The Buffy Comic Project: "The Heart of a Slayer" (Part 2)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 27

Dark Horse (Vol. 1, 1998-2003)

Creators: Chris Boal (writer), Cliff Richards (penciller), Joe Pimentel (inker)

Setting: Season Four

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

Major Original Characters: Karfarnaum (demon); Adja (medieval Slayer)

Summary: Buffy and the Scoobies discuss what should be done with this strange warrior from the past. Giles knows enough of her language to glean that she is actually a Slayer, that her name is Adja, and that she is chasing a demon called Karfarnaum. Giles also understands that Adja is saying "To humble the monster, one must have the heart of a Slayer." As they're discussing what this means, the demon Karfarnaum crashes through the window and attacks. Buffy and Adja fight together, forcing the monster outside until it runs away. The two Slayers go on patrol, teaming up to defeat a group of vampires in the park before they are once again ambushed by Karfarnaum. Adja puts herself in position to be impaled in the chest by Karfarnaum, and although Adja dies, Karfarnaum is magically incinerated. Only then does the full import of Adja's words become clear: literally the only way to kill the demon is to use the heart of a Slayer. Giles tells Buffy that someone sent Karfarnaum to kill her, and that someone sent Adja to save her--but the identity of both parties remains unknown.

Review: Again fairly crappy. The ending is quite a cop-out, as we don't know who sent Karfarnaum, who sent Adja, or why/how time travel is involved. If I had any confidence this was planting plot seeds to be harvested later, it wouldn't be such a big deal, but in a series like this with little internal continuity, it's just annoying. The demon, Karfarnaum, was also perfectly generic.

Notes

* There's a weird time jump from the previous issue, which ended with Adja apparently knocking Buffy unconscious, to this issue, which begins which everyone calmly sitting around a table.

* Buffy has a nice line: "How many Slayers do I have to deal with? I'm supposed to be the Slayer. . . . But no, wait! There are other Slayers--bad ones, Jamaican ones, vampire ones, and now this!"

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