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Btvs The subject of this article is non-canonical.
While created as part of licensed material, it has not been confirmed as part of the "real" Buffyverse continuity.
Angelwings

Bad Blood, Part Three: A Boy Named Sue is the eleventh issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic series. Written by Andi Watson and illustrated by Joe Bennett, it was originally published on July 28, 1999, by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis[]

Summer sizzles as Buffy and her pals continue their quest to stem the tide of evil that is rampant on Earth! In this action-packed issue, Selke and the Doctor continue their scheming and hit upon the solution to Selke's "cosmetic" complaints. Meanwhile, a jilted student at Sunnydale High learns a valuable lesson in gender relations. All the monsters and mayhem of the hit television show, captured in a monthly comic. This July, when things are heating up outside, kick back with the coolest comic around![1]

Summary[]

Selke arrives at Dr. Flitter's clinic and tells him that she had a street artist sketch her face, revealing that Flitter's "healing salve" has not been healing her. Flitter says he found a "faster" solution: an alchemical recipe to manipulate blood. However, he's still translating it.

Outside the Sunnydale High School, the Scooby Gang attends a blood drive. Buffy is afraid of needles, but she's nearby to check if there's any vampire involved in it. A car passes by with Todd Dahl, the leader of the band Double-Cross, who notices that Buffy is not in his notebook of "acquaintances." He hits on her, inviting Buffy to see him tonight at the Bronze. While Buffy is not interested in Todd, Amy makes an effort to donate blood just to sit beside him.

That night, Dr. Flitter advances in his recipe and tells Selke he needs blood from a young vampire to make bad blood. At that moment, one of her minions enters the clinic, and Selke says: "problem solved."

At the Bronze, Buffy, Cordelia, and Xander dance to the Double-Cross, while Willow and Oz stay at the table to ignore the headline band. Amy asks for Todd's autograph, but he ignores her in favor of talking to Buffy. He insists on taking her out, which Buffy continues to refuse. When he takes her by the arm, the Slayer twists his, telling him to take a hint. As Todd leaves the Bronze, he passes by Amy and tells her that the Dingoes Ate My Baby must have ordered her to be his stalker as a joke.

Later, Giles and Buffy escort the blood drive van from afar. They see vampires attacking it, and Buffy stakes them all. The next morning, Todd spread the rumor that Buffy was his latest conquest. Amy hears him and performs a spell in the boiler room to change "a son to a daughter."

Meanwhile, Dr. Flitter and Selke perform the alchemical ritual and extract the young vampire's blood.

Todd leaves his friends to go to the bathroom. He screams and leaves the cabin with a womanly appearance. Amy spreads the word about the "new girl" who was caught in the boy's bathroom and is "definitely loose" by the way "she" dresses. Todd tries to talk to his friends, but they only talk to him trying to take him out. As Amy watches on, Buffy tells her that she should probably end the spell. Amy says that Todd deserved it because of the way he treated both of them, but Buffy questions if she hadn't learned her lesson about messing with witchcraft.

Todd runs away to the girl's bathroom, and Buffy convinces Amy to undo the prank and not lower herself into making it an act of revenge. Todd transforms back into his male appearance, but he doesn't know how to leave the cabinet without the girls in the bathroom seeing him.

With the young vampire dusted, Dr. Flitter tells Selke they should leave the form for forty-eight hours until they begin refining the pure blood. At this moment, Selke falls to the floor after drinking the blood. He chastises her for her impatience: drinking blood this pure will poison her. Selke slaps the doctor with force enough to break his glasses, telling him to watch his mouth because she's not a "withering hag" anymore. Revealing her appearance fully restored, Selke plans to take the covens, Rouleau, and the Slayer.

Continuity[]

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Rituals and spells[]

Death count[]

  • Unidentified man, bitten by Selke.
  • Two unidentified vampires, staked by Buffy Summers.
  • An unidentified vampire, staked by Rupert Giles.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • The title is a reference to the song "A Boy Named Sue" (1969), continuing the thread of classic songs for titles since Hey, Good Lookin', Part One.
  • The photo cover features a promotional picture taken for Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3.
  • Differently from other representations, at this point the comic issues had vampires also able to transform into green creatures with red eyes, pointy ears, a wide mouth, and long teeth. Although, this seems more like an artistic choice, not having direct consequence to the stories.

Distribution[]

  • A Boy Named Sue was the 71st best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 39,042 sales in July 1999 at comic specialty stores.[2]

Pop culture references[]

  • Buffy jokes about Goosebumps novella series.
  • Todd mentions his band appearing on MTV channel.
  • Cordelia compares Buffy's work as a Slayer to ER television series.

Collections[]

International titles[]

  • Italian: Un Ragazzo di Nome Sue (A Boy Named Sue)

Gallery[]

Covers[]

Cover artwork[]

References[]

  1. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer #11." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on April 15, 2018.
  2. "July 1999 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops." Comichron. Retrieved on April 1, 2021.
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