This third volume jumps us into Buffy‘s third season with the start of the original comic run.  Although it’s not as good as Volume One, it’s a definite step-up from the disappointment of Volume Two.  This volume includes a martial arts vamp, Buffy’s new job at the Popsicle Parlor, Xander crashing the girls’ slumber party, demon worshippers, a haunted house, an evil film, and the return of Ethan Rayne.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 3
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“I tell ya Buff, if I’m gonna fight, you’re gonna have to pun better.”

We jump into the third season with this volume which collects the beginning of the original Buffy comic run.  This third volume begins with “Wu Tang Fang” finding Xander training in martial arts, only to discover his teacher isn’t exactly human, and getting a chance to be heroic.  “Halloween” once again finds Buffy with stuck with a gang of kids for trick-or-treating but this year Willow gets abducted by a pack of vamps and it’s up to Buffy, complete with a Jason Voorhees hockey mask, to save the day.  “Cold Turkey” continues the storyline with the one vampire who escaped whose attempts at revenge go up in flames.

“Dance With Me” is a short tale of Buffy’s “dance” with a vampire who was once one of her classmates.  “White Christmas” returns Angel to the fold and and finds our Slayer working at the Popsicle Parlor for money to buy a dress to the big dance only to discover that her boss is using the walk-in freezer to summon an Ice Demon.  “Happy New Year” brings a tale of a cursed Puritan, hellhounds, and the beginning of a New Year.

”New Kid on the Block” introduces a new character named Cynthia to the gang, a slumber party (which Xander crashes), a family of vampires, and more than a few surprises.  “Food Chain Part 1” and “Food Chain Part 2” starts with Buffy’s concern with Sandy Shipman who is hanging out with the wrong crowd, but takes a complete 180 when Buffy discovers it’s Sandy, who isn’t even human, who is using kids for her own purposes.

”Play with Fire” finds the gang attempting to help the spirit of a teenager trapped in a haunted house.  In “The Final Cut” a film student discovers the power of the movies, and a chance to make all his dreams come true with one of the characters begins to talk to him.  And in “The Latest Craze” Sunnydale is infested with little goblin-like dolls called Hooligans brought to town by none other than Ethan Rayne.

Overall this is a strong volume of tales.  The look of the characters is good, though I think Cordelia and Willow still look a little too much alike and Xander’s a bit too buff (pun intended).  Of the group “Happy New Year” is the weakest story, but still worth looking at for the character interaction.  With a good mix of horror, action, and humor, there’s easily enough here to recommend.

Now that Booster’s got his best bud the Blue Beetle back the pair take off towards home, but things won’t go easy for them as they get caught-up in a Zero Hour flashback and end up in the 25th Century.  And that’s only the beginning…

Booster Gold #0
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“I’m home, Ted.  Back in the year 2462.  It’s today.  It’s that day…  The day I threw my life away.”

As the issue opens Booster and Ted, along with the other Blue Beetles, are traveling back through time only to find themselves involved in a short run-in with Parallax and Extant (and a joke by the Beetle about Booster’s run-in with Barry Allen).

Booster and the Beetles are able to escape but the battle damages the time sphere and lands them in the 25th Century on the very day where Booster Gold makes the greatest mistake of his life.  Unable to change events because of the repercussions it would have on his life Booster comes up with a plan to get them home.

The team manage to steal the time sphere from the museum (the very one Booster stole way back before he ever met Ted Kord or became Booster Gold).  After saying goodbye to the other Beetles our heroes finally make their way home, but the home they return to is vastly different than the one they remember.  The pair arrive only to find themselves surrounded by   an army of OMACs there to greet them.

There’s much to enjoy in this issue from the serious (Booster’s conversation which reveals how much Extant’s reasoning to save his friend mirror’s Booster’s own – is this foreshadowing what is to come?) to the hilarious (Beetle’s Barry Allen remark) to the climactic. 

 

 

 

The arrival of the OMAC’s and the short conversation with Extant show that the repurcussion of Booster’s actions may have immediate consequences for both our intrepid heroes and the entire DCU as the series seems to be moving closer and closer to Countdown to Final Crisis.