- ⤷ Note: This article is about the comic miniseries. For the episode, see Origin.
The Origin is a miniseries spin-off from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic comic book series. Written by Dan Brereton with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Joe Bennett, the three issues were originally published from January to March 1999 by Dark Horse Comics.
Premise
Bear witness to teenager Buffy Summers's transformation from simple high school student to super Vampire Slayer! Follow Buffy's trials and tribulations as she comes to accept her destined role to thwart the legions of the undead from spreading their veil of evil across Los Angeles.[1]
Continuity
- The events take place before Buffy moves from Los Angeles to Sunnydale ("Welcome to the Hellmouth").
- Buffy's first encounter and patrol with Merrick were shown as flashbacks in the episode "Becoming, Part One."
- Buffy burns down the school gym, as principal Robert Flutie would eventually observe from her permanent record ("Welcome to the Hellmouth").
- Buffy hints at her adventures with Pike in Las Vegas from Viva Las Buffy!.
Appearances
- Amilyn (3/3)
- Benny (3/3)
- Kimberly (3/3)
- Jeffrey Kramer (3/3)
- Lothos (3/3)
- Pike (3/3)
- Buffy Summers (3/3)
- Andy (2/3)
- Cassandra (2/3)
- Jennifer (2/3)
- Grueller (2/3)
- Merrick (2/3)
- Robert Berman (1/3)
- Wally Bessel (1/3)
- Rupert Giles (1/3)
- Alexander Harris (1/3)
- Gary Murray (1/3)
- Willow Rosenberg (1/3)
- Hank Summers (1/3)
- Joyce Summers (1/3)
- Zeph (1/3)
- Unidentified barmaid Slayer (Only in visions) (1/3)
- Unidentified Dark Ages Slayer (Only in visions) (1/3)
- Unidentified Dark Ages Watcher (Only in visions) (1/3)
- Unidentified Hong Kong Slayer (Only in visions) (1/3)
Publications
The series includes 3 issues, collected in 3 complete trade paperbacks.
Issues
| Cover | Title | Issue | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Origin, Part One | 1 | January 13, 1999 |
| The comic book adaption of the cult film starts the New Year off with a bang. Adapted from creator Joss Whedon's original screenplay, witness Buffy's humble beginnings as the Slayer! Follow her trials and tribulations as she comes to accept her destined role, and all the vampire slaying you can handle in a three-issue series. See the original Buffy before she set fire to the red-hot television show. | |||
|
The Origin, Part Two | 2 | February 10, 1999 |
|
The Origin, Part Three | 3 | March 24, 1999 |
| Having suffered the tragic loss of her Watcher, Merrick, Buffy must now face the terror of Lothos the vampire on her own… well, not quite alone. She's got Pike around to help her. Of course, it all goes down on the same night as the dance, and nothing's going to keep her away from that. Not after she bought that perfect dress… she's gonna knock' em dead! | |||
Collections
| Cover | Title | Issues | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Origin | 1–3 | September 15, 1999 |
| Bear witness to teenager Buffy Summers's transformation from simple high school student to super Vampire Slayer! Follow Buffy's trials and tribulations as she comes to accept her destined role to thwart the legions of the undead from spreading their veil of evil across Los Angeles. Adapted from creator Joss Whedon's original screenplay from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature film, The Origin updates the material to match the tone and characters of the hit television series, making this the official Buffy launching pad! | |||
|
Omnibus, Volume 1 | 1–3, others | July 11, 2007 |
| The definitive comics collection of all things Buffy starts here. This first massive volume begins at the beginning — The Origin, a faithful adaptation of creator Joss Whedon's original screenplay for the film that started it all. The newly-chosen slayer's road to Sunnydale continues in Viva Las Buffy! and Slayer, Interrupted. Next, high school, the Scoobies and an English librarian lead the way into Season One continuity. Plus, The Goon creator Eric Powell provides pencils to "All's Fair," featuring Spike and Drusilla at the 1933 World's Fair. | |||
|
Classic 2: The Origin | 1–3 | December 21, 2011 |
| Bear witness to teenager Buffy Summers's transformation from simple high-school student to super vampire Slayer! Follow Buffy's trials and tribulations as she comes to accept her destined role to thwart the legions of the undead in their plan to spread their veil of evil across Los Angeles. | |||
Behind the scenes
Production
- According to editor Scott Allie, "established Buffy novelist Christopher Golden pitched an adaptation of Joss [Whedon]'s original screenplay, minus the camp of the film, and done in the style of the TV show."[2]
- Unlike the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film, the comic's story is canonical. Joss Whedon has stated: "The origin comic, though I have issues with it, CAN pretty much be accepted as canonical. They did a cool job of combining the movie script (the SCRIPT) with the series, that was nice, and using the series Merrick and not a certain OTHER thespian [referring to Donald Sutherland] who shall remain hated."[3]
- The script was also adapted into the novel Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
International titles
- French: L'Origine
- Spanish (Latin America): El Origen
References
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 0: The Origin TPB." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on March 4, 2018.
- ↑ Scott Allie, Panel to Panel. Dark Horse Comics, December 2007.
- ↑ "Bronze VIP Archive for January 17, 1999." Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016.