Buffy The Vampire Slayer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — He wasn’t a fan when the show was on the air, but Georges Jeanty loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer now.

Jeanty, who had never watched the show through its seven seasons on The WB and UPN, was Buffy creator Joss Whedon’s hand-picked selection as artist for Dark Horse Comics’ upcoming Buffy series, which serves as a "Season 8," picking up where the show ended on UPN.

"They were nice enough to send me the DVDs from the last two seasons," Jeanty told the Continuum. "And I really missed out on something, how good it actually is and how comic-related it is."

Jeanty, currently working on The American Way for WildStorm, has never worked with Dark Horse. He received an e-mail from editor Scott Allie that got the ball rolling.

"He said that Joss wanted me for the book," Jeanty said. "I really couldn’t believe it until I got an e-mail from Joss, saying he liked my work. He’s a comics guy and mentioned he liked my stuff on Bishop."

Jeanty said he will be using likenesses for the series, which presents a challenge.

"It’s hard, only because if you nail the likenesses and that makes it look like a photograph," Jeanty said. "And a photograph is a still image. With story-telling, you have to create the illusion of movement.

"So hopefully I can keep the comic-book element and find a happy medium."

Jeanty said Buffy will probably be a series of mini-series. He said he isn’t sure when the book will be scheduled.

"Dark Horse would love to have it for the holidays, and I think it would be perfect for Halloween," he said.