Buffy comics: Tales

Published 2002 – 2010

Re-read June 21st, 2025

Tales of the Vampires was originally published in five parts from December 2003 to April 2004. These were collected in Tales of the Vampires as a single issue, along with the comic “Dames” (September 2010). Tales of the Slayers was originally published in February 2002. Later, Tales of the Vampires and Tales of the Slayers were combined into Tales, published in January 2011, and including some new vampire tales from season 8. This is the version I read for this post.

I’ll start with Tales of the Vampires. The five parts feature different stories about different vampires. They are connected by a story about Watchers in training meeting their first (captive) vampire and hearing him tell them these tales. This ends with Edna, one of the Watchers in training, realizing another little girl is not one of them but a vampire, come to save the captive vampire. While I find the comics fun, I don’t think they give readers much more than the series did. An interesting aspect of Buffy is that we meet far more vampires than Slayers, so already have a good idea of who they are, what motivates them, and the variety among them. The comics do, however, let us have a look at vampires who may not be actively fighting a Slayer. The first story takes place in 1922 onwards, about a vampire who raises his son even after being turned, until he’s killed by a Slayer in 2003. Another shows a son turned by his mother, who then kills her and struggles to understand being a vampire. Or in London 1888, where Jack the Ripper, a vampire, is being hunted by a fellow vampire. Or in the 2000s, when Stacy finds connection to others through being a vampire. Or another story of a vampire getting demonic surgery to go into the sun. Finally, we also learn what happened to Druscilla in Prague before she and Spike ended up in Sunnydale. Another focuses on Dracula, who has enthralled Xander again so he can have a friend. Another on Angel and his past. Overall, these comics explore the complexity of vampire identity and the longing to find a place in the world.

Finally, the extra season 8 comics also explore vampire identity, but against the backdrop of a world where Slayers and vampires are a known entity. Interestingly here, one comic explores how becoming a vampire or Slayer may not actually change who you are deep down, while a second explores how despite being out in the world and attempting to stick to rules that include not killing humans, it may not be possible for vampires to change who they are.

So ultimately, the comics further explore central ideas brought up in the series about vampires. Are they soulless demons with mere memories of their human selves, or is it more complex, with vampires being soulless, blood-drinking versions of their human selves?

I find the Tales of the Slayers comics more intriguing as we meet far fewer Slayers in the series. We meet Buffy, Kendra and Faith. In season 7, we do meet several potential Slayers who later become Slayers. And we see three in flashbacks, the first Slayer, the Slayer Spike killed during the Boxer Rebellion, and Nikki, who is seen from Spike’s and Robin’s point of view in flashbacks. Getting to know more Slayers through the comics helps reinforce a central theme of the series, namely that women and girls can have power, the patriarchy will try to control this, and ultimately female power is something that is feared by the patriarchy.

The first Slayer we meet in the comics is the first Slayer. After being made and saving her village, she is rejected. They are too afraid of her to keep her around. Then, there is an unnamed Slayer during the Middle Ages. Visually, the comic uses the white dress, which Buffy (both the series and the film) also use. Having the Slayer upends the typical use of white to represent virginal femininity. Here, it underscores their power. This Slayer, however, after saving her town is burned at the stake for being a witch. Both Slayers are rejected for their ability to save their people.

Then, there is a Slayer during the French Revolution, who ends up being used by her lover, a revolutionary, to kill aristocrats. And a Slayer during Nazi Germany. Both stories raise the question of evil. Can the Slayer fight all evil, or only demonic forces, and what to do when the evil comes in human form? It’s not resolved but left open in both. It is also a question posed by Buffy from time to time, but in the comic form against historical backdrops, it can take on a more central role.

Then, England in 1813. The Slayer, Elizabeth Weston, poses as Edward in order carry out her mission and move freely through society. She slays a female vampire. The comic sets us up to believe the man is the vampire and the woman the Slayer, with a twist at the end. It feels a bit like the opening scene of the series, where the twist is that Darla is the vampire, not the innocent victim. The next story focuses on the theme of belonging, again one common in the show and interesting to see from another perspective. It takes place in the American West and shows the Mayor founding Sunnydale on the Hellmouth.

Then we get to more modern Slayers. One comic follows Nikki. She was only seen briefly in the series and it’s great to see her again. Against the backdrop of 1970s America, it’s clear that changes in society have allowed the Slayer to be freer, more her own woman. Nikki reminds me of Buffy and Faith. She is smart and capable. Then we meet Fray again. She is also a Slayer like Buffy, Faith and Nikki, but she is a Slayer alone. She doesn’t have the lore, or a Watcher, to guide her. But in this comic, she is led to the library filled with Slayer lore and Watcher’s diaries. At the end, she is no longer alone.

The comics show the different ways the Slayers cope with their powers in a society not fully able to accept female power. It adds nuance and depth to Buffy’s struggles, showing that this has been the struggle since the first Slayer. The comics also come full circle. The first Slayer didn’t like the idea that there would be others. Newly made and unsure of her place in the world, she worries about the fate of all the women who come after her. Fray likes the idea of previous Slayers. Her realization that she is not alone, but part of a chain of powerful women stretching back through history means she is one of many. The first Slayer looked forward to hardship, Fray looks back through the lens of what female power can accomplish by fighting for justice and equality, and for the forces of good.

Finally, the Tales collection includes "Broken Bottle of Djinn", a comic that features Buffy sending a Djinn through a time portal to 1930s America, where we meet the current Slayer, who is being recruited by the OSS, a nod to Angel being recruited during World War II, and Buffy’s run-in with the Initiative. The 1930s Slayer defeats the Djinn by putting him in a bottle in a locker. It’s a cute story and a fun time loop (the locker and bottle are opened in Sunnydale, Buffy sends the Djinn back, he ends up in the bottle in the locker…). But less interesting than the Tales of the Slayers comics in terms of central themes.

Overall, Tales is a fun extension of the Buffyverse, allowing various experiences over time and place to be explored in a way the series wasn’t able to do. But its real strength lies in allowing readers to experience central themes of Buffy as the Slayer through the eyes of other Slayers over time.