Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 and Angel #0

We got a special treat this weekend that surprised even us retailers. Buffy the Vampire Slayer #4 had a brand new series, Angel #0, stealth shipped alongside it! For those of you unaware, BOOM! studios has been printing a new series based on the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show. Cleverly calling it a "reVAMP" of the TV series, the new comic series is a modern retelling of the popular show.

Buffy Summers herself remains the most recognizable of the original cast. Like the TV show, she moves to Sunnydale with her mom after being expelled from her old school for fighting (defending the student body from vampires still doesn't earn you points with faculty, it seems). Like the original series, Buffy befriends Willow and Xander on her first day, despite popular-but-mean Harmony warning her against it. Also like the series, Buffy struggles to find a "work/life" balance between her schooling and her slaying, a point of contention between her and her Watcher, Giles. Longtime Buffy fans will remember that it's a Watcher's duty to oversee the growth and training of a Slayer, as well as assist in researching the enemies or prophecies they come up against.

The most major differences from this comic to the TV series actually seems to be in the lives of the characters Buffy surrounds herself with. In the series opening Buffy's mom, Joyce Summers, is already in a serious, long-term relationship with a man Buffy isn't too keen on. Willow, who made headlines when she came out in season 4 of the TV series, is openly gay and in a relationship at the series opening. And Xander, whose character remains largely unchanged, has more emphasis put on his feelings of inadequacy and insecurities. Our other returning characters also come with their own modern updates.

Besides our main cast, we also see Cordelia Chase, Buffy's original high school foe-turned-ally, Spike and Drusilla, some of her most dangerous vampire enemies, and more recently Angel, the vampire with a soul. Without spoiling the new Angel series too much, fans of our original angsty vampire will be happy to know not much has changed with his character. While it seems some of the more problematic aspects of his backstory have been ironed out, Angel is still a man filled with guilt and determined to make up for the suffering he caused before being cursed with a soul.

I think any fan of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel TV series will be interested in the new comics. While the series has been updated to a modern setting, the important core aspects of the characters remain the same. Buffy Summers is still caught between being a hero and being a normal teenage girl. Her Watcher continues to be overbearing because he fears what could happen to her. And Angel is still a man who can't stop punishing himself for the things he's done in the past.