Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #13 is the second part of the latest four-part story arc called “Wolves at the Gate.” For those that are unfamiliar with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, the main character, Buffy Summers, is a slayer—one girl in the entire world with the strength and skill to kill vampires and the forces of darkness. “Buffy” ran on television for seven seasons, and is back in comic book form for its eighth. If you haven’t seen the show, the comic makes little sense, but if you have, the comic is the perfect continuation of this quirky series.

“Buffy” was brought back to life last year by creator Joss Whedon and his team, and is currently one of the top comics in the United States. The consequences of Buffy’s final television act have left her in charge of a slayer army, commanded out of a magically secured fortress in Scotland, and with one of her best friends, Xander, acting as second-in-command. Willow is still with Kennedy, while Andrew has only recently come back from training other slayers around the world. Giles no longer talks to Buffy, the U.S. government views the slayer army as a terrorist group, and Dawn is still a giant. The first installment of “Wolves at the Gate” introduced a new gang of Japanese vampires that managed to not only infiltrate the fortress, but also to steal Buffy’s favorite weapon—the Scythe. Xander was sent with his new love interest, Renee, to talk to Dracula about the vampires, and Buffy slept with fellow slayer, Satsu.

Xander and Dracula manage to maintain their “manservant/master” relationship, while also giving each other the friendship and companionship that both so desperately need. The theme of loneliness continues further into the comic when Satsu is feeling sad about Buffy’s apparent disinterest after their affair. Willow pulls her aside, and tells both Satsu and the reader that Buffy is truly alone in her position as general, and that Satsu needs to be understanding of that. The final pages of the comic give the Japanese vampires a little play time as they easily kill a slayer on the streets of Tokyo using some untapped power of the Scythe. It seems these vampires have their own set of rules, and their own tricks. The comic gets back to the basics of what “Buffy” was on television—the gang fighting the forces of darkness, all while maintaining their awesome averageness. The villains are as creepy as ever, and our heroes are still trying to balance their personal lives with their duties to the world. The angst of Buffy’s newest relationship is sure to keep all of us on our toes, as well as cause some much needed drama in Buffy’s fabulous love-life.

Critically-acclaimed writer Drew Goddard does an excellent job with the characters, getting our gang back together in order to save the world. Some may recognize Goddard from his writing on “Lost”, “Alias”, or the blockbuster hit, “Cloverfield”, and once again, his writing is what really gives the Buffy comic its spunk. The art by Georges Jeanty is also top-notch, bringing our characters to life and making them as real as possible. This comic is some-what filler, building up the suspense and action for the final two parts, and getting the characters where they need to be for the climax. The comic mixes the action with the story well, finally giving fans the world that they grew accustomed to during “Buffy’s” television years. The comic is finally starting to feel more authentic, and less like some random “Buffy” stories. This latest arc may have started out in controversy, but it’s really becoming a true “Buffy” episode—giving us drama among our major characters, and bringing in both old and new faces that are sure to cause some more messes in the “Buffy” universe. “Wolves at the Gate: Part Two” may not be the best comic around, but it gives fans of the show an all-new canon adventure that is sure to end with a bang.

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