Rating: 
Summary: forget the movie, this is the true origin for Buffy
Review: "The Origin" is a graphic novel which focuses on, not surprisingly, the origin of how Buffy Summers became a slayer. This is something that was first covered in the feature film version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", but that film was a complete disappointment and is much different in tone and style than the later, successful, television program of the same name. "The Origin" follows creator Joss Whedon's original script and it better matches the tone of the later series. Buffy Summers is a freshman in high school and is the average popular student (think Cordelia in the first season of "Buffy"). She is self absorbed and does not truly think of others. This changes when one day an older man comes to her and tells Buffy that she has a destiny, that she is the chosen one, the one girl in all the world called to protect the world, to fight and stop vampires. In short, Buffy Summers is the Slayer. We follow Buffy as she encounters her first vampire, tries to deny what she is, and eventually come to begin to accept that she is, in fact, The Slayer. We see events that are spoken about in the first season of "Buffy". If you want to see the true first chapter in the story of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", this is the place to start. Ignore the awful, awful movie with Kristy Swanson in the title role, this is the true origin of Buffy and it is much more faithful to Joss Whedon's vision and it matches the tone and style of the television series.
Rating:
Summary: forget the movie, this is the true origin for Buffy
Review: "The Origin" is a graphic novel which focuses on, not surprisingly, the origin of how Buffy Summers became a slayer. This is something that was first covered in the feature film version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", but that film was a complete disappointment and is much different in tone and style than the later, successful, television program of the same name. "The Origin" follows creator Joss Whedon's original script and it better matches the tone of the later series. Buffy Summers is a freshman in high school and is the average popular student (think Cordelia in the first season of "Buffy"). She is self absorbed and does not truly think of others. This changes when one day an older man comes to her and tells Buffy that she has a destiny, that she is the chosen one, the one girl in all the world called to protect the world, to fight and stop vampires. In short, Buffy Summers is the Slayer. We follow Buffy as she encounters her first vampire, tries to deny what she is, and eventually come to begin to accept that she is, in fact, The Slayer. We see events that are spoken about in the first season of "Buffy". If you want to see the true first chapter in the story of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", this is the place to start. Ignore the awful, awful movie with Kristy Swanson in the title role, this is the true origin of Buffy and it is much more faithful to Joss Whedon's vision and it matches the tone and style of the television series.
Rating: 
Summary: darker and slyer than the movie
Review: "The Origin", which is adapted from the original script Joss Whedon wrote for the screen, proves why Hollywood producers should have more faith in the source material for their movies, and why they should have taken a greater risk in the ultimate presentation of the story. With a few, minor differences, the story in the comic book version is almost identical to the one in the movie; however, the artwork and noirish undercurrent help the reader make greater sense of how Buffy became the Slayer. The presentation here is menacingly cinematic, with a richer, more lurid exploration of the Slayer's mission and her foes. Also, in the tradition of the mythic hero's journey, the stakes are raised considerably when Buffy sees for herself the consequences of refusing her destiny. While the familiar Whedonesque humor pervades the smart, sly dialogue, it is not the raison d'etre of the story, as it was in the movie; but as any Buffy enthusiast would point out, one can tell where Whedon's writing ended and the meddling of an inferior script doctor began. For example, Buffy goes off alone to fight Lothos, leaving behind Pike and her classmates to fend for themselves against the vampire army. But, inexplicably, she only kills two vampires, Amilyn and Lothos, while being credited with killing nearly all of them. The look and feel of the sequence is odd and awkward, although we can derive some satisfaction in watching Rutger Hauer die for throwing away his film career. In the comic book version, it makes much more sense to see Buffy kill scores of vampires by hand before burning down the gym with the rest of the blood suckers inside. Perhaps the film's producers were uncomfortable with a woman doing most of the ass-whoopin', and decided to give Pike a little more to do to balance things out. All in all, though the movie has its merits, "The Origin" more fully fleshes out the story behind Buffy's transformation into the Slayer. Pair this with Dark Horse's excellent "Tales of the Slayers", and your desire for more Slayer back-story will be more than satisfied. As for which Slayer had to die so that Buffy could be called? I'm afraid that's for another comic to come.
Rating:
Summary: Great trade to start your buffy collection
Review: As one of the people who thinks Sarah Michelle Gellar makes the best Buffy, this trade was a great way to start off my Buffy collection. This trade is made up of three issues, "Destiny Free," "Defenseless Mechanisms," and "Disco Inferno." In "Destiny Free" we meet carefree Buffy. . .okay, not so carefree, but the more Cordelia-like version of Buffy complete with careless parents. She is having dreams/flashbacks of past slayers and vampires, meets her first watcher, and stakes her first vampire. The artwork isn't bad, it isn't incredible, but it gets the story across. One qualm is that a lot of the male characters are hard to tell apart, maybe its just me but some areas are a bit hard to follow as if they crammed too much in one panel. The neatest thing about the first issue is where Buffy asks her watcher "they can't come in, right? Unless you invite them, is that true?" I think that line captures how it must feel to suddenly find out vampires are real -- I would certainly be concerned about whether or not they could pay me a visit as I slept. The next issue is "Defenseless Mechanisms" is very eventfull with Buffy trying to juggle slaying, school, and cheerleading. Merrick explains a bit of vampire history, Buffy deals with her nasty classmates, gets some Perrier water blessed, and sets out to fight vampires. We also see more of Pike. The ending is very sad so I won't ruin it. On to issue three, "Disco Inferno" where Buffy is still reeling from the end of issue two and already her so called friends aren't on her side. There's a dance, vampirey chaos ensues and finally we realize that all this is being told by Buffy to Xander and Willow over lunch. Aside from a bumpy first issue, the trade overall is very good and great for those of us that can't sit through the original movie without fast forwarding here and there.
Rating:
Summary: Buffy Revisited
Review: Christy Swanson was fine in the BTVS movie, but I'm so used to Sarah Michelle that it would be almost painful to watch the film after all this time. I like Buffy just the way she is now. So when I saw that Dark Horse Comics was bringing out a graphic novel version of the original story I decided to live dangerously and purchase my first Buffy 'comic.' I've stayed away from graphic novels, not because I don't like them, but because they are expensive for the amount of story one gets. But this looked like a good time to make an exception. I'm not going to spend anytime elaborating on the plot. If any readers do not know the story of Buffy's entry into Slayerhood, suffice it to say that Valley Girl meets Watcher, discovers vampires, and kills same. With increasing aplomb. Buffy as Valley Girl is a bit more irritatingly mindless than Buffy as Slayer, but it's all in good fun. And, as all of us know, when Buffy grows up, she is as bad as they come. Christopher Golden and Daniel Brereton have done a masterful job of the conversion of the original story line, with plenty of sarcasm, dry wit, and sight gags. And the art work is simply superb. If the comics of my jaded youth were as good I would probably never have switched to reading books. Joel Bennet is the penciller, and Rick Ketcham has completed the work beautifully with the help or Randy Emberlin and J. Jadson. The images are clear and crisp with a great deal of expression. Good stuff all around. I still have a problem with sticker shock when looking at graphic novels but I have agree that the end product can often be worth it. Given what it sets out to be, this is a great gift or collector's item for the Buffy nut of your choice. Even if that nut happens to be yourself!
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the movie, but...
Review: Ever since I read about this graphic novel I wanted to own it. While I thought the movie was decent, it paled incredibly to the wonderful Buffy show and I was anxious to see what writer Joss Whedon originally intended the show to be like. Unfortunately, when I actually got down to reading the graphic novel I was dissappointed.
Whedon is an excellent writer - there are times when his clever dialogue shines through, as well as his wit (I love how Buffy eventually destroys her foes). Unfortunately, the same can not be said of the adaptors. The story, as well as the art, feels incredibly cramped and rushed. I would have loved to have gotten to know characters such as Merrick and Pike, but the book seemed to be more concerned with advancing the plot rather than deepening the characters. It feels like an adaption, and not a true story on its own.
I do like the book to an extent, and am glad it exists. Still, reading this cramped graphic novel I wondered if just reading Whedon's original script would have been better.
P.S. Why were the vampires green?
Rating:
Summary: Liked it in spite of myself
Review: First a confession--this is the first graphic novel I have ever read. As a Buffy fan in withdrawal, I picked it up at the local library. After all, there are no new episodes coming of either "Buffy" or "Angel." That said, I was favorably impressed by the novel. The style is very different from the Silver Age DC stuff I read as a child, but it certainly conveys a punch. I won't compare the graphic novel with the movie, although the general fannish concensus is that the novel is closer to the spirit of the series. At any rate, the switches between drama and comedy that characterize the series are here in the novel, although in abbreviated form (that goes with the genre), as are the power fighting scenes. The drawings have a terseness (the unfinished faces, for instance), but they get the message across. Buffy's transformation from airhead to Slayer, her jerk of a boyfriend, the shallowness of her girlfriends, and the impact of Merrick's sacrifice on her are well-portrayed. This may be the first graphic novel I've read, but it won't be the last.
Rating:
Summary: The art of a good beginning
Review: Good art work tells the original story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The story is similar to the movie but with the ending suggested by the television series, the burning gym. It was a fun read, a must for Buffy fans.
Rating:
Summary: And They Say the Movie Was All Wrong ....
Review: I actually LIKE the movie, although I admit it takes a totally different stab (pun intended) at the TV Buffy storyline. More recently I've become a fan of SMG in the role Kristy Swanson originated in the film (and also of its spinoff, Angel). And I read that "Origin" was supposed to be the true original concept Joss had for the Buffy motion picture, so I wanted to read it for myself. I have to be honest -- the way people were crying, I expected a major departure from what I had seen on the big screen so many years ago (and more recently, on my DVD player). Not so. As it turns out, this telling tracks better than 90 percent true to the movie as it was released. The story is nearly identical, and most of the lines remain the same. There is a bit of a darker edge to it, and it's interesting how such little tweaks here and there can make something feel so differently overall. I won't go into a lot of detail about the storyline. If you want that, read a synopsis of the movie, because it really is the same story, almost word-for-word. Imagine the original movie being redrafted in such a way that instead of being a total comedy, it falls in line with the darker tone of the popular TV series. Other than the minimal reworking required to accomplish this task, imagine the movie remains otherwise intact. Now you have a pretty good idea of what this comic looks like. There are some changes here and there, which do bring the story more in line with the TV show that follows. An example -- at the end of the movie, the Hemery High School gym remained standing, but in the TV show, we're told that one of the reasons Buffy and her mom had to move to Sunnydale from LA was she was expelled for burning down her high school gym. Ergo, at the end of the comic, Buffy defeats a legion of vampires by locking them in the Hemery High School gym and burning it to the ground (If you are a fan of Buffy at all, I'm sure this piece of information doesn't spoil anything for you). It's a minor rework of the original film storyline to bring it parallel with the TV series backstory. And in essence, that's all this comic really does. But for the true Buffy fan who can't seem to appreciate how the movie could fit into the "Buffyverse", maybe this comic is what you need to bridge the gap between the two.
Rating:
Summary: Buffy kicks
Review: if you wanna know how it all started buffy......slayer......watchers and alot of other things to do with buffy get this and get the harvest cause its the first book and episode .It talks a little about buffys life in Los Angeles but if your planning on watching the new season of buffy get this.
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