[Editor’s note: Shortly after the recording of this interview, the electronic file was shown to have been corrupted. It was recently partially recovered and thus we publish our conversation with Jordie Bellaire and Jeremy Lambert here.]
Back in 2019, Boom! Studios kicked off the first event of their recently-relaunched universe centering on everyone’s favorite defender of Sunnydale with the miniseries Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Hellmouth, written by Jordie Bellaire and Jeremy Lambert, with art by Eleonora Carlini and colored by Cris Peter. Hellmouth focuses on Buffy’s first meeting the mysterious vampire-with-a-soul known as Angel as the two and Buffy’s friends attempt to close the Hellmouth to prevent the world being overrun by demons and the damned undead.
“There is a massive influx of fire and brimstone into Sunnydale,” said Bellaire when I spoke with her and Lambert when the series was about to launch.
As to the relationships and friendships within the Scooby Gang of Buffy and her friends, Lambert noted the fracturing of the group.
“The team is splintered and feisty,” Lambert said. “Xander is struggling with being a vampire,” turned by the villainous vampire Drusilla. “Buffy feels angsty. We’re very much in media res.”
When discussing the individual Scooby members, they each had their favorites they enjoyed working on.
“Xander has been great to work on,” Bellaire said. “Now that he’s been turned into a vampire by Drusilla, he’s on a path we’ve never seen him on before” in other media.
For Lambert, it was the titular vampire slayer. “It’s been so much fun working with Buffy,” he said. “Jordie gives such a fresh take on the character.”
On that collaboration, they each praise the other when discussing the story.
“Jordie’s been great to work with,” Lambert said. “Her work feeds into that 10-year-old happiness of seeing these cool characters come to life.”
Bellaire returned the praise. “Jeremy is so smart and talented,” she said. “He gets these characters so well.”
They both also gush about Carlini’s work as well.
“Eleonora is so talented,” he said. “Her work is so gorgeous and has such a magical feel.”
You can check out these beautiful words and images they discuss in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: Hellmouth trade paperback, on sale now from Boom! Studios.
From the official collection description:
Buffy and Angel meet for the first time – but are they friends or enemies? Joss Whedon’s pop culture icons come together for their first ever comic book event to face the world-ending event hundreds of years in the making—the opening of the gates to the Hellmouth!