Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

The great appeal of Buffy The Vampire Slayer was not the manner in which took on the darkness, the evil that surrounded her, the matter of the dead coming back to life and making Sunnydale a literal Hell on Earth, it was that this was a young woman with real problems, real issues that affected so many across the Western world and how she overcame them. If Joss Whedon’s heroine had been a lad, a boy slayer, it’s doubtful that the show would have been as successful, except to those whose interest in the Twilight series is more driven by rampaging hormones that plot lines.

Buffy Summers was portrayed so well by Sarah Michelle Geller, that yes whilst there may have been an element of reverse teenage hormone sweeping through the viewing public, it appealed to women and young girls in a way that perhaps no other fantasy based drama had done in years and has only been matched in recent years by the Doctor Who revival. Unlike Doctor Who, Buffy was a hero they could identify with, the feminist message of being able to be in control of your own life and having a stake in the future was grasped with both hands of television viewers and one that carried on over very well in to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Graphic Novels.

Omnibus Two continues the superb form shown by all concerned at Dark Horse Comics in the debut Graphic Novel, the selection of short stories being inked and written with flair and exciting attitude which mirrored the long running programme perfectly. Omnibus Two focuses again on events just before Buffy and her mum moved to Sunnydale, although this time with Dawn, Buffy’s sister who was introduced well after the timeline had been established, in tow as well. The reader is privy to the pain felt by all as Buffy’s father and mother go their separate ways and the grief it causes the young Slayer is palpable. Unlike other Dark Horse graphic novels or selection of pictorial sequences, the way in which the team capture the lonely lost soul is excellent. Even though Dark Horse ws arguably the thinking person’s Graphic Novel of choice at the time, nothing really captured the dark emotion and humour of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

With stories such as A Stake To The Heart, the gentle absurdity of MacGuffins and The brilliant The Dust Waltz, Omnibus two is one to take hold of and drink in every piece of dialogue and every piece of great looking art. It is a fitting addition to anyone who loved the television series.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Omnibus Two is available to purchase from Worlds Apart on Lime Street, Liverpool.

Ian D. Hall