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Addicted Fan
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 4,319
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Two Buffy # 23 reviews.I should have my copy tomorrow.Can't wait for the weekend since Maryland(where I am) is going to be hit by that big snow storm.
Comic Book Review: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10 #23 | Geeked Out Nation
Comic Book Review: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10 #23
by Jideobi Odunze
It has been an intriguing conflict with the Mistress, Sculptor, and Soul Glutton. Indirect assaults, and a lot of it forcing the gang to confront what they bring to the table in order to combat against them. The previous issue of Buffy dove into Willow’s place amongst all this chaos which meant striking a balance between magic and science. This issue seems to take a different direction as finding ones place might also come with falling back to old unfavorable habits.
That person who this issue focuses on is Andrew. Like Willow, he has a lot to offer though hasn’t been fully utilized in some time. Him more than anyone else as someone who usually drifts to the background considering he doesn’t live with the other Scoobies either. The Sculptor makes a tempting offer to Andrew that requires a smidgen of Buffy betrayal. Now some may look at this as nothing new for Andrew, though with everything we have been through so far, it feels fitting to still have a character who you would consider a wildcard. Could it be someone else? Sure. Though this is Andrew’s bread and butter, especially with the proper motivation. He is someone who always has the best of intentions even if how he goes about them are wrong. So we follow him to see just how wrong things can go for either him or Buffy, or if he might just change his ways. What actually happens was truly a shocker.
The big thing about this story arc is that the Scoobies are either growing up or they are growing apart. Everyone has a solution to the problem, and this is not the same group who will just simply follow one leader. We see a lot more of that in this issue as the constant invasions have begun to put everyone on edge. It is only unfortunate that it is Buffy who seems to struggle most with change in the face of this danger. Having said this, it shows how far all of the Scoobies have come that they can sit down and make those big decisions they wouldn’t have dreamed of before. One character makes one which no one saw coming, and it will be interesting to see what kind of development will come out of it.
As well as personal development goes, it was good to see the importance of the Book of Vampyr come back into play. This is something which has been a huge anchor for change with season 10 and what could make or break the good the Scoobies have done over the years.
This was one of those more heavily character focused issues where it was important to show what these characters are going through. As stated before, Megan Levens excels at bringing out those character emotions and expressions which are necessary for a series like this. Especially at such a sensitive point in time for everyone. They’re frustrated with how little of an impact they were making to stop all these invasions. They’re frustrated with each other because they all have their way about dealing with the problem. Then they all have their own personal issues to work out in-between all of that. So you can see where there is so much room to visually capture these big moments, and that is priority when we as readers need to believe what is happening. There are books out there a reader can relate to, though Buffy The Vampire Slayer is as genuine as it gets with normal people fitting into a supernatural world. The colors were on point as well because there were so many different races present just from the council and it is always the colors which will bring out those fantasy elements needed to breathe life into them. Particularly as far as magic is concerned. And you definitely want to see what Dan Jackson can do with what the council will soon be capable of.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 10 #23 was big for Andrew, though also for many others as well. As focused as things seemed they would be towards Andrew, it was the smart decision to make sure there was a balance in everyone else’s story that is connected to the choices he makes.
Buffy Season 10 Issue #23: In Pieces on the Ground Part Three Review
Buffy Season 10 Issue #23: In Pieces on the Ground Part Three Review
Posted by Kory Cerjak
January 20, 2016
This issue title is foreboding…
Creative Staff:
Script: Christos Cage
Art: Megan Levens
Colors: Dan Jackson
Letters: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
What They Say:
“In Pieces on the Ground Part Three”
The Restless Door, a powerful artifact with the ability to create portals to any dimension, has fallen into the hands of the Mistress, the Sculptor, and the Soul Glutton. While the trio of Big Bads is opening portals around the globe, bringing dangerous demons to earth, Buffy and the Scoobies are struggling to fight this demon world war. They are also struggling to get along, disagreeing about how to solve the problem…They might just be growing up…or apart.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
There’s nothing REALLY good going on in Buffy-land. I mean, not that there every really is to a certain extent, but any good is outweighed by bad by a large margin. They gave the Magic Council special powers that apply to the individual members who hold seat on the council, Buffy and Willow are still bickering, and Andrew is back with a guilty conscious over Jonathan (I suppose because the former killed the latter).
Nothing is great, but nothing is really bad either. Buffy is dealing with more internal strife and the constant fear of attack from an outside force. It’s like the United States, but things actually do attack on a regular basis. And they’re taking up a bunch of resources to fight off and it’s tiring everyone out. They’re now allocating resources in a logical manner and using the resources they have to the best of their ability instead of crippling themselves by some sort of moral stance they feel they must take. Whoa, the parallels.
In all seriousness, the core in this issue—and in this series of stories—has been the characters, this time Andrew. For years he’s been trying to make up for the stupid mistakes he makes. He tried to bring Jonathan back and beefed himself up and did a slew of other things that I can barely even remember they’re so plentiful. And he’s finally realized that the old adage “two wrongs don’t make a right” rings truer than ever in real life than it does in any fiction.
In Summary:
These characters are learning more than they ever had fighting monsters, and they’re fighting monsters doing it. The issue paralleled itself with Buff and Willow bickering at the beginning and working together like always at the end. Because these bonds can be bent as far back as a limbo champion, but they will never break. They’ve lived together through, for some of them, literally two lives. They’ll die together when the time comes.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A-
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: January 20th, 2015
MSRP: $3.50
Some tweets from Christos Gage indicates the plan is to do a Buffy Season 11.
https://twitter.com/Christosgage/with_replies?lang=en
Christos Gage @Christosgage · 8h8 hours ago
TODAY! Buffy #23! We are headed down the road to the grand finale, people!
Jessica @jessicatNY · 8h8 hours ago New York, USA
@Christosgage Finale?
Christos Gage @Christosgage · 8h8 hours ago
@jessicatNY Season finale. Not series.
Black Widower @William_Spike · 7h7 hours ago
@Christosgage @jessicatNY so Season 11 is definitely happening??
Christos Gage @Christosgage · 7h7 hours ago
@William_Spike @jessicatNY As of right now, yes.
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