Product Description: The gang is off to college and Buffy's whole world is changing. How much education does a girl who's destined to kill monsters her whole life really need? To quell her confusion, Buffy throws herself into Slaying with wild abandon and disastrous results. Her killing of Sunnydale's answer to big foot may just bring about the rising of the demon Ky-Laag, and the end of the world. And the only group who know what's going on and who want to stop it, the mysterious Blood of Carthage, also want to kill Buffy for starting it all. What's a gal to do? This trade paperback collects issues #21-25 of the monthly series and is its longest and most involved storyline to date. The events in this story will have repercussions in the Buffy-verse for years to come, so do not miss it!
A Rich, Well-Written Story Christopher Golden is really an impressive writer. What I've read of his work before this was mostly original short stories and some short Buffy tales, and none of it really worked very well for me. There were a few glimmers of talent here and there, but I was beginning to think that he was overrated. "The Blood of Carthage," a five issue story arc set in the fourth season of Buffy, changed that for me. It's a very in-character, textured story that, for the most part, wouldn't feel out of place in the canon of the Buffyverse, which is rare for an early Dark Horse Buffy comic.
Golden writes all of the characters extremely well, though my favorite of his has to be Anya. She's as hilarious here as she is in the show. The overall mood of the comic nicely captures what the characters were going through at the time this takes place, but also adds its own stuff to the story. The Xander/Willow flashbacks were awesome, and though that part of the story and its influence on the present did seem a smidgen forced, it was worth it to get those glimpses back. The Spike flashbacks were also awesome. I really liked that they got different artists for each flashback; that really suited the style of each character.
The book wasn't perfect, and I did think the inclusion of Lucy Hanover was interesting, but also so epic that it kind of highlighted the fact that this book was non-canonical, because such an event would have been referenced in canon. Nevertheless, that was the only real flaw I could think of. There were beats of "meh" throughout the story, but for the most part, it was a very solid tale that wasn't afraid to show that it wasn't just a good Buffy story, it was a great story of its own.
8/10
A poem from me to the world...
Some beach...somewhere Some city....out there Some cat....out where? Some mother...to embrace Some dad...with a backbrace Someone...with an empty face some heart...with no place Some rocker...with no identity Some babysitter...without a cent for me Some boy...becoming a man Some man...named dan Some milk....gone sour Some girl...is a coward Some whore...left undone some steak...cooked well done Some girl...with no soul Some fish...with a bowl Some leaf...turning green some girl...becoming a teen Some granpda...dying some hooker...lying
some father...writing a poem Some people...reading his poem
Even Slayers Make Mistakes This trade paperback presents a serial story that originally appeared in issues 21 through 25 of the BTVS comics. Officially it occurs at the end of the third season, but is more of a bridge into season four, presenting Buffy as a new freshman in college, desperately trying to balance the pressures of real scholastic work with her night job - slaying. When an old, scary legend of 'Mad Jack' comes back to life, Buffy over-reacts and kills the first suspect demon without a thorough investigation. The result is a major crisis when it turns out that Mad Jack was just the guardian over something much worse.
Originally released during the Roman conquest of Carthage, Ky-Laag is major badness. He was only brought under control at that time by the wiles of Vraka, another demon, who led a cult called 'The Blood of Carthage.' Several thousand years later Buffy has let the rabbit out of the hate, and Vraka heads for Sunnydale to try to stop Ky-Laag and, in his spare time, kill the offending slayer. Buffy feels the same way about Vraka, but, if they don't work something out, they will be dead and the rest of us will be worshipping Ky-Laag.
One of the other key story arcs is Willow's need for emancipation from a Xander who still treats her like a childhood sidekick. As a young woman with significant magical and intellectual skills this has become more than a little irritating. In a series of flashbacks we see the developing relationship between the two as children. One in which Xander often took the lead. The other piece of history is a series of pieces about Vraka and reason for his bad feelings towards Spike. It should be no surprise that these do not paint the vampire with a chip in his head in a very good light.
One has to think of 'The Blood of Carthage' as more than a trade paperback rehashing the contents of a series of comic books. The story itself is larger than its media, and the trade paperback or graphic novel suits it best. Part of this is due to the efforts of Christopher Golden as writer, and the rest is due to editor Scott Allie's decision to deviate from the story telling style in the previous comic series - 'Bad Blood.' This is not intended to be a criticism of Andi Watson's rambling nine-issue series. Instead, Allie decided it was time for a change of pace and then turned to Golden, a proven Buffy novelist, to implement the idea.
Golden's story line is structured much like a novel, with a focused major story arc and rising levels of complexity and intensity. To break up the pacing a bit we are treated with flashbacks to Willow's childhood with Xander and Spike's first encounter with Vraka. Another thing that makes this series special is the carefully managed creative artwork. While Cliff Richards is the artist for the main story, Chynna Clugston-Major and the team of Paul Lee and Brian Horton each get one of the flashback series. This is cleverly orchestrated to provide different moods and contexts. The art really is excellent, and a separate article on what went into it is included in this volume.
If you have been wondering which trade paperback to buy first, this should be high on your list.
Xander and Willow flashbacks. . .a great trade! I think this trade has issues 21-25 of the series, I can't be sure but the info I got is from the Dark Horse comics website. The issues aren't sectioned in the trade (the blood of carthage), they run together to form a really good story with rather good artwork. We even get to see Xander and Willow as kids! Its a good stand alone trade, I really recommend it. Spike and Dru make an appearance and Giles makes scones! The coolest thing about the trade is the Xander/Willow storyline because it really examines their relationship and who is the sidekick (or not). Christopher Golden is a great Buffy writer, I suggest you pick this one up.
A bloody good read The only problem with this excellent graphic novel is that it isn't a full length book. A plot so complex and characters so rich they deserve 300 pages. Christopher Golden never disappoints.
The art work is exciting and colorful. I think the actors are well drawn. Their voices are true.
Set in the fourth season, Buffy is at college. The pressures weigh heavy on her slayer duties. When she kills the wrong demon all Hell breaks loose which forces deadly enemies to work together. I recommend this to all Buffy fans
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