Douglas Petrie, writer of such classic Buffy episodes as Fool for Love and Revelations, introduces Ring of Fire in this preface to the original graphic novel:

I've never met Ryan Sook. No, really. Never met the guy. Never spoken with him on the phone, never zapped him an email, or sent him a postcard.

I couldn't pick Ryan Sook out of a police lineup, or recognise him if he passed me on the street.

Or know him if he bit me on the butt.

But - every couple of weeks for the past few months, Dark Horse editor Scott Allie has been sending me copied pages of Ryan's pencils for the epic comic you're now holding, and I've gotta tell you - I love the guy.

By the time you finish reading Ring of Fire, I've got a pretty good feeling you will, too.

I love comic books. always have. I'm 100 per cent pure-bred fanboy with no apologies. And I can remember (with what non-comics readers consider a frightening clarity) the exact moments I discovered my favourite artists. Like the cold February afternoon two decades back when I first experienced the full-on "Ker-Pow!" of a Jack Kirby splashpage. Or the muggy summer night when, as a thirteen year old, I got cold-cocked and thrown into Howard Chaykin's harsh-edged world of danger and betrayal.

Then there was the discovery of John Byrne's trippy cartoony realism. The compact grace of John Buscema. The ethereal unreality of Gene Colan, the taut melodrama of Gil Kane, the can-you-top-this bravado of Todd McFarlane... the list is nearly endless, and every name on it is thrilling.

And now we've got Ryan. Do I, as as fanboy, dare to place his name amongst these aforementioned giants?

Yeah, I think I do.

See, something happened to Ryan along the way to making Ring of Fire. Like I said, I don't know the guy. But I know that artists take leaps. They start with some talent. Work it like an obsessive lunatic for years or even decades. And either they plateau early, or they... leap. And all of a sudden they're not the same artist anymore. And that's when they stop being a guy who gets the job done, and start becoming one of the guys you line up outside the comic shop for. One of the guys who make you count the days until the next issue. One of the greats.

I believe Ryan took this leap while drawing Ring of Fire. But check it out - see for yourself.Then keep looking, because now that he's done this one, I believe there'll be no holding Ryan back in the world of comics. If I ever get him to draw another story I write, I'll consider myself one lucky guy.

Thanks go to Scott Allie for acting as the liaison between Ryan and me, and for thinking to put us together. Worked out pretty good, I'd say. And of course, big fat thanks go to Joss Whedon for building the whole Buffy empire in the first place. The Buffy world is Joss's sandbox - I'm grateful he's letting us play in it.

And Ryan, if you're reading this? Let's meet soon. Maybe at Comicon, okay? Just please - don't bite me on the butt.

Douglas Petrie, May 2000