Buffy The Vampire Slayer

You thought the story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended with the TV show? Think again! This March, your favorite slayer returns for “Season Eight,” in a new series from Dark Horse Comics written by the television series’ creator, Joss Whedon!

Whedon will return to his cult-classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer with superstar artist Georges Jeanty. The series will follow in the tradition of the television show by running in “seasons,” with a host of smaller arcs within.

The first four-issue arc picks up hot on the heels of where Buffy and the gang left off, answering some old questions and creating new ones.

“The first issue pretty much just deals with Buffy as we’re coming into her life. Xander is there and he’s still by Buffy’s side, he’s the loyal friend after all,” explained Jeanty. “The characters are still the same ones you remember from the show-they’re in a different space now that Sunnydale has been destroyed, but they have moved on. They’ve left their old life far behind. Really far.”

“If you liked the series, you’re gonna like the comic,” said Jeanty. “It’s that same great Joss Whedon, writing a character I personally feel he’s had a crush on all his life, with a budget that’s unlimited for locations, special effects, etc.”

At the end of the TV series, the “Buffy-verse” increased its slayer population by virtually every female in the world. Jeanty confirms the new series will definitely tackle the she-slayers.

“Oh, it addresses [the multiple slayers], all right,” hinted Jeanty. “The world has changed, as we saw in the last episode of Season Seven. It’s only natural that the story continues in ‘Season Eight.’ You’ll meet a lot of cool characters that are unique in such a way that only Joss can write them. I love reading the scripts because Joss is writing full scripts, so it’s just like reading a teleplay for one of the episodes.

“For that time I’m reading the scripts, I feel like I’m in a really exclusive club where a handful of people and I are the only ones who know what’s going to happen,” laughed Jeanty.

Jeanty reveals he wasn’t a Buffy fan from the beginning, but he would later find himself hitching a ride to Sunnydale.

“I hate to admit this, but I was never a Buffy fan when it was on TV,” said Jeanty. “I had never seen an episode all the way through. Wait, that’s not true: I did see the episode that John Ritter was on, but that was mostly because I was a John Ritter fan.

“I did see the movie and liked it to some degree, but that was probably due to Kristy Swanson-all of the closet ‘Deadly Friend’ fans unite,” laughed Jeanty.

After watching a few seasons of the Buffy TV series, Jeanty got a hint of Whedon’s writing magic, and he soon realized why fans clamored for the cult heroine.

“I have to say I found myself engaged, enthralled, surprised and hurt with the show,” confessed Jeanty. “Buffy is so good that it evokes all of these feelings from you, and when you can do that, I think you’ve got a fan for life.”

In his art, Jeanty treats his pencil like a stake to get right to the heart of the title character.

“I really like drawing Buffy,” gushed Jeanty. “I’m trying to give her a ‘real-person’ look and not make it seem that she’s a comic heroine just because she’s in a comic book. What I mean is, she’s not busty and 8 feet tall. I think Joss would kill me if I did that!”

“She’s a girl and girls wear girl clothes,” continued Jeanty, “so clothing lines like Guess and Wet Seal have become my new best friends.

“I’m hoping if you believe in how Buffy looks in the way she’s drawn, you’ll get the same vibe as you did in the TV series when she’s coming up against a monster three times her size in the comic,” added Jeanty.

For Jeanty, Buffy is more than a character with heart-stopping good looks who kicks ass. She’s also a pioneer.

“Joss has said this: Buffy as a character was something you weren’t seeing as much at the time with all the testosterone-driven, badass mercenaries who, it seemed, were the best there is at what they do,” explained Jeanty.

“Here you had this incredibly cute girl who would be right at home on the cheerleading squad as well as kicking some demon ass,” said Jeanty. “She personifies strength without being overbearing. She imbues hope to anyone who ever felt vulnerable, and manages to do all this, more often than not, in pumps! How can you not dig her?”