Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Comic Book Review: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SEASON EIGHT - # 1

A fantastic start that only makes one salivate for what is to come GRADE: A

STARS: Buffy and the gang

WRITER: Joss Whedon , Penciler: Georges Jeanty, Inker: Andy Owens

DISTRIBUTOR: Dark Horse Comics

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON EIGHT. Never thought you’d hear those words outside of fan fic? Well, neither did I. When BUFFY ended and all went their respective ways, it seemed that one of the most fun and engaging shows on TV had passed quietly into the twilight. Fans kept the show alive with conventions and new toys kept coming from Diamond Select, as well as a crop of novels based on the series, but nothing from creator Joss Whedon’s camp. When was THE JOSS (as I have decided to call him) going to come down from the mount and deliver a new batch of sermons about our favorite slayer...or even a new batch of sermons about the Scooby Gang? Give me something damn it!

Now, all of the other fans and I can breathe a collective sigh of relief on March 7th, because BUFFY is back and just as fun as ever. Sure, it’s only in comic book form, and it’s not a new season of the show on TV, but THE JOSS writes it, and now there are no time, budget, or actor scheduling constraints to the stories that are being told.

BUFFY: SEASON EIGHT picks up literally after a summer hiatus just as the show would. The story has moved forward and there are new characters and situations to be dealt with. Buffy, now has to contend with the fact that she and her friends changed the world by activating the whole of the “potential slayer” body of girls and women in the world. Keep in mind, during season seven, the Watcher’s Council was destroyed and in the final battle with The First, Sunnydale ceased to exist and became a huge crater. All of these things are addressed when we return to the series in comic book form.

I’m going to try and keep this review as “spoiler” free as possible and let everyone just get a taste of what they can expect coming up in a couple of weeks at their local comic store, so don’t bail because you think I will reveal some HUGE secret.

This issue takes place after the events of ANGEL Season Five “The Girl in Question”. Buffy and Xander are featured in this issue, but we haven’t seen Giles and Willow thus far. I’m guessing they’re off dealing with other things at the moment and will be in the storyline soon enough. Dawn is having big drama (as usual) and is undergoing some changes herself (let’s just say she has a GIANT problem). Whedon has crafted character dialogue in the comic that is so utterly perfect; you can hear the voices of the actors in your head while you read it.

The military is involved (think Initiative), there is a quick return to Sunnydale, and the reappearance of a couple of characters that we haven’t seen in awhile. As comic books are so fond of saying, “don’t you dare skip to the last page!”

This issue is a great read, and the art is exceptional. Whedon’s writing is as strong as ever, and I can’t wait to see where SEASON EIGHT is going to go. I’m hoping that at least in comics we can have a continuing storyline for Buffy and crew that is creator approved and considered cannon. Plus I hope this is just the first of many new “seasons” ahead.