Attempting a Season 8 Re-Read and already giving up

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Also, S8 did have a motion comic, which are weird little relics of the 2010s, like an audiobook, but with weird puppets from comic panels. This only covers the first half of the season, and like 30 dollars on streaming,

 

[garfan]

Ah yes, the Seed of Wonder. To be fair, getting rid of all magic in the universe is the ultimate admission that you overused the concept and are so creatively bankrupt that nuking a core concept is the best you can do. Which means they kind of agree with us.

I think it was more about Joss wanting to give the Scoobies a loss

 

[NoShip]

I think it was more about Joss wanting to give the Scoobies a loss

I agree. I also think that Whedon believed that he was just better than his audience. Thus the "Give the audience what they need, not what they want" arrogance.

 

[Btvs fan]

I agree. I also think that Whedon believed that he was just better than his audience. Thus the "Give the audience what they need, not what they want" arrogance.

I dont think it was even that, i think simply Joss was bored of Buffy leading a Army of Slayers and so pressed the reset button. Ala Buffy is now balancing her job making coffee at Starbucks with life as a Slayer. As for the rest of the Slayers they basically got abandoned because he had no more use for them

 

[garfan]

I dont think it was even that, i think simply Joss was bored of Buffy leading a Army of Slayers and so pressed the reset button. Ala Buffy is now balancing her job making coffee at Starbucks with life as a Slayer. As for the rest of the Slayers they basically got abandoned because he had no more use for them

well, only partly. Fray had already been written by this point and season 8 was the story that made that story possible

 

[Cohen]

I liked Billy Lane feeling a connection to the slayer line and training himself to be a slayer. But I think most of his arc was written by Espensen and then when he wasn’t novel anymore and when Espensen left the writing team, he was sent packing. 😩

 

[hoponlilmama]

I haven't read through this thread, but all I'll say is this:

For anyone who chooses to read the comics, I hope they enjoy them! Truly. I hope they love reading the stories. Me? The BTVS/AtS universe ended in 2003/2004.

They're so far removed from what we know watching the series, they're not canon to me at all. From the cliff notes I've read about them - pass. Spike in outer space? Something about bugs? Giles becoming a child again?

Again, no offense intended who loves the comics. But if you have to try and force yourself to read them, that's probably a sign to not continue.

I'll take re-watching and fic for my BTVS/AtS fix.

 

[Cohen]

I agree the comics are Joss’ fanfic but the storylines just aren’t Buffy as we know it. And it seems that if there was ever a new series made it would pick up after the finale of Angel.

 

[garfan]

I agree the comics are Joss’ fanfic but the storylines just aren’t Buffy as we know it. And it seems that if there was ever a new series made it would pick up after the finale of Angel.

He has no budget limit and no performer pushback

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Also, S8 did have a motion comic...

I was gifted that on DVD, but it won't play on my DVD player so I've never watched it.

Yeah, I gave up on my re-read too. It's just too strange. I may attempt to re-read S9 next. I think I have at least the first few issues...

 

[XanderesqueMan]

I am a huge comic book fan. I've been reading them since I was eight years old, and though I don't care for most of the comics from the Big 2 (Marvel and DC) the last fifteen years, there are enough classic stories to keep me reading them 'til the day I die.

And I never cared for the season eight comics. They have their moments (Giles and Faith were, as some people pointed out, great together, for instance), but overall remain a chaotic mess with no restraint and too many out-of-character moments.

If you're looking for a post-Buffy comic that I personally think is fantastic, I highly recommend Fray. It's set far into the future, its protagonist, Mel, is extremely likeable (to me anyway), and it has some interesting additions to the mythology (that I won't spoil here in case you do decide to read it.) Oh, and I love Karl Molina's art on the book. It's eight issues, if I recall correctly, and you can pick up a trade paperback collected edition for not too much if you just want to read it all in one place.

 

[XanderesqueMan]

I've read a lot of comics I enjoyed to.

See? I knew you knew the difference between right and wrong. Well, if you ever want some recommendations, or to talk about stuff you've liked, feel free to message me.

I even took a graphic fiction class in college.

Oh, that's cool. Were you planning on doing something with it career-wise, or was it more of a side interest?

But I agree the Buffy comics leave a lot to de desired. Have you read past 8?

I've read a little bit of Angel: After the Fall, which I didn't care for, the least of which was because of it clashing with series canon, the Fray crossover into Buffy's comics, because it had Mel in it (which raised the quality enough for me to finish it but was not without its moments of bad writing),.and the first chunk of Angel & Faith (eleven or twelve issues at the time, I think), which I found better than Season 8 or After the Fall, but still not up to par with Fray. Still, I think the writing benefited a lot more from good handling of the chemistry between Faith and Angel. This is a far off memory, though, so don't take it for gospel. I just remember having enjoyed it more, not much in the way of details.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

See? I knew you knew the difference between right and wrong. Well, if you ever want some recommendations, or to talk about stuff you've liked, feel free to message me.

For sure!

Oh, that's cool. Were you planning on doing something with it career-wise, or was it more of a side interest?

Well, I have two degrees. One in english literature and one in theatre management. The class was an elective for my degree 😃

I've read a little bit of Angel: After the Fall, which I didn't care for, the least of which was because of it clashing with series canon, the Fray crossover into Buffy's comics, because it had Mel in it (which raised the quality enough for me to finish it but was not without its moments of bad writing),.and the first chunk of Angel & Faith (eleven or twelve issues at the time, I think), which I found better than Season 8 or After the Fall, but still not up to par with Fray. Still, I think the writing benefited a lot more from good handling of the chemistry between Faith and Angel. This is a far off memory, though, so don't take it for gospel. I just remember having enjoyed it more, not much in the way of details.

Angel after the fall is not bad. I have not read Fray. I should. I only read the Buffy comics so I could keep up with the story since they're canon...but I admit to reading some summeries for some issues instead lol.

 

[XanderesqueMan]

Well, I have two degrees. One in english literature and one in theatre management. The class was an elective for my degree 😃

Oh, okay. I never made it to college, but if I had, English literature was one of the things I would have pursued. I want to be a writer, so it's a natural choice to study literature (and probably film.)

I have not read Fray. I should.

I agree. But you know that. 🙂

I only read the Buffy comics so I could keep up with the story since they're canon...but I admit to reading some summeries for some issues instead lol.

Yeah, I get that. I know they're supposed to be canon, but the franchise ends with Buffy season seven and Angel season five as far as I'm concerned.

Even Joss seemed to acknowledge that they had messed up to some degree or another with the "open letter" he wrote in season eight's finale —

"So, our endless season ends. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve thrown up a little in our mouths, but most of all we’ve learned. Not you guys—us. We’ve learned what you like, what you don’t, how this TV show translated to the world of comics, and how it didn’t quite. We’ve lost a few fans along the way and, hopefully, gained a few. I can’t say exactly how much has changed, in our lives or our work. The only thing that’s certain is this: all of us involved in this venture, without exception, have weirder-looking hair.

If you’ve read this issue, you’ve got a sense of where we’re heading for Season 9. Back, a bit, to the everyday trials that made Buffy more than a superhero. That made her us. I was so excited to finally have an unlimited budget that I wanted to make the book an epic, but I realized along the way that the things I loved the best were the things you loved the best: the peeps. The down-to-earth, recognizable people. And Mecha-Dawn. (She has a tail!) So that’s what we’ll try to evoke next season—along with the usual perils, and a few new ones, of course.

Every season of Buffy had a different intent, and a different set of challenges, from which to build. The biggest challenge in Season 8 was that many years ago I wrote a Slayer comic and set it in the far future so that it could never affect Buffy’s life. I was so young. But the challenge of reconciling the optimistic, empowering message of the final episode with the dystopian, Slayerless vision of Fray’s future gave Season 8 a genuine weight.

The mission was to deal with the consequences of Buffy and Willow’s empowering spell (the good and the terrible), steer toward a possible Fray future without undoing all the good Buffy had done (the girls still have their power), and tee us up for a very different Season 9. Some adjustments had to be made along the way, particularly when I completely changed my plan for Season 9. I changed it for the reasons stated above. No matter how interesting the world stage or mystical dimensions can be, Buffy’s best when she’s walking that alley, dusting vamps, and nursing a pouty heart.

We’re not going back to square one, but our square will definitely have a oneishness to it. It should be nice, after the wild ride that was Season 8—not always perfect, but made with love and delight that I think shine through."

P.S. I was just thinking, in terms of Buffy comics, I've also read some of the Buffy Classic line from Dark Horse Comics in the 90s and early 2000s. And some of the Tales of the Slayer (which includes a Fray story in it.) Those were much better than the season eight onward comics we got.