BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: HAUNTED #1

Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy surface, and no visible spine stress, creases, or color breaks. Slight bend/wrinkle possible near upper left edge from the sleeve reflection but no clear defect visible. Book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of edges and back cover; interior pages were not evaluated.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted #1 is the opening chapter of a four-issue Dark Horse Comics miniseries published in August 2001, during the license's active run of comics set within the continuity of the television series. The issue was written by Jane Espenson, a staff writer and producer on the Buffy TV show, with interior art by Cliff Richards, one of the regular pencilers on Dark Horse's Buffy line during this period. The story follows Buffy Summers and her circle, including Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris, as they confront a haunting tied to the show's ongoing continuity, part of Dark Horse's broader effort to produce comics that read as extensions of the series between seasons.

As a direct-market modern comic from a licensed property with no first appearances, deaths, or landmark creative firsts, the issue trades as a routine mid-run entry in a long tie-in publishing program. Raw copies circulate at or near original cover price, reflecting steady but unremarkable demand typical of television-licensed comics from this era. Graded examples see modest premiums, particularly at the top of the census, where the combination of a niche submission pool and the fragility of glossy modern covers makes high-grade slabs comparatively scarce even though the print run itself was not small.

The book's audience is narrow and specific: Buffy franchise completists, Espenson-credit collectors, and Buffyverse comic specialists rounding out the Dark Horse licensed run. It is not a book pursued for speculative appreciation, and raw copies should remain easy to source going forward. Interest in certified 9.8 copies exists but is limited to a small pool of graded-comic collectors within the franchise niche rather than the broader superhero or horror market.