like to either ignore the covers that went with these stories or shove them in the back of the book. This book does both. In the end I round up on this collection because of the nice job they do with Take 2 of Buffy's "Origin," although the second time reading these stories I better appreciate the attempt to work out what they referred to at Dark Horse as "Buffy: Year One." I just think having Dawn around for these early stories was a mistake because her presence does not fit my understanding of how her retroactive existence works. But that might just be my hang-up and most "BtVS" fans will not mind such things. Now I will have to see if Volume 2 manages to maintain this initial level.
 This Is The Way To Go August 25, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Unless you're a completist with oodles and oodles of cash, this is the way to go if you want to collect the older Buffy comics. Before this, they have been collected (for the most part) into smaller trade paperbacks, each of which cost almost as much as this volume. Now, before I get into my review, let me explain the omnibus series, as I've seen a lot of people misunderstanding when talking about it on message boards: This is not the only omnibus. There are to be seven of them all together, and this is only the first one.
Now that that's out of the way...
The comics collected here range from great ("Viva Las Buffy"/"Dawn and Hoopy the Bear") to okay ("Slayer, Interrupted"/"The Origin") not so great ("Spike and Dru: All's Fair"). However, for what this book lacks, it makes up for it by it's diversity; it's fascinating to see how different artists and writers alike tackle this utterly unique world, how each person puts their own spin of what has already been developed or hinted at. Before I even read this volume, what I did was flip through, just taking in the art. There shading, the coloring, the style; everything is all so different that even if sometimes the stories won't keep you interested, the art will.
Well, that's assuming you can get past "All's Fair." I understand why it was put first in this issue, as--chronologically--it does really happen first, though it isn't usually a good idea to put the most tedious story first in a book like this.
All in all, a great buy if ever a great buy there was. Though not all of the writers or artists are as good as the others, this collection gets--for sheer practicality--an...
8/10
a must for any Buffy fan! July 18, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The Slayer Omnibus collects previously published comic book stories that are set before Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Its an enjoyable read, especially for any Buffy fan. We get some insight into Giles/Ripper, learn a little about Buffy's "lost days" in Las Vegas with her then boy toy and witness Angel's stalkage of the slayer. And then there's Dawn's story with Hoopy the Bear - gotta love it!
If you loved Buffy then this is a must buy!!! August 4, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Big buffy fan? or just starting with buffy? then this book is for you. The art is amazing, same with the dialogue. It's a true collectors item.
HORRAY!! August 17, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm so glad to have an omnibus. I've only just got into comics, so it's handy to have them all together for me to see.
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