Buffy : Season 9

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 didn’t end on the happiest of notes, with Giles biting the dust and Buffy forced to make a choice that caused all magic to leak out of the world. Now the entire community of de-powered Slayers and witches hate her. I expected Season 9 to get off to a fairly depressing start given these recent developments. But while there’s a certain air of melancholy to Buffy’s life currently, the debut issue of Season 9 is surprisingly entertaining and even downright humorous at times.

Joss Whedon offers up a characteristically fractured narrative as his script bounces between the night of a big reunion party for Buffy and the gang and the awkward morning after. This structure could have proven confusing, but thankfully, colorist Michelle Madson alternates between normal and subdued hues in order to denote the shifting chronology. This is the most impressive aspect of the art. Penciler Georges Jeanty isn’t at his strongest here. His facial work isn’t consistent enough for the many dialogue-driven scenes, and his detail falls out whenever the story shifts to less intimate settings. Sister series Angel & Faith has the clear edge in terms of visuals so far.

But the script definitely satisfies even after the long gap between seasons 8 and 9. Season 8 grew a little too goofy and chaotic for its own good by the end, and season 9 is a much-needed return to normalcy. That’s not to say there aren’t scenes of outlandish monsters and supernatural conspiracy, but it’s all tempered by a great deal of ordinary human drama and character relationships. Joss Whedon’s impeccably honed dialogue and quips are readily apparent throughout. At its best, the Buffy comics have read just like lost episodes of the show with unlimited budgets. That’s never more true than when Whedon is at the helm.

It’ll be interesting to see how well that quality holds over the long-term. Whedon is credited as the sole writer for this issue, but he’ll generally be co-writing the series with Andrew Chambliss. Will the quality of the writing hold steady once this new arrangement begins? That’s the $64,000 question right now.