The Spread of Their Evil

⤷ Note: This article is about the issue. For the collection, see The Spread of Their Evil....

The Spread of Their Evil

Publication

November 23, 2016

Length

22 pages

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven #1

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Colorist(s)

Dan Jackson

Letterer(s)

Richard Starkings
ComiCraft's Jimmy Betancourt

The Spread of Their Evil is the first issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven comic book series. Written by Christos Gage and illustrated by Rebekah Isaacs, it was originally published on November 23, 2016, by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis[]

Life is good for Buffy and the Scoobies with everyone finally finding a happy and calm place in their lives. But when a supernatural disaster wreaks havoc on their very existence, and the entire city of San Francisco, they are forced back into fighting form.^[1]

Summary[]

Buffy and Spike are in the sewers fighting a large and resistant demon until they find its weak spot and successfully kill it. The couple gets close for a kiss but are interrupted by the arrival of detective Dowling, officer Patterson, and a third police officer, who were supposed to get there earlier for the battle. The officers measure and photograph the demon, and Spike asks for the pictures so Giles can identify it.

Buffy, Spike, and Dowling comment on the successful work of the Supernatural Crimes department in San Francisco, and the detective tells Buffy she could be hired full time. She denies the offer and explains that being a consultant didn't make slaying feel like work. Leaving the sewers, Dowling comments with Spike that his relationship with Buffy seems to be going well, and the vampire agrees, mentioning they had a rough path but now they are equal and good for each other without past selfish neuroses. He says he even feels like he'd grown, and Dowling tells he bets Buffy feels the same way, to which Spike only answers that he hopes it to be true.

In Buffy, Willow, and Dawn's apartment, Willow is explaining to a group of people about Wicca precepts, and that the point of their reunions wouldn't be spell casting, despite promising to teach it. She introduces them to the form she conducts her covens, while Buffy and Spike quietly arrive and go upstairs. There, Xander, Dawn, and Giles are having a barbecue. Seeing Spike's picture of the earlier demon, Giles identifies it as of the genus Vermis mysteriis.

Meanwhile, Dawn shows Buffy her grades, making her older sister proud. Buffy also comments on Dawn's relationship with Xander, and she tells they're better than the first time they got together. In return, Dawn asks about her relationship with Spike, and Buffy answer it's good; her problems are with herself. Insecure about her doing the same thing since she was fifteen, Buffy lists her friends recent achievements: Dawn getting her degree, Xander's relationship with Dawn, Giles being more comfortable with his young body now he's hanging out with faes, Willow teaching her own covens and "making eyes" at Calliope, and Andrew being out and proud.

Dawn, praising Buffy, tells her she had done even more, recalling she had shared her power with thousands of other women, felt in love with two vampires, and ran the Magic Council. This makes Buffy optimistic about lasting as long as she did as a Slayer, and Dawn tells her she should enjoy things being calm lately before something happened. In the background, a storm is coming.

Xander questions the weather forecast, and Willow arrives telling she noticed something weird about the storm. With a magnification spell, the Scooby Gang sees a large dragon flying above a tsunami toward San Francisco. Following Buffy orders, Willow and Giles try to create a magic barrier against the dragon, while Xander, Dawn, and Spike get inside to bring weapons. Buffy jumps into the dragon while the city is being flooded. Giles identifies it as a Shenlong, and Willow joins Buffy in the battle. The Scoobies continuously attack it but fail to even hurt the dragon until Buffy pierces its eye. The Shenlong disappears.

Looking at the city from their rooftop, the group see the damage caused by the tsunami, and they all run to help the victims. They spent all night rescuing them, with magic, super-strength, or assistance. While the sun is about to come up, Buffy and Spike begin walking among the disaster relief tents. He tells her that, based in his experience seeing revolutions and wars, what happened changed the world in a big way, and the question is how.

In the White House, the President, Vice President, and Chief of Staff are talking about San Francisco's disaster. President Malloy consider the situation unacceptable and questions how could this happen. Major Bill explains the creature is nowhere to be found, but it is being investigated. The Vice President then says the question is less how it happened and more what they are going to do about it.

Continuity[]

Buffy and Spike continue their work as consultants for San Francisco Police Department's Supernatural Crimes Unit, as seem in Love Dares You, Part Three and Triggers.
Spike comments he and Buffy had overcame their selfish neuroses from his mother and her father, likely in reference to their most recent encounters in I Wish, Part One and Freaky Giles Day.
Spike defends once again his identity as an immigrant, as he had challenged his xenophobic landlady in I Wish, Part One.
Buffy mentions dropping out college, as seen in "Tough Love" and "As You Were."
Dawn says her relationship with Xander is better than the first time they got together (Retreat, Part Three) because he doesn't have to get over again remembering her as a minor ("Real Me").
Buffy mentions Dawn and Xander getting back together (Own It, Part Five).
Buffy mentions Giles hanging out with faes, as he began in In Pieces on the Ground, Part Three).
Buffy refers to Andrew as being out (Love Dares You, Part Two) and proud (Old Demons, Part Two).
Buffy recalls fighting monsters since she was fifteen ("The Origin").
Dawn recalls Buffy sharing her power with thousands of women ("Chosen") and running the Magic Council (Own It, Part Five).

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organization and titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

San Francisco
- Tenderloin apartment building
  - Buffy, Willow, and Dawn's apartment

Objects[]

Blood
mʔ

Rituals and spells[]

Magnification spell

Death count[]

Unknown number of people, killed by the Vermis mysteriis.
The Vermis mysteriis, slayed by Buffy Summers.
Unknown number of people, killed by the Shenlong's tsunami.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

The variant cover features a "deleted scene" from the issue written by Christos Gage.
A third cover by Karl Moline commemorates Dark Horse's 30th anniversary with all previous Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Big Bads.
This issue's title is a reference to the original Slayer prophecy: "Into every generation, there is a chosen one. One girl in all the world. She alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. To stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer." This choice echoes in the title of this season's final issue, One Girl in All the World.
The demon genus Vermiin mysteriis is a reference to the fictional grimoire De Vermis Mysteriis.
The Shenlong dragon is based on the Shenlong from Chinese mythology.
Rebekah Isaacs donated her variant cover original art to the Sixth Annual NYCC Charity Art Auction in benefit of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.^[2]

Distribution[]

The Spread of Their Evil was the 160th best selling comic issue in its publication month, with 14,855 sales in November 2016 at comic specialty stores.^[3]

Collections[]

Pop culture references[]

Buffy mentions the fictional private detective Sherlock Holmes.
While in the sewers, officer Patterson mistakes a trash bag for an alligator, a reference to the sewers alligator urban legend.
Willow mentions the use of the mapping service Google Maps.
Xander mentions Siri, the intelligent personal assistant.