Food Chain (Buffy Comic)

While many comic books based on the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' were published when the television show was on air they are not all considered canonical and often deal with characters who do not appear in the television series, most notably in the ''Tales of the Slayers'' and ''Tales of the Vampires'' mini-series.

The first series of books were published by Dark Horse Comics between 1998 and 2004, originally in comic format but then gathered into volumes of trade paperbacks. A small number of Buffy comics have not been included in trade paperbacks, such as the books entitled "Giles", "Jonathan", and "Reunion".

Following the television series finale, Dark Horse began releasing new books titled Season Eight, Nine, and Ten, and various spin-offs, which are written and/or supervised by creator Joss Whedon and officially recognized as canon to the show. In 2005, Dark Horse allowed the rights to produce the comics for Buffy's companion show ''Angel'' to lapse, and they were picked up for a short time by IDW Publishing, which released the canon series ''Angel: After the Fall'' among other non-canon titles. Dark Horse reacquired the rights in 2010 and went on to release the series ''Angel & Faith'' and ''Angel''.

In 2018 it was announced after 20 years at Dark Horse Comics, the license for Buffy and all related material will transfer to Boom! Studios. The first issue of the reboot series was released in January 2019.

Relation to the TV series

''Buffy'' comics have a long history, with comics produced during the lifetime of the run of the show generally considered "non-canonical", with notable exceptions written by Joss Whedon himself. ''Buffy'' comic books published during the period 2007–2018 told the "official" continuation of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', with series creator Joss Whedon acting as the primary writer and working with other writers from the television series writers room to continue Buffy's story.

Pre-2007

In common with most ancillary media for TV shows such as novels and video games, storylines for the original Dark Horse comic books that aired during the original run of the show were "approved" by both Fox and Joss Whedon as part of a wider wave of ''Buffy'' merchandise. Stories in the original issues 1–63 for example of the ''Buffy'' comics were published while the show was on air and purported to take place "between episode"s of the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' TV series, but remained difficult to place definitively other than the season they are set in. However, plot elements or character details introduced within these stories would not be followed by episodes of the TV show. Other later storylines in this era of the comics attempted to fill in the gaps following character exits in the show (as with the ''Oz'' comic) or during the time between seasons five and six (as with ''The Death of Buffy'') without introducing information that could be contradicted by the show's official storyline.

''Buffy'' creator Joss Whedon distanced himself from these ancillary media written by authors,Rudolph, Ileane
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Is Back: The Complete Joss Whedon Q&A
. ''TV Guide'' (December 7, 2006) on a number of occasions, saying:

During this era, several "canonical" ''Buffy'' comics were also published with Whedon's close involvement. These began with Whedon writing the far-future comic book '' Fray'' (2001–2003) about a Slayer many generations after Buffy, which introduced plot elements that also appeared in the seventh season of the TV series. Whedon and other writers from the show also wrote for the '' Tales of the Slayers'' and ''Tales of the Vampires'' (2002–2004) anthology stories about past vampires and Slayers before Buffy's time.

2007-present

In 2005, Dark Horse Comics and Joss Whedon announced a new canonical continuation of the television series in the form of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'' (2007–2011), which had plot elements in common with the canonical ''Angel'' continuations '' Angel: After the Fall'' (2007–2009) and ''Spike'' (2010–2011) from IDW Comics, another publisher. ''Season Eight'' was followed by '' Season Nine'' (2011–2013) and several other seasons, before culminating with '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve'' in 2018.

From 2019, the ''Buffy'' license was transferred to BOOM! Studios, which presided over its own run of explicitly non-canon stories set in an alternative universe from 2019 to 2023.

Dark Horse Comics (1998–2018)

Pre-Season Eight Stories

These stories are first published by Dark Horse comics, later most of ''Buffy'' stories are collected in Buffy comic books.

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1998–2003)

Buffy specials (1998–2003)

Buffy mini-series (1999–2001)

Buffy tales (2002–2009)

Dark Horse Presents

Dark Horse Extra

TV Guide

Trade paperbacks

1. Compilations of most of the material listed above:
* ''The Remaining Sunlight''
* ''Uninvited Guests''
* ''Bad Blood''
* ''Crash Test Demons''
* ''Pale Reflections''
* ''The Blood of Carthage''
* ''Food Chain''
* ''Past Lives''
* ''Autumnal''
* ''Out of the Woodwork''
* ''False Memories''
* ''Ugly Little Monsters''
* ''Haunted''
* ''The Death of Buffy''
* ''Note from the Underground''
* ''Viva Las Buffy!''
* ''Slayer, Interrupted''
* ''A Stake to the Heart''
* ''Spike and Dru''
* ''Willow and Tara''
* ''Oz''
* ''Tales of the Slayers''
* ''Tales of the Vampires''

2. Compilations of all of the material listed above:
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 1
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 2
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 3
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 4
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 5
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 6
* ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus'' Vol. 7
* ''Tales''

Season Eight (2007–2011)

The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series was followed by '' Season Nine'' in 2011.

Specials

Trade paperbacks

* ''The Long Way Home''
* ''No Future for You''
* ''Wolves at the Gate''
* ''Time of Your Life''
* ''Predators and Prey''
* ''Retreat''
* ''Twilight''
* ''Last Gleaming''

Season Nine (2011–2013)

When Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight was finished, Dark Horse Comics decided to publish a new comic season of Buffy. They also decided to follow up the series Angel: After the Fall with the publication of Angel & Faith as a part of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine after IDW Publishing lost the license to Angel and it went to Dark Horse Comics.

Buffy

= Trade paperbacks

=
* ''Freefall''
* ''On Your Own''
* ''Guarded''
* ''Welcome to the Team''
* ''The Core''

Angel & Faith

= Trade paperbacks

=
* ''Live Through This''
* ''Daddy Issues''
* ''Family Reunion''
* ''Death and Consequences''
* ''What You Want, Not What You Need''

Spike: A Dark Place

= Trade paperback

=
* ''Spike: A Dark Place''

Willow: Wonderland

= Trade paperback

=
* ''Willow: Wonderland''

Season Ten (2014–2016)

Season Ten is a Buffy comic series published after Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine.

Buffy

= Trade paperbacks

=
* ''New Rules''
* ''I Wish''
* ''Love Dares You''
* ''Old Demons''
* ''Pieces on the Ground''
* ''Own It''

Angel & Faith

= Trade paperbacks

=
* ''Where the River Meets the Sea''
* ''Lost and Found''
* ''United''
* ''A Little More Than Kin''
* ''A Tale Of Two Families''

Season Eleven (2016–2018)

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven'' is the sequel to the '' Season Ten'' comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Buffy & Angel consist of only 12 issues per series, a much shorter run than the previous seasons, while the miniseries, Giles, runs for 4 issues. The series was published by Dark Horse Comics and began on November 23, 2016.

The series was concluded with '' Season Twelve'' which began on June 20, 2018 and concluded on September 19, 2018.

Publication

=''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven''

=

Single issues

Trade paperbacks

=''Angel Season Eleven''

=

Single issues

Trade paperbacks

=''Giles Season Eleven''

=

Single issues

Trade paperbacks

Season Twelve (2018)

Trade paperbacks

*''The Reckoning''

Fray (2001–2003)

''Fray'' is an eight-issue comic book limited series, a futuristic spin-off of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Written by ''Buffy'' creator Joss Whedon, the series follows a Slayer named Melaka Fray, a chosen one in a time where vampires (called "lurks") are returning to the slums of New York City, and the rich-poor divide is even greater. Volume one is drawn by Karl Moline (pencils) and Andy Owens (inks).

Trade paperbacks

* Fray: Future Slayer

Boom! Studios (2019–present)

In 2019, a new ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' comic book series was released by Boom! Studios; this version of the series is a reboot with no continuity to the television series or previous comics. Despite being set in an alternate modern-day continuity, the likenesses of the series' actors are still used to represent their respective characters.

Main series (2019–)

Trade paperbacks

* ''High School is Hell''
* ''Once Bitten''
* ''From Beneath You''
* ''Frenemies''
* ''The Biggest Bad''
* ''Secrets of the Slayer''
* ''The World Without Shrimp''
* ''A Rainbow upon Her Head''
* ''Forget Me Not''
* ''We Are the Slayer''

One Shots (2019–)

Willow (2020)

Trade paperbacks

*''Willow''

Hellmouth (2019–2020)

Trade paperbacks

*''Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hellmouth''

Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer

Trade Paperbacks

*''Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer''

The Vampire Slayer (2022–2023)

Trade paperbacks

*''The Vampire Slayer: Volume 1''
*''The Vampire Slayer: Volume 2''
*''The Vampire Slayer: Volume 3''
*''The Vampire Slayer: Volume 4''

Comics by writer

:''See Buffyverse comics#Comics by writer''

See also

* List of feminist comic books
* Portrayal of women in comics

Notes

References

External links

Official BOOM! Comics ''Buffy the Vampire Slayers'' Comics Home

Official Dark Horse ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' Comics Home

The Unofficial Comic Book Guide to ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''

Buffy Ecomics
at BBC

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffy The Vampire Slayer comics
1998 comics debuts
Comics about women

Comics by Brad Meltzer
Fantasy comics
Feminist comics
Horror comics
Comics about magic
Werewolf comics
Zombies in comics
Vampires in comics
Comic lists by franchise