Top products from r/buffy

I appreciate the non-spoilers, because I've only read the first volume of the Boom series.

​

But man, if you want "everything," you have got quite the journey ahead of you. I've got a little free time on my hand, so here's an extremely abridged list of absolutely everything.

• The Dark Horse "Classic" Series.
  
  • This is all non-canon, although I personally consider some of it to be canon.
    
  • There was a 63-issue Buffy series, a 17-issue Angel series, a few graphic novels, some mini-series, and shorts.
    
  • This is collected in 7 Buffy volumes and 1 Angel volume.
    
  • Buffy Vol. 1 includes what I call "Buffy: Season 0," which consists of The Origin (a more "accurate" depiction of what Whedon envisioned for the movie), as well as three stories that fill in the time between The Origin and Season 1.
    
  • Highlights: Season 0, Ring of Fire, Bad Blood, Double Cross, Haunted, Past Lives (Buffy/Angel crossover), The Death of Buffy, Note from the Underground, Angel: Long Night's Journey.
    
  • Lowlights: The Dust Waltz, pretty much the entirety of Buffy Vol. 3.
    
• Tales of the Slayers and Tales of the Vampires
  
  • These are both canon.
    
  • There's an awesome over-sized hardcover ("Tales") which collects both of these. It's a collection of short stories about Slayers and Vampires of the past.
    
  • These can definitely be read before everything else, seeing as everything takes place before Season 1 (besides a few shorts)
    
  • Just a note: that hardcover also includes a couple Season 8 stories, and those SHOULD NOT be read until you actually get to Season 8, or you will get very very spoiled.
    
• Fray
  
  • This is also 100% canon.
    
  • This is written by Joss Whedon and tells the story of Melaka Fray, Slayer of the future. It's so good, and can be read whenever, but probably before Season 8. Honestly, a good place to place this would be right where you're at, right now. There's a thread in this that ties directly into the later episodes of Buffy: Season 7.
    
• IDW's Angel and Spike
  
  • Dark Horse gave up the rights after the shows were over, and IDW snatched them up and created a few mini-series. These were all released before Season 8 and are unequivocally not canon.
    
  • Angel Omnibus Vol. 1 (Vol. 2 is pretty worthless, although it contains a couple good stories that were released later on)
    
  • Spike Omnibus (this contains the excellent Asylum and Shadow Puppets by Brian Lynch, who will go on to some of the best Buffyverse comics)
    
• Buffy: Season 8
  
  • Alright, this is when shit gets real. Whedon gets involved for the official continuation of Buffy.
    
  • It was a 40-issue series, with a Willow one-shot, a Riley one-shot, two Tales of the Vampires stories, and a handful of shorts.
    
  • It was collected in 8 trade paper-backs, 4 beautiful over-sized Library Editions, and 2 Omnibuses.
    
• Angel: After The Fall
  
  • After the success of Season 8, IDW decided to team up with Whedon (who specifically picked out Brian Lynch to write) to create the official continuation of Angel. It's very different from a "season." It's more of a quick story about what happens after the end of Angel: Season 5. This is honestly one of my favorite comic runs of all time.
    
  • Seeing as Whedon is involved, this is also officially canon.
    
  • This is a 17-issue series, collected in 4 hardcovers (as well as 4 trade paper-backs).
    
  • Spike: After The Fall also came out about the same time, is written by Lynch, and is also very good.
    
• IDW's Angel: Post-After The Fall
  
  • After The Fall was incredibly successful for IDW, so naturally, they milked the shit out of it, and like most of the Buffyverse, about 50% of this is good.
    
  • As Whedon is not involved at all, this is non-canon, although personally I include a few of these stories in my rewatches/rereads.
    
  • This includes a ridiculous amount of stuff, so I'm not gonna go into too much detail, but here's the list:
    
    • Angel (issues 18-44)
      
    • Angel: Only Human, Spike: The Devil You Know, Illyria: Haunted, and Lorne: Music of the Spheres.
      
  • Angel, issues 18-22 are entitled "Aftermath," and it is one of the worst Buffyverse stories.
    
  • Angel, issues 23-27 are all written by Brian Lynch, and are a worthwhile read
    
• Season 9
  
  • With this season, Dark Horse got the rights to Angel back. Like Season 8, this is officially canon, as are the remaining seasons.
    
  • This includes Buffy (25 issues), Angel & Faith (25 issues), Spike (5), and Willow (5).
    
  • This was collected in 5 Buffy trades, 5 Angel & Faith trades, 1 Spike trade, and 1 Willow trade.
    
  • Also collected in 3 Buffy Library Editions (including Willow in Vol. 2) and 3 A&F Library Editions (including Spike in Vol. 2)
    
• Season 10
  
  • Includes Buffy (30) and Angel & Faith (25).
    
• Season 11
  
  • Includes Buffy (12), Angel (12), and Giles (4)
    
  • Buffy is really solid. Angel and Giles suck. Like, they're really really bad.
    
  • I'm tired of hyper-linking.
    
• Season 12: The Reckoning
  
  • This is an extremely short, 4-issue, "season." Dark Horse was losing the rights to Boom Studios, but they luckily got the chance to make a quick end-cap to the entire canon.
    
• Boom's Buffy and Angel Reboot
  
  • So Boom decided to reboot the entire universe. There's a Buffy series (which is currently on #9), an Angel series (currently on #5), and the new event 'Hellmouth' just started last week.
    
  • Boom will also release the older Dark Horse comics as "Legacy Editions" eventually.

Hmmmmm. Tough to say. I think something that is unmistakably tied to the show would be cool, but the first thing that comes to mind - something like Buffy's cross - is too generic. This Etsy page has some good BtVS-themes stuff, although most of it is not something that you'd see in the show but rather things emblazoned with Buffy trademark images or phrases. I think the "grrr...argh!" earrings are awesome, personally.

The aforementioned Gem of Amara ring would probably be my top choice, although it is a tad more expensive. The Gem of Amara enables Vampires to go outside during the day, so it's a pretty sought-after item in the Buffyverse. The one being sold looks like a really good copy of the one in the show. Moonfire makes a replica of Anya amulet that's also pretty cool.

I don't know if your sister is into comicbooks or knows about these, but there is a series of Buffy graphic novels that continues the story after the end of the series. They're available in physical 'dead tree' editions and e-versions through Comixology, Amazon Google Play, etc. The series is overseen by Joss Whedon, Buffy's creator, so they are pretty decent quality. There's also a "motion comic" of the eighth season available on Blu-Ray and streaming video. It does not feature any of the original actors but it's pretty decent anyway.

I know exactly what you want,OP. There are some awesome massive Season 8 collections that compiles the entire season in only four books. They are pretty big, but they are beautifully colored and have some cool bonus stuff at the back (covers, sketches, one-offs, etc.,). This means that you can read the whole season in a single go without any spin-offs, but you also get most of that stuff included as a bonus to read later on. Give me a second and I will find them for you.

EDIT: Got 'em. This is what you want. I got the two of them at my awesome local comics shop for 30 bucks each, you can get them for less online/used (or just request them at your library!) but if you want to have the complete series they are totally worth it.

>How accurate does this look to everyone? Anything that should be added

That's the major bulk order. There are others but those are the ones worth reading that actually matter to the overall story line.

>Is there a best/nicest way to purchase these? (i.e: Library Collections, Paperback Volumes, other varied collections)

I would recommend the library edition volumes to be honest. They have a good sturdiness to them and a nice separation between volumes. However, I would recommend getting Angel:After the fall slipcase edition, which in most cases (depending on where bought from) works out cheaper and looks nicer. The slipcase edition contains all of Angel: After the fall.

Personally, I'm for watching crossovers in order but with switching back and forth as infrequently as possible. I stick to a season of buffy til there is gonna be a crossover then i hop to the angel season that goes along side it til i have that caught up and switch etc.. but thats from someone who is watching dvd box sets and watches several episodes per day in a watchthrough.. for slower watches the way you are doing I would think just sorting them all into airing order would be better. This guide works for either method. All episodes listed in chronological order, episodes best seen after catching up on both shows prior are listed in red. And I just noticed this is the same link you posted, lol.. 1 thing I would add to it though, the Buffy season 8 motion comic is totally worth adding to the end of the list.

This is the one. Hopefully the link works.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1684153573/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3ClXCb7X7RDSY

Comic novice here! 😂😂

You'll need to learn the distinction between a comic issue and a volume (or "trade paperback"). An issue is a much shorter 20-40 page comic, while a volume is a collection of each chronological issue into a book.

You should just go ahead and buy the volumes. Only collectors or people who want to have portions to read more often would opt for the issues. In this case your second link is the volume which contains issues #1-5.

*edit I'll add a section about the library edition since the other comment recommends them. Those are larger versions of the volumes that contain more issues (the first one has issue #1-10). While they're gorgeous and cheaper (at least right now) they are tomes, so they don't travel or lend well. Again, it depends on what you're looking for.

Without getting into the more complicated stuff, the direct continuation of the show would be the Season 8, 9, 10, and now 11 comics. From season 9 onwards there are two series: Buffy, and Angel and Faith.

Seasons 8 & 9 are best bought in giant hardcover Library Edition volumes. They haven't released those for Season 10 yet, so for now you can buy those in softcover volumes.

If anyone wants an explanation about all the other Buffyverse comics I can probably make a separate post for them. I spent a lot of time a while back researching the reading order for all of those lol.

Ahh this? That's not an animated series. It's a motion comic. Motion comics are completely different things. They're basically voice acted comic books with very very minor animation. They did one for Whedon's X-men run too. Some of it is on YouTube.

Personally I hate Motion Comics though. I love animated shows. I love comic books. But motion comics are an abomination. They're always stilted and unnatural feeling and I have yet to see one that even really "works" for me.

If they read the comics, the library editions of season 8 are beautiful. The first volume of season 9 is out as well!

http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Library/dp/1595828885/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417169045&sr=8-2&keywords=buffy+library+edition

It's not a big deal at all. Other than that single issue, you basically have the perfect haul of canon materials (other than the currently running Buffy season 9 and Angel & Faith of course). You even got the often overlooked Spike: The Complete Series. However, you are missing one book. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales, which I highly recommend. It doesn't focus much on Buffy herself (although there is one issue revolving around her, Xander and Dracula which was pretty great) but instead looks at slayers and vampires throughout history. Plus one of the stories was written by Amber Benson (Tara).

Thanks for the order but where do these fit in.

Frey

Spike: The Complete Series

Or is the Spike one not canon?

They're releasing an omnibus of season 8 in two volumes. First one doesn't come out until September but It's under £20 for what seems like the first half of season 8 which isn't too bad.
Link to omnibus is here

I would suggest also the Buffy Omnibus 1.

It includes a retelling of Buffy's origin story, based on Whedon's original movie script and ties it in better with the TV show. Considered canon.

Honestly, I'm disappointed someone so readily gave a link to d/l this as if you were truly desperate, there are ways of finding it for free online. That being said, The Origin is available in a 3-comic series (see ebay) or in the Volume 1 of the BtVS Omnibus

I don't know why it didn't occur to me until I read your comment that there would be a CD. Naturally I now need to purchase one. Any one in particular that sounds good, or does this one (first Google result) seem fine?

Encouraging piracy shouldn't be something this sub does. This is available in the first omnibus http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Omnibus-v/dp/159307784X

Buffy Season 8 library edition Vol. 1! Picks up right after season 7 :)

https://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Library/dp/1595828885

He two radio sunnydale albums have a lot of them. I thought Uk one was better

First one http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-The-Vampire-Slayer-Sunnydale/dp/B0000CABLJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348022266&sr=8-1&keywords=radio+sunnydale


Second one http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Radio-Sunnydale/dp/B0000E6EFX/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348022266&sr=8-3&keywords=radio+sunnydale

This is from an actual book. Someone just took the pictures of it and uploaded the pics to their Tumblr blog. :)

i dont know if you are a comic reader, but theres always the omnibus collections for the original comic book series. book one

It's not just Buffy: Season Nine - Volume 1. There's also Angel and Faith: Season Nine - Volume 1.

https://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Library/dp/1684154812/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=buffy+season+11+library+edition&qid=1565806485&s=gateway&sprefix=buffy+season+11&sr=8-1

It didn’t even occur to me that it could be fake lol. Oops. I have been following this tumblr for years (the only one I follow) and they haven’t let me down yet! An official release statement from Boom is hopefully on its way.

I'll second Fray, or perhaps the first Buffy omnibus because it has the original Buffy story.

the IDW Spike Omnibus has 1 and 3, along with a lot of either great or ok Spike stories.

http://www.amazon.com/Spike-Omnibus-Peter-David/dp/1600105394

And #15...which is very very bad, is now out in a collection:

http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Spike-Place/dp/1616551097/ref=pd_sim_b_24

the buffy omnibuses do not have any season 8 or 9 comics. if you want season 8/9 youll want to get either the library editions or the trade paperbacks

Season 8 has been collected into paperbacks and are available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Long-Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season/dp/1593078226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320874450&sr=8-1

or, for UK buyers,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Long-Home/dp/1593078226/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320874486&sr=8-2

I don't know an easy way of getting Season 9 issues if you don't have a local comics store.

The Omnibus trade paperbacks (http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Omnibus-Vol/dp/159307784X/) are from the previous series which was from 1998-2004. If you grab all of them, you will have the entire first series. I'm not sure how complete they are with the one shots/minis - there were just so many. I know there are a bunch in the omnibus editions, but I'm not sure how complete it is. The Angel series is collected in a separate omnibus series.


Series 8 & 9 are collected in trade paperbacks, but really, you need to get the library editions (http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Library/dp/1595828885/). Only the first one is out, with the second coming in September. The first one is just beautiful, and is a steal at $25. It contains the first 2 story arcs + 2 one shots from Season 8.

Here is the mobile version of your link

I have this one

Here is the mobile version of your link

https://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Omnibus-Tales-Vampire-Slayer/dp/1506708021/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Tales+Buffy&qid=1567165965&s=gateway&sr=8-1

This is a collection of Tales of the Slayer and Tales of the Vampire plus a handful of one offs. These are canonical with the show and are often written by writers from the show.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1603780432/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/185-4862858-3954812
Buy the sheet music and hire a pianist.

Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Library/dp/1595828885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416674637&sr=8-1&keywords=buffy+season+8

From The Official Grimoire: A Magical History of Sunnydale by Willow Rosenberg

https://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Official-Sunnydale/dp/1683830687

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Omnibus Volume 1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1630089419/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_y7vNBbY7V6ZVN

Do would this be the one to get?

yup!

About season 9 library editions: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buffy-Season-Library-Edition-Volume/dp/161655715X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408530131&sr=8-1&keywords=buffy+season+9+library+edition

January 29th in the UK

Yep

That's the first volume of season 8. Season 9 doesn't get released until Jan 27, 2015.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/161655715X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here is the desktop version of your link

Yar!

Thanks! The omnibus I was looking at was this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Spike-Omnibus-Peter-David/dp/1600105394

Idk why I thought it was season 8- maybe because it was right next to the season 8 Buffy collections? My bad.