"Hello Moon" is a short story of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic comic book series. Written by Dan Brereton with Christopher Golden and illustrated by Joe Bennett, it was originally published on March 17, 1999, by Dark Horse Comics.

Synopsis

Buffy goes for a moonlit walk on the beach, and encounters a hideous fish monster thing. But green and slimy is not the Chosen One's only trouble this night!^[1]

Summary

After cutting short a patrol one night, Buffy encounters a sea monster and immediately attacks him. He argues about his treatment because Buffy attacked him first. She acknowledges her mistake and, though the monster wants to be alone, he shares his tale with her. He was specifically selected to find a new home for his people; unsuccessful, he became depressed and was waiting for the sun to kill him. At his request, Buffy leaves.

Four vampires come along the beach ready to attack Buffy. She introduces herself and, although they become fearful, they still get the upper hand against her. The fish monster intervenes, helps the fight, and the two remaining vamps flee. The monster expresses his admiration for the human Chosen One that he thought was a myth. Inspired, the monster leaves Buffy to continue his quest.

Continuity

• This story is established as taking place during Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3.
• The sea monster thought the Slayer was a myth, a mistake Maggie Walsh will also mention committing in "The I in Team."

Appearances

Individuals

• Rupert Giles (Only mentioned)
• Buffy Summers
• Unidentified disco vampire
• Unidentified goth vampire
• Unidentified greaser vampire
• Unidentified punk vampire
• Unidentified sea monster

Organizations and titles

• Slayer

Species

• Demon
• Human
• Vampire

Events

• Patrol

Locations

• Hellmouth (Only mentioned)

Objects

• Stake

Death count

• The unidentified punk and greaser vampires, staked by Buffy Summers.

Behind the scenes

Production

• "Hello Moon" was originally published in the comic anthology Dark Horse Presents #141.
• Published in black and white, the story was colored by Guy Major when it was first collected.
• Differently from other representations, at this point the comic issues had vampires able to transform into bat-like creatures with red eyes, pointy ears, a wide mouth, and long teeth. However, this seems more like an artistic choice, not having direct consequence to the stories.
• The sea monster has the same design as the famous fictional monster Gill-man from the 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon. It's also notably similar to the Gill Monsters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Go Fish."

Collections

• Dark Horse Presents #141
• Bad Blood
• Omnibus, Volume 4
• Classic 25: Hello Moon / Cursed / Dead Love
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Legacy Edition, Book 1

Pop culture references

• Buffy compares the sea monster's lament with the song "Go Away Little Girl" (1962).

Quotes

Buffy: "Hello moon. It's me, Buffy. It's nice to just… see you."

Monster: "You shame me, Slayer. But I do not understand. Why do you do it? Why do you keep fighting against the darkness when you know it is an endless struggle? Simply because you were chosen?"

Buffy: "I do it because I can. Because there are people counting on me, every single day. People I love."

References

1. ↑ "Issues #23 - #28 Issue #25: Hello Moon/Cursed/Dead Love." Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved on September 24, 2018.