Product Description: The Scoobies' mysterious new foes have obtained a powerful instrument that may destroy everything that Buffy has worked so hard to build. Acclaimed screenwriter, Drew Goddard (Lost, Cloverfield) continues his fun-filled romp through Tokyo with Wolves at the Gate part 3.
"Wolves at the Gate" Turns from a Comedy to a Tragedy Wolves at the Gate" started out as a comedy issue with vampires that seemed very Monster of the Week. There was some relationship drama, all playing out very lightly, and a lot of Dracula hilarity in the first two parts. Well, things just got a lot less funny and a lot more dire.
The issue starts with a powerful sequence. As Buffy reacts to the (minor character) death in the previous issue, everyone gathers in preparation to take on the Japanese vampires who have stolen both Buffy's scythe and Dracula's powers. They have the magic to rob slayers of their powers and they have the capabilities to avoid being killed, much like Dracula did.
As the covers showed, Dawn arrives in Tokyo and gets her stomp on. In an otherwise sad issue, that was a great moment. There is a lot of other good stuff here, such as Buffy snapping into warrior-chick mode, Renee acting as bait, and a really cute scene between Xander and Renee... with Dracula being jealous in the corner. All in all, even though a lot happens, it feels like build up to Issue #15, which will conclude this arc. This issue ends on a shockingly violent and tragic beat, which is cliche Joss. I'm not sure whether the death at the end is a ballsy move or just another "build them up, rip their hearts out" moment, but I hope Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard do something interesting with it.
8/10
Another excellent -- and surprising -- entry to a great comic series First, there are two covers for #14. I have mainly been getting the Jon Foster (pictured here) covers, but I was so delighted with the George Jeanty alternate cover (Jeanty does the illustration for the comic itself) -- featuring a full body shot of Dawn stomping through Tokyo like Gojira himself, that I had to get it. (The Foster cover only shows Dawn's book descending).
Spoiler warning!!!!
I've had a couple of people let me know that they actually like some plot summaries because they don't have immediate access to the comics and won't get them until they come out in book form. So, below I summarize most -- though not all -- of what happens.
What I won't reveal is who dies. It is a pretty surprising death of a character who has been around since the start of Season 8. I absolutely never saw it coming.
The issue begins with the slayers arriving in Tokyo and discovering the slaughtered and strung up body of Aiko, with the words "Welcome to Tokyo" written in Japanese and in her blood on the wall beside her. While mourning her death Dracula gives some helpful advice on how to keep the Tokyo vampires from puffing into smoke. They then manage to capture and extract crucial information from one of them. They learn where Buffy's scythe is located and then Dawn -- still a giant -- arrives via spell and begins to terrorize part of Tokyo as a diversion. They move in on the vampire they believe has the scythe when the shocking death occurs and the issue ends.
All in all I've enjoyed this arc so far. It contains the usual marks of a good Drew Goddard script, who excels at blending extreme comedy with shocking tragedy. I almost instantly fell in love with his writing in Season Seven of BUFFY (in which he wrote or co-wrote several of the best scripts of the show -- he was undoubtedly the last great writer to debut on that series). He continued to delight first ANGEL and then on two J. J. Abrams's creations, ALIAS (where he wrote the series finale) and LOST. Interestingly the only thing he has written that I have been underwhelmed by was his greatest popular success, CLOVERFIELD. I've enjoyed this arc in BUFFY 8 as much as I have his television writing.
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