Buffy : Season 8

With the recent release of a new Serenity book ("Float Out") and the up-coming Riley one-shot and Joss’ finale on Buffy Season 8 on the horizon, I thought it was fitting to touch base with editor Scott Allie. Scott was gracious enough to answer a few questions from me and a few SlayAlive members. Onward then...

Having read “Float Out” several times over to fully appreciate it, I found it to be a fitting and somewhat sentimental nod towards one of the most beloved Whedonverse characters. Through the tales of these three men, we’re reminded once more of the fine qualities that Wash possessed: he was brave, resourceful, a leaf on the wind, and devotedly loyal to his friends. That’s my fanboy perspective.

However, from the production point of view, why this story now? “Float Out” is the first story set in the post-Serenity world, and with that closing image, it leads to the obvious fan conclusion that there must be more to come. I mean, the image of Zoe standing proudly with her swollen baby bump, proclaiming that their daughter would inherit her father’s qualities kinda blurs the line between metaphor and literal there; that a new future is afoot. Will we be seeing more of the ‘verse soon, excluding “A Shepherd’s Tale”?

SA: Somebody better spoiler-warn these questions, or there’ll be hell to pay. The simple answer to why now is that we were excited to work with Patton, and this was Joss’s favorite of the couple of ideas Patton pitched him. A reflection on Wash from the POV of characters you’ve never met before probably does not satisfy the jones that hardcore Browncoats have been feeling since "Better Days". But that wasn’t the job we set out to do here. The job here was to do a good comic, good art, good writing, and I’m happy with what we’ve done in that regard. Everyone nailed it. I do love that we’ve moved the story of Serenity forward for the first time in a number of years, and that it opens the door for future stories.

Along those lines, since “Float Out” was originally an idea pitched by Patton Oswalt to Joss, did it just fall perfectly in line with what Joss imagined the future of the ‘verse would be? Has Joss shared his vision of the future of the Serenity franchise with you?

SA: Joss helped tailor Patton’s story to fit the overall vision. Joss was as hands on with this as with Season 8—so it’s a broad mix of Patton pitching a good idea, Joss giving Patton room to tell his story, and Joss massaging it a bit to get it to move the verse in the right direction. Joss and I have talked a lot about what to do next with Serenity, but our focus remains, right now, on big plans for Buffy. There’s not a grand scheme for Serenity right now, but I’m happy that in 2010 we’re eulogizing these two great characters, Book and Wash, and I hope that while launching Buffy Season 9 in 2011, we manage to take the next step with Serenity.

Backtracking a little, let’s talk about the narrative structure of previous Serenity comics. This one comes from Hellbound Hyperion. Before “Float Out”, we had two 3-part arcs. Has there been any talk about switching to an on-going structure rather than short arcs?

SA: When fans kicked up speculation that IDW would license Firefly from Fox for a monthly series, I asked Joss if he wanted us to do that, and he did not see that for Serenity at the time. Patton brought us a good story here. Joss had the Shepherd Book story that he wanted to tell. I’m going to put some more energy into bringing more stories to Joss in the future in the hopes that we find the thing that he wants to do.

As for one-shots, back at Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) 2010, you mentioned that there was a possibility of a Mal and Zoe one-shot in the future. Is that still a possibility? Given Patton’s adept handle of the characters, is it possible that he would land the gig, should that possibility become reality? (Thanks, VampSlayer)

SA: That was more me spitballing, throwing out examples of what could be done. I think someone asked if we were going to do one shots for each character, and I said no, not everyone would lend themselves to oneshots. Then again, who thought Wash would be the first oneshot we’d do. It’s all about finding the right story. But I think a flashback book of Mal and Zoe would be a no brainer, just like The Hero Of Canton is a no brainer. Why aren’t we doing a Jane ongoing …? As for Patton, we’ve talked about other stuff, but not specifically about him doing more Serenity. But shit … who’d be better to write my Hero Of Canton monthly series than Patton?

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