Dollhouse Epitaphs Review

Dollhouse: Epitaphs TPB 4 stars out of 5
Dark Horse

By Mike del Tufo

Dollhouse: Epitaphs was a 6-issue limited series published by Dark Horse Comics in 2011 that has been collected into the Dollhouse: Epitaphs TPB. It features a new storyline that fills the gap between the main TV series of Dollhouse and the two TV episodes set in a bleak future ("Epitaph One" and "Epitaph Two: Return").

Dollhouse was a Fox TV show that starred Eliza Dushku who is known mostly for playing Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Dollhouse lasted 17 episodes in 2009. Joss Whedon created, wrote, and directed it. Just like Whedon’s other TV shows (Buffy, Angel, and Serenity), the Dollhouse story does not end with its cancellation from the airwaves. Comics have demonstrated that it is a viable medium to continue the tale.

Epitaphs was written by Jed Whedon, who is Josh’s brother, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Andrew Chambliss. All were staff writers on the Dollhouse TV show. Cliff Richards provided the artwork for this series.

The story unfolds with the mind-wiping technology of the Dollhouse spreading out of control via phone calls and hand-held audio devices. It quickly turns into an apocalypse where much of the earth’s population has been turned into bloodthirsty machines bend on killing anyone not affected. In the middle of this chaos are some familiar characters from the TV show including Ivy, Maggie, Zone, and Alpha. A new character, a young boy named Trevor, is introduced.

The survivors have to deal with this new reality where everyone is either trying to kill them or turn them. There are numerous battles and many obstacles for the survivors to overcome. Alpha takes young Trevor under his wing and trains him. He installs tech in his head so he is better able to combat the enemy in this crazy, new world.

Alpha was a rogue agent of the Dollhouse after having 48 personalities imprinted on him. It has driven him mad at times. There seems to be a constant battle going on in his head between good personas and murderous serial killer ones. Alpha is clearly someone that could betray you at any time.

With the tide of battle looking all the more bleak, the survivors figure out the key to it all is Echo and they must find her. She is crucial to blocking imprinting. Another prominent character from the TV show returns in Paul Ballard which leads to an uneasy truce between him and Alpha as all of the survivors are focused on the same goal.

The search for Echo brings many of the survivors together near the Hollywood sign in southern California. Echo finally reappears and the survivors storm a tower near the Hollywood sign for the big final battle.

Dollhouse: Epitaphs is an interesting read. Very entertaining. Very Whedonesque. Futuristic like Terminator. Apocalyptic like The Walking Dead. It was easy to get immersed in it. The only negative was the artwork was subpar. At times, it was hard to differentiate characters which there were plenty of. Otherwise, Epitaphs was as good as some of the better episodes of the TV show and a must-read for Whedon fans.