Dark Horse; $18.99

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 Volume 4: Old Demons covers issues #16-20, picking up after Angel has been called to town. The demon Archaeus has been manipulating his descendants, including Angel and Spike. The vampires with souls are having vivid dreams about killing people in the ways they did during the wicked days before becoming the good guys.

Volume 4 opens on the awkward reunion between Buffy, Spike, and Angel. Since Buffy and Spike are now dating, Angel isn’t exactly enthusiastic. As the Scooby gang gets closer to stopping Archaeus, the level of his power is revealed, along with his plans. Not only does Buffy have to protect her friends and loved ones, her father is in town, her relationship with Spike gets very tense, and Giles has found a way to rapidly age himself back to his adult self.

Chapters 1-3 and 5 were written by Christos Gage and chapter 4 was written by Gage and Nicholas Brendon. The art on chapters #1-4 was drawn by Rebekah Isaacs and chapter 5 was done by Megan Levens. Season 10 has been an interesting read, leaving behind the zompires storyline of season 9. Archaeus is a formidable foe for the Scooby gang and throwing in the complexity of the love triangle, Buffy’s absentee father, and Giles caught between being a boy and a man makes the story exciting and complex in true Buffy style. The art by Isaacs and Levens captures the essence of book from the emotional gut punches to the action filled fight scenes.

-Amanda Sheriff