Buffy : Season 9

Chambliss Q&As. Twitter, Nov. 10th at 9am PT

Q.: Will there be further exploration of the vampire mythology (e.g. on siring) past this issue?

A.: Definitely be getting deeper into vamp mythology... there’s a big arc later in the season that deals with all things vamp

Q.: Question will Eldre Koh be a friend to Buffy throughout the series?

A.: Koh and Buffy are allies for the time being, but that doesn’t mean their alliances won’t have its bumps

Q.: Now that we know Drusilla’s in "Angel and Faith", will she crossover to "Buffy"?

A.: no plans to bring Drusilla to Buffy yet

Q.: Do you find it easier to write certain characters/stories than others? Faves?

A.: Every character has its fun and its challenges, but having particular fun with Spike and Andrew Oh, and I like writing the bugs on Spike’s bug ship! mucho fun

Q.: Any good news on Buffy and Spike relationship?

A.: We’ll definitely see Buffy and Spike figuring out where they stand... won’t say where that ends up though

Q.: If you could describe Buffy’s and Spike’s relationship in Season 9 in 1 word, what would it be?

A.: complicated

Q.: How much will "real life" interfere with Buffy’s life this season (i.e., trying to get to work on time, etc.)

A.: there will be "real life" interfering with Buffy’s Slaying. But really the problem is the other way round

Q.: We saw Simone at the end of season 8 on her way to San Francisco. Will she make her move soon?

A.: Simone went to SF for a reason and she still has an axe to grind. We’ll definitely end up seeing her again this season

Q.: Do you know if we’ll see zompires in Angel & Faith and have you talk to Christos Gage about it?

A.: zomps will be in Angel and Faith. We’ve had conversations to make sure we carry common elements through both books

Q.: Have you explored SF topography for season 9 purposes?

A.: have not been up since I started writing S9, but hope to get there soon. Lots of virtual vacations via wikipedia

Q.: I love Buffy’s SanFran roommates, any interesting plans for them in the future?

A.: Tumble and Anaheed will play a part in the season. Still lots for them to learn about Buffy

Q.: How do group of writers decide who’s going 2 do what? Is it by issue? Or storyline? Do U have rap sessions?

A.: we had a Buffy Summit at Joss’ house last Feb to brainstorm the season. Joss, the DH team and I e-mail a lot

Q.: Hey will issue 5 be a dream? A new Restless?

A.: safe to say issue 5 will have dream elements in it

Q.: Does that mean some of the elements of what’s happening in A&F carry on to Buffy’s too?

A.: yes, we’re working hard to keep both stories within a consistent world

Q.: Have to run so apologizing for asking two in a row...Will we get more of Eldre Koh’s story?

A.: we’ll learn about Koh over the season... expect it to be a slow burn

Q.: How often to you guys throw in "inside jokes" or bits of yourselves into the characters if at all?

A.: bits of us end up on the page all the time, usually without even realizing it until reading it later

Q.: What’s the biggest challenge of writing Season 9 of "Buffy" so far?

A.: as a new writer to Buffy, I think the most challenging thing was making sure I’m capturing the voice of the show

Q.: Have you been warned about the different ship factions from Scott Allie and Georges Jeanty? Especially the bad blood between Buffy/Angel & Buffy/Spike fans?

A.: we’ve talked about it but we find that it’s more productive to focus on telling the best story for the characters

Q.: Cavemen or Astronauts? No cheating, astronauts do not have weapons

A.: I fall squarely into the Caveman camp

Q.: Connor is showing up in Angel & Faith.Would you like to see him pop over to Buffy and have them finally meet?

A.: it would be fun to write Connor but we have no plans to do that as of now

Q.: will you be writing season9 exclusively the same way @Christosgage is writing A&F exclusively?

A.: I’ll be writing a lot of S9 but not all of it. Joss will be writing some when his schedule opens up. Also, @JaneEspenson and @DrewZachary will be stepping in to write a 2 issue arc Q.: In issue 2 Severin wears jewelry. Was it done to make him recognizable as the guy from issue 40?

A.: jewelry is not meant to make a connection. Sev’s just a fashionable guy

Q.: You mention not knowing some parts of the rest of Season 9. How much did you guys plan out of S9?

A.: all the major arcs are planned out in broad strokes. We’re filling in details as we progress through the season. We do know how the season is going to end. I can’t wait to get to that arc!

Q.: what issue are you writing right now (or what issue have you just finished writing?)

A.: I’m in the middle of writing #11 - should be finishing it up this week

Q.: Will we be seeing Andrew’s brother, Tucker Wells? There is still so much story there.

A.: sorry to say we won’t see Tucker but maybe all this Wells love means Andrew needs a spin-off series

Q.: Are Buffy’s feelings about Angel and Giles death going to be touched on?Both are big elephants aren’t they?

A.: Buffy can be very good at ignoring things she should be dealing with but she will have to come to terms with them

Q.: Will there be vengence demons?

A.: we will be wading into demon territory midway through the season. Vengence demons could be fun

Q.: Buffy#5 titled Slayer, Interrupted. Didn’t DH release a Buffy comic of the same name before?

A.: there was a trade paperback with the title a while ago, but the title fit the story so well we went with it

Q.: And how much is still left that you’re writing as you go?

A.: I generally write the issues 3-4 months before they come out... I think — it becomes a blur sometimes

Q.: And possibly a bit erm... #vengeful?? Losing the seed has to have hurt their lifestyle

A.: yep, we will def see how the loss of the seed has affected the demon population that is still left on earth

Q.: You writers continue to come up with brilliant ideas. Were all of the ideas made at the Summit? Or were some brought to the table from previous thought?

A.: the initial seed for everything came from the summit but a lot of ideas came out of e-mails and phone calls... ...between me, Joss and the DH editorial team (who are brilliant btw) there

was one great idea we’ll be using that @DrewZachary had always wanted to do on the series

Q.: If you work on season 10,who would you want to get their own monthly if they can?

A.: I’d love to write a Spike monthly. Willow would be fun, too

Q.: After 7 season on tv & one already in comics, is it hard to keep thing fresh in Buffy?

A.: what keeps Buffy fresh is that she’s growing up. Joss wants to take her new places instead of repeating the series

Q.: Have you guys ever talked about doing a season 10?

A.: we’re focused on S9 at the moment, but ideas always creep up about how current stories will shape future stories

Q: From what you wrote till now (#11), which is the most shocking issue ?

A: there’s lots of cool character development in 6-7 — spent a lot of time writing those

Q.: Are the zompires created by remote possession instead of physical like normal vamps? Issue 3 read that way.

A.: yep, demons can’t cross over to inhabit zompire bodies like they do with pre-seed vampires

Q.: I figured. Magic would’ve made most demons spoiled as hell, it’ll be fun to see how they’ve... ajusted.

A.: I’ll tell you that they all have adjusted as happily as other... oops "haven’t adjusted"... I need a proof reader!