Mutilated demon heads; a stupid, swimmy college kegger; a late psych term paper; and Willow/Xander flashbacks all add up to one great graphic novel this spring with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Blood of Carthage. It's an old-fashioned, lover's lane-boogeyman story done Sunnydale style, which means our readers are in for more terror than you can shake a stake at! This urban legend may not have a hook for an arm, and there's no crazed escapee from the local asylum, but Buffy and the Scooby gang will wish that's all they had to contend with once they find out what the local legend, Mad Jack, is truly all about.

Christopher Golden, author of many Buffy the Vampire Slayer teen novels and a ton of the best-selling comic-book stories, is aboard for this five-issue thriller and here's what he had to say: "For The Blood Of Carthage, (editor) Scott Allie came to me with a challenge: he wanted me to write a story arc for the Buffy monthly series that would have the same texture, bombast, history, and further exploration of the Buffy-verse that I've always tried to bring to the Buffy novels I've written. The Blood Of Carthage has demons galore, cool new villains, and members of the supporting cast who have yet to appear in the comic! It also moves the comic book into the TV series' fourth season, which means we have SPIKE!"

Plus, Buffy editor Scott Allie is all a-bubble about his creative team: "Chris Golden's written some of the craziest horror novels of the nineties. I told him that was what I wanted for the new Buffy story line: something as intricate as a novel, but as action-packed and horrific as one of HIS novels. All of the artists involved, especially our lead guy, Cliff Richards, made this vicious novel a real graphic treat."

Accompanying Golden and Richards in this macabre masterpiece are artists Joe Pimentel and Chynna Clugston-Major (of Oni's Blue Monday fame). BTVS: The Blood of Carthage is a full-color, 128-page trade paperback collection available for $10.95 starting March 21.