Posted in: Comics, Dynamite | Tagged: angel, buffy, David Nakayama, Kellly Thompson

Kelly Thompson On Hiding The Upcoming Buffy/Angel Twist

Kelly Thompson on hiding the upcoming Buffy/Angel twist for the new Dynamite Entertainment comic book series

Kelly Thompson is serving as the "master architect" for both new Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel comic book series from Dynamite Entertainment, announced last year, but still without an announced schedule. She revealed a launch strategy built around secrecy, which will begin with an event and a crossover from the very start. "It's been a hard book to talk about," she admitted. "I'll give you just a little bit here. The new way I've decided to try to talk about it, while hiding the mysterious interior, is telling people to think of the first issues like an event book. Almost like we're starting with an event book with something that draws the cast of Buffy and Angel together for like a very personal emotional thing, and then we sort of spin out from there."

This early integration means we are getting a significant Buffy/Angel crossover. On her Substack, Kelly  Thompson previously wrote: "For the first arc, the Buffy and Angel books will be pretty integrated; after that first arc, they will become more their own things." But this seems to be a little more on the nose than that. And she emphasised that the story hinges on a major hidden twist she is fiercely protecting. I mean… would we tell anyone?

Talking to Near Mint, she said, "I think Dynamite is going to let me hide this plot point right up until the end. It looks promising. Fingers crossed. I guarantee you'll enjoy it more if you experience it organically. I hope that the twist will really get people excited and that we can get like a whole second run of people who hear about it, what's going on in the book, and maybe want to pick it up and see what's going on." Okay, okay, I think I'm getting the hint.

Kelly Thompson was candid about the difficulties of promoting a story built on secrecy in today's comic market. "I think it's a terrible way to try to market something. I don't know what to do, but there's just no way to talk about it without talking about it in concrete terms or to talk about it at length without spoiling this entire thing. It all hinges on it and I just can't."

To preserve the surprise, the team is exploring unconventional marketing tactics."We're trying. We're doing like there's going to be some blind bags or redacted out covers. There will be some things like that going on". Well, Dynamite Entertainment does like a blindbag. As for the timing of the initial announcement back in July 2025. "I would also say, in my personal opinion, they announced it too early, but whatever. I get it. Everyone has different things they're trying to meet and masters they have to serve. Sometimes sh-t's got to get announced, but I do think we're like on the right track now. And hopefully it will work out. I don't know. I think there will be quite a bit of news this month. Um, I don't know if it'll be this week, but soon. I mean, I was like helping rewrite press releases."

Kelly Thompson has stressed that the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series with David Nakayama is designed to honour the existing lore without requiring prior knowledge of the comics. "You don't need to have ever read any of the other previous Buffy comics to understand this book. And we've made it as new reader friendly as possible in case you aren't already a fan of the show (but it's pretty obvious that any pre-existing show fans will get the most bang for their buck)," she wrote on her Substack. It is explicitly "neither a rebooted 'origin story,' nor a reboot with the characters older."

She also stated that "Buffy Summers is, in my opinion, one of the greatest fictional heroines of all time. I'm not entirely sure I become a writer without Buffy. I am definitely not sure Tessa Battle (STORYKILLER) or Bonnie Braverman and Lola Lefever (THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING) exist without her. And I hope I can do her and her world justice for all the fans… I've been working on these books for a while now (you should see the series bible!)" No dates,  but if it's soon, then we are coming up to Dynamite's July solicitation information dates… running a few today as it is!

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