The Zeppo: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16 Review – Monkeys Fighting Robots

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #16 out this past week from Boom! Studios picks up right where we left off in the previous issue.

Following the conclusion of the Hellmouth crossover, the Scooby Gang are on a break, to quote Ross Geller. Willows in England, Xanders ostensibly dead, and Buffys feeling quite alone and full of guilt. Writer Jordie Bellaire uses a dream sequence to draw the reader into the mystery.

In his book The Secret Life of the American Musical, Jack Viertel describes the recess number, a classic motif of musical theater. The recess number is usually a fun, noisy song designed to reinvigorate the audience in preparation for the next hour or two of the show. In the Buffyverse, the recess number is the dream sequence.

Bellaire used a subtle moment in issue fifteen to foreshadow a characters return. Cleverly referencing season three, episode thirteen of the TV series, Buffys almost-boyfriend, Robin, calls a toy brontosaurus Zeppo. This brontosaurus reappears in issue sixteen in Buffys bizarre dream in which she and Xander ride a full-size Zeppo.

Zeppo is what Cordelia calls Xander in the episode of the same name. The name refers to Zeppo Marx, the youngest of the five Marx Brothers. Hes the last-minute stand-in, the one who doesnt have much to contribute among a group of gifted people.

In this Xander-centric issue, however, hes not really a Zeppo at all. In fact, hes a vampire. Its a heartbreaking twist the seasoned Buffy fan might have seen coming given that hed already been halfsies and lost his soul completely in issue twelve.

Another motif adapted from the TV series comes in the form of a tarot card presented in the issue by Ms. Calendar. Xander, in an Angel-esque move, assaults Jenny and sets her house on fire, then fights Buffy and Kendra. He flees, leaving Buffy to discover the now charred tarot card. Its The Fool. Jenny had been giving herself a reading and picked an upside-down Fool out of the deck right before Xander came knocking.

According to The Tarot Guide website, an upside-down Fool portends bad tidings, symbolizing both new beginnings and uncertainty in a current relationship. An apropos card if youve been keeping up with the story so far. After all, an evil Xander poses new challenges to the gangs already tenuous relationship.

Buffy dreams of Xander and Zeppo.

But The Fools message hasnt been revealed to the gang. The card gets passed on to a distraught Giles who may or may not later uncover its meaning.

The issue concludes with Willows return to Sunnydale. Buffy, post-Zeppo dream, sought out her witch friends guidance and revealed that her ex-girlfriends in a coma. While the redhead can definitely help Buffy save Ms. Calendar and restore Xanders soul, her return will complicate matters. We all know that the forces of evil have nothing on teenage drama.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #16 employs all the hallmarks of the Buffy TV series, offering fun and an enticing mystery. Theres a new Big Bad in Sunnydale and hes got Hell(mouth) to pay.

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The Zeppo: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #16 Review - Monkeys Fighting Robots

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero