Welcome back, Buffy
November 24, 2008
It was good to return to the Buffyverse for me. Since I am a new comer to it who purchased the entire series and watched Season 1-7 straight through earlier this year, it was not a long lost friend but someone who was on a brief sabatical while I watched Angel Seasons 1-5. I never watched them while they were on air so I don't know all the cancellation drama, just that they were well respected series.
While this is the start of Season 8, Buffy is now international and after watching the final season of Angel just these past couple of weeks I had to snicker at the indication that there were a couple of body double Buffy's out there as well as the genuine article, who is hanging out in Scotland with an Army of Slayers along with some old friends. We are also reintroduced to a couple of old enemies and a brand new one that will stir the pot for the entire season.
I did miss the snappy reparte and could envision the characters speaking their dialogue, just as if this were still an actual TV show. Good stuff and I have read the first three chapters of the season, all that has been produced up to this point, and I am already excited for more.
BtVS continues on!
November 22, 2008
The continuation of Buffy! I've been watching the show since it first aired when I was ten years old, and am something of a "picky" fan. I throughly enjoy Season Eight thus far, and highly recommend this purchase to any and all BtVS fans!
Awesomeness made even more awesome
October 21, 2008
That's pretty much the size of it. If you enjoyed the TV series, you'll enjoy this book. If you didn't enjoy the TV series, you should go out and purchase it, enjoy it, and then enjoy this book. And then get Firefly.
Welcome back Buffy!
October 20, 2008
There is no doubt Buffy is back in this comicbook sequel. A change of medium from tv to comicbook is a big change for any series. I was then relived to discover that Buffy, Xander and Willow and all the other characters we love from the tv series are back are as we remember them, they haven't undergone any major personality changes that sadly happen in other cartoon adaptions. Much of this thanks to Buffy's (as you know) creator Josh Whedon himself did the script. This is no third party version with "fanfic"-quality script... it's the real and original story... it could be called Buffy - Season 8 - Volume 1. Actually it IS called Buffy - Season 8 - Volume 1 :) .So is it all good? Here's a quick rundown of the proos and cons:
Positive:
* Buffy and the scooby gang are all back as we remember them thanks to Joss Whedon
* Cartoon medium let's the series "fly" with no tight budgets. It's big scale this time, and it's good for a change. Buffy organizes almost five hundred slayers this time, and Xander leads the military-like control center with large tv screens monitoring it all.
* Great art! The characters are highly recognizable, including some almost photo real covers for each of the 4 episodes.
* Original covers from the smaller issues are included.
* Good plot (no spoilers sorry)!
Negative:
* Cartoon Buffy can't be real Buffy.
* The cartoon medium and can be a bit confusing to follow, and you've got to focus not to miss some points. If you don't like cartoons you could subtract one star for this.
* The use of magic has become all-present. Portals, protection and even Dawn has been enchanted into a giant - fun or not. A bit overdone, especially since Buffy can't use magic she seems pretty dependent on others, but hey... we all love Willow anyway.
* It's big, but is it too big? The tvseries is about the slayer in an ordinary world where the supernatural have been kept hidden. It's now apparently all present. This might not appeal to everyone. As there is no school/university Buffy anymore.
Summary:
If you don't like cartoons you could subtract one star.
If you like small-town-down-to-earth-Buffy much better than world-scale-super-hero-Buffy and don't like too much magic you might subtract another star.
If you're not a Buffy fan yet, start with the tv-series.
For the rest of us I say: Welcome back Buffy! You deserve all five stars!
Missing Buffy
October 7, 2008
I ordered the comic, because I was dying to find out what happened after the last episode. Though I am glad to know which characters are doing what,... I was thoroughly dissapointed in the comics. I have never been a comic book reader, and will remain that way. I am a huge Buffy fan and will always hope that the series will come back to TV, or go on in actual books.
