Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: V4

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: V4: Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon

Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse (May 19, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595823107
ISBN-13: 978-1595823106

Series: Season 8: Volume 4

Stories: Time of Your Life: Part 1, Time of Your Life: Part 2, Time of Your Life: Part 3, Time of Your Life: Part 4, After These Messages... ...We'll Be Right Back!

Sourced: Purchased from Books-A-Million

First Line: Bad day. Start out bad, stayed that way.

Mini-Review: A fun additon to Season 8 but lacking the emotional impact of the previous volumes.

Summary:

Willow and Buffy head to New York City to unlock the secrets of Buffy's mysterious scythe, when something goes terribly awry. Buffy is propelled into a dystopian future where there's only one Slayer -- Fray, the title character of Joss Whedon's 2001 series, the first comic he ever wrote. Their uneasy alliance falls apart, leading to the death of a major character from the TV series, while back in the twenty-first century, the Scotland base falls prey to a mystical bomb courtesy of the Biggest Bad-Twilight. 

* The first two volumes of Buffy Season Eight have combined to sell over 160,000 copies! 

* Includes the highly anticipated Buffy/Fray crossover, "Time of Your Life," and "After These Messages . . . We'll Be Right Back," written by Jeph Loeb (Batman: The Long Halloween)!

Review:

I think that because the last volume focused so much on character growth and had a very epic battle, the next volume in the series gave me high expectations and really enything wasn't going to be as good. That isn't to say that Volume 4 isn't fun and loaded with good time because it is, it's just lacking that amazing character building that the last one had.

I had no idea about Fray and I wish I did before I started reading this. Fray is what would happen in the future if Buffy hadn't given all potential slayers their powers. And I know that this whole time Buffy's been surrounded by butt-kicking chicks but I couldn't help but think that FINALLY Buffy is working with a professional. For me, meeting Fray was like meeting Faith for the first time. Fray can take care of herself and takes her Slayer duties very seriously. I loved traveling to Fray's world and particularly enjoyed how the writer's messed with the idea that if Buffy's world was the real one then Fray's world couldn't exist. I thought it did nicely to provide friction between the two slayers and nothing is better than some good old fashion rivalry.

I wasn't exactly sure what the whole villain was up to. I won't go into too much detail as I don't want to give anything away but I found myself very confused as the the motivations and I'm hoping it'll be explained further down the line. Seeds were definitely planted for something like this to happen in the earlier volumes but so far I haven't see anything to push them so far over the edge. I also want to mention that I've been enjoying all this Xander/Dawn time. Every since Xander's speech to Dawn in the show, I've always liked seeing them spend time together and I love that their relationship seems to be blooming.

While this volume was definitely playful, it just lacked the overall emotion to give it a lot of impact. I'll be happy when the main plot gets back on track. I want to know who Twilight is and what they are up to. I'm hoping that these detours are leading to something bigger and will connect to the overall plot.

Rating:

Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: V3

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8: V3: Wolves at the Gate by Drew Goddard

Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics; 1st edition (November 12, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595821651
ISBN-13: 978-1595821652

Series: Season 8; Volume 3

Stories: A Beautiful Sunset, Wolves At The Gate: Part 1, Wolves At The Gate: Part 2,  Wolves At The Gate: Part 3, Wolves At The Gate: The Conclusion

Source: Purchased from Books-A-Million

First Sentence: "Once upon a time...I did something good."

Mini-Review: Volume 3 adds that bittersweetness that makes Buffy so memorable.

Summary:

Vampires that, at will, can transform into wolves, panthers, insects, or fog invade the Slayer base of operations in northern Scotland, and not only walk away unscathed, but in possession of Buffy's scythe, the symbol of Slayer power worldwide. Buffy and the Slayer legion travel to Tokyo in order to learn more about their dangerous new foes, as Xander journeys to Transylvania to solicit the only person they've ever known to possess such power: Dracula. 

* The celebrated Buffy Season Eight continues with Drew Goddard (Cloverfield, Lost) writing Wolves at the Gate, with Joss Whedon continuing his role as executive producer, and Georges Jeanty as series artist. 

* Includes the stand-alone issue written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, "A Beautiful Sunset".

Review:

In normal Whedon fashion and just like any good Buffy episode, Wolves at the Gate will make you laugh and break your heart on the same page.Working to truly deepen the story and its characters, I think this Volume was really a stand out for character development.

I was really glad and very surprised to see a return of Dracula. I always thought that episode frm Buffy was funny and was so happy to find out that Xander stayed in touch with "The Master". This comic started with Xander's connection and continued to star him until the very end. I love that each volume in the series seems to want to deepen a connection with a character and this one was all about Xander. See, in it Xander loses someone close to him and I think this is important. While Anya's death in the series was heartbreaking, it happened while she wasn't with Xander. I think it was painful that way because it seemed like maybe something could have been renewed after but it never happened. In this one, we get to see the taste of how things might be for Xander and then it is savagely riped away reminding us in a very Whedon fashion that this is war and people die. Seeing that scene between Dracula and Xander and truly understanding how much they bonded was intriguing and almost brought me to tears.

Though this is really Xander's volume, we do get quite a bit of Buffy's emotional state too. Whedon's "A Beautiful Sunset" really dives into Buffy's psyche and her sorrow over whether she made the right choice. She made herself an army but it has cost her so much to do it and it's so big that she really can't control it. This is also the infamous volume in which *spoiler* Buffy takes a walk on the Willow side of things and sleeps with a woman. I thought this was an interesting move and while it didn't bother me, I'm not sure if it was true to her character. I guess she just seemed so overwhelmed with all these girls that I'm surprised she looked to one for a lover. Again, it didn't bother me that she did, I was just surprised with her state of mind that she went for it. *spoiler end*

I also thought that the story did a good job of building up the epicness of the battle and made it seem like it's a fight that the slayers could lose. I appreciated that I wasn't sure how the battle was going to turn out. I think this is a precident set by the show and I'm glad that that uncertainty (really, that anything goes including Buffy's own death) carries into the comic series. I'm worried about the crew constantly and the writers don't put them in easy situations. I thought that Jeanty's artwork looked a lot like the characters and I'm generally not confused by who is who which is saying something.

Over all, I think this was a strong edition to Season 8 and added some of that bittersweetness that we are accustomed to after 7 seasons on the air. The familiar faces and the new ones added a lot and there was some really great character growth.

Rating:

Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8: No Future For You

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8, V2: No Future For You by Brian K. Vaughan, Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty

Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics; 2 edition (June 11, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159307963X
ISBN-13: 978-1593079635
Series: Season 8: Volume 2
Stories: No Future For You: Part 1, No Future For You: Part 2, No Future For You: Part 3, No Future For You: Part 4, Anywhere But Here
Source: Purchased at Books-A-Million
First Sentence: "Oh! The places you'll go!"

Mini-Review: Maintains the same feeling as the show while widening the scope of Season 8.

Summary:

When a rogue debutante Slayer begins to use her power for evil, Giles is forced to recruit the rebellious Faith, who isn't exactly known for her good deeds. Giles offers Faith a clean slate if she can stop this snooty Slayer from wreaking total havoc--that is, if Buffy doesn't beat her to it.

Review:

As a Buffy fan, I'm not too wild about Faith but as an Angel fan, I've started to get her appeal. She is Buffy's darker side. She goes bad so Buffy doesn't have to and now that their struggle is over, she wants to find redemption. I was pretty stoked to find out that this second comic was all about what happened to my favorite dark Slayer and the story inside didn't disappoint.

Like with the first volume, No End for You is able to capture Faith's essence. She is all about the struggle and is tested big time yet again. After watching her get mentally abused by Wesley in Angel (and rightly so since she was physically torturing him), it was nice to see Giles being kind to her. For so long, everyone has treated her like a second class citizen so I really liked watching her form a bond with him. In the end, Faith and Giles aren’t all that different and I’m glad their similarities are addressed. I’m excited to see where this newly found friendship is going.

Also, giving Faith the mission of being a lady in disguise and trying to assassinate a rogue Slayer was awesome, especially after Faith spent time with her and started to realize how similar they were. Because Faith has been misguided before, she is in a unique position to understand her target Slayer which makes it that much harder to follow through with her mission. People that Buffy might just brand as “evil” Faith sees in a different light. I love that the writer chose to explore this aspect of Faith’s character and I was glad to see Faith confront her dark side and chose against it (something she was never able to do in the show). There is this magic scene where Faith and Buffy fight and Faith is holding Buffy underwater. They are mirror images and this perfectly depicts their relationship.

As far as plot goes, this collection didn’t seem to have a lot to do with the overall arc that was building in the first volume accept that it finally shows us what Twilight looks like (we don’t know who he/she is, just what they dress like and their face is covered) and what Twilight’s goals are.

I found the same gorgeous action shots, the perfect blend of comic and character in the drawings and the unique placement from the first volume. I also happened to spot a seemingly throw away panel which I thought looked an awful lot like the Tenth Doctor and Rose from Doctor Who. Upon some research, it turns out that it WAS a nod to Doctor Who which made me ridiculously giddy.

Though Faith’s struggles managed to make me feel for her, it was again the last story in the comic that got me the most. This time, we follow Buffy and Willow as they go to visit a demon in another dimension. At first, I thought it was going to be a silly installment as they talk about their fantasies but the end does what all good Whedon works do… it hits hard. The demon plays with Buffy and Willow’s insecurities and makes them both confess things they never thought they’d say. Even though they want the world to think they are close, there is a final panel that shows them walking away very far apart which is stark contrast from the earlier ones where Buffy is clinging onto Willow as they fly. I smell trouble in Bullow-dise.

In the end, I enjoyed this one just as passionately as the first installment and now that I have a better understanding of how to read comics I feel like it is only going to get better. I think the choice of following a different character through their journey really helped build the scope of the Buffy universe and flesh out a wider story arc. Keeping the same great dialogue from the show and packing in as much drama, Volume 2 is still going strong in my book. Can’t wait to dive into Volume 3!

Rating:

Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Volume 1

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus: Volume 1

Authors: Joss Whedon, Christopher Golden, Dan Brereton, Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza & Paul Lee
Artists: Paul Lee, Eric Powell, Drew Geraci, Keith Barnett, Joe Bennett, Rick Ketcham, Cliff Richards & Will Conrad
Paperback: 296 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse; Dark Horse Omnibus (6x9 inch) edition (July 3, 2007)Language: English
ISBN-10: 159307784X
ISBN-13: 978-1593077846
Series: Volume 1 of 7
Source: Purchased at Books- A-Million
Cover: I think this art looks a lot like a younger Sarah Michelle Gellar which is nice. I like the simplicity of it.
First Sentence: "Beijing China. June 18th . 1900."

Mini-Review: If you are a fan of the series and want more Buffy, this is for you but be warned it starts off just a little rocky.

Summary:

The definitive comics collection of all things Buffy starts here. This first massive volume begins with "The Origin," a faithful adaptation of creator Joss Whedons original screenplay for the 1992 film, along with three more stories.

Review:

Since I decided I couldn't get enough Buffy, I went on ahead and grabbed a Buffy Omnibus. These cover stories that happened before or during the show's life. The first volume combines a Spike and Drusilla story as well as the original script that Whedon wrote for the Buffy movie, Buffy in Vegas, a Dawn story and covers Buffy stint in a mental hospital. This is definitely for you if you are interested in Buffy's past before she got to Sunnydale but be warned that this series lacks the Whedon charm and doesn't understand the show the way it should.

Golden has a forward at the beginning where he states that he didn't watch the show and didn't know that much about Buffy when he started writing these comics. Whedon has (to my understanding) no input in these comics and you can tell. It lacks the charm the show has and suffers from some seriously bad writing in the beginning. I found this particular evident in the Spike and Dru story where they feel the need to repeat things over and over again that they just showed. I mean, if they are vamps going on a feeding spree in a fair I don't need them to tell me that they are "evil, naughty vamps on an evil rampage of evil evilness evildoing (evil, evil, evil)" because I just saw them murder three people in the prior panel. I'm exaggerating, of course, but there is a lot of "duh" dialogue that truly doesn't need to be going on there. As the stories continue, they become increasingly better and feel more like the Buffy I know and love.

As far as the artwork goes, I'm not as big a fan of this as Season 8 but I did start to enjoy the simplistic style. There weren't as many creative ways the panels were put together but it was very clear who was speaking. I never understood what a square box around the words meant but these stories helped me to understand that it is a character narrating. They even made each character have different text when they were narrating which really helped clarify who was speaking.

I'd like to look at each story individually:

"All's Fair"- This is the Spike and Dru story which I felt was the weakest in the bunch. I wasn't all too crazy with the artwork because it didn't look much like that characters and the dialogue felt too literal. It told too much which really didn't work since the artwork was showing the same thing and do a better job of it. This stinks since I was looking most forward to this story.

"Buffy: The Origin"- This is a retelling of the original script for Whedon's Buffy movie. The artwork looked a lot more like the characters in this one and the feeling of Buffy started to come into play. Some of the dialogue felt like it could have been in the show and they seemed to get Buffy's character a little better. It was still a little corny but better than the first story.

"Viva Las Buffy!"- For me, this is where the comic started to get good. This follows Pike and Buffy as they go to Vegas to kick some vampire booty. It's told completely in Pike's point of view and I liked getting to see how he looked at her. I was also happy to see Angel show up in this story as it filled in some of his background. The dialogue got loads better and it even gave me some laugh out loud moments.

"Dawn & Hoopy the Bear"- This is perhaps my favorite comic in the bunch. It's a short one following Dawn's adventures with a cursed bear. Dawn was charmingly cute (before she became all "no one EVER understands me EVER, go away and leave me alone *cue door slam*) and it's nice to see how Buffy disappearance effects her.

"Slayer, Interrupted"- This comic depicts Buffy's stay in a mental hospital as she tries to decide whether she can accept her role as a slayer. As story goes, this one felt the most like a Buffy episode and similar to what we are getting in Season 8. The artwork was a lot better for me and I loved seeing Buffy as Alice in Alice in Wonderland!

If you're a Buffy fan, this is definitely for you. However, it isn't as good as Season 8 and starts off a little rocky. I definitely think the Omnibus finds it's swing a little less than halfway through and it is really fun to see Buffy's adventures pre-Sunnydale. I'll definitely be continuing on with these collections. In fact, I already have Volume 2 on order.

Rating:

Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8- The Long Way Home

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S8: The Long Way Home by Joss Whedon & Georges Jeanty

Paperback: 136 pages
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics (December 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1593078226
ISBN-13: 978-1593078225
Series: Season 8, Vol. 1
Stories: The Long Way Home: Part 1, The Long Way Home: Part 2, The Long Way Home: Part 3, The Long Way Home: Part 4, The Chain
Source: Purchased from Books-A-Million
First Sentence: "The thing about changing the world..."

Mini-Review: Everything that was great about the show packed into comic form!

Summary:

Show writers from TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" contribute stories of slayers past who have influenced the traditions and mythologies of yore.

Review:

How to review this comic has been the main question swirling around in my head. I can't really approach it as a book because they are two separate things. So then, what do I do? So I'm just going to do my best and hopefully that works out. Essentially, reading this first volume is a lot like watching the Buffy t.v. show. From the drawings of the characters to the dialog, Whedon and the artist Jeanty were able to capture what you'd expect out of a Buffy episode.

Let's start with the artwork. When I originally flipped through the book, I was a little worried about recognizing which character was which. In some of the panels, the characters looked exactly like themselves but in others, it was a bit more difficult. For instance, Willow goes dark witch in one panel and I didn't recognize that she had for a moment until I went back and really looked at it. Sometimes in the action panels, Buffy is hard to tell apart from the other slayers. But for the most part, I could look at these panels all day and see these characters that I love so much portrayed completely accurately.

I will say that sometimes I had a difficult time following which panel came next. I'm not always sure where to look or how to read them but that could be because I don't have a lot of practice with comics. However, I'll get to certain pages and just be in awe at how they were arranged. I'm coming to realize that placing the panels on the page, especially to portray action or size, is an artform all of its own and can really affect the overall feeling the reader is left with.

So far, I'm enjoying the plot that is emerging. Like the t.v. show, everyone sort of has their own things going on. The action parts lend themselves well to comic form and combined with Whedon's trademark dialog, it is easyily addictive and fast to read. I've heard some people haven't liked the two villians in the first half of this series but I find Amy to be a good villian and her resurrected/brought back/saved boyfriend Warren to be every bit as terrifying as he was in the show when he was at his worst. There is a scene where they capture Willow and attempt to lobotomized her which is just terrible. I also like that they were able to capture Buffy's tough additude in scenes where she brushes off threats and kicks butt but also give her her funny soft side by her use of language and love of hairstyles and lip gloss. I'm also happy that we got a glimpse into Buffy's subconcious and got to see that she still thinks of Spike and Angel romantically! It gives me hope for Spike!

Whedon has set up a world one year after Sunnydale where slayers are coming into their powers everyday and being trained to use them by Buffy and her group of friends. It makes the scale bigger which is something I think they had a difficult time with in television. There can be grander battles without any restraints. I also want to talk about the last episode they added in this book called "The Chain" which shows the struggles of one of the women posing to be Buffy underground. Out of all the stories, it's this one which really affected me. It tells the story of a nameless girl that gives her life fighting evil in the name of someone else. I think that because this issue ended with it, it went from being a fun sort of story to a story that stuck with me.

I'm not saying that I would have rathered this season not be on t.v. If I could have kept Buffy going, I would have. But I can say that it does translate well into comics and thus far, has been able to capture the magic that made the show special. If you're a Buffy fan and interested in finding out what happens to your favorite characters, give this comic a chance. I think you'll discover something new with every page and you'll want to find out what happens! If nothing else, watching Buffy, Xander and Willow kick butt cartoon style is worth a looksee!

Rating:

Comic Review: Pariah by Aron Warner, issue #1

Aron Warner's Pariah, issue #1

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Sea Lion Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780983613
Issue: #1
Source: E-copy provided by publisher

Mini-Review: A fascinating start to what promises to be a unique comic series.

Summary:

Brent Marks is not a freak. He is one of the Pariah, a group of teens who become extremely intelligent after being cured of a genetic disorder. Although in most ways a normal teen, Brent is considered dangerous and is tracked down by the government who see these kids as an enormous threat. Can he evade them? What do they have planned for Brent and the others? 

Aron Warner is the Academy Award®-winning producer of the animated blockbuster “Shrek” series. Mr. Warner joined PDI/Dreamworks in 1997 working as the producer on the animated film, Antz. He is currently in partnership with director Andrew Adamson in Strange Weather where they and partner Jeff Fierson are developing a slate of live action and animated feature films and television shows. He, producing alongside James Cameron, just wrapped the Untitled Cirque Du Soleil 3-D project, which was written and directed by Adamson. Pariah is his first graphic novel series.

Review:

When I was approached about reviewing a comic series on my blog, I felt a little over my head but I decided to give it a whirl. What came to me was Pariah, a story about super smart people called Vitros who have advanced knowledge and how they fit into the world of average people. Though I must admit that this first issue only serves to set up the world and its main character Brent Marks, it succeeds at whetting the appetite and I'm interested to see where this series might go.


Brent Marks is your average guy-- you know, he keeps science equipment in his room, gives class presentations that go over the head of his teacher and is way smarter than most people around him. In his world, he's known as a Vitros. What I liked about him was that he was very aware of how people saw him and he worried about it. In his world, the gap between the average people and the Vitros is growing wider and isexacerbated by the ending. Though we don't get to know much about him, we do know that he loves his parents even if they are weary of him and that while he is incredibly smart, he can't always foresee the consequences of his actions.


I'm interested to see why this story is going. By the ending of this first issue, things have gotten really bad for Brent and I'm not sure how he's going to get out of his current situation. I thought that Pariah really excelled in it's inventiveness. While the first few pages were a bit over my head (I think this was on person to showcase just how smart Vitros are), I like the action they set up and the world building. Usually, in novels and movies, people will always rally against the other but more often than not, the other is something supernatural like aliens. What I liked is that Vitros are people and that while regular people may have more numbers, I don't think they are going to be a match for Vitros, assuming that's whose really going to be the bad guy.


I hesitate to comment on the artwork as I am in no way or form an artist or any type of expert but I will say that I thought the blend of anime and western style worked really well for the story. I also really liked the usage of lots of color and that the backgrounds were generally very bright. It made the strips easy to look at and even the backgrounds were visually pleasing.


Overall, I would have liked a bit more action and to feel a little more connected to the main character but I feel like that will come with time. The world of Pariah is interesting, the art descriptive, and the ending is definitely a cliffhanger. If your a fan of comics or are looking for something a little different, I'd say go for Pariah. 

Rating: