The Buffy Comic Project: "The Blood of Carthage" (Part 2)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 22

Dark Horse (Volume 1, 1998-2003)

Creators: Christopher Golden (writer), Cliff Richards (penciller), Joe Pimental (inker)

Setting: Season Four

T.V. Character Appearances: Spike, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya

Major Original Characters: Xerxes the Blind (demon), Mad Jack (demon; flashback only), Tergazzi (demon informant), Lucy Hanover (Slayer; as ghost only), Vraka (demon lord)

Summary: Spike plans to visit the demon arms dealer Jax, but when he arrives, Jax has been murdered by Xerxes the Blind (who promptly escapes). Meanwhile, Buffy, Xander, and Willow attend a charity carnival at UC Sunnydale. Buffy explains that she's feeling conflicted about whether there's any point in her going to college, Willow relates a tale from childhood in which she and Xander narrowly avoided being attacked by Mad Jack, and Giles arrives with the news that Brad Caulfield has been found murdered. While investigating, the Scoobies destroy a pack of vampires and hear ominous references to "Ky-Laag." They hurry to meet Anya at the Bronze, only to find that she's under attack by Xerxes the Blind. Xerxes escapes again, but Giles comes through in the research department: Xerxes works for a powerful demon named Vraka, who heads a demon cult called the Blood of Carthage. A quick seance with the ghost of Lucy Hanover reveals that "Ky-Laag" is the name of a demon of "enormous infernal power" who sleeps below Sunnydale--and is stirring!

Review: As the summary indicates, a lot happens this issue to forward the plot. Gone are the days of fight scenes that went on for pages and pages and in their place are investigation, exposition, and characterization. Anya is well-handed, with some laugh-out-loud dialogue, though more could be done with Giles. The dialogue remains strong, but the arrival of Vraka on the last page is underwhelming, as he looks like a pretty generic demon (and he wears a cape!). Once again, love the flashback scenes to young Willow and Xander.

Notes

* The ghost of Lucy Hanover has appeared in several of the Buffy novels as a sort of guide to the deceased. It wasn't until recently I learned that the first mention of her was in one of the very first televised promos for the Buffy t.v. show.

* Not really sure here why Xerxes has killed Jax or why he later attacks Anya. Visually the demon is interesting, but since he can't talk he doesn't have much of a personality . . .

* Anya, trying to decide how to punish Xander for being late: "Popular culture suggests the withholding of sex as punishment. But that just doesn't make sense. I would then also be punished."

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