''Viva Las Buffy!'' is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

storyline based on the ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'' television series that was published in ''

'' #51–54 by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

. It was reprinted in a trade paperback collected edition.

Story description

General synopsis

After burning down her school gym Buffy was expelled and is now finding it hard to cope with her Slayer duties since her Watcher, Merrick, is dead. She escapes to Las Vegas along with her friend

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

. They work in one of the casinos which, as it happens, is run by two vampires. Angel is also around in the background helping her out although she does not know it. At the end, Pike realizes he cannot stay with Buffy, and that even friendship between them might endanger the both of them, so he leaves Buffy alone.

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer #51''

:Comic title: ''Viva Las Buffy!, Act 1: Broken Parts '' It's 1996, and Buffy Summers has recently discovered her role as the Vampire Slayer. She goes to Las Vegas to think about her life. Watcher Rupert Giles is puzzled that his slayer has yet to arrive in Sunnydale.

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer #52''

:Comic title: ''Viva Las Buffy!, Act 2: Full House '' Confused by her new powers as Slayer, Buffy has left Joyce and Dawn behind. Trouble soon arrives when Buffy gradually uncovers a vampiric presence in Las Vegas.

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer #53''

:Comic title: ''Viva Las Buffy!, Act 3: Deuces Wild '' Pike starts to question the idea of a relationship with the slayer whilst Giles battles to become the next Watcher of the Slayer.

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer #54''

:Comic title: ''Viva Las Buffy!, Act 4: The Big Fold'' In England, Rupert Giles discovers treachery surrounding his aim to become the newest Watcher, while Pike leaves Buffy deciding that his relationship with her might be dangerous for them.

Continuity

Canonical issues

Buffy comics ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' comics refer to comic books based on the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series), Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. While many of these comics were published when the television show was on air they ar ...

such as this one are not usually considered by fans as

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

. Some fans consider them to be stories from the imaginations of authors and artists, while other fans consider them as taking place in an alternative fictional reality. However, unlike

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...

, overviews summarizing their story, written early in the writing process, were approved by both Fox and

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

(or his office), and the books were therefore later published as official Buffy merchandise. Also, the writers, Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, and Paul Lee made a strong effort to offer a non-contradictory continuity which fills the gap between the events of Buffy burning down her school gym (seen in '' The Origin''), and "

Welcome To The Hellmouth "Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the American supernatural drama television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It originally aired on The WB on March 10, 1997 in a two-hour premiere along with the following episode, " The H ...

". Though, being published before the end of the television series

Angel (1999 TV series) ''Angel'' is an American television series, a spinoff of the supernatural drama series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The series was created by ''Buffy''s creator, writer and director Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired ...

, "Viva Las Buffy!" directly contradicts the fact that in the episode "

Why We Fight ''Why We Fight'' is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in th ...

," Angel states that the only human he's ever sired while having a soul was Sam Lawson (in Viva they write Angel having also sired their original character Garner Siddle). In the

episode "

The House Always Wins "The House Always Wins" is episode 3 of season 4 in the television show ''Angel''. Written by David Fury and directed by Marita Grabiak, it was originally broadcast on October 20, 2002 on the WB television network. In "The House Always Wins", An ...

," Angel indicates that it has “been a while” since he's been to Vegas. Saying that there “used to be dunes over there,” and further explaining that Bugsy Segal called them bug piles which means it couldn't have been later than 1947 since he's been in town. {{Buffy comics