In a world where spelling bees are Serious Business, a boy named Webster is in for an interesting day. On his way for his first day of high school, he literally runs into the mysterious Outlaw King and Black Queen, two contestants in an illegal back-alley spelling bee. As it turns out, both are trying to bring down the Spelluminati, a shady organization that controls all sanctioned spelling bees. With Webster's help, they hope to be able to defeat all of the Spelluminati's contestants and expose them as the cheats they are.
Buzz! is a collaboration between Ananth Panagariya and Tess Stone.
This comic provides examples of:
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: The Black Queen and the Outlaw King kiss at the end.
- Ambiguously Brown: Khan, though you can only tell on the cover image.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Webster is a nice kid, but when he discovers that his sister is the spelling bee champion who seriously hurt Bonnie he shows her no mercy in going head-to-head with spelling.
- Butt-Monkey: Webster, initially. He's tricked into taking part in a back-alley spelling bee against the Outlaw King, is rescued form the Grammar Police by being tossed out of the alley and onto a pile of garbage, and is trolled by the Black Queen into thinking he'll be caught and arrested. Oh, and because he couldn't think of a handle for himself, the ref named him "Goldilocks".
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Subverted. While Khan, Bonnie, and Webster all have handles for spelling bees, they learn each other's real names pretty quickly and refer to each other by them.
- Hollywood Board Games: Society is obsessed with literature and spelling. One of the offhand remarks that further cement this is when the characters mention the existence of a cult that worships the Scrabble board.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: The spelling bee champion has the ability to shriek loudly enough to deafen her opponents. Except for Webster, because he grew up with her and is used to it.
- Mr. Fanservice: The Outlaw King who, among other things, gets a shirtless scene in which he does sit-ups from a pull-up bar. While studying a spelling book.
- Mundane Made Awesome: In this world, spelling bees are now akin to gladiatorial fights.
- My Parents Are Dead: Webster never claimed they were.
- Odd Friendship: Between the Outlaw King, the Black Queen, and Webster.
- Odd-Shaped Panel: Well, the artwork was done by Tess Stone, after all...
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Most spelling bee contestants adopt handles to use, to prevent obsessive fans from tracking them down in real life.
- Samus Is a Girl: The spelling bee champion is Webster's sister, Merriam.
- Shout-Out: At one point, when Webster shouts the Outlaw King's name - "KHAAAAAAANNNN!"
