Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 2 wasn't as good as the first one but was still a good read. It's still pre-Season 1 at the beginning and ends somewhere in Season 3. There are two stand out stories in this collection but none of them are terrible. Some of the art is much better in some than in others but for the most part you can still tell who's who.
"Angels We Have Seen on High" by Scott Lobdell, Fabisn Nicieza and Jeff Matsuda (art). If you've ever wanted to see Buffy with a manga-like flair this would be it. The story is too cute for words, short and even though it's a Dawn meets Angel before they get to Sunnydale, it's still a worthy story.
"A Stake to the Heart" by Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards (pencils) and Will Conrad (inks) with painted pages by Brian Horton. This was an awesome story. The art was beautiful and the story was moving and real and very Buffy. It's the breakup of the Summers' marriage and everything that goes along with a family falling apart. Magnified in Buffy fashion with the addition of demons. This was probably my favourite story in the bunch.
"MacGuffins" by Jen Van Meter, Luke Ross (pencils) and Rick Ketcham (inks). Meh. It was a little cartoony but did sort of capture the feeling of Season 1. Of course Season 1 was still sort of searching for the right feel to the show.
"Queen of Hearts" by Christopher Golden and Ryan Sook (art). Another Spike and Dru story. Better than the last one but not by much. It's hard to image these two doing anything that wasn't for their own advantage and the concept just didn't quite work for me.
"Ring of Fire" by Doug Petrie and Ryan Sook (art). This is the other stand out story in the collection. It's pure Buffy. And it should be with Doug Petrie supplying the script. It's in Season 2 with Angel being Angelus and just after the death of Jenny Calender. It really captures some of the emotions that were going on between the gang during that time. With a plot that works really well in the Buffy universe and for where it fits in the continuity.
"Paint the Town Red" by James Marsters, Christopher Golden and Ryan Sook (art). Yet another Spike and Dru story. This is the best so far though with the motivations being a little more true to character and the dialogue a little less stilted. Still, I think they could have just left the Spike and Dru stuff out of the Omnibus and focused on Buffy and crew.
"The Dust Waltz" by Dan Brereton, Hector Gomez (pencils) and Sandu Florea (inks). I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I kind of enjoyed it but didn't like the introduction of Giles' niece. The art was nice but the characters didn't have much expression. It felt a bit rushed at the end but there wasn't quite enough material to cover two issues. It's not the weakest story in the collection, I'd say middle of the pack.
Overall the second Omnibus is an interesting read. It's interesting to see what other authors want to slip into the spaces between episodes and between seasons of the show. I'm going to give it a 3 out of 5.
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