Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ Angel & Faith: the new "Season Nine"

Ok, I read the final issue. It was so much better than previous issues. It felt so much like a Buffy issue.

Joss has said it is kind of back to square one for season 9, so I guess I could be tempted. I might give it a shot, might not.

Note to fans of trivia - Faith's last name is actually given as Lehane in this issue, which I suppose canonizes it.

Okay, so, I saw the article on Buffy being up for a GLAAD award because Buffy went gay or bi or something like that. So who was the love interst? Don't say Willow. That would be like sisters, which is just .... creepy.

*By the way, I said "something like that" because the article wasn't sure either, and since I was getting my info from them, there's no way in heck I'm sure. No offense was intended towards anyone.

it was a random slayerette and i'd hardly say she went gay ... the story was pretty much buffy needs some action for a couple issues and she's trying it out.

if i remember correctly, everybody knew buffy was straight and just having a fling.

the interesting part was willow's reaction ... she was like "hunh if you we're gonna go gay how come you never went for ME" and she was telling the slayerette love interest "you know she's straight, you're just gonna get your heart broken" ... or something.


speaking of 'sisters' there was another story line where Xandar hooks up with Dawn i think, and Buffy is ..... surprisingly ... jealous. even though she never hooked up with X. she felt like he was kinda hers. cause he had a crush on her for so long. not to mention that she's feeling abit left out from both sides. as her bf and her sister both have new 'time commitments'.

not uninteresting character developments.

(if i remember correctly. )

Xander hooked up with Dawn? She's like 16 isn't she? And he's in his early twenties?

Now thats kinda skeezie.

Let's see...Xander graduated after season 3. Dawn was depicted as a freshman in season 6. That makes Xander around 6 years older than Dawn.

So..how old is Dawn now? Well, she would have been a sophomore after season 7 - no graduation ceremony due to big hole. We don't know how much time has passed from the end of season 7 to the beginning of season 8 (maybe a year?) nor am I sure how much time has passed within season 8 (possibly another year.)

My guess is Dawn is either 17 or even 18 by the end of season 8.

Also, wasn't there a comment that Xander and Buffy had "gotten together" at least once? Or was this from a dream sequence? I might need to go and reread the series soon.

Yup.


CREEEEEEEEEEEE P!

Given what happens to anyone who sleeps with Xander, I'd be less worried about an age difference than Dawn's impending tragic death...

(Plus, technically, Dawn's only three or four years old anyway, making it way past creepy and onwards to 'the sort of stuff that only happens in comic books.' Still, it's not statutory, like Buffy & Angel was in season two!)

Oh, yeah, how is it that Buffy and Angel had sex without activating his curse? Anyone?

Like most, I felt burned and let down by Dark Horse's Buffy "Season Eight" book which started out strong and just devolved into a mess when it ended. Frankly, I was so disappointed that I had no intention of picking up the Season Nine books, even as a huge fan of both the Buffy and Angel TV series. Well, both books got great reviews, so I decided to give them a chance.

Last night, I finally read Angel & Faith # 1. Now THAT is a lot more like it! Honestly, this felt more like an Angel book than any of his various comics incarnations at Dark Horse or IDW.

The story hook works great organically. Both title characters share a strong connection to a major Buffy character who died at the end of Season Eight: one was the character's protege during that season, and the other was that character's murderer while under a kind of mind control. The book opens with an effective flashback to a case the deceased character handled solo and resumes with Faith and Angel keeping a promise that character made and delivering on it in their own inimitable fashion.

Afterwards, we learn that Angel has some other unfinished business relating to his role in Season Eight. And an obscure but pivotal character from the TV show returns in a surprising role with said unfinished business. And in the end Angel tells Faith that he intends to bring someone back from the dead.

The script to "Live Through This" part one is by Christos Gage, who's done a lot of work mostly for Marvel. The art is by Rebekah Isaacs. I'm not familiar with her past work, but she may be the best artist I've yet seen on a Buffyverse comic! The Buffy characters all look like themselves without seeming photo-traced. She catches Faith actress Eliza Dushku's droopy eyes really well, for example. These two work really well together under Joss Whedon's direction and look like they may be the Team Supreme if this is any indication.

I'm definitely intrigued and will go and pick up last week's #2 for sure. As long as this one isn't booby-trapped with a crap pitfall like Season Eight was, this could be the best Angel has been in comics! The Dark Horse crew and Joss say they've learned from their mistakes with their previous efforts, and this is a big dtep in the right direction! (I bought the new Buffy #1 as well....)

Wow - after a review like that, I guess I gotta go check A/F out. I didn't even know Buffy season 9 had started. Considering I hated the last half of season 8, I certainly wasn't looking for it. These are both $2.99 books, right? I absolutely refuse to spend too much money on comics anymore.

Yeah, both are $2.99, Lance.

Buffy Season Nine #1 was FRICKIN' AWESOME!!!

I mean, it was such a FUN read and completely blew away my expectation! Joss writes this and deals with the aftermath of Season Eight in a way that tackles the angst from what all happened there but not in a slit-your-wrists way, y'know?

Basically, the Scoobies have pretty much moved on from being world beaters and are now trying to fit in with the world and live something resembling normal lives. Yes, Buffy still patrols and do the right thing, but now, she's sharing an apartment with two new characters. The issue revolves around Buffy recovering from a particularly wild housewarming party and her overindulgence in alcohol during same. We learn that the party was attended by Xander, Dawn, Willow, Spike and Andrew among others. And there are several hilarious instances in which Buffy think she may have slept with someone but doesn't remember with whom.

It's all lighthearted and fun in a way that cleanses the palette after the disaster that Season Eight devolved into. There are a pair of threats introduced during the story, one that looks to get more serious and the other takes a hilarious turn with a last page surprise. (Let's just say the surprise echoes a dread many of us had after finishing college!)

The art is by returning Season Eight veteran Georges Jeanty, who was always a bright spot even as the story got crappier. It has a bright, peppy and energetic feel that fits the tone of this story very well. The only issue I had with it is that Riley and Andrew are barely recognizable, and the script doesn't help Jeanty by name-dropping them. Only hardcore fans would realize who they are by the context and references.

A promising start that has me eager to read this series when I thought I'd give it a pass. Joss Whedon stays on as "executive producer" with new guy Andrew Chambliss taking over scripts next issue. I sure hope Chambliss can keep up the energy, tone and fun tone that Joss established here.