Welcome back to Sunnydale! Dynamite and writer Kelly Thompson are reopening the Hellmouth with two new series set in the Buffyverse: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the companion book Angel.
The Beat chatted with the Eisner-winning writer ahead of the July release.
DEANNA DESTITO: Where do these new Buffy and Angel series fall in the chronology/canon of the Buffyverse?
KELLY THOMPSON: So I’m actually going to a lot of trouble to try to hide some of the reveals inside the first issue that establish a new status quo for all our heroes. I feel like a good way to think about these two books is to think of Buffy #1 and Angel #1 as a sort of two-part pilot to launch us and get everyone up to speed with a new status quo — and the first arcs of both books as a sort of “crossover event” that brings most the characters together in Sunnydale to deal with this situation.
DESTITO: You have said that you are a big fan of the show. How did it feel taking such a beloved set of characters and putting your own stamp on it?
THOMPSON: I think at first you’re just excited to get the chance to play in a universe you love. But there’s certainly a point at which you start to panic. Where you realize that if you mess it up, you’re messing up something you really love. But you also can’t create from a place of fear…so you just have to push all that down and get to work, trust your instincts, hope you’re dialing in to things that other fans love too.
DESTITO: What does this new incarnation of the Buffyverse have for old and new fans?
THOMPSON: For potential new fans, I hope we can simply present a terrific vampire story for them to fall in love with. For longtime fans, I hope I can give them something exciting and unexpected to really dig their teeth into within the Buffy universe.
DESTITO: Are you adding any new characters, or will it (for now) be the Scoobies we all know?
THOMPSON: I am adding a couple new characters out of necessity – but mostly expect to see all the old familiar faces – and it’s A LOT. So much so that two of my favs from Angel, Gunn and Lorne, have a diminished role in this first arc, where they’re sort of holding down the fort back in L.A. as everyone else deals with this issue in Sunnydale. Faith will also be absent in this first arc, but I do have some fun plans for her. But yeah, almost everyone else from the two shows is there, and it’s a big cast, no doubt.
DESTITO: How is it working with this creative team?
THOMPSON: Well, it’s two creative teams, as it’s Stephen Byrne drawing the Buffy book and Giulia Giancomino drawing the Angel book – but so far it’s been great. You know, doing a book with likenesses is such an annoying challenge. Not every artist can do that, so you really are limiting your artist pool right away. And finding artists that can handle the likenesses AND are great storytellers is such a big ask. We got so lucky with Stephen and Giulia. They are doing beautiful work. And we have Lee Loughridge doing colors, which is a great way to unite the two books and give them even more of a stylistic dialogue between them.
DESTITO: How has it been tackling both the Buffy and Angel books? Will those crossovers continue throughout both series (meaning readers should be reading both for the full story)?
THOMPSON: It’s been great to be able to work on one very big story for all these characters – bringing them together in a way that you really couldn’t with the two shows. So though it seems on the surface like a challenge, it’s actually been really freeing. Also, not to sound like an absolute control freak, but having full control over both books and all those characters is very freeing in what we can do both now for this first wild event arc and in our future stories. After the first arcs, the books will become more separate, and the Angel book will be returning to its roots in L.A. and the more “supernatural detective” vibes of the show.
DESTITO: What can you tease for fans?
THOMPSON: We have a terrifying new big bad for the arc, who is…both old and new. And Giulia designed these incredible minions that Dawn has termed Vampwires – which are these wild wiry vamps with wings. Very fun, and again, something that would be very hard to do with special effects on the show, but is nice and easy for us in comics.
