Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 Volume 4: Welcome to the Team by Andrew Chambliss

Welcome to the Team by Andrew Chambliss

2013, Dark Horse

Series: Book 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9

Goodreads / Amazon

Rating

Synopsis: Buffy is unwillingly recruited by the demon Illyria and a mystical council to take down the Siphon—for good. He is on the loose again, and a danger to all remnants of magic! Meanwhile, back home the loss of magic has begun to affect those closest to Buffy.

The Good: Xander makes you care about Dawn. That's what we remaining skeptical fans have needed since the moment Dawn appeared in the series. A reason to care about her. She's grown up some, but she's still, at heart, the annoying little sister we all wish had never been introduced. Her relationship with Xander is the only thing that makes her likable, but at least we have that now. Xander is still full of his flaws, the one character that never evolves past his episode, always reverting back to default mode come the next. This graphic novel stays true to that, as annoying as it may be. We see him once again contemplating questionable things based on emotion over logic.

The Bad: The artwork is getting laughable. I mean, look at that cover. Clearly Buffy. Clearly Xander in black and white at the bottom. Obviously the artists have a grasp on what the characters are supposed to look like. Then on the inside we get rushed cartoony nonsense that barely resemble the characters. I couldn't identify Buffy in more than a few panels. Xander is slightly better, but the eye patch is a pretty big tip off. Judge for yourself.

Not good.