Angel Gets Hunky on Kevin Wada’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 Variant Cover

There are ample reasons to praise BOOM! Studios’ “re-vamp” of Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a refreshed, re-imagined 2019-set take on the franchise, but the inclusion of stunning variant covers from illustrator Kevin Wada might just be near the top. Wada’s most visible work is probably his many Marvel contributions and his work with novelist Rainbow Rowell, but he’s best known for drop-dead gorgeous portraits that span the breadth of pop culture, from the X-Men to Gundam Wing to WWE—and now Angel, Buffy’s vampire with a soul.

Released in partnership with 20th Century Fox Consumer Products, Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 debuts in stores June 5, 2019, with a harrowing mission that Buffy must complete in order to save her imperiled friend. This issue kicks off the book’s second arc, which finds ongoing writer Jordie Bellaire (Redlands) joined by frequent Marvel contributor David López (Captain Marvel, All-New Wolverine).

Spoilers if you haven’t caught up to the series: Team Slayer is reeling from Xander becoming a vampire—but what if there’s a way to get their friend back? The Slayer must walk the line between responsibility and rampage as she searches for a solution. But what do you do when your entire purpose is killing vampires and your friend just turned into one?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 hits shelves Wednesday, June 5th, and features covers from Mondo illustrator Marc Aspinall, Kevin Wada and artists Morgan Beem (The Family Trade), Becca Carey (Bitch Planet) and Yasmine Putri (Nightwing). For more on BOOM!’s burgeoning Whedonverse, stay tuned to Paste.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #5 Variant Cover Art by Kevin Wada