Girl Blue, Part One

Girl Blue, Part One
Publication	February 28, 2018
Length	22 pages
Giles: Girl Blue #1
Next →	Girl Blue, Part Two
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Writer(s)	Erika Alexander & Joss Whedon
Penciller(s)	Jon Lam
Editor(s)	Freddye Miller
Cover artist(s)	Steve Morris Variant cover: Arielle Jovellanos & ComiCraft Ultra variant: Jenny Frison
Colorist(s)	Dan Jackson
Letterer(s)	Richard Starkings & ComiCraft’s Jimmy Betancourt

Girl Blue, Part One is the first issue of "Giles: Girl Blue" comic book miniseries. It was written by Erika Alexander and Joss Whedon, and illustrated by Jon Lam.

Synopsis

From Joss Whedon and Erika Alexander comes a series that returns Buffy’s Rupert Giles to high school! But this time — as a grown man living in a teenage body — Giles will be a student instead of a teacher. At an inner-city LA-area school, when a mystical influence is detected and teachers start to go missing, Giles enrolls to investigate. What he finds is more than vampires and demons; something unusual and frightening is happening here. If Giles can get through one day as a student, he’ll have a chance to find out who, what, and where — but high school is still hell, y’all.

Continuity

• The story takes place after A House Divided, when Giles got his human certificate, and mentioned his idea of leaving to somewhere he could to act his physical age.
• It’s revealed that, while already in the Safe Zone, Willow and Buffy organized Giles’ trip to Living Legend Academy Charter High School.
• Giles describes being 16 years old, making it about four years since his resurrection (What You Want, Not What You Need, Part Two) — curiously following real-world time (actual date) other than comic book (seasons) time.
• The story happens before One Girl in All the World’s epilogue, in which Giles has returned to San Francisco and tells Faith about his adventures.

Appearances

Individuals

• Lloyd Addison
• Blue
• Principal Boake
• Mr. Crowe (Only mentioned)
• Rupert Giles
• Hazel (Only mentioned)
• Willow Rosenberg (Only voice)
• Roux
• Seed
• Sheffield
• Buffy Summers (Only mentioned)
• Truman
• Vega
• Ms. Wong (Only mentioned)

Organizations and Titles

• Warlock
• Watcher

Species

• Demon
• Human
• Vampire

Locations

• Los Angeles
  • Living Legend Academy Charter High School
  • Vincent Thomas Bridge (Only in flashforward)
• Safe Zone (Only mentioned)

Behind the Scenes

Production

• This issue is the first to be written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon since Freefall, Part One.
• Writer Erika Alexander, illustrator Jon Lam, and cover artist Arielle Jovellanos debut in the Buffyverse in this issue.
• Jovellanos’ variant cover features the characters Tōru Oikawa and Hajime Iwaizumi from Haikyuu!! series.

Distribution

• An exclusive variant cover was available for 12th ComicsPRO Annual Meeting, recolored from Steve Morris main cover.
• Girl Blue, Part One was the 173º best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 9,771 sales in February 2018 at comic specialty stores.

Collections

• "Girl Blue"

Pop Culture References

• Giles compares his undercover situation with the television series 21 Jump Street (1987).
• An unidentified student mentions Snapchat multimedia mobile application.
• Lloyd Addison compares his lament to William Shakespeare.
• Giles mentions Addison have translated works from the N.A.S.A..
• Mrs. Vega mentions technology executive, activist, and author Sheryl Sandberg, also refering to her book "Lean In" (2013).
• Giles mentions rapper Flavor Flav due to his trademark large necklace.
• Giles quotes the song "99 Problems".

Music

A “mixtape” is provided throughout the story:

1. A Tribe Called Quest — "We the People…"
2. Kendrick Lamar — "Untitled 04/8.04.2014."
3. Jessie Reyez — "Shutter Island"
4. Pharrell Williams — Lost Queen
5. Kendrick Lamar — "Figure Eight"
6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — "Requiem in D Minor K. 626"
7. Caetano Veloso — "Cucurrucucú Paloma" (Live 1995)
8. Sara Gazerek — "Blackbird"
9. Franz Liszt — "Liebestraume S541/R211: No. 3"
10. Stevie Wonder — "Girl Blue"

Gallery

Additional Covers

ComicsPRO exclusive

Cover Artwork

Steve Morris main cover

Arielle Jovellanos variant

Jenny Frison ultra variant

Preview

Quotes

Giles: “I am that guy. A death merchant. Dooming everything I touch. So, on this day without light, my sins lais bare, I condemn myself to death. Yet, through her bloody kiss I will be reborn. Immortal. Because living life is heaven’s hell and chasing demons is chasing one’s own tale.”