Dynamite Entertainment is giving its next era of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel more room to grow.
The publisher has moved both series to March 2027 following what it describes as an enthusiastic response from fans, retailers, and the press. The additional time will allow writer Kelly Thompson and the creative teams to expand the opening chapters of the interconnected story.
Buffy Returns March 10
The new Buffy the Vampire Slayer series from Thompson and artist Stephen Byrne will launch March 10, 2027. Thompson’s companion Angel series, illustrated by Giulia Giacomino, will follow later that month.
The two titles will be closely connected during their opening storylines. Readers will need to follow both books to experience the complete story Thompson has planned.
As development continued, the scope of the project grew. Dynamite and the creative teams decided to increase the page counts of both debut issues to accommodate the larger story.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 will feature 35 story pages. Angel #1 will contain 32 story pages.
Both issues will be published as 48-page comics. Despite the increased content, each will retain Dynamite’s standard $4.99 price.
Dynamite has also decided to resolicit the titles. The publisher said the move, supported by the creative teams, will help give the expanded saga the strongest possible launch.
Angel Introduces a Mysterious New Threat
The changes are not limited to additional pages. Dynamite is also teasing major developments that could reshape the Buffy universe.
Clayton Crain’s cover for Angel #1 includes deliberately censored artwork connected to the first appearance of a new enemy called Leviathan. Readers will have to wait until March to discover what the character looks like and how Leviathan fits into the story.
Dynamite is also keeping another major reveal secret. The publisher promises the development will shock Buffy fans when they reach the opening chapters.
Editor Nate Cosby is using the revised schedule to assemble additional variant covers for collectors. Plans include connecting covers spanning both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, with more announcements still to come.
Kelly Thompson Calls Buffy a Dream Project
For Thompson, taking control of these characters carries a personal connection.
“The first thing I ever tried to seriously write when I was first trying, was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer spec script. So, to say this is a dream realized… at least from a certain angle, is deeply true,” Thompson said.
She also stressed that readers should treat the opening issues of both series as parts of one larger story.
“It’s critical that readers read both Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 and Angel #1, as those two books together sort of ‘set the table’ for this new situation our characters find themselves in and launch how they’re going to be dealing with it. It’s going to be a much more complete and rewarding reading experience to read the books together for at least the first arc. And part of the reason for doing that is because comics are so much more flexible.”
Firefly Prepares for Another Flight
Dynamite is also preparing another return from the world of cult television. Firefly is heading back to comics with Eisner Award-winning writer Mark Russell and artist Lorenzo Re, whose credits include The Terminator.
The new series will follow Mal, Zoe, Wash, and the rest of the familiar crew in episodic adventures aboard the Serenity. The announcement initially references new adventures beginning in February, while the later publishing update states that the new Firefly series is now scheduled to launch in April.
Russell approaches the property as both a writer and longtime fan. For him, Firefly works because its characters matter more than its genre labels.
“I think Firefly was what first exposed to me what a hollow concept genre can be,” Russell said. “What you really want to do is to create a cast of characters that, as different as they may be, as much as they may not like each other, only to realize how much they need each other to survive. Which is true of all of us.”
Russell said the series will follow the original show’s ability to shift naturally between different genres and tones.
“And, just like the show, life is sometimes a western, sometimes a rom-com, sometimes darkly funny, and other times scary as hell. That’s what you want to capture.”
With expanded debut issues, interconnected storytelling, major surprises, and the return of another fan-favorite franchise, Dynamite is positioning 2027 as a major year for its adaptations of Joss Whedon-created television properties.
