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Angelwings

Parental Parasite is the third and final graphic novel of the Buffy: The High School Years comic book series. Written by Kel McDonald and illustrated by Yishan Li, it was originally published on June 28, 2017, by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis[]

Buffy struggles to deal with her mom Joyce's newfound interest in spending time with her. Balancing that with her schoolwork, her friends, and her regular vampire-slaying duties is a challenge. However, when Joyce becomes hypnotized by a childlike demon that craves motherly care, Buffy experiences a new kind of sibling rivalry — except in Buffy's case, her "sibling" is actually a monster!

Summary[]

This article needs a plot summary.

Continuity[]

  • Buffy mentions the leather jacket Angel gave her in the episode "Teacher's Pet."
  • The Scooby Gang is oblivious to Angel's status as a vampire, to be revealed in the episode "Angel."
  • Xander tells Buffy to not burn down Sunnydale High School, in reference to the time she burned Hemery High School's gym (The Origin).
  • Xander mentions his parents not caring about his school performance; indeed, he'll be the first to notice something is wrong when a demon manifests as his parents not fighting with each other and asking about his day (I Wish, Part One).
  • Attempting to be more involved in Buffy's life, Joyce is affected by a manipulative demon that mimics children; it will happen to her again in the episode "Gingerbread."
  • Only mentioned in the television series, Joyce's art gallery appears for the second time in all the Buffyverse licensed material, after the non-canon comic story Rogues Gallery.

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and Titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Death count[]

  • Two unidentified demons, slayed by Buffy.
  • An unidentified demon, slayed by Angel.
  • An unidentified woman, blood drained by a vampire.
  • An unidentified vampire, burned in sunlight.
  • A Cuclidus demon, beheaded by Buffy.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • Writer Kel McDonald describes her motivation to this issue's theme: "I rewatched all of Buffy the Vampire Slayer while writing Glutton for Punishment. I wanted to make sure I got the voices right, but I noticed that Buffy's mom is a little underused. She's there for some subplots, but the mother-daughter relationship isn't explored much. I found this odd because, in reality, Buffy and her mother had just moved to Sunnydale and would most likely be more connected to each other to feel comfortable. [...] The relationship between Buffy and Joyce is clear from the start, and that's partly why I was drawn to Joyce for Parental Parasite."[2]
  • Kel McDonald also mentions her attention in Joyce and Giles not having scenes together, as they don't actually meet until the episode "Angel."[2] Indeed, Giles is away as soon as Joyce enters the library, and she loses her memory of when he helped her against the Cuclidus demon.

Distribution[]

  • Parental Parasite was the thirty-third best selling graphic novel in its publication month, with 2,078 sales in June 2017 at comic specialty stores.[3]

Gallery[]

Cover artwork[]

Preview[]

References[]

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