Buffy comics: Fray

Published June 2001 – August 2003

Re-read June 14th, 2025

This eight comic series, written by Joss Whedon, represents something new. Dark Horse began publishing Buffy comics in 1998, but many of the ones written at the same time as the series are considered non-canon extras. Some are quite useful, for example, filling the blanks between the film and Buffy’s arrival in Sunnydale (and explaining what happened to Pike), but others were merely extra stories about life in Sunnydale. Fray, the later comic seasons of Buffy and a few other titles are considered part of the Buffy canon.

Fray represents something different; a series where urban fantasy meets science fiction, with a new Slayer named Melaka Fray, a worthy successor for Buffy, although, really, she may be more like Faith. The idea of having canonical comics is interesting. Like TV, they blend the visual and words, the only difference being the written aspect of comics. Another notable difference is length. One comic is much shorter than one episode of a series, so the eight comics comprising Fray seem to take about as long as two episodes of Buffy.  

The story takes place 200 years or so in the future, after a 200-year gap in the Slayer line. Potentials still existed, but none were called. In the 21st century, a Slayer fought a final battle killing all demons, which meant there was no need for Slayers. The Watchers became increasingly weird through waiting. Although magic is still largely absent from this world, the vampires have returned, triggering a new Slayer to be called. When Fray is finally found by her Watcher, he tells her she’s the chosen one and lights himself on fire. It’s the demon Urkonn, who is following his own agenda, who trains her and tells her who she is.

Fray is a thief, living in a big city with very Cyberpunk vibes. Her sister Erin is a cop, trying to keep Fray from a life of crime. But the two don’t have a great relationship. When Fray was younger (the comic shows this as a flashback), she and her twin brother Harth were returning from shoplifting when a lurk, this world’s word for vampires, found them and attacked them. Fray couldn’t save her brother, and her sister blames her for his death.

The world Fray is set in is interesting. Although they lack magic and demons, except the primitive vampires known as lurks, they have made their own demons. Fray works for a mutant fish man, and many other characters display deformities. When Urkonn finds Fray, his appearance does not frighten her or worry her. To her, he’s just another mutant.

The main action revolves around vampires plotting to open a portal to bring a demon dimension into the human one. The demon Urkonn works for doesn’t want this to happen in this way at this time, so sends Urkonn on a mission to get the Slayer to stop it. While Urkonn pursues a short-term good end, his means are not good, and his long-term goal may also be bad. Fray realizes this at the end of the comic and kills him. The vampires are being led by Harth. He wasn’t killed but rather turned, and due to some odd quirk of being a Slayer’s twin, he has the prophetic dreams, not Fray. This leaves Fray at a disadvantage. Her world has lost a lot of knowledge of Slayers, and without her Watcher and the dreams, she is initially reliant on Urkonn. Without him, she’s reliant on just her Slayer strength, speed and healing. The Slayer dreams are what allow Harth to be more like a vampire we know of, with a human appearance, and to know how to open the portal.

In the final battle, Fray is able to mobilize the inhabitants of the slum she lives in, as well as the police with the help of her sister. Fray is also given the scythe, which we later encounter again in Buffy season 7, by Urkonn. Fray and her army are victorious in stopping the portal, but not in killing Harth.

The themes in Fray are similar to some found regularly in Buffy. Fray is a good person, who cares about those around her. Her calling as a Slayer only makes her care more, although it doesn’t make her give up her day job as a thief. But a Slayer’s got to make a living somehow, right? Fray also learns not just how to fight, but how to lead. She is able to mobilize those around her to fight for their safety, something Buffy did several times during the series as well. Finally, Fray has Buffy’s smartness. While Buffy sometimes lacked the book learning, she used her keen intellect to be a good Slayer, and Fray demonstrates this as well. At the end of the series, Fray embraces being a Slayer, indicating that what a Slayer represents – female strength, courage and intelligence in the face of hard battles – are something that are not just relevant in one place and one time, but in many places and many times.

While the themes may be continuous between Fray and Buffy, the story of the final Slayer doesn’t quite fit with the final events in season 7 Buffy. The story of a single final Slayer, and Fray being called as the single Slayer, seem to contradict Buffy making every potential Slayer a real Slayer. But perhaps the story got lost in time, and it was an army of Slayers who were the final Slayers. And perhaps the line going dormant negated Willow’s spell. Perhaps future comics will close the gap in continuity.

Finally, while the series was only eight installments long, Melaka Fray will make her appearance elsewhere.