Buffy the Vampire Slayer Twentieth Anniversary Retrospective ~ Part 6

Season five (September 26, 2000 - May 22, 2001) was a momentous one for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: it was the final season to be broadcast by the WB before Buffy moved to UPN, and the season finale also happened to be the 100th episode! Needless to say, to have survived as a mid-season replacement was amazing enough, but to reach 100 episodes was almost unprecedented. In honour, the Hollywood Reporter magazine ran a special issue in celebration of this feat.

After the move to UPN Buffy continued to push creative boundaries. One of the most notable of these episodes was the genre-blending ‘Once More with Feeling’, aka ‘the musical episode’ (November 6, 2001). Writers agree that the episode was risky and could have failed spectacularly. Critic Jonathan Bernstein writes "What could have been, at best, an eccentric diversion and, at worst, a shuddering embarrassment, succeeded on every level”. This large promotional poster demonstrates UPN believed, as well, that the episode was noteworthy. In 2009 TV Guide ranked the episode #14 on its list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".

The switch of networks didn’t affect the enthusiasm of Dark Horse Comics, either, who continued to find creative ways to bring Buffy to the masses. In 2001 they released Pop-out People: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Consisting of nine perforated figures of Season five's cast printed on heavy card-stock, and a two sided background, the set came (as was the norm for Dark Horse) with either photo or artwork characters.

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Coming up next: Lunch boxes, CDs, and more!!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Twentieth Anniversary Retrospective ~ Part 4

Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer was not the highest rated program on TV, both it and the WB Network did a very effective job reaching a youthful demographic. Often advertisers have difficulty trying to reach this elusive group, and one of the cleverest campaigns to capitalize on this popularity was the Barq’s Root beer ‘Barq’s Has Bite’ tie-in. 

Coinciding with the start of season four in the autumn of 1999, not only did Barq’s release a collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer root beer cans, but the whole promotion culminated in the ‘Barq’s Halloween Bash’ as advertised on point-of-sale displays and t-shirts (I wonder who won the trip to Hollywood to party with “members of the cast”?).

1999 was a banner year for Buffy the Vampire Slayer related merchandise, and saw the release of a variety of items by several manufacturers. Dark Horse Comics continued with creative promotions, such as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1/2, a limited edition comic book presented in conjunction with Wizard Magazine, complete with a certificate of authenticity. Varner Studios released a series of 9" collectible figures, and even body art was represented with Temporary Tattoos distributed by Mehndi Body Art of California. 

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Coming up next: Game Boy, Riley Finn, and more!!

Spawn Promotional Poster

Spawn is a fictional comic book character, created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, who first appeared in Malibu Sun #13 (May 1992), and afterward in a monthly comic book published by Image Comics. This promotional poster measures 28 cm by 40.5 cm when fully open, and features a full color image of McFarlane's Spawn. When folded, the poster features two additional black-and-white images by McFarlane. Designed for advertising use, the poster came pre-folded, and is therefore in its original condition. As an advertising piece, this poster pre-dates the release of Spawn #1, and although the popularity of Spawn has faded over time, the launch of Image Comics is still considered a milestone event that rocked the Comic book industry.

Todd McFarlane, born March 16, 1961, is a Canadian cartoonist, artist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic book superstar due to his work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise. After Spider-Man #16 (Nov. 1991), McFarlane left the book due to creative differences with new editor Danny Fingeroth, and helped form Image Comics, pulling the occult anti-hero Spawn from his high school portfolio, and updating him for the 1990s. Spawn was a popular hero in the 1990s, and encouraged a trend in creator-owned comic book properties.

Marvel Superheroes Poster

Arguably released at the height of his career, this poster by John Buscema is his take on the superhero montage familiar to most comic book fans. In 1978, small-press publisher Sal Quartuccio released 'The Art of John Buscema', a retrospective that included an interview, previously unpublished sketches and drawings, and a cover that was released contemporarily as this 56cm by 40cm poster.

John Buscema was one of the preeminent comic book artists of the late 20th century, and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 60s and 70s ascendancy into an industry leader. He is perhaps best known for his work on the Savage Sword of Conan, which was one of the most popular comic series in the 1970s and is now considered a cult classic.