All the News; The End of BCR

You've all be loyal, excellent, amazing, beautiful, shiny, kind, smart readers. I've been a less loyal and kind blogger; but I'm gonna ask this of you anyway. Even though I haven't been blogging of late, I've got some pretty cool ANGEL stuff coming up. So pleeeease read this.

A lot of you have been wondering what's going on with this site. Most of you guys think this is dead. One guy even said it was so dead that it was bloated and stinky. I'd totally agree with "bloated," but stinky? Pah.

Please order this book from your local comic shop, or right here!

I wrote one of the stories collected here, and I'd promise you a big ol' hug if you get it.

Anyway, I figured today would be a good time to spell out what's going on with the blog, what with all the Season Nine news. It's all been announced. Andrew Chambliss and Joss are co-writing all of Buffy: Season Nine, which Georges Jeanty is drawing. The Angel title will be written by... well, no one, because there is no Angel solo book. He's sharing the spotlight with fan favorite slayer Faith, in a book titled Joanie Loves Chachi--er, Angel and Faith. Marvel writer Christos Gage will be joined by artist Rebekah Isaacs for the series. Each book will be 25 issues.

Angel & Faith #1 - Art by Jo Chen

But I'm going to make this clear, just so I don't cause any confusion/people-calling-me-stinky. This blog will not be covering Buffy Season Nine. This blog is closing in June.

Wait. Don't go. Stay for a sec.

I've got a few great things coming up here, and I don't want you to miss it. First of all, I owe you all a bit of insight into why the blog is closing. I don't want to carry on the illusion that I can continue reviewing the issues; it's not fair to you guys. You've been loyal readers and I can't thank you enough for sticking with me. Thank you thank you thank you. See? Not enough. But I'm a writer at heart. I've been working on pitches for comic books, proposals for novels, and scripts for films. I'll get to that in a bit, but basically, writing doesn't always pay the bills. I have to spend my free time teaching, tutoring, and (urgh) working retail jobs to make ends meet. So, unfortunately, this blog is in its final days. However, you can expect 7 more articles before we go out.

NEXT WEDNESDAY: Illyria's True Form. Other than Angel and Spike, Illyria has received more attention than any other character in the Angel books. She co-starred with Gunn in Only Human and Spike in Spike: After the Fall, crossed over into a different universe with Fallen Angel, and even got her own spin-off courtesy of Scott Tipton, Mariah Huehner, and Elena Casagrande. This will be a retrospect of her development, concentrating mostly on the finale of "Illyria: Haunted."

THIS MONTH: Angel- The Main Title. It's no secret that, since After the Fall captured my heart, this has been an Angel blog. When Mariah and David Tischman bring the on-going series to a close, I'll be there to do what I used to do every month... review the shit out of it. It'll be half a review of the final arc and half a retrospect on the entire series, "After the Fall" included.

MAY: Spike Rests in Peace. The blog loves Brian Lynch. Similar to the Angel and Illyria articles, this blog will take a look at Brian Lynch's epic Spike on-going series, as well as everything he's done with Spike in the past.

ALSO MAY: Remember the countdown we did to After the Fall? I honestly get a little misty thinking that far back. I'm going to do the same to countdown to Angel: Yearbook. The top ten moments of IDW's Angel series.

ALSO ALSO MAY: I'm going to do something for Yearbook. Some kind of write-up. And man oh man, I have to urge you guys to pick this book up. Mostly because it's amazing. It has the final Buffyverse stories from Scott Tipton, Chris Ryall, Peter David, David Messina, Stephen Mooney, Elena Casagrade, Brian Lynch, and more... it also has a little of me. Thanks to the endlessly lovely folks at IDW, I was able to make my number one dream come true. I wrote an Angel comic. So please, pick the comic up, because the story and, really, all the people who worked on the book mean very much to me.

JUNE: This will make me sad. I'm going to do a little retrospect on the site, giving my favorite moments, comments, etc.

ALSO JUNE: Final post. We have to end this way. A long, in depth interview with the one and only Brian Lynch.

And that's pretty much that. I have to thank you all so much for reading, because it has meant a lot. If you want to read more of my comic book reviews, thoughts, and stories, you can follow my personal blog here --> My Blog. If you liked this blog, I promise promise promise you'll dig this. I'll still be posting way too many, way too long Buffy/Angel/Spike reviews and posts, so Whedonites will want to save the link.

I'll also be doing a weekly article for popmatters.com. You can read my FRAY 101 article here.

So clearly, I'm not abandoning the Buffyverse. I love this 'verse harder than any other work of fiction. Hell, my number one dream was writing for it, and thanks to a few lovely editors, some damn good writers, and an especially talented Irish artist, I've realized that dream. Oh, and... thanks to you guys, too. I doubt IDW would even know my name if you didn't make this blog such a big deal. So I kinda love you a lot.

Hope that makes things clear. Keep commenting, keep following me, and I'll keep loving you the way that we all love Buffy. Unreasonably.

PS: If you want more Buffyverse reviews in a much more timely fashion than I can provide, I'm happy to point you all to the best in the Buffverse business... Buffyfest. Dan Roth, a good friend of mine, writes reviews of issues that are sometimes better than the actual issues. The dude is legit. Follow them as if they were a really geeky Moses.

I Love Knowledge

I'm back in college, so updates won't be as immediate as usual. They'll just be a few hours later at most, but still... I love you guys enough to give you a bit of a heads up.

Here's when stuff will be posted:
REVIEW FOR Angel: Only Human #2- Tonight
REVIEW FOR Fallen Angel: Reborn #3- Tomorrow night
REVIEW FOR Angel: Blood and Trenches TPB- Before October
REVIEW FOR Angel: Smile Time HC- Before October
REVIEW FOR Angel Volume Five: Aftermath HC- Before October

Also, I was lucky enough to be chosen by SLAY ALIVE to be a member of their blogging staff. Check my stuff out over there!

Wondering what the title is a reference to? Check out this song, I Love Knowledge, a parody of Asher Roth's hit. It's by the lead MC in one of my best friend's bands, and I must say... it's better than the original.

My Bad. My Blunder.

Yeah, haven't posted in a while.

I'm behind on some reviews. It's true.

I've been very busy, though, shooting a lot of short films, writing a lot of long films, submitting a lot of short stories, and preparing to intern/research assist something really cool and really relevant to this site. Buuuut that is a different story. Here is what you should expect to read at this site soon.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight: Tales of the Vampires- The Thrill (READ IT NOW!)

ANGEL: Not Fade Away (adaption) #1 today

ANGEL: Not Fade Away (adaption) #2 within the next two weeks

ANGEL: Blood & Trenches #3- within the week

GROOM LAKE #2- before #3 comes out this month, for sure

If I fail to get those out on time... bug me. I'll listen.

I will try to be on time for everything, as soon as I catch up on these. Reviews of the main ANGEL title, as well as the main BUFFY title, will be posted on the day of the issue's release. No doubt about that.

In the meantime, here are some things for you to look forward to.

ANGEL

JUNE

+ ANGEL #22 wraps up Kelley Armstrong's Aftermath arc. It's been a tough ride, but maybe Ms. Armstrong can bring everything in and give her story a solid end.

+ ANGEL: BLOOD AND TRENCHES #4 wraps up John Byrne's awesome WWI story.

JULY

+ ANGEL #23: Become What You Are features the return of Brian Lynch and Franco Urru! It's about what happened to Gunn between #17 and #18, and how he got in that car with Illyria.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #1: Illyria crosses over into Peter David's original series.

+ ANGEL: Not Fade Away #3- Scott Tipton and Stephen Mooney's adaptation of the best episode of television history concludes.

AUGUST

+ ANGEL #24: Drusilla, part one. Brian Lynch, Juliet Landau (Drusilla herself!), and Franco Urru give us the skinny on what has been up with the vamp who sired Spike.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #2

+ ANGEL: Only Human #1. Gunn and Illyria's story from ANGEL #23 continues in the first issue of a four issue miniseries, written by Scott Lobdell, writer of VIVA LAS BUFFY.

SEPTEMBER

+ ANGEL #25: Drusilla, part two. The two part tale concludes.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #3

+ ANGEL: Only Human #2

OCTOBER

+ ANGEL #26: Contents unknown. But Chris Ryall's blog revealed that it will be written by Brian Lynch with art by Stephen Mooney. Also, it includes a "red band trailer" for the ANGEL ANNUAL, which you can read about at the same link. Check out one of the covers on this post. The other is at Mr. Ryall's blog.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #4. The miniseries concludes. I'm pretty sure the Fallen Angel title will continue, though, so don't give up here!

+ ANGEL: Only Human #3

BUFFY

JULY

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #26. Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

AUGUST

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #27 Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

SEPTEMBER

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #28 Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

OCTOBER

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #29 Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

Hits

Pretty shocked right now. Put up the hit counter three days ago, already got 240 hits. Yowza.

Admittedly, this is just an excuse to talk about hits next to a picture of Angel hitting demons with his car.

The end.

Upcoming Posts

(clickable!)

This is all tentative, as it's the week before two of my staged readings go on, so I have to be on my grind with that... but this is the stuff you should be expecting in the week to come.

WED 2/11: REVIEW FOR Angel: After the Fall #17

THUR 2/12: REVIEW FOR Spike: After the Fall HARDCOVER

FRI 2/13: DOLLHOUSE- Episode One review. Check for it an hour after the episode.

SAT 2/14: "Pat Shand Journeys To Comic Con" Part II. Yeah, I know, late, Buffy Fest pwned me, I concede. This'll be less about the announcements and more about the awesome stuff I didn't get around to in the first entry. I'll talk about meeting Georges Jeanty, Dave Stewart, Peter David, Ben Templesmith, the dude who writes Love and Capes... and then I'll show you all some nice original art I got. Shall be a thing.

SUN 2/15: REVIEW FOR Doctor Horrible's Sing-along Blog. Wrote it a while ago, not sure why I didn't post it.

MON 2/16: Something I've been holding off on since 12/31/08. I ended 2007 with a "MY YEAR WITH BUFFY" post, so it makes sense to end 2008 with a "MY YEAR WITH ANGEL" post. However, with only two issues left in "After the Fall," I thought it best to hold off until #17 is out. Also, now I get to include my Comic Con experience. So get ready for some sad stories and some happy stories surrounding the reading of the most epic ANGEL tale ever, "After the Fall." Complete with some ANGEL history and pictures of... things.

TUES 2/17: Give me a break, would you? Shooting starts for my short film, ULTIMATE COUPLES THERAPY, today. Can't wait to see the Uber Chick costume and hear some great actors say my lines. Look for a report on this at my personal blog, with maybe maybe maybe pictures.

WED 2/18: REVIEW FOR Angel: Smile Time #2

Until then!

Wow. Haven't posted covers for you in a long time. Well, here we go. Here is some new stuff.

REVIEW: for Angel #7
REVIEW: for Buffy #14

Or, you know, just scroll down.

COVERS

Buffy #16: Click -- Might have posted this already, but I'm not sure. The rest are all new
Buffy #16 Variant: Click --Yes, that's Vi and Kennedy
Buffy #17: Click
Buffy #17 Variant: Click
Incentive image (poster?) for "Time of Your Life" by Karl Moline. MIGHT be made into incentive covers: Click
Angel #8 (Mooney/SlayAlive): Click -- NOT YET IN COLOR
Angel #9 (Mooney/SlayAlive): Click -- NOT YET IN COLOR
Angel #9 (Runge): Click
Angel #9 (Alex Garner): Click
Angel #9 TFAW Exclusive: Click
Angel #10 (Brian Miller): Click
Angel #10 (Garner): Click to go to Brian's blog entry, with cover
Spike: AtF #2: Shown in top corner
Spike: AtF #3: Click to go to Brian's blog entry, with cover
Spike: AtF #3 (Variant): Click to go to Brian's blog entry, with cover

RELEASE DATES

May
7th: Buffy Omnibus Volume Four. It wasn't at my LCS, but who knows. It was supposed to come out.
14th: Serenity #3
14th: Well, darkhorse.com says it comes out in June, but the latest issue of Buffy says it comes out here. Buffy- No Future For You TPB
??th: Angel-After the Fall #1: Directors Cut
??th: Everybody's Dead #3

A NEW CANONICAL SPIN-OFF

Remember how you felt when you first heard that IDW was going to launch a canonical Angel series? How about when you learned it'd be written by Brian Lynch and plotted by both Lynch and Whedon? Great, right? How about when you found out Franco Urru would take on pencil duties?

Well... prepare to feel that way again.

I love spin-offs.

New Covers

First, we've got the cover to the Director's Cut of "Angel: After the Fall" #1. Cover by Alex Garner, includes Brian Lynch's script and a full commentary.

*

Next cover is the fifth Buffy omnibus. "Volume Five of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus series begins immediately after Season Three, after Sunnydale High has gone up in flames. Buffy is plagued by dreams of fellow Slayer Faith, who now lies in a comma. Jane Espenson, the celebrated writer from the Buffy TV show, writes the powerful Faith story Haunted. And as summer comes to an end, Buffy and Willow begin their first year of college in The Blood of Carthage, in a story written by acclaimed Buffy novelist Christopher Golden. Meanwhile Buffy embarks on a new romance with Riley Finn, and Willow and Oz's relationship comes to an end in Golden's Oz: Into the Wild. This volume also features work by Buffy Season Eight contributors Cliff Richards and Paul Lee and Brian Horton.* Collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Blood of Carthage, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Autumnal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Oz "Into the Wild," DHP 2000: Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Take Back the Night," DHP #150: Buffy the Vampire Slayer "Killing Time"" Sounds like some pretty good stuff. I've been wondering if that Oz book is any good.

*

The next cover you've seen before. It's the variant to Buffy #15, which I threw up again to prepare you guys for the NEXT cover...

*

Foster's Buffy #15. And guess what? Not big on his #13 or 14 covers, but this one I like. The blurb for the issue is as follows: "Having traveled from her base in Scotland, Buffy ventures to the heart of Japan in order to reclaim her stolen scythe, in Drew Goddard's conclusion to Wolves at the Gate. Along the way, Buffy and the legion of Slayers join forces with the irresistible Dracula to defeat a tight-nit group of nefarious vampires, in which the Slayers suffer a massive hit." And it's out June 4th.

*

Preview for #13 is up here.

TOMORROW...

...is when Buffy #12 comes out. And something big is supposed to happen. Ahhhhh man.

Other Shat Pand Reviews, and... (as you all know by now) A Huge Crossover Event

A few bits o' news.

1. By request, here is a review I did of "The Origin" a while ago. Click meh!

2. Again, by request.... here are some other reviews I've done that do and don't fit in with the topic of this site. If you shop on Amazon, you might have (but probably not) seen some of these. But here is my Amazon review profile: Click meh (as helpful!)

3. Yeah, it's a few days old. Yeah, I knew about it a few days ago. Yeah, I posted about it on Facebook and debated elsewhere before posting it here. Yeah, I'm lazy and all that. Yeah, yeah yeah. Click the cover on the right. Remember how much Jon Foster sucked at covers (with the sole exception of #12)? Well... Jo Chen still does the opposite of suck. Well... actually the opposite of suck is literally blow if you think about it, but she doesn't blow. She rocks. She is the opposite of... things not rock-like. But yeah, that's the cover for #16 and its her triumphant return to the making of Buffy covers.

....and yeah, that's Buffy fighting Fray. The description of the issue, provided by SlayAlive, is as follows:

July trumpets the return of Jo Chen, but also heralds the return of both Karl Moline and Fray to the Buffyverse! The Buffster squares off against her futuristic descendant in this four-part arc by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline, who first collaborated in 2003's Fray mini-series.

Hoah yeah! So we've got Moline doing the arc, Joss writing, and both Buffy and Fray starring. I couldn't be happier we've got Moline for this, but how cool would it be if the "back in the present" scenes are pencilled by Georges. Very cool, methinks.

So lets look at what we've got coming up.

SOON

March 5th: Buffy #12 (Big surprise!)

Mid/Late March: Angel- After the Fall #5 (Two days are up, Angel)

April 2nd: Buffy #13 (Drac's back)

Mid/Late April: Angel- After the Fall #6, First Night 1 (We see how Connor, Lorne, and Spike's spent their first night in Hell)

May 7th- Buffy #14 (Hypno Dawn stomps shit)

Mid May- Angel- After the Fall #7, First Night 2 (Wes gets ghosty)

JUNE

Angel- After the Fall #8, First Night 3 (Conclusion)

Angel- After the Fall #9 (back to the main story)

Buffy #15 (Peace, Drew)

JULY

Buffy #16 (Hey, Fray)

(probably) Angel- After the Fall #10

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Sla, sla, sla, sla, slayin' alive, slayin' alive...

SlayAlive is quickly becoming the most interesting site on the web, other than Whedonesque, which is pretty much THE Buffyverse site. But yeah, you can't get much more interesting than the SlayAlive/BCC cover competition for "After the Fall." Two covers--in their full color--were released today; the cover for the last minute #6 contest and the cover for the #7 contest.

Click the link to check it out.

Verdict: Cool stuff, of course. Gotta be the funnest contest ever. Thing is, you can kinda tell that #6 was done in a rush. What's up with Lorne, Spike, and (to a lesser extent) Connor's faces? They look schfifty-five years old. But, considering the last-minuteness of the contest, it's good.

And that Wesley cover makes up for the ehhness of the #6 cover. Gadzooks, that's awesome. Though the colorist could have made Wes's jacket the actual color it was supposed to be. But other than that, it's by FAR the best SlayAlive cover so far. Click the link maddafakaz.

SPECULATION for After the Fall #4

This will be extremely spoilery, so HIGHLIGHT the text to read:

Wesley ain't gone. It seems as if he is somehow tied to Wolfram and Hart so, now that it's all sorts of blown to bits, he's disappeared. Thing is, though... what would be the reason of having him back and introducing the whole interesting "Should we trust Wes" plot line, just to have him *bloop* disappear after four issues. Wouldn't happen. My speculation is that when he does come back, he'll be corporeal. Wolfram and Hart learns from their mistakes, and keeping him linked so closely to the building--a finite thing, both Gunn and the Beast would testify to that--was a huge mistake.

It looks like those demons Lorne showed Angel are the champions that the Lords of LA chose. That means Angel is going to have to fight She-Skip (He-Skip was a badass, holy crap), a T-Rex, and some demon so strong that the Lord keeps it handcuffed.

Brian confirmed on the Dark Horse boards that Spike's weapon is NOT Fray's scythe. Could be that Spike fashioned a lookalike for himself. Thing does work damn well. About Spike time-slipping because of being all close to Illyria... I can't really comment, as I simply have no idea where that's going. Brian also said Illyria is going to be in #5, so maybe her time-slipping will help with the fight.

Spike will absolutely be the champion Illyria picks to "fight" Angel. It'll be the reason why they're fighting on the cover of #5. BUT... methinks Spike will--as he does--turn at the last moment, showing he was on Angel's side all along (sort of like Cartman in the Wal-Mart episode). So I'm guessing the fight will be Angel, Groosalug, Spike, and MAYBE GUNN (who wants to kill Angel himself) facing off against the LA Lord's champions. Big blowout, much?

Ah, speculation, I barely knew thee...

It would be nice...

...to know when ANGEL #4 is coming out.

In other news, a lot of new stuff has been released recently. I'll link you to all the sites for the various covers and images.

Cover to Buffy #14 by Jon Foster [AWESOME RATING: 0/5. We don't even get a freaking face. There is nothing that separates this from any other comic cover. I was pleased with Foster's #12, but he's been turning out garbage ever since. Can't wait until Jo Chen comes back for #16.]

Variant Cover to Buffy #14 by Georges Jeanty [AWESOME RATING: 2/5. Why the same exact concept? Well, at least it isn't ugly. And we even get a face!]

A Page from Spike's "First Night" Story by David Messina [AWESOME RATING: 5/5. Messina's best work ever. I'm the first to point out how not-so-good his work on the earlier Angel comics has been, but this is a perfect page. One of the best I've seen from AFTER THE FALL, which is saying quite a lot. And the award for most improved goes tooooooo.... MR. MESSINA!!!!]

A Page from Wesley's "First Night" Story by Nick Runge [AWESOME RATING: 5Million/5. Okay, I'm biased. It's Wesley. It's Wesley and Fred. But damn that's a good page. DAMN that's a good page.]

A Page from Lorne's "First Night" Story by Jon Byrne (now in color, though the text is gone) [AWESOME RATING: 1/5. Byrne is famous and all, but I'm just not liking this page. The style is very cartoony, and though it is about Lorne...who is a singing green guy with horns... the style just doesn't fit ANGEL.)

The Cover to Angel #6 (the first part of "First Night") [AWESOME RATING: 4/5. When it's pared with the cover for #7, which is the other half of it, this is probably the best painted cover we've gotten from AFTER THE FALL so far.]

ALSO, big thing about "First Night." It's no longer just two issues. It will consist of THREE issues. That's right, "Angel: After the Fall 6-8" will be the First Night arc. For all those worrying that too much time will be spent AWAY from the main "After the Fall" story (left off in Issue #5), I wouldn't worry. Chris Ryall has stated that "After the Fall #9," the one picking up on the main story will likely be released TWO WEEKS (not a month) after #8, which will conclude the "First Night" arc.

For anyone interested in the SLAYALIVE Angel Interaction contest, keep checking out the site. The cover for #6 will be revealed soon, according to CowboyGuy, the site moderator.

Some stuff coming soon on this site will be:

+ A review of the "Shadow Puppets" TPB.
+ A huge list of videos of Buffyverse related people and other comic reviews.
+ A review of TFAW's "Nick and Dent" program
+ *crosses fingers* The review for After the Fall #4.

Let's take a minute...

Let's take a minute to reflect on what's coming up this year, because... a whole lotta stuff is on the way.

+ Buffy Omnibus, Volume Three... it's out already. It wasn't advertised that well, since Dark Horse is STILL saying it came out two days ago. Well, seeing as I got it a week ago, that is false. Also, I got it in a major book store chain, and those always get trade paperbacks delivered AFTER comic shops do. So, I'd wager the omnibus came out January 17th in comic shops and the following Friday in bookstores. Thanks, Dark Horse. They're on top of their game with comic release dates, but they've been horrible with trade paperback dates. They gave us an ever-changing and ultimately WRONG release date for the "The Long Way Home" TPB and now this? Come on, guys... If I hadn't stopped to put the Buffy TPBs in order (OCD?) at the bookstore, I would have NEVER noticed the "Volume 3" on the bottom of the book.

NOTE: TFAW says it was released the 10th... but they're hardly ever right. They've been consistently saying that the "After the Fall" comics come out a week later than they have been.

That being said, let's get into upcoming dates you'll want to remember.

Feb 6th: Buffy, Season Eight #11: A Beautiful Sunset
*Feb 20th: Angel, After the Fall #4
Mar 5th: Buffy, Season Eight #12: Wolves at the Gate, part I
*Mar 19th: Angel, After the Fall #5
Apr 2nd: Buffy, Season Eight #13: Wolves at the Gate, part II
Apr 16th: Angel, After the Fall #6: First Night, Part I
May 5th: Buffy Omnibus: Volume Four
June 4th: BtVS Season Eight, Volume Two: No Future For You TPB

*tentative, based on how they have been released thus far

Other small tidbits of news...

1. It looks like the After the Fall story arc-within-a-series "First Night" is going to be expanded. On his blog, Chris Ryall said that it started as a standalone, expanded into a two-issue story arc, and now looks like it is going to be three issues. The comic details what happened to the characters on their first night in Hell. Ryall said that "After the Fall #9" will go back to the main plot we've been reading about in Issues 1-5. He also went on to say that, so we won't be away from the main plot for that long, the 9th issue will likely be released TWO WEEKS after the 8th issue (which will conclude the First Night arc), instead of one month.

2. Pre-order Brian Lynch's new comic miniseries "Everybody's Dead" here.

3. Dark Horse has advised comic shops to order more copies of Buffy #12 because something huge will happen in that issue. Anyone who wants to discuss what they think this is can do so in the COMMENTS section. Except don't say things like "Buffy will be sired!" Intelligent theories only. Truly, why would Joss vamp Buffy when he and Brian just vamped Gunn! It would be the same story. Other than that, discuss away!

Sorry, I'm late.

Been slacking with the postage.

Covers for Buffy #13

First one is by Foster, the second is by Jeanty. You probably already knew that though. If you didn't, get wittit!

Covers for Angel #5

First is by Rebecca Wringley, and it's her first cover. Second is by--of course--Franco Urru, AKA the MAN.

BLUBS FOR Buffy #13: Drew Goddard (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Lost, and the writer of Cloverfield), continues his story arc "Wolves at the Gate," which has Buffy and the gang fighting a team of über vamps in Tokyo. In order to better understand their mysterious new foes, Xander must recruit an old ally to join in their cause to defeat this new danger.

BLURB FOR Angel #5: Everything he had was taken away from him. But now, in his darkest hour, Angel is taking it back. The battle lines are drawn, sides are chosen, and Angel takes a stand that will change everything and everyone close to him. Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch and Franco Urru bring you the official continuation of the Angel TV series! Rogue Angel cover artist Rebecca Wrigley supplies a variant cover.

---------

Alrighty. We've seen a lot of folks doing Buffyverse covers. From Jo Chen, to Georges Jeanty, to Paul Lee, Tony Harris, Andrew Robinson, Franco Urru, and now Rebecca Wringley. Jo Chen is pretty much unquestionably the best at covers, but--for now--she's gone. Luckily, going by what Joss said, she'll be back after "Wolves at the Gate." I liked Jon Foster's cover for #11 and loved his #12, but this #13... really fell flat. Kinda even pissed me off. That looks absolutely nothing like Xander. One of the most exciting things about these comics is waiting to see the new covers, and this #13 by Foster is the first "main" cover that I outright dislike.

Now... the Angel cover situation. Franco Urru went from 'variant' cover artist to main cover artist, because he's just that badass. His covers aren't painted, but they're just as attractive as if they were. But... After Harris left, the painted covers haven't been that high in quality. Robinson's first cover (his #3, featuring Illyria) is good. I put it as my desktop in anticipation for Wednesday, but... the fact that he had to paint Illyria's name into the cover STILL irks me. If it was an Illyria one-shot, by all means... But it's kinda like he's reminding us who she is. But, other than that tiny quibble, nothing annoyed me. Until his cover for #4. Nice use of colors, but... Huh? Really? I know it's dream-like, but Angel looks like he's wearing skiis. And why is Angel suddenly, you know, Ricky Martin? Don't get it. But we needn't fret, the painted cover for #5 was better. Wringley handled this one and as I said, it was better than #4, but *still* not what I'd expect from someone given the responsibility of creating a cover for such an epic series by Lynch and Urru. I don't know if it's the colors or the grittiness of the cover, but... Angel doesn't look like Angel and Spike looks like Eminem...

But I'm just bitching. What I am glad about is that each issue has at least one good cover. This Wednesday, Angel #3 has that badass Franco cover. The next two Franco covers are also amazing. For the upcoming Buffy #11, I'd say go with Jeanty's if you have to pick, but for #12 definitely get the Foster. Back to Jeanty for #13, though.

See ya'll on Wednesday.

And The Award Goes To...

So the first poll is closed. The best Buffyverse arc of the year, according to a whopping 38% of the voters, is "No Future For You." Congratulations, all of those who worked hard on this arc, as I am about to present you with the shittiest award you will ever, ever get. I wish I was able to give you a big shiny trophy like you deserve, but I am a lowly peasant, with limited paint skills and limited time.... skills. So I take pride in the shittiness of the award, because it was actually... really fun to make. Please, inform me if anyone is ever to present you with a shittiER award, as I will make it my life's purpose to outshit them. In a not stinky way.

















Click and enjoy a larger version of this award that reeks of painted shittiness.

NOW. In other news.

The trade paperback for "Spike: Shadow Puppets" is out today. While I was unable to get it due to the fact that my LCS didn't order it, I do know that it is packed with extras, including the "Brian Lynch Commentary" stuff we got with "Asylum." It's pretty much what we wanted from the extras in the Buffy TPB and didn't get. Brian Lynch is to us as Aladdin is to those poor people he throws gold to in the scene where he sings about being a prince. He just keeps on giving and giving and giving. Hopefully, Dark Horse takes note of how COOL Lynch's extras are and gives us some Buffy extras next time.

Speaking of Lynch, we've got a release date for the next two "After the Fall" comics.

December 19th (only a week from today): #2

January 16th: #3

And apparently, we'll be able to see the cover to #5 once #2 is released. From the way Brian and (I believe) Ryall have been talking about it, it's going to make us squint because of the awesome radiating off of it. Perhaps we'll have to look at it through that bendy thing people look at eclipses through so we don't hurt our eyes. Hell, I'm just glad Franco is so awesome at covers, because the Robinson's cover to #4? Not so impressive:





















On that note, I'm going to bow out with this...


TOMORROW: New poll. Please vote.

TOMORROW: Bad ass post concerning Season Eight. Tune in. Except... you know. Don't tune as much as click.

INFLUX of Joss Whedon News

First of all, to your left is the variant cover to Buffy #11. Buffy and Satsu, taking on some evil. This issue is supposedly going to be the one that reveals the real big bad of the season.

+ I'm sure you've heard, and I feel a bit silly for posting--as, again, I'm sure you all know--but there is going to be a new show created and executive produced by Joss Whedon (and starring Eliza Dushku). It's called Dollhouse, and you can find out more about it right here. From now on, as news of the show comes in, I'll post updates.

+ A much more complete preview (seven pages) of Issue #8, which comes out this Wednesday (that's five days, guys.) Check it out here.

+ I have a copy of "The Long Way Home" trade paperback, and will be reviewing it shortly. Contrary to popular belief--both Whedonesque and Dark Horse--the trade paperback actually hit stores Wednesday the 24th, not two days ago. I've had ample time to check it out, but haven't gotten the chance to review as of yet. I'll post one up tomorrow.

+ Again, I apologize for the non-postage that I've been doing of late. Things have been hectic over here (school/ writing my novel/ trying to get my other novel published/ the job that actually puts money in my pocket/ trying to memorize a section of The Canterbury Tales/ reading, of course/ social life (which has taken a major blow from school & work/ EEEEEK!), but since November is the BIGGEST MONTH EVER (Buffy #8 and AFTER THE FREAKING FALL), I'm sure you'll be hearing more of me than you want to.

+ The next post will be about my little awards thing I mentioned before.

RELEASE DATE for Angel

Angel: After the Fall #1 Comes out on NOVEMBER 21st.

29 Days Until Angel: ATF

Title of #10, TBP News, and After the Fall bit

Buffy: Season Eight #10 (the standalone by Joss Whedon) is called "Anywhere But Here." A bigger version of the variant cover than we've seen thus far is to the side of this post. Very clickable.

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The way things are looking "The Long Way Home" trade paperback is going to come out tomorrow. It might be released Thursday if the Monday holiday affected shipping, but the way things are looking, it should be in our hands tomorrow. It has that awesome Jo Chen cover, a killer layout, and hopefully a few 'special features.' It collects the first five issues of Season Eight. I'll post a review of the TPB as soon as I get my hands on it.

NOTE: I don't want to disappoint, but it looks like the TPB might be delayed to October 17th. Shit.

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Follow the link to get a preview of Buffy: Season Eight #8. It's a bit shorter than usual, but hey. It's still new stuff: http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/preview.php?theid=14-664

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"First Night", the first standalone of "Angel: After the Fall," will tell us what happened to the side characters directly following the "Not Fade Away" cliff hanger. Looks like we'll finally see what happened in that alley.

Horray, much?

It was originally implied that there would be a break between issues #9 and #10 of Buffy. Turns out? Not so much.

Buffy: Season Eight #10 (Standalone written by Joss Whedon, pencils by Cliff Richards)

BLURB: Buffy and Willow meet a demon who reveals a dim future, forcing the two to reflect on their past. Meanwhile, back in Scotland, Dawn confides in Xander the deed that led to her mysterious growth spurt.

The Jo Chen cover is right to the side. The Jeanty variant was posted a few entries ago. It doesn't look like we'll be getting an extra rare cover from Cliff Richards the way we got the Paul Lee one for "The Chain", but one can hope.

JANUARY 2nd, 2008

No title, yet.