Slayers

Author: C.j. Hill

Joss Whedon's one of the truly great TV and film directors, but his comic stuff has been hit or miss. When he took the Buffyverse to comics, the first pass was only OK, but once he hit on Slayers in 2002, it was obvious that Joss knew exactly what he was doing. Digging deep into the Buffy storylines, we're presented with a group of writers, Joss, Amber Benson (Tara from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series), Jane Espenson, and more, who take on the tales of various Slayers from the First to Fray, a far-future Slayer after vamps return to Earth. The various stories are snapshots, but show how wide a table Joss had set. The key to making this work is the understanding of the way that Buffy works as storytelling. We're given a glimpse and it stands for the entirety. Though some of these characters we see more of in comics, and one even appears in the series' final season, it's through this telling that we come to understand what the Slayer idea really is, and moreso what it means to be in the position. Plus, setting Slayers in the French Revolution and Nazi Germany just makes sense. Why it's on the list: A great one-shot that tells some really fun stories in a really fun universe.