Captain Marvel #1
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by Dexter Soy
Cover by Dan McGuinness, Dexter Vines, and Javier Rodriguez
Marvel Comics
Release Date: July 18, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

Carol Danvers, aka Ms. Marvel, is a B-list Avenger who Brian Michael Bendis has actually been able to make quite interesting over the last few years in the Avengers main book. She was an Air Force pilot who was inadvertently imprinted with the DNA of a Kree warrior named Mar-Vel, also known as Captain Marvel. Along with his DNA she of course picked up all of his abilities: super-strength, flight, near invulnerability, and energy manipulation. She gets another stab at a solo book here with Captain Marvel #1.

This new comic is set up to reinvent her and to bring the Captain Marvel name to the forefront of the Marvel U again. She has a new costume and a new hairdo to go along with the name change from Ms. Marvel to Captain Marvel. The story is actually really simple in this first issue. Captain America sets out to convince Danvers that it’s time she takes on the moniker of Captain Marvel, but she is reluctant to take on the now-dead Kree warrior’s name. Captain America has a simple but elegantly delivered opinion on the difference in the hero name and the real name that sets Danvers to considering it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9 #10
Story by Andrew Chambliss and Scott Allie
Pencils by Cliff Richards
Ink by Andy Owens
Colors by Michelle Madsen
Cover by Phil Noto
Alternate Cover by Georges Jeanty with Dexter Vines and Michelle Madsen
Created by Joss Whedon
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 13, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 9 is all about the big existential questions interspersed with some brief action scenes and lovey bits thrown in. Joss Whedon is still the producer and occasional writer of his original creation, so all of those elements seem just as entertaining and challenging as ever. The Apart (Of Me) storyline has been no exception with Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 9 #10 rounding up the arc in an orderly fashion. There are no big explosions or revelations, but with a more internalized plot like this one, that would have just been rather tacky. Not to worry, there is stuff actually happening.

Buffy-Bot (body of robot, brain o’ Buffy) and Buffy-Not (body of Buffy, brain o’ Robot) get in a tussle with the latest big bad, the rough slayer Simone, Spike’s “bug army” shows up, Detective Dowling is upset over the loss of his partner turned zompire Cheung, Buffy makes a decision about her coffee shop gig, Spike and Buffy make some progress in their relationship etc. All that is rather important, as it sets up the next wave of Buffydom tales in a very natural manner.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #2
Based on the television series created by Joss Whedon
Script by Andrew Chambliss
Pencils by Georges Jeanty
Inks by Dexter Vines
Colors by Michelle Madsen
Letters by Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt
Cover by Steve Morris
Alternate Cover by Georges Jeanty, Dexter Vines, J.D. Mettler
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: October 12, 2011
Cover Price: $2.99

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #2 starts off with dead bodies, credit demons (no, really), and a big dose of cold, hard reality for Buffy. Add to that some creatures of the night doing a little breaking and entering and you have the makings of a good BTVS story!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9 #1
Written by Joss Whedon
Pencils by Georges Jeanty
Inks by Dexter Vines
Colors by Michelle Madsen
Letters by Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: September 14, 2011
Cover Price: $2.99

When I was given the chance to review Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #1 a week or so ago, I was so excited. I am a huge fan of the Buffy-verse and am always excited when a new issue of this comic drops. Then I realized I needed a refresher on the last season, so the reading began… I’m happy to say that I finally finished rereading it and it helped put this first issue of Season 9 in perspective.

Immediately, the reader is thrown into the story and like many issues of the last series, this one really reads like a television program, with lots of flashbacks and memories, switching of scenes, and so on. The premise of this issue is to reunite the characters after the end of last season. Just like the show, it starts off with sort of a shaky start on what’s going on and proceeds to fill in some of the blanks, so to speak.