Best Conclusion to an Arc

What Is It?: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Issue #15: Wolves at the Gate Part IV (written by Drew Goddard)

Timing: BtVS, Season Eight. Directly after "Wolves at the Gate Part III."

Me Being a Dick: Probably a bit dick of me to insert this here, but please check out my other blog http://www.tvthatdoesntsuck.today.com/ and comment. I get paid for it, so yay me. Plus, if you like reading this, you'll like reading that. So yeah, sorry. On with the Buffy goodness.

REVIEW: Easily the best conclusion to an arc so far, which alone justifies the rating I'm going to give it. But there is so much more at work in this book that just makes it a really stellar end to a good story.

We get an inside look at Renee's final thoughts with the first few pages, which leads right into the big clash of the Slayers and the Japanese vampires. The tragedy of the thing really hits home for those pages, but we're only given a moment to digest it. The huge battle kicks into gear right then, which sort of felt surreal to me, much like the climax of Serenity. We're hit with the Big Wash Death, then expected to be attentive enough for a heart-stopping battle. It's such an amazing writing technique, and it worked to a T here.

What I thought was admirable, and very true to the nature of the show, was that the book didn't lose the comedy in the midst of all the tragedy and intensity. There was a particularly funny moment with Giant Dawn battling a huge "Mecha" Dawn robot, which could have been the biggest flop of all time. Hell, when I saw it, I was ready to throw the comic across the room. Buffy can be and has been purposely campy, but please. A freaking Giant vs. Robot fight? They can't possibly make that work? But see they did. Seeing the robot imitate Dawn ("I like blue jeans. And irony.") was quite possibly the funniest moment of Season Eight. And Andrew, knowledgeable as he is in the field, coached Dawn through the entire thing. Gold.

And speaking of ______est moments, Dracula showing Toru what's really good was by far and away, no holds barred, what-the-f**k-are-you-kidding me, the most BAD-ASS moment of any Buffyverse comic we've seen so far. I'm not saying the outcome, but not only does that moment (and the one that follows) (and hell the entire issue) totally sell Dracula as a character I'd be glad to see recurring, it just is an amazing scene. Talk about taking an arc to the next level at the eleventh hour.

There's a lot more too. I'm purposely not really delving into much of what happens in the issue, because that's something you'll need to see on your own. Just some stuff to look forward to:

+ We finally find out a little about WTF was up with Snake Lady Jones from #10, as in what her name is and a bit about the roll she'll play in all of this

+ A very Buffy-like end, that definitely would have a song playing over it (think the end of "Seeing Red")

+ Xander growing as a character

+ Vampire slayage

At least as good as "Anywhere But Here," maybe as good as "A Beautiful Sunset." As near to perfect writing as we've seen. Great, great issue.

Art: Jeanty, at times, feels a bit too comfortable here. I feel like the likenesses are coming a lot easier to him, so he feels that he can kind of blur past them in the action scenes. Comparing the facial detail in the battle scenes here to that of, for instance, Buffy #4, Jeanty is obviously not trying as hard. However, in the moments that truly matter--the emotional impacty scenes, which this issue overflows with--Jeanty hits it out of the park. He still does a good job, and the only other little complaint that I have is that I wish he'd made an effort to make Dracula and Toru look a little different. They're both pale vampires with long dark hair, so it's quite easy to confuse them if you're looking at anything but their clothing.

Covers: This is Foster's best effort since #12 and is a marked improvement over most of his other covers. Dark Horse, however, decided to give this issue the exact same border colors as #14. I was searching for this in the comic store, picked it up, thought it was #14, and put it back. Looked like an idiot in the comic shop. C'mon. Give us a bit of variety. The variant cover here is Jeanty's best. 'Nuff said. After those attractive but consciously-campy covers with nearly flourescent colors in issues 13-14, it's very fitting that this emotional end would have such a solemn cover. Plus, the state of the sky kinda ties into the Twilight theme of the season.

Characters We Know: Xander, Willow, Buffy, Renee, Leah, Satsu, Rowena, Dracula, Dawn, Andrew

Season Eight Recurring Characters: Raidon, Kumiko, Toru, Saga Vasuki (snake lady from #10)

Rating: 10/10

Things Get Less Funny

What Is It?: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Issue #14: Wolves at the Gate Part III (written by Drew Goddard)

Timing: BtVS, Season Eight. Directly after "Wolves at the Gate Part II."

REVIEW: "Wolves at the Gate" started out as a comedy issue with vampires that seemed very Monster of the Week. There was some relationship drama, all playing out very lightly, and a lot of Dracula hilarity in the first two parts.

Well, things just got a lot less funny.

In the end of the last issue, a slayer named Aiko (we hadn't met her before that point) was robbed of her powers and killed by Toru, the leader of a gang of vampires from Tokyo. These vamps are getting to be big problemas. A) They're pretty good at stealing. They stole Buffy's scythe, and they have a witch--Kumiko--who knows how to use the scythe to de-slayerize slayers. They also stole Dracula's powers, which leads to problema B) They have the power to turn into vapor, wolves, bees, and anything else Dracula can do. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, Aiko. The issue begins with a somber sequence where Buffy finds her body and takes her back to the Tokyo version of Slayer Central. Buffy balls up in the corner and broods, not knowing what to do, until Xander shows up again with Dracula. This was probably the best part of the issue, and it's all in all one of the strongest scenes in Season Eight so far. Dark Horse was wrong to leak this as a preview, though, because you never want the preview to be the best part of the issue. It kind of gets reader's hopes up and then lets them down.

However, the issue was still good. Really good, in fact. As the covers showed, Dawn arrives in Tokyo and gets her stomp on. In an otherwise sad, and later shocking violent and even MORE sad issue, that was a great moment. There is a lot of other good stuff in this issue, such as Buffy snapping into bad-ass mode, Renee acting as bait, and a really cute scene between Xander and Renee... with Dracula being jealous in the corner. All in all, even though a lot happens, it feels like build up to Issue #15, which will conclude this arc. This issue ends on a shockingly violent and tragic beat, and I have something to say about that, but it's going to be covered in spoilery text.

(SPOILER:) Joss's decision to kill Renee kind of has me torn. One, it's a brave and ballsy move to kill another one of Xander's girlfriends, and since this is a comic medium, each issue end does have to be shocking. And this was more than shocking. It was horrifying. And captivating. But on the other hand, I feel like Joss is turning the "Happy Moment Followed Directly By Death" into a huge cliche. I don't know. I'm torn. But I hope he doesn't do it again, because it is starting to get old.

Art: Jeanty does a good job here. His depiction of Dracula, Andrew, Xander, and Buffy are perfect. His Willow is improving, and his Dawn is ten times better. The Giant Dawn pages are utterly amazing. His work with Toru's face has also improved. Overall, I'm not falling out of my chair impressed, because I already know how good Jeanty is. His art has a great consistency to it, and I will certainly miss it after #15, because we won't see him again until Issue #21. Holy crap. That's December...

Covers: Once again, Jon Foster provides a stinker. There is nothing about this cover that makes it feel like a Buffy image except for the logo. Nothing. Easily the worst cover of Season Eight. Jeanty, however, tackles the same concept--Giant Dawn stomps all over Tokyo--but churns out much better results. If you don't buy both covers, buy Jeanty's, because it's actually good.

Characters We Know: Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Andrew, Dracula, Renee, Satsu, Leah

Season Eight Recurring Characters: Aiko, Raidon, Kumiko, Toru

Rating: 8/10

Funniest Issue Yet

What Is It?: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Issue #13: Wolves at the Gate Part II (written by Drew Goddard)

Timing: BTVS, Season Eight. Directly after "Wolves at the Gate Part I."

REVIEW: Pretty much awesome on all counts. This, as I suspected, it clearly going to be a very comedic arc, though the villainous vamps we're dealing with here seem to pose a huge threat. As far as "monsters of the week," they're easily the most threatening we've seen, and that's really saying a lot. Amy and Warren messed Willow's mug up pretty bad (for a minute, at least) and the Gigi/Roden team nearly ended Faith. But these guys? This new team of vamps (Toru, Raidon, and Kumiko) not only duped Dracula, they also have a pretty effective plan to put any Slayeriffic enemies out of commission.

This issue is basically set up for things to come, but it does its job very well. We've pretty much got three things going on at once:

+ Xander and Renee try to enlist Dracula's help. Not only do we get some insight into why "Antique" happened (as well as confirmation that it is canonical, we also get great Xander/Dracula banter, hilariously pretentious angry Dracula moments, and even a scene where Andrew explains (with a chalk board and all!) what's the dealio with Dracula and Xander. Loved this.

+ We've also got stuff going on back at Slayer Central, though admittedly not much. Satsu is dealing with the night she spent with Buffy, but Buffy is pretty much not dealing at all. We get some emotional and hilarious stuff from Willow, and the characterization for all the leads in this section of the story is spot-on. Willow's voice has been very weak this season, but this is the issue where I felt it getting stronger.

+ Finally, a few pieces of the story deal with Toru and his vamps. Not going to reveal much, because the scheme they have cooked up is spoileriffic, but it's a really inventive idea.

This issue of Buffy has me once again waiting with bated breath for the next part of the story, because each of these twenty-two pages burst with laughs and shocks. If you don't laugh at loud at a few moments in this issue, you might want to check your pulse, friend.

Art: Art is consistently good, at this point. Jeanty seemed to struggle with Toru in Issue #12 (as I mentioned) but here things are much better. And really... this man draws Dracula perfectly. I'd almost go as far as to say that his depiction of Dracula is his best likeness so far. As far as the characters he's been drawing, I'd say he's improved most with Andrew's likeness. I mean, compare his Andrew in this issue to the almost unrecognizable Andrew from #12. Hell, compare any of this to his work in the earlier issues. Jeanty keeps getting better and better.

Covers (New Cateogory!): Oh God, I miss Jo Chen. Thank everything Holy and Good that she is back for #16. Jon Foster's cover for this one shows someone who is supposed to be Xander sitting on... I don't even know, maybe a mushroom? A cliff with pimples. In the background, we see castle and Buffy (whose feet are apparently a size 26) and Willow, who is attending the goth prom. Come on. What is with this cover? Jeanty offers up a variant that is a big improvement over his cover for #12. His covers for this arc (well, at least 12-14) has a very colorful and bright look, which is cool. I don't *love* it, but I don't mind it at all. The Xander/Dracula riding thing is cool, as are the marching vamps.

Characters We Know: Xander, Dracula, Andrew, Buffy, Willow

Season Eight Recurring Characters We Know: Renee, Satsu, Toru, Raidon, Kumiko

Rating: 9/10 *

*In retrospect, I should have rated #12 as a 8/10. I was a bit excited after reading, and it's always best to wait a while before giving it a rating. This issue was considerably better than #12, but it also wasn't as good as #11, #10, or the other issues I've given 10/10s. #12 is now rated 8/10. This sort of 'retcon' of ratings will not happen again, but I think it was important in this case.

"Something We'll Be Talking About For Years To Come"

What Is It?: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Issue #12: Wolves at the Gate Part I (written by Drew Goddard)

Timing: BTVS, Season Eight. Short while after "A Beautiful Sunset."

REVIEW: Talk about hype. Comic shops were told to double their orders. People debated "What's going to happen in Issue 12?" online since before #10 came out. It's the first comic we get from one of the series vets (other than Whedon, of course). Damn. Talk. About. Hype.

Well, I'm obviously not going to spoil the big event here, but... Yeah. It's big. Something we'll be talking about for years? Probably not. But it's huge enough for the hype, methinks, and it's leads to even huger comedy. Yeah, it looks like "Wolves At the Gate" is going to be a comedy-centric episode, sort of like "Something Blue" and "Tabula Rasa." What I mean is, it doesn't compromise the integrity of the series like episodes similar to "Beer Bad" and "Doublemeat Palace" did, but it still focuses heavily on comedy. We've got Andrew. We've got Xander dealing with his whole "Dracula's Manservant" issue. We've got a sexually awkward situation. We've got some pretty funny stuff.

Most of this issue deals with the personal relationships between the residents of the castle, but there is also a lot of action at the end. While the issue didn't flow as well as #11 did, the transitions are quite a bit smoother than those of "The Long Way Home." I went in expecting something at the same level as the last two issues we've got, which was an error on my part. Everything can't be "A Beautiful Sunset" quality. What we've got here is a solid introduction to the arc with hilarious--and in-character--moments that all push forward all of the character arcs.

After the serious beatdown of #11, this is just what we needed to lighten the mood. And can I express how great it is to have vampires taken as a threat again? I felt that the show lost something in the latter seasons when vampires stopped being serious enemies and became more of a joke. Especially when that vampire wanted help getting out of his grave. C'mon now. THIS, these vampires from Issue #12, are just what we need to show that vamps are still vamps are still vamps.

Art: Ain't as good as usual. I'm missing Dave Stewart as colorist more than I expected. While Michele Madsen is competent and really makes the starry sky beautiful, I miss the quirky colors of Dave Stewart, which really give Season Eight a unique and consistent look. Also, Jeanty seemed to have pulled a switch. He used to be best at drawing NEW characters and iffy at drawing those who've appeared on screen. Well, this time he rocks Buffy and Xander (though he's struggling with Willow more than ever) but really messes up on one of the villains, the one who seems to be in charge. He's a male, Japanese vampire, and in some panels... his face only has a nose on his left. Now if this character was SUPPOSED to be missing half of his nose, awesome, but.... he's not. Not so good. But as far as drawing Buffy, Jeanty's never been better. I thought the female vampire was cool looking, and I also really liked his depiction of Dracula. For those who gasped at that spoiler, get real. You've seen him in two variant covers for this arc so far, we knew he was coming. But yeah, back to the art. This is our second issue without Jo Chen as cover artist, and Foster's cover is a huge improvement over his #11. Out of his covers for this arc that we've seen, it's literally his only passable one, so enjoy this while you can. However, Dark Horse chose to place the Buffy logo in the most inconvenient place, so it kinda ruins the image. Otherwise, it's one of my favorite covers. Oh, and about Buffy's clothes. Loving them. Her PJs rock,an I loved the little UC Sunnydale shirt she had later on. Much more awesome that the SuperSpy gear she's tended to wear this season.

Characters We Know: Xander, Buffy, Willow, Andrew, Dawn, Dracula

Season Eight Recurring Characters We Know: Renee, Satsu, Rowena, Leah

SPECULATION (highlight to read): Okay, so the surprise. Not what I expected. I hoped for Oz, but I didn't think even that could live up to the "talk about for years to come" thing. Well, I liked the surprise. Buffy sleeping with Satsu is cool, as long as he doesn't turn Buffy gay. Been there, Willow'd that. His interview, which I'll post later, pretty much implied that this wouldn't be a serious "Buffy Is No Longer Hetero" thang. It was a shock, it made for a great scene, and will probably make things very, very awkward between certain characters. But that's it. But as far as REAL speculation, I don't really have any. I'm thinking maybe these bad vamps were.... apprentices, students of Dracula? T'is all for now.

Rating: 9/10

Brand New COVERS and Brand New NEWS and some SEASON NINE information

I'll be, ahem, straight forward

COVERS TO ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL #3--> CLICK
(Tony Harris will no longer be doing covers. With this third one and on, Andrew Robinson has taken over)

Information on Buffy: Season Eight #10- Scott Allie says... "That’s a housekeeping issue. That’s how things start with Joss. He goes “I have to fill a blank. There’s this thing I have to address, and it turns into something so much more. Issue #10, we did a contest on MySpace where you write in and say “this is how BUFFY affected my life,” and Joss picks the winner and the winner will be drawn into an issue of BUFFY. Joss read all the entries, and was really moved by a lot of them and the winner he was struck by and he basically wrote Issue #10 about her, sort of. It’s a Willow and Buffy issue, with some Xander. It’s an issue that catches you up and shows you how things are screwed up with our characters." He also said, in an audio interview, that the issue is comparable to episodes like "Hush" and "The Body." Oh yeah, and it'll make you cry fan tears.

Information of Buffy: Season Eight #11- We find out who/what the Big Bad of the season will be.

Information on DREW GODDARD's arc (ISSUES 12-15): Some vampires get a new power that isn't very vampire-y. The Scoobs head to Japan to dig up some info on the case. *Sigh* Sounds so good.

SPOILER (Highlight to Read:) At some point in the season, Dracula will make a cameo.

SEASON NINE: Scott Allie says... "It’s a real ambitious thing and we’ve already sketched out what Season 9 would be. At one point, I was pretty sure Season 8 would be the end of all of this. The original idea looked like that was it, but now we have a Season 9, that would be much different than Season 8. We might take a break, but when Joss and I talked about it, Joss said he might want to take a break between eight and nine – “maybe a month.” That’s barely a break. It’s not even a summer, but yes, Season 9 should happen pretty soon after this"

Check out the Scott Allie interviews at the following links:
http://new.ifmagazine.com/feature.asp?article=2393
http://sl-podcast.livejournal.com/192735.html

Oh, yeah... And we'll be getting a release date on "After the Fall #1" by next week.

ndvkjbdiupehowj :]

Season Eight News

News on Season Eight...

This is the current line up of writers that we know.

1-4 (The Long Way Home arc) by Joss Whedon

5 (The Chain) by Joss Whedon

6-9 (No Future For You) by Brian K. Vaughn

10 (one-shot) by Joss Whedon

11 (one-shot) by Joss Whedon

12-15 (??? arc) by Drew Goddard

16 (most likely a one-shot)

17-20 (??? arc) by Brad Meltzer

.........

41-45 (??? arc) by Brad Meltzer

46-50 (??? arc) by Joss Whedon

Joss says.... "The idea was always bringing in different writers, people who've either been on our show or powerhouses in comic books. I'm giving everybody an arc to do — or in some cases a one-shot if they didn't have the time. I've already mapped out the entire 40-issue season."

Joss says... "It's been indicated that there are people who are trying to get rid of the slayers because they represent the same kind of magic as the demons. So I'm putting the slayers in the global spotlight for a little bit — really getting to talk about shifts in power and trying to put an end to magic. That's what Buffy's fighting against. It's an epic story. I've asked Brad to plot out the last 10 issues with me and then write the first half, and I'll write the second half. But I'm overseeing every script, every story, every page."

"Vampire, You Are Everything I Loathe. But I Have Learned From You."

What Is It?: Tales of the Vampires, the trade paperback. This collects the entire "Tales of the Vampires" mini-series.

Timing: The main story (entitled "Tales of the Vampires) that ties each of the little tales together, takes place before BtVS. It shows (SPOILER:) Giles' grandmother training to be a Watcher. A few of the stories are ambiguous as to when they take place, but a few are not. "The Problem With Vampires" leads into "School Hard (Season Two of BtVS)", "Antique" takes place between Season 7 and Season 8 of BtVS, and "Numb" takes place DURING "Amends (Season Three of BtVS)."

REVIEW: Where "Tales of the Slayers" was entertaining, "Tales of the Vampires" is, to say the least, a spectacular collection of stories tied together by a first-rate tale which gives insight into the mythology of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." It's the best Buffyverse comic that I've read (other than Season Eight and Spike: Asylum, of course), and that's saying a lot. This collection simply has so much to offer. There's stories with drama, stories with depth, stories that explore and expand the mythology, and a few simply funny tales. It's clear to see that this was penned by people who loved writing for the show (Whedon, Espenson, Goddard) and others who loved watching the show (anyone with eyes/ears, basically).

While "Tales of the Vampires" can be described as a collection of short graphic stories about vampires, it also tells a cohesive story about one vampire named Roche telling tales of the undead to a group of young watchers. As the stories unfold, it is simply a pleasure to see the young watcher named Edna realize what Roche's true reason for telling these tales is. The Roche/Edna plot that unfolds over the length of this book is written by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy and Angel.

Some of the most interesting stories in this edition are about vampires we've never met before, but what fans will surely be most interested in is the stories about characters who have already been established in the Buffyverse. There are plenty of those. Spike and Drusilla's love story in "The Problem With Vampires" is touching, classic, and leads right up to their first appearance in the show. "Antique" is the first we hear of Buffy since the end of the series (this is pre-season eight) and it has her battling with Dracula for Xander's freedom. The closing story is one about Angel called "Numb" which takes place during the Season Three episode "Amends." It expands on the dreams that are tormenting Angel about his past, and has some of the most beautiful comic art I've ever seen. It really fits with the snowy mood of the episode.

The writing, as I mentioned above, is top-notch. The art, different for each story, is almost always great--except for, perhaps, the depiction of Buffy, Xander, and Dracula in "Antique." A bit to blagh for me. But all else is well. If you're interested in vampires, Buffy, comics, or are currently reading "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight", then this is the book for you.

Art: **All mentioned above**

Characters We Know: Buffy, Xander, Angel, Spike, Drusilla, Dracula, and Jenny Calendar.

Rating: 9/10