New Rules, Part One is the first issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten comic book series. Written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Rebekah Isaacs, it was originally published on March 19, 2014, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
New season. New rules. The age-old battle of Slayer vs. vampire is the focus of Buffy's life once again — it's downright nostalgic! But with all the toying with magic she's done lately, this girl should know it's time for another game change… Shouldn't she?[1]
Summary[]
The immediate aftermath of accelerating the maturation of the new Seed of Wonder and restoring magic back to the world finds Buffy and the Scoobies in Santa Rosita slaying zompires. A new vampire named Vicki shows up to help Buffy with the zompire problem, and it's clear to both parts that Vicki and her crew of new vampires plan to turn on Buffy once all zompires are slain. Spike shows up to assist in the midst of a heated battle, while Buffy reflects on her healthy friendship she now has with him. Willow then magically teleports two civilians, named Abby and Zoey Miller, to Dawn and Andrew, who have been driving a van together rescuing people to outside the town.
Willow states that the new magic is different, and she can't not perform another spell while maintaining the force field around Santa Rosita keeping the remaining zompires in. Buffy then leads the others to Xander's trap, consisting of a trail of tanning beds. While he puts the finishing touches on his trap, he mentions to a ghost of Anya how strained his relationship with Dawn has been, and she reminds him of all the problems he caused in their relationship before she was killed. Buffy and others then arrive and Xander's trap is a success. Anaheed, Billy Lane, and Devon congratulate the Scoobies.
With no more zompires, Buffy and Vicki turn their attentions on each other, and the sunrise reveals the new vampires' immunity to sunlight. Both sides begin to fight each other, and Buffy and the Scoobies are overwhelmed by Vicki's forces, who are tougher to stake and capable of turning into mist, panthers, and giant bats. Buffy blames herself for a imminent defeat, until the timely arrival of Faith, Giles, Kennedy, Holly, and Leah in the fight. Buffy is happily reunited with Giles, recently resurrected as a teenage boy. When she turns back to the battle, she now believes they're going to win.
Continuity[]
- The Scooby Gang is at Santa Rosita dealing with the zompire crisis seen in Love vs. Life.
- Buffy mentions "old boyfriends turning into mad gods" in reference to Angel and Twilight (Last Gleaming, Part Three).
- Buffy recalls giving magic back to the Earth, stopping an apocalypse, and saving Dawn, which all happened in The Core, Part Five.
- Buffy feels nostalgic "slaying the undead so they don't overrun a suburban California town," as she did for seven years in Sunnydale ("Welcome to the Hellmouth" to "Chosen").
- The Scoobies are first introduced to the vampire change caused by the recreation of the Seed of Wonder, as well as the first new vampire, Vicki, who awoke in The Core, Part Five.
- Vicki mentions the existence of zompires as caused by Buffy who "wrecked magic," as discovered in Freefall, Part Three.
- Vicki provokes Buffy about her "traditional slayer/vampire dynamic," in reference to the Slayer's past relationship with vampires Angel ("Angel") and Spike ("Once More, with Feeling").
- Buffy misses Giles, recalling getting "our father figure killed" in Last Gleaming, Part Four).
- Spike mentions riding New York City subways in the seventies, as seen in "Fool for Love."
- Andrew tells Abby and Zoey about Spike getting his soul ("Grave").
- Buffy reflects on Willow's "cosmic walkabout," referring to her interdimensional travels in Willow: Wonderland.
- Xander "is talking to the ghost of [his] dead ex-fiancee," referring to Anya Jenkins. The ghost's true identity will be revealed in In Pieces on the Ground, Part Five, and the Scoobies will only learn Xander's been seen her in Own It, Part Four.
- Anya mentions being left at the altar and getting killed, referring to the events from "Hell's Bells" and "Chosen."
- Misunderstanding Andrew's envy of Billy, Dawn supports him coming out. He will only mention his sexual orientation in Love Dares You, Part One.
- Spike mentions "fighting hordes of feral vampires" and "bursting into flame at the end," in reference to the battle at the Hellmouth in "Chosen."
- Buffy says she's been dusting vampires longer than she's been driving, as she dusted her first vampire at fifteen year old (The Origin, Part One).
- Andrew compares the new vampires abilities to Toru's pack's, seen in Wolves at the Gate, Part One.
- Willow recalls that Dracula taught her how to reverse Toru's pack spell (Wolves at the Gate, Part Three).
- Buffy reflects on the Scooby Gang falling apart since Giles first left for England ("Tabula Rasa").
- Buffy and Faith meet for the first time since Giles' funeral, as do Willow and Kennedy after their break-up (Last Gleaming, Part Five).
- Leah is working for Deepscan; she was last seen as part of the Slayer Organization in Last Gleaming, Part Four.
- Giles reunites with the Scoobies after his resurrection in What You Want, Not What You Need, Part Two.
- Willow tells Giles there's no need to "cast spells in dead languages anymore," as they'll discuss the cause in New Rules, Part Three.
- Giles mentions Willow "never bothered to master the correct pronunciation" of dead languages for spells. In "Primeval," the Scoobies noted Giles' multilingual expertise in contrast to Willow's inability to speak Sumerian. Willow also mentioned she "sucked" at Latin during a spell in "Get It Done."
- The Angel & Faith Season Ten issue Where the River Meets the Sea, Part One shares the scene of the encounter between Giles and the Scooby Gang, from Faith's point of view.
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Anaheed
- Angel (Only mentioned)
- Anya
- Devon
- Dracula (Only mentioned)
- Rupert Giles
- Alexander Harris
- Holly
- Anya Jenkins (Only mentioned)
- Kennedy
- Leah
- Faith Lehane
- Billy Lane
- Mrs. Miller (Only mentioned)
- Abby Miller
- Zoey Miller
- Willow Rosenberg
- Spike
- Buffy Summers
- Dawn Summers
- Joyce Summers (Only mentioned)
- Hank Summers (Only mentioned)
- Twilight (Only mentioned)
- Vicki
- Andrew Wells
Organization and titles[]
- Deepscan
- Key
- Scooby Gang
- Slayer
- Toru's pack (Only mentioned)
- Warlock
- Watcher
- Witch
Species[]
- Human
- Spirit
- Vampire
- Vengeance demon (Only mentioned)
Events[]
- Apocalypse (Only mentioned)
- Battle at the Hellmouth (Only mentioned)
- Demon Trials (Only mentioned)
- End of magic (Only mentioned)
Locations[]
- England (Only mentioned)
- London (Only mentioned)
- Japan (Only mentioned)
- United States
- New York City (Only mentioned)
- Santa Rosita
- Sunnydale (Only mentioned)
- Sunnydale Bison's Lodge (Only mentioned)
Objects[]
Rituals and spells[]
- "Apricatio"
- Augustine's curse (Only mentioned)
- Augustine's curse reversal (Only mentioned)
Death count[]
Unknown number of zompires, dusted by the Scooby Gang and Vicki's gang of new vampires, including:
- 8 zompires, beheaded by Buffy.
- 5 zompires, staked by Buffy.
- 3 zompires, staked by Vicki.
- 6 zompires, magically incinerated by Willow.
- 2 zompires, beheaded by Spike.
- 5 zompires, incinerated by Xander.
- 1 zompire, staked by Spike.
- 2 zompires, staked by unidentified new vampires.
Unknown number of new vampires, dusted by the Scooby Gang and Deepscan, including:
- 1 new vampire, staked by Buffy.
- 3 new vampires, beheaded by Buffy.
- 1 new vampire, beheaded by Dawn.
- 1 new vampire, beheaded by Faith.
- 4 new vampires, magically incinerated by Giles.
- 1 new vampire, incinerated by Xander.
- 1 new vampire, beheaded by Kennedy.
Behind the scenes[]
Production[]
- Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs debut on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, having worked in the previous season as the main artistic team for Angel & Faith.
- Rebekah Isaacs's ultravariant cover connects to Where the River Meets the Sea, Part One's.
- This issue has an exclusive cover by Brian Horton for WonderCon 2014 and another by Phil Noto for Emerald City Comic Con 2014.
Distribution[]
- New Rules, Part One was the 75th best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 27,851 sales in March 2014 at comic specialty stores.[2]
Collections[]
Pop culture references[]
- Buffy mentions the 1940 novel You Can't Go Home Again.
- Vicki wears a Ghost of the Robot shirt; the band has a member James Marsters, who portrayed Spike in both the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel series.
- Vicki mentions William Shakespeare.
- Spike references Admiral Ackbar due to its famous quote, "It's a trap!"
- Andrew quotes, "Come with me if you want to live," from the Terminator franchise.
- Xander and Anya have a discussion about Pete's Dragon.
- Andrew compares being green with envy to the character Hulk.
- A new vampire sarcastically calls Willow "an Einstein" in reference to the theoretical physicist.
International titles[]
- French: Nouvelles Règles, Première Partie
- German: Neue Regeln, Teil Eins
- Italy: Nuove Regole, Parte Uno
Gallery[]
Covers[]
Cover artwork[]
Preview[]
Quotes[]
Buffy: "Seriously? 'Vicki the Vampire'?" |
Vicki: "Right. Because 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' is downright Shakespearean." |
Xander: "So I'm not making this up, right? I'm not just being crazy?" |
Anya: "Well, you're talking to the ghost of your ex-fiancé. So that's kind of a loaded question." |
Xander: "Here they come. Anya, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but can you go back to your magic lamp or…" |
Anya: "They can't see me. I'm like Pete's Dragon." |
Xander: "Some people could see Pete's Dragon. There was that drunk lighthouse keeper." |
Anya: "You realize I'm probably a sign of a brain tumor or encroaching mental illness. People seeing me is the last of your worries." |
Xander: "Fine, but my relationship is hanging by a thread here, so…" |
Anya: "Oh, sure. God forbid the woman who gave up her vengeance-demon powers for you only to be left at the altar and eventually killed inconvenience you romantically." |
Andrew: "If I were any greener with envy, I'd be gamma irradiated. Billy just decided to live the life he wanted, to hell with convention or rules. And he was accepted." |
Dawn: "Oh my God, Andrew, you could totally do the same thing. Why would you think for a second you wouldn't be accepted?" |
Andrew: "You really think I could be a Slayer?" |
Dawn: "A… Slayer. Of course I do. Because that's what you meant. And me too!" |
Faith: "Ain't that just typical. If it's not in the States, it doesn't exist to you people. Broaden your horizons a little." |
Buffy: "Faith? How'd you— You're in London!" |
Faith: "'Bout a hundred years ago, a couple dudes invented a machine that flies. Kennedy's got one that goes wicked fast." |
Buffy: "What the what? Faith— I don't care if he knows magic, you can't bring a kid here." |
Willow: "And tell him you don't need to cast spells in dead languages anymore." |
Giles: "I'm sure that's lovely for those of you who never bothered to master the correct pronunciation… despite my best efforts. But as long as I know Latin, I'll use it, thank you very much." |
Willow: "Oh my God. Giles?" |
Buffy: "Giles?" |
Giles: "Hello." |
References[]
- ↑ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #1." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on February 19, 2018.
- ↑ "Top 300 Comics Actual--March 2014." ICv2, April 7, 2014. Retrieved on February 19, 2018.