Fray: Future Slayer back

It's the future. How can you tell? Well, there's flying cars for a start (take note, Mr Ellis!).

Anyway… the future and the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and the vampires and demons went away 200 years ago. Set in the same world as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER but not relying on knowledge of same, this is written by Joss Whedon, better know to some as the bloke what invented the blonde girl with the pointy sticks. Freed from the boundaries of the TV continuity of Buffy and Angel, he crafts a tale in which Melaka Fray, petty thief, discovers she is heir to the Slayer legacy. Translation: she has to kill vampires otherwise they will destroy the earth. The Watchers (super-librarians who teach Slayers how to do the job) have awaited the arrival of a new Slayer for 200 years, but have gone barking mad in the process, leaving a demon with his own agenda to teach Fray the ways of the demon world.

Moline's pen is ideally suited for action of this series. His character designs show a unique style flourishing and, for those who like that sort of thing, can be seen developing in the sketchbook pages at the back.

It's Whedon's first foray into the world of comics and he's made a fun book. While not without flaws, it's pacy, charming and, at one point, genuinely touching and it seems that Whedon has managed to bring his box of tricks from TV to the printed page relatively intact (even if that box does include the unnecessary big serpent in the final fight). With the final season of Buffy ending soon on BBC2 this'll be the ideal gift for the Slayer-obsessed one in your life this Christmas.

[Editor's note: And now there's Season Eight, masterminded by Whedon and exclusive to comics. Enjoy!]