Posted in: Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers, Review | Tagged: btvs, buffy, buffy the vampire slayer, Mariko Tamaki, willow

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow #4 Review: BOOM!'s Best Buffy Title

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow continues with the fourth issue of what has been by far the best title in BOOM! Studios' reboot of the iconic series.

Everything that made the first three issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow great continues here, with this slice-of-life style script from Mariko Tamaki. Even as it begins to ramp up with a bit of supernatural action, in the end, there is a quiet, purposeful, intellectual approach to it all that is befitting to Willow as a character. Unlike Buffy, there isn't a stake to take to the battle. Willow has her mind and her words, as much as she struggles to choose ones that won't embarrass her. The series is headed toward its conclusion, which, from the way this ends, has the potential to lead to a nuanced and intriguing climax. There's a lot for lifelong Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans to be disappointed about in BOOM! Studios' uneven reboot, but this Willow title certainly isn't among those.

The art by Natacha Bustos continues to be incredible. It's delicate and strong, beautifully stylized and expressive. If there is one critique, it would be that a certain key character in here looks far too much like Buffy, especially in a series where the other characters all look so unique. Beyond that, though, from the first issue to now, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow has been a perfectly drawn book, with Eleonora Bruni's colors and Jodi Wynne's letters complimenting the artwork to great effect.

Personally, I'm interested to see where this goes. Willow has been a lovely read every month. Although it's been obvious for some time that Willow is in a "You can't leave here" situation, this series also creates the sense that there's more to the story, that the coven of Abhainn isn't necessarily evil (though damn, some of them are judgmental). That seems like the right kind of nuance for a Joss Whedon-created title and a story about witches in 2020.

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