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Buffy...Season Eight TPBs

All Buffy GNs/TPB published by Dark Horse Comics
 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season Eight): The Long Way Home 2007 (HC & SC TPB) 136 pgs.

Written by Joss Whedon. Illustrated by Georges Jeanty with Paul Lee. Inked by Andy Owens.
Colours: Dave Stewart. Letters: Rochard Starkings and Comicraft's Jimmy. Editor: Scott Allie.

Reprinting: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #1-5 (2007)

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 3

The TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a property with an obvious link to comic book super heroes -- being about a super powered teen who seretly fought the forcess of darkness. Creator Joss Whedon even acknowledged his comic book fanboy roots in interviews. And like a lot of TV properties -- particularly sci-fi/fantasy flavoured -- it enjoyed a previous run of comics -- of varying quality. But when the TV series was cancelled, the comic too was shortly after put to pasture.

But when Dark Horse began a new series, restarting from #1, it was with a slightly unusual change. First off, Whedon himself would be hands on, writing many issues, supervising the rest, as he had with the TV series itself, and in a way that comic books based on TV or movies rarely are (one suspects Gerorge Lucas has barely even glanced at a Star Wars comic, let alone supervises the stories in any kind of day-to-day way). The other change was that the new series is billing itself as "season eight" -- literally, selling itself not just as tales to be inserted inbetween the existing Buffy TV episodes, or an apocryphal romp for those so interested in reading more stories about the characters -- but as the official, canonical, unfilmed eighth season. Not that we are to infer these are literally scripts written up for TV episodes (some of the concepts and scenes clearly would exceed a TV show's budget) -- although, even then, the claim is some of the stories were indeed ones that were initially toyed with as possible filmable scripts.

Anyway, so the hook is, this isn't just a comic book spin-off of Buffy...this is Buffy, with Whedon at the helm.

This TPB collects the first four issue story arc, plus a stand alone, single issue story. The premise, following on the events of the Buffy series' finale (and things alluded to in episodes of the companion series, Angel), is that Buffy is no longer the lone Slayer, but fields a vast network of Slayers. The branch -- or cell -- Buffy oversees (along with friends Xander, Willow, etc.) alone comprising 50 or so Slayer-ettes. And perhaps borrowing another page from comics, and the theme of heroes being persecuted, Whedon also sets up tension between Buffy and global authorities who see a few hundred organized Slayers as something leaning towards being a terrorist organization.

Whedon kicks things off, as he would in each season of the TV seres, by hinting at a bigger story arc, as Buffy and the gang find evidence of a strange symbol that they can't identify. The main story, though, has a reactionary U.S. general planning an operation to strike at Buffy and her people. Plus there are hints of soap opera-y sub-plots and character elements...such as Dawn having accidentally transformed into a giant (told you they were operating outside a TV budget).

The first story arc is, by and large, pretty good. I liked it the first time through, with quibbles, but enjoyed it more the second time through. It's briskly paced and has a lot going on in terms of plot threads and twists and turns -- as mentioned, Whedon seems to be reveling in the budget freedom of a comic book. The characters are generally in character, the humour and idiosyncratic dialogue reminiscent of the series (occasionally with problematic effects, as the quirky dialogue, all about how a line is said, can take a couple of readings to sound properly in a comic). The downside is, of course, that it is treated as the first story of an on going series/story arc. So though the basic plot has a beginning, middle and end, a lot's left dangling, hinting at the greater dangers to come. Another aspect that I had mixed feelings about is Whedon maybe playing the "nostalgia" card a bit too heavily, bringing back a bunch of (non-major) characters from the series. Given that this is meant to to kick start a brand "new" season, there's a bit too much familiarity at work, as the villainous general teams up with some familiar, returning antagonists in his plot to get Buffy.

It also means that this is best read by those familiatr with the series, rather than seen as a jumping on point for those unfamiliar with Buffy and her world.

The art by Georges Jeanty is quite good -- he maybe slides a bit to caricature in long shots (drawing eyes as dots, or something), but generally has an effectively realist style that manages to evoke the actors well enough. And maybe the occasional lean towards cartooniness is not inappropriate in a series that, itself, slides between comedy and drama. Like with the dialogue, there were a few panels that needed re-reading to clarify the action, but in general, the art is well presented. Jeanty is also one of those artists who likes to dress up his art with a few in-jokes here and there, like a scene where Buffy's having a dream and there's a painting on her wall of a little boy that seems intended to reference the classic comic strip, Little Nemo in Slumberland.

Whedon's work on The Astonishing X-Men has been marked by the focus on multi-part stories -- even in cases where the story didn't warrant it. Here the four part tale does justify four issues, but it can also make you worry: is Whedon going to slide too much into the hubris of "decompressed" storylines?

So it's a pleasant surprise when the final issue in this collection -- "The Chain"-- is a self-contained one shot. What's more, it reflects the (again comic book-inspired) tone of this season eight by clearly approaching the Buffy series as a kind of Buffy Universe, where tales can be told peripheral to the main characters.

Here the story focuses entirely on an unnamed Slayer who has been operating as Buffy's double (a concept alluded to in the earlier issues and presumably inspired by rumours that sometimes high target politicians, like Winston Churchill during World War II, used impersonators to confuse the enemy as to where he was at any given time). The comic tells the tale of this pseudo-Buffy, jumping back and forth in time, from a climactic confrontation with a demon, to showing her recruitment, first as a Slayer, and then, as Buffy's double. Whedon proves that he can, indeed, tell a tale concisely, in one issue -- and it's a particularly strong tale, off-beat, entertaining, and ultimately touching. It's drawn by Paul Lee, who also demonstrates a nice, straightforward style.

The problem with focusing on multi-part issues -- particularly ones as long as four issues -- is that even though the series has so far managed to hit the stands with an applaudable punctuality (unlike Whedon's Astonishing X-Men which seemed to get published once every blue moon), it still means that it takes four months to tell what amounts to one episode -- at best, a two-part episode. In other woords, four months to tell a tale that would've been viewed in a week or two on TV. That's a speed that could test the patience of a lot of loyal fans, particularly if that means the unfolding of his "season long" story arc will take place over years, rather than months.

Still, that quibble aside, and despite my initial concern about Whedon relying on dragging out too many old toys (the next story arc, focusing on Faith, is more original in plot), the first few issues of Buffy Season Eight do seem to make good on their promise -- it's Buffy, it's Whedon, it's well drawn. It's...it's...

..well, it's season eight. And it's looking good.

This is a review of the original comics.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $15.95 USA. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season Eight): No Future For You 2008 (HC & SC TPB) 136 pgs.

Written by Brian K. Vaughan, with Joss Whedon. Pencils by Georges Jeanty, with Cliff Richards. Inks by Andy Owens.
Colours: Dave Stewart. Letters: Richard Starkings.

Reprinting: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #6-10 (2007)

Rating: * * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

The second TPB collecting Dark Horse's Buffy, Season Eight -- not just a comic book spin off, but essentially the official continuing adventures of Buffy and her pals as overseen, and sometimes written, by Buffy creator Joss Whedon -- collects a four part saga, along with a one off issue (which seems to be the formula the comics series is following).

The four parter is the first of the new stories not written by Whedon (though with him still acting as "executive producer") and it approaches the Buffy comics as a kind of Buffy universe, shifting the focus to rogue Slayer, and reformed villain, Faith. It's a curious choice for the second major arc, to this early tell a multi-issue tale where Buffy is a supporting player. It maybe also reflects my concern raised in the first TPB collection, of the comics relying a bit too much on trotting out all the old toys and rehashing previous continuity -- not only making this more aimed at Buffy fans then newcomers, but the problem is that it can maybe take a bit to connect the dots even for fans because though artist Jeanty does a decent job of evoking the actors from the series, they aren't necessarily dead ringers.

Still, the plot is an interesting idea, with Faith recruited by Giles for a black ops mission even Buffy isn't told about -- to assassinate a rogue Slayer who is, herself, killing other Slayers. The hook is that the street bred American Faith has to infiltrate the evil Slayer's uppercrust British world requiring a bit of a Pygmalion job. A decent enough "concept" plot -- so much so that Vaughan and Whedon had apparently considered it as the plot for a Faith TV movie at a point when there was some hope the Buffy universe might continue in TV movies and assorted spin offs. Of course Faith finds her simple seek and destroy mission becoming complicated as she ends up getting rather chummy with her target.

And, of course, this also ties into the overall arc involving the new big bad, the mysterious Twilight.

The result is a decent tale...but not quite a great one. The problem with the seeming rigid idea of telling stories either as four parters or one-shots is that you can end up with a story like this which doesn't quite justify its length. It lacks much in the way of twists and turns and plot complications that would fully justify the 88 pages. Even the basic motivation of the villainess seems ill-defined, as she sometimes talks about taking over the Slayers...and other times as if her goal is to kill them all.

Even on an emotional level, and despite some nice character driven elements involving Faith, and her own inner demons of bitterness and guilt, it remains more a nice idea than one that fully hits us in the heart, with the villainess, Genevieve, not really developing into someone we can care about as much as Faith, however grudgingly, finds herself caring.

Jeanty's art is maybe a mixed bag, though more strength than weakness. Like a lot of modern artists, though essentially realist, there's a strong streak of caricature, with big eyes and big hands and feet, that can maybe take away from the drama at times, even as it maybe plays to the series comedic elements. As mentioned, he does a good job evoking the actors, but falls short of entirely capturing them, his Faith often seeming more like just Buffy with dark hair (there's a close up in the first issue, when Faith comes home and stabs a stake into her wall, where she does look like actress Eliza Dushku, but mostly it's just a general impression). Though sci-fi fans got a kick out of his inclusion of a joke cameo of Doctor Who and companion, Rose, on the second to last page of the first chapter.

Whedon himself scripts the single issue tale, "Anywhere but Here", teaming with guest artist Cliff Richards who drew a long run of issues of the previous Dark Horse Buffy comics series (y'know, the one that wasn't necessarily canonical). It's basically a charactert interlude -- with some demon fighting -- as Buffy and Willow enter another plane to seek some clue as to their mysterious nemesis, Twilight. There's some good dialogue, some nice character/motivation revelations, not just for Buffy and Willow, but Dawn as well in a cutaway. At the same time, doing a "character interlude" maybe seems a bit excessive given how early we are in the series' run...it's not like we desperately need a breather after a string of non-stop action. As well, it's a reflection of the problems I'm beginning to sense with the comics, and that they remind me, not in a good way, of the last couple of seasons of the TV series. A feeling that clever, stand alone stories are being sacrificed in the name of the "arc"...even as the arc isn't really being developed that much, with this story ending with a few cryptic hints and foreshadowing, but nothing particularly revelatory about the big bad.

For that matter, there's a revelation about a past act of Buffy's, that supposedly created some of the crisis their now dealing with -- but it feels kind of tacked on and out-of-nowhere.

Richards art is pretty good and he actually does a better job of evoking the actresses than Jeanty does -- but then, he's had more experience drawing them. Another character depicted is apparently modelled after a real life fan of the series who won a contest.

As an aside, the writers and artists seem to use the comic book format to be more salacious than the series, with the regulars depicted rather reveallingly at times. You kind of wonder if Dushku or Allyson Hannigan feel sufficiently divorced from these versions of the charaxters they portrayed...or whether they might raise a few eyebrows at the way characters who are essentially supposed to be them are being drawn. (Though given Dushku's participation in Whedon's Dollhouse TV, perhaps she'd be okay with the sexploitation).

Anyway, No Future for You and Anywhere but Here are both decent "episodes", but as a collection it can seem a tad thin.

This is a review of the original comics.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $15.95 USA. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season Eight): Wolves at the Gate 2008 (HC & SC TPB) 136 pgs.

Written by Drew Goddard, with Joss Whedon. Pencils by Georges Jeanty. Inks by Andy Owens.
Colours: Michelle Madsen. Letters: Richard Starkings & Jimmy.

Reprinting: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #11-15 (2008)

Rating: * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

The third TPB in the Buffy "season eight" series -- overseen by Buffy creator Joss Whedon and meant to be regarded as the official/unofficial eighth season of the TV series -- follows the format of the previous TPBs of a single issue tale paired with a four parter.

The single issue tale is written by Whedon himself and has Buffy having her first encounter with Twilight -- the villain that's being set up as the "big bad" for this season; she also has a heart-to-heart with one of her Slayerettes, Satsu, who Buffy has deduced has a crush on her.

The four parter -- Wolves at the Gate -- is written by Drew Goddard, the first of what will apparently be a few of the actual Buffy TV scripwriters joining Whedon in chronicling Buffy's comic book adventures. The story puts the Twilight stuff on the back burner as Buffy's group is attacked by some Japanese vampires with abilities to turn into fog and wolves -- abilities Buffy had only encountered in one other vampire: Dracula. It's more than a coincidence, and soon Buffy has sent Xander to recruit the help of Dracula, while learning the Japanese vamps have a plan to destroy all the Slayers. Plus some character threads come to climaxes.

These five issues are witty and funny, there's some hilarious quips and ideas, and a wonderful apropo use of the still giant-size Dawn (and a great line where nerd Andrew remarks that he's been preparing for something all his life) and there are some unexpected ideas...and yet this was the tipping point that started to lean me toward giving up on the Buffy, Season Eight comics.

It isn't that there isn't some entertainment to these issues, but there is a sense that maybe, after all is said and done, the well is starting to run dry. Bear in mind I was a huge fan of the Buffy TV series for a long time, but I did think it started to feel like it was running on fumes in the last two seasons. Not that it wasn't capable of throwing out the brilliant episode, the surprising episode -- sometimes all at once -- and not that Buffy of its boil still wasn't better than a lot of shows at their peak. But there was a sense it was losing its energy. Where once the series offered great, stand alone episodes amid cleverly plotted, compelling story arcs and character development, by the last couple of seasons it seemed to fall into the trap of putting less and less effort into the stand alone episodes in favour of the on going arcs...even as the on going arcs weren't really being developed that well, making for a lot of repetition and place holders.

So here, the one-issue comic is basically just there to further continuity...even as it doesn't further it much, or really offer any new insight into Twilight or his plans.

Wolves at the Gate, as mentioned, is more stand alone, but like a lot of the season eight comics, seems a bit top heavy with continuity (bringing back Dracula from the series, and hinging the story on Buffy's slayer ax). The plot certainly goes for the big in execution -- a climax with hundreds of Slayers battling hundreds of vampires in the streets of Tokyo. But doesn't quite generate that sense of grandeur viscerally.

And then we get to the character stuff. Wolves at the Gate begins with a "shock" scene...of Buffy in bed with Satsu! Sure, there's a titilation factor, but it's also a twist that can make you sit up, thinking "I bet the networks wouldn't have okayed their heroine hopping into bed with another woman!" Edgy, challenging. Good stuff (even though I have a certain skepticism about the way writers will take heterosexual -- female -- characters and casually make them gay in the name of plot ideas -- like Willow). And Goddard gets a truly funny farcical sequence out of it (as well as another funny exchange between Willow and Buffy about how they wouldn't sleep with each other). However, Buffy keeps insisting that she's not "gay". And by the end of the Wolves arc...Buffy and Satsu are no longer together.

And one kind of says: huh? what?

They lay a hint of this idea in the very first story arc, finally drag it out of the closest (so to speak), milk it for its titilation factor...and then just toss it away? The titilation idea becomes more obvious when Buffy and Satsu decide to have one more role in the hay before they part -- but if Buffy wasn't "gay", then surely the impedement to their relationship was a lack of physical attraction. Worse, the break up doesn't really have any connection to the main story. Sure, there's some awkwardness between Buffy and Satsu, but it's not like their tyrst negatively affects the mission (thereby justifying the break up). It's as if Goddard had his action plot blocked out...then was told, "oh, by the way, can you wrap up the Buffy-Satsu idea while you're at it?"

It all seems...abrupt. Now maybe I should be more welcoming of that, as I'm often the first to decry the way TPBs no longer seem to tell self-contained stories. So, here, despite foreshadowing of it earlier, the Buffy-Satsu arc basically begins in these pages (as Buffy confronts Satsu about it in #11), climaxes (ah...ahem) and then resolves also in these pages.

But it just seems anti-climactic...and cheap.

Another romantic sub-plot is also resolved in these pages, between Xander and Renee -- again, hints of it began back in issue #1 but, unlike the Buffy-Satsu thread, this one doesn't even surprise -- or, at least, it only surprises in that you're thinking: "surely Whedon and company aren't going to go that trite route...yet again!" But they are and they do.

And the result also, is that after more than a year of comics, there's a sense the comic is idling, desperately hoping for inspiration to strike. Now I'm the first to say a series doesn't have to be constantly moving and changing, not at all...except when so much time is being devoted to these sub-plots and arcs, and then they just seem to peter out.

And there's also a few ethical problems that the TV series had as well and, likewise, seemed to get worse as the years went by. As a series that is part comedy it's hard to decide where to draw the line between the gag and the serious. But isn't there a problem with a vampire slayer...who gives Dracula a free ride, when we are told he keeps peasants on hand to hunt? Yeah...it's a joke scene. I'm just saying... But the comic/series also has problems with is ethics in other ways, such as a scene where Buffy immolates a vampire after he gives her info.

I dunno, seems to me if you're gonna talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. I don't see how Whedon can publicly campaign against George W. Bush and then have his characters behave in such ways. (Now, maybe Whedon's objection to Bush had nothing to do with his volation of human rights and the Geneva Convention and more to do with, I dunno, his tax policies).

Again, I'm just saying...

So...I'm left with mixed feelings about this collection. I'm not saying it isn't eminently readable, or that it can't get you turning pages, or that Whedon and Goddard both aren't more than capable of eliciting a few laughs. I'm not saying the characters aren't "in" character -- actually, they're maybe too in character, as given that they're in their mid-twenties by this point, they still act and talk like teenagers. Jeatty's art remains a little too cartoony in spots, but is generally effective enough.

But I just didn't find myself fully connecting with it, it seeming too slight. And a sense that, overall, the sub-plots are taking too long to go anywhere...and when they do, the "where" doesn't seem to be much of anything. I'm going to read the next run of issues, but, I'll admit, my enthusiasm for season eight is starting to wane.

This is a review of the original comics.

Cover price: $__ CDN./ $15.95 USA. 

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