Melissa F. Olson is an American comic book writer and author, primarily in the urban fantasy genre. She is best known for her "Old World" books, which consist of the Scarlett Bernard series, the Boundary Magic series, a number of short stories, and two novellas. She is also the author of Nightshades, a Tor.com trilogy that is unrelated to her other urban fantasy books. Her comics work includes the story "The Tall Tale Tour in Project: Cryptid and an upcoming 2025 series from Ahoy Comics.
Melissa Olson was born and raised in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and studied film and literature at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After graduation, Olson worked briefly in television development before moving to Madison, Wisconsin. She holds a masters degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition to comics and fiction, her writing has appeared in newspapers, blogs, online magazines, and academic journals. [1]
In 2019, Melissa gave a Tedx talk in Orillia, ON called "Rethinking the Friendship Paradigm" which discussed her experience as an author and the parent of a child on the autism spectrum.
Olson is also a frequent presenter at science fiction and fantasy conventions such as Comic-Con and Dragon Con, where she speaks on issues related to genre, comics, feminism, and film, among others.
"The Tell-Tale Tour," Project: Cryptid
Untitled 2025 Ahoy Comics series
Bold text denotes an entry point into the universe.
Bloodsick (prequel novella, 2014)
"“The Hero and the Apocalypse in Watchmen and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 [2] ”
“Dracula the Anti-Christ: New Resurrection of an Immortal Prejudice," published in Images of the Modern Vampire. [3]
The Kaiju is Six Months Early: Colossal and the Course of History" in the compilation Subversive Sci-Fi.
Delayed Reaction: Box Office Bomb Last Action Hero (1993) and the Action Movie Shared Universe" in the compilation Fantastic Flops.
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan.
Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in The WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comics.
Alexander Lavelle Harris is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). He was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the television series by Nicholas Brendon and in two episodes by his twin brother, Kelly Donovan. He was conceived as an everyman and a male character for series heroine Buffy Summers to interact with, and to provide comic relief in the series. Xander is one of several friends of Buffy who assist her in saving the world against numerous supernatural events that plague Sunnydale, California, a town built over a doorway to hell.
Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and its spin-off, Angel. The character's story is continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, and she also appears in apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area. Seven years after the character's creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.
Angel is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the American television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel. The character is portrayed by actor David Boreanaz. As introduced in Buffy in 1997, Angel is a love interest for heroine Buffy Summers, a young woman whose destiny as "the Slayer" is to fight the forces of evil, such as vampires and demons. However, their relationship is complicated by the fact that Angel is himself a vampire cursed with remorse and a human soul, which motivates him to assist Buffy in her duties as Slayer. The character's popularity led to the production of the spin-off Angel, which follows the character's struggle towards redemption after moving to Los Angeles. In addition to the two television series, the character appears in the comic book continuations of both series, as well as much other expanded universe literature.
In the fictional universe of the television series' Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel aWatcher is a member of a secret organization of parapsychologists. The Watchers' Council, which seeks to prepare the Slayer to fight demonic forces. A notable example of a Watcher is Buffy main character Rupert Giles. They are typically modelled after the fictional character Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.
Nightshade is a superhero appearing in media published by DC Comics. Created by David Kaler and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.
The Buffyverse canon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Buffyverse is expanded through other additional materials such as comics, novels, pilots, promos and video games which do not necessarily take place in exactly the same fictional continuity as the Buffy episodes and Angel episodes. Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate and other prolific sci-fi and fantasy franchises have similarly gathered complex fictional continuities through hundreds of stories told in different formats.
Thomas E. Sniegoski is an American novelist, comic book writer and pop culture journalist.
Fantasy television is a genre of television programming featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds. Fantasy television programs are often based on tales from mythology and folklore, or are adapted from fantasy stories in other media. The boundaries of fantasy television often overlap with science fiction and horror but also realistic fiction.
A popular American TV show from the late 1990s through early 2000s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has had a tremendous influence on popular culture that has attracted serious scholarly attention. Even the language used on the show has affected modern colloquial expressions.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series was followed by Season Nine in 2011.
This is an alphabetical list of all articles relating to the fictional "Buffyverse", including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, the comics, and other media. Names of actors and other personnel are bolded to distinguish them from characters and other in-universe articles.
Satsu is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, a comic book continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Introduced as one of the strongest Slayers, she has a close relationship with her mentor Buffy Summers. Satsu develops romantic feelings for Buffy, and the two have a brief sexual relationship. She becomes the leader of her own Slayer squadron in Tokyo, and forms a friendship with fellow Slayer Kennedy during her performance review. She also makes a minor appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2011 to 2013. It is the sequel to the Season Eight comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Season Nine brand also incorporates a new Buffy spin-off series, Angel & Faith, and two spin-off miniseries Willow: Wonderland and Spike: A Dark Place. The core series consisted of 25 issues and each miniseries consisted of 5 issues.
"Last Gleaming" is the eighth and final storyarc in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic book series, which is based on the television show. The arc was written by Joss Whedon and Season Eight editor Scott Allie. The story follows Buffy's attempt to destroy the source of all magic in order to defeat the apocalypse waged by Twilight.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten is the sequel to the Season Nine comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is published by Dark Horse Comics and ran from March 2014 to August 2016.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an ongoing comic book series published by Boom! Studios. It is a reboot of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon, and thus sets in a different canon from the television series and film. The series is written by Jordie Bellaire and primarily illustrated by Dan Mora.
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