[comic fan]

More season 12 art from Georges Jeanty for the next issue.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmHqJNVn...-by=kabalounge


kabaloungeFray just realized she’s in over her head in the next installment of Buffy Season 12.

[comic fan]

Preview Pages For Buffy S12 # 3.

The Comic Slayer

[comic fan]

FOX pulled Buffy from Dark Horse Confirmed.

https://www.cbr.com/exclusive-fox-pu...om-dark-horse/

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Has Pulled the Buffy License From Dark Horse

Joss Whedon's Buffy The Vampire Slayer will end its 20-year run at Dark Horse Comics with the current Season 12.

by Kiel Phegley in CBR Exclusives



For a while, fans of Joss Whedon’s long-running Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise have known that the current Season 12 arc of the canonical comic will be the last, ending the story with September’s issue #4. But Whedon himself confirmed for CBR that the move will lead to the end of the property’s time at Dark Horse all together.

In an interview just posted on CBR, the writer noted “Fox is taking the Buffy license and the Firefly license back.”

The move ends a 20-year relationship between the property and the publisher, which stretches back to a tie-in comic when the original Buffy TV series was still on the air. Early collaborative efforts between Whedon and Dark Horse included an in-canon adaptation of his original Buffy movie script and the futuristic Fray series. However, for the past decade the action has been focused on the various follow ups to the show, starting with 2007’s best-selling Season 8.

For the immediate future, comics will remain available though Dark Horse, including September’s recently announced Buffy Season 10 Library Edition Volume 3 hardcover collection. But after Season 12 wraps, there will be no more new stories starring the characters.

“We made sure that the journey wasn’t continuing. We wanted to give the Dark Horse era some closure,” Whedon told CBR. “I heard about all of this after the fact. It’s like Disney taking Star Wars over to Marvel. All of a sudden, we realize this is happening. So I’m writing this from a position that will leave everybody in a position where you feel some closure.”

This is not the first time the rights to a Buffy or Whedon-related comic have shifted from one publisher to another. IDW published comics based on spinoff series Angel for a number of years before the character arrived at Dark Horse, and BOOM! Studios has new Firefly comics in the works. However, the immediate plans for Buffy post-Dark Horse have yet to be announced.

20th Century Fox Television has been working on a Buffy reboot with Whedon set to feature a black actress in the title role. Whether future comics will focus on this version or continue with the Sarah Michelle-Gellar incarnation remains to be seen.


And here's the full Joss interview

https://www.cbr.com/buffy-the-vampir...don-interview/.

INTERVIEW: Joss Whedon Teases Buffy’s Surprising End & Dr. Horrible’s Return

The creator of Buffy and Dr. Horrible reflects on where both franchises are headed in comics and beyond



by Kiel Phegley in CBR Exclusives

Joss Whedon is in a transitional period.

The A-list screenwriter, film director and comics scribe may be at work on a new TV series for HBO, but in the comics world, he’s taking on the dual task of wrapping one long-running series (perhaps for good) and diving back in to another for a one-shot. The former is Buffy The Vampire Slayer, which sees the fourth and final issue of its last comic season arrive in September, and the latter is Dr. Horrible, the Internet sensation on its way back to comics with art from José Maria Beroy and Sara Soler.

CBR spoke with Whedon during Comic-Con International, and the writer shared the surprising behind the scenes moves that led to both his most recent comics projects, all the while answering the question of whether we’ll ever see more Dr. Horrible on screen or if the last Buffy season is truly “the end.”

CBR: Dark Horse announced a new Dr. Horrible comic at the show. I feel like that’s a piece of the overall Whedon canon people have been waiting for more of. Has it been a project where you’ve said “I will get back to that one day” or more “Suddenly I have an idea to go back to that”?

Joss Whedon: It was more “I know I’ll get back to it” because we talk about it all the time. I saw Neil [Patrick Harris] when he was doing Hedwig [And The Angry Inch], and after the performance I went backstage and said “You were amazing!” and he said, “When are you going to do a sequel?!” [Laughter] And then Jed and Marissa have been working on the past few seasons of S.H.I.E.L.D., and so it’s hard to figure it out.

In the meantime, we want to do something more with Dark Horse right now – especially because Fox is taking the Buffy license and the Firefly license back. And Dark Horse has shepherded these licenses for decades now. But it’s like, “Well, they don’t own Dr. Horrible!” That’s mine. So I suggested that we could do a one-shot and then realized that no one else was going to write that. I sat down and got started and felt, “Oh, right. I love this.” I hadn’t revisited it in years, and to write a story that’s just severely dumb as those guys can be, it was pure joy. I just fell right back into the rhythm so easily. I’ve been seeing pages now, and I’m so excited.

I know each medium has its own strengths, but is it difficult with this one because you just can’t have music and singing in a comic book?

The music thing is one where I’ve always wanted to do a comic that links to a site where you can download a song we recorded. But they were like, “Joss, you can’t get through a script, so…” But we do still have that element of anything can happen. We can break the fourth wall. You still want more, but I do really like how the franchise lends itself, particularly in comic books, to things like the Brian Michael Bendis 47-balloon panel. And obviously, budget is not considered an issue. So you want all the elements, and at some point you may get all the elements. But for now, I hear Nathan, and I hear Neil. It’s very easy to get those people back in my head. I don’t really miss the things I don’t have while I’m enjoying the things that I do have.

Looking at Buffy, aside from the movements made by the corporations holding the strings, you’ve announced this series as the last “season.” The finale of the TV series had a thematic ending, but it left the door open to new areas of story. Are you looking at the last comic differently?

Similar to the show, we’re not going to close it all off in the sense of “Everybody’s dead!” Though we did think about doing that. [Laughter] But when I sat with Chris Gage, it was with the intent that after everything we’ve been through we wanted to have something to say that mirrors and rounds off where we started this comic [run]. And then they said, “You have four issues,” and it was like “Ohhhh. That’s all the time we have.”

So we dealt with a lot of things in small panels, and I don’t know if I fit it all in, but it was very important to try. We made sure that the journey wasn’t continuing. We wanted to give the Dark Horse era some closure. What they’ve done over the years with Scott Allie and Sierra Hahn, and everyone there has put their souls into this. The artists like Georges [Jeanty] and everyone were such a perfect match. It’s been a great combination, so it couldn’t just end.

A running thread through the comics has been the idea that Buffy was in high school and into young adulthood in the show, this story has been all about the transition from young adult to adult adult. Between the baby and the maturation of a lot of relationships, did you want to leave addressing whether Buffy’s fully grown up?

Yeah, that is the question. That’s the eternal question with her. Where does she fit into this world? Is she ever going to follow a pattern as most people do, or is she going to live a life that doesn’t really pan out for someone into middle age? We’re not looking to answer the question, but we are looking to say “Here’s where she is now.” It will be the conclusion she’s come to that can give her some kind of understanding to say “I know who I am now.”

The 20s is a hard time to write about. I feel like Friends is actually underrated for its mythologizing of being in your 20s. How I Met Your Mother is the same kind of thing. There’s a story to be told about who don’t know what the **** they’re doing yet. Most of our stories are about the adolescent right of passage into adulthood, or they’re, “Oh, ****. I’m an adult, and I’ve got all these problems.” To crack the middle is really interesting. That’s what we were looking at in all of this. It was, “Let’s see if I can go to college for as long as Peter Parker did.”

The last piece of the series is the Fray piece of it. That’s an original element from Dark Horse that’s colliding back with the here and now. Did you want to address that because as a pure comics thing, it can maybe be a bit more dangerous in terms of a finish?

Yeah. It’s nice to be able to say that I can actually mess with that. The whole question that arose from my ignorance was “Are we creating the Fray future, or are we stopping it from happening?” And honestly, Fray was my first comic, and I wrote it because I thought “I kind of have to do a slayer comic, don’t I?” I didn’t really know that I could do whatever I wanted to. [Laughs] But I set it 300 years in the future, thinking, “That can’t possibly affect the show!” And then, I’m an idiot, so it took me a while to realize that there’s something we can do with this dystopian thing hanging out there. What can we do with that? It was a nice place to say “Nobody’s safe.”

I don’t know what’s going to happen with [Fray], actually. I mean, legally. I heard about all of this after the fact. It’s like Disney taking Star Wars over to Marvel. All the sudden we realize this is happening. So I’m writing this from a position that will leave everybody in a position where you feel some closure, but it’s definitely not, “Oh, I now I wont’ ever want to read about them again.”

https://www.newsarama.com/41384-buff...ss-whedon.html

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Leaving DARK HORSE According to JOSS WHEDON

By Chris Arrant, Editor August 15, 2018



20th Century Fox is taking the Buffy the Vampire Slayer license away from Dark Horse Comics according to creator/chief writer Joss Whedon. The writer revealed that decision was partially the impetus for new Dr. Horrible comics at the publisher - to mitigate that upcoming absence.

"...We want to do something more with Dark Horse right now - especially because Fox is taking the Buffy license and the Firefly license back," Whedon told CBR. "And Dark Horse has shepherded these licenses for decades now."

Whedon did not disclose how or when Dark Horse's various Buffy the Vampire Slayers would wrap up. The current Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12: The Reckoning limited series is scheduled to end September 19, and no new Buffy comic books are solicited for October 2018 from Dark Horse.

Dark Horse has been publishing Buffy the Vampire Slayer-based comics for 20 years going back to their original acquisition of the license in 1998.

This all comes as Whedon and Fox are developing a new revamped Buffy the Vampier Slayer television series, and in a big picture sense the deal for the Walt Disney Company to acquire much of Fox's media assets - which would seemingly include Buffy - is approved.

Whedon's Firefly, also owned by Fox, moved from Dark Horse to BOOM! Studios earlier this year; Fox owns a minority stake in BOOM!.
.

[comic fan]

First review of this week's Buffy S12 # 3.Some light spoilers

Comic Book Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning #3, Season 12



Comic Book Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning #3, Season 12

Phillip Pratt August 16, 2018

“We demons were here first, Missy… and we’ll be here last.”

Fans that are accustomed to the storytelling stylings of Joss Whedon on TV will feel right at home with the Dark Horse comic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning #3, Season 12. While not an exact replica of what one would expect from the Scoobies on the small screen, it’s darn close. With writing aid supplied by Buffy universe-vet, Christos Gage, Joss successfully mixes elements of horror, action, and comedy so well that the happenings in the foreground will oft distract the reader from the gravity and utter finality of the moment (keep an eye on the characters in the background).



The issue starts off in a very BtVS-way. Buffy and friends saying their final goodbyes to one another before they set off on another life and death situation/war with sharp, pointy objects in hand. Again, if you grew up with the show, this isn’t anything new. However, writers Whedon and Gage succeed in making it not come off as cliché, but have each conversation contain real levity. Each character accepts that they may not come out of the coming battle alive. Even those that haven’t been following each added comic book “season” after the television show wrapped with its 7th back in 03’ (this is the 12th), the characters feel familiar enough so that you’re not completely lost. If for someone reason you still are, that’s what wikis are for, people.



The story in of itself is exactly what a penultimate or season finale of Buffy should be. It’s funny, tragic, and sometimes horrifying as we watch our heroes, fight, quip, and sometimes die in gruesome fashion. Readers just jumping on with issue #3 will be presented with some new faces, but also be treated to many familiar ones as well. Including everyone’s favorite juice-cup sipping, once-upon-a-time-nemesis, Andrew Wells.

“But why? I’m way less useless in a fight than I used to be!”

Pencil work is handled by Georges Jeanty and I must admit, for me, it may be the books lower point. It’s not bad, please understand, but there are some trouble spots, mostly with the happenings in the background. For the most part, it’s fine, even if some faces/characters are immediately recognizable. I noticed Buffy looks more like Buffy in the latter half of the book than in the beginning pages, whereas Faith, Xander (he’s got an eye-patch, so that’s kind of easy), Angel (the forehead), and Spike (despite his likeness to Billy Idol) are all immediately, and consistently, identifiable throughout.



The Verdict

Dark Horse’s latest offering of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is basically everything you’d expect out of the franchise. Perhaps to its detriment. It can be a lot of the same. But if you’re a 90’s kid (like Moi), then this is probably your bread and butter. Visuals are adequate (generally), and all the characters speak in their usual, if not sometimes tone-deaf, manners. Fans of the franchise will most likely jive with all BtVS: The Reckoning’s storyline, where those not used to the rhythm of Whedon’s universe, may find it off-putting. But what kind of dweeb doesn’t like the Slayer?

PROS
◾Pacing is a brisk as the show ever was
◾Characterizations are spot-on
◾Lots of cozy nostalgia

CONS
◾Art was a bit inconsistent, especially in the backgrounds
◾Plot felt familiar

7.5
Overall Score


I ger the vibe that there is atleast one death if not more in this issue from the review.

ETA

Tweets between Editors Note Comics and Christos Gage

https://twitter.com/EdsNoteComics/st...97924575260672

Editor's Note Comics‏ @EdsNoteComics · 32m32 minutes ago

@Christosgage I read Buffy. Without spoilers, I loved it. Really well paced issue and the stakes felt huge on every page. Love the small beats some characters got. Thrilled to see the page 1 character in the mix. This whole season feels like the way thing should end.

Follow Follow @EdsNoteComics

@Christosgage but completely way too selfish question, were there a few lines in there I may have been partially responsible for inspiring? Page 5 if i want to be super specific. (And apologies since this overly self aggrandizing, but I had to ask)

Christos Gage‏ @Christosgage · 24m24 minutes ago
Replying to @EdsNoteComics

Without being sure what specifically you’re referring to, I think the dialogue is stuff we wanted to address in general. But maybe I’m misunderstanding what you mean?

It could have totally been planned ahead of time. Just something I was pushing for a while ago when you were still scripting and was happy to see it in the story.

Hurray for vague tweets without spoilers


Maybr a Gunn and Connor mention?

[comic fan]

Christos Gage answers some questions about issue 3 on twitter.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Christosgage

D Halphen
D Halphen
@SpiritDarko

@Christosgage big fans question : was Harth already a part of the very first reckoning which did create his universe ?

12:46 PM - 25 Aug 2018

Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @SpiritDarko

Nope. He remembers it because he has Slayer memories.


Juliette Dod Juliette Dod
@juliettedod
Aug 26

Replying to @Christosgage @SpiritDarko

But..but.. pic.twitter.com/gNwzCIXc5T



Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @juliettedod @SpiritDarko

Oh right. Haha! It’s been a while since I wrote it. Ok Harth WAS there, but he went to hell with the others.

7:47 AM - 26 Aug 2018

D Halphen D Halphen
@SpiritDarko
20h

Replying to @DMN1984 @Christosgage @juliettedod

Confused here. So it’s a loop. Not a « Reckoning happened without Harth, created Fray’s future and Harth as a vampire and Harth is back to get involved in the new reckoning » so what change ? pic.twitter.com/viEgaWpYDX

View conversation ·

Diana
Diana
@DMN1984 Replying to @SpiritDarko @Christosgage @juliettedod

Well I would assumed what changed is now Harth has all of the Slayer Powers. But my problem is, as Doc would say, he has now altered the timeline. How does he know he hasn’t altered so much that he was never born or he never became a vampire in the future?

8:47 AM - 26 Aug 2018
·
Christos Gage
Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @DMN1984 @SpiritDarko @juliettedod

Yes. What changed is that this time he took the massed Slayer powers from Buffy successfully. That is the difference. He DOESN'T know if he changed the timeline, but he's now outside of it, a temporal anomaly, so he doesn't care.

8:50 AM - 26 Aug 2018


D Halphen D Halphen
@SpiritDarko
20h

Replying to @Christosgage @DMN1984 @juliettedod

Ok that’s interesting. Thank you for taking some time to give us some piece of information. Just wondering how he succeeded this time when (why) he didn’t the first time. What change ? (btw all the character scenes are amazingly fun and heartbreaking)

View conversation ·

Christos Gage
Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @SpiritDarko @DMN1984 @juliettedod

If I remember right what changed is this time Harth got that old school staff the shamans used to empower the first slayer, which he used to steal Buffy’s Uber-Slayer power. If we’d had more room I would have explained that better.

9:07 AM - 26 Aug 2018


gite63 gite63
@gite63
20h

Replying to @Christosgage @DMN1984 and 2 others

Does the repetition of “Harth knows everything that's going to happen” serve a purpose?

View conversation

Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @gite63 @DMN1984 and 2 others

Being new reader friendly


gite63 gite63
@gite63
13h

Replying to @Christosgage @DMN1984 and 2 others

May I ask if Giles being aged off-screen was for the sake of new readers? And the Buffy/Willow dialogue repetition (from S11, Buffy/Dawn on the roof) of issue #1, too?

View conversation ·

Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @gite63 @DMN1984 and 2 others

Giles being aged off screen was due to lack of space...we only had four issues. And yes, I thought there might be some readers who only picked up this final mini. I have good news for you though, I’m not writing Buffy comics anymore so hopefully you’ll enjoy whatever’s next more.

[BlackWhiteRose]

Thanks for the news.

[comic fan]

Preview Pages for Buffy S12 # 4

The Comic Slayer

[alexkevin]

This forum is awesome I have found many new seasons and series here I haven't watched this one but seems like an awesome season will watch this

[comic fan]

Georges Jeanty Slayalive Q/A for Buffy S12 # 2 is finally up.

Spoilers Q&A with Buffy Season 12 Artist Georges Jeanty (Part 1)

[BlackWhiteRose]

Thanks for the link.

[comic fan]

4 ways Dark Horse's Buffy comics improved on the TV show - WMQ Comics



4 ways Dark Horse’s Buffy comics improved on the TV show

September 17, 2018 

By MATTHEW LAZORWITZ, WMQ Comics senior contributor

This Wednesday, the final issue of the four-issue “Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 12” comes out from Dark Horse. This not only wraps up the post-TV series stories from Dark Horse – five additional “seasons” beyond the TV show’s seven – but 20 years of Buffy comics. With the unlimited budget that comics provides, Joss Whedon and his collaborators have been able to tell bigger tales than could fit on the TV screen, from trips to the future to flying superheroics to dragons wreaking havoc on cities.

I’ve been a fan of Buffy since the 1992 movie, and watched the TV show from the pilot and read the comics from the first issue, and so to celebrate the end of an era, this week’s column will focus on four of my favorite aspects of the Buffy comics. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but if you’ve only watched the TV series and want to read the canonical post-Season Seven comics, know that here be spoilers.

The Scythe

If there’s one bit of Buffy comic lore the fans who started and stopped with the TV series would be aware of, it’s the Scythe, the ancient weapon of the Slayers. The Scythe appeared in the final two episodes of the TV series, used by Buffy in her battle against her ultimate adversary, The First Evil, and its army of uber-vamps. But little do TV-only fans know, the Scythe made its first appearance in the comics.

The Scythe specifically was introduced in “Fray,” the eight-issue miniseries from “Buffy” creator Joss Whedon and artist Karl Moline, a story set in the far future, where the first Slayer to be called in centuries, Malaka Fray, must face down the rise of a new breed of vampires. It’s a cool series, one where Whedon gets to play with language by creating a whole world of future slang, but the Scythe is the most iconic thing to come out of it – not only did it appear in the TV series, it became a key device in all of the post-TV comics. Credit should be given to Moline as well, for designing a weapon that was visually interesting and practical enough to translate across media.



Giles Family Drama

At the end of “Buffy: Season Eight,” a possessed Angel murders Buffy’s Watcher and father figure, Rupert Giles. Giles was my favorite character on the series, which has to say something about me that I pick the middle-aged librarian as a favorite over the teenage cast was I was 16.

Much of the plot of the first “season” of the Season 9 spinoff “Angel & Faith” sees Angel trying to find a way to resurrect Giles to redeem himself. Along the way, he encounters Lavinia and Sophronia Fairweather, Giles’ maternal great-aunts, who maintain their eternal youth and beauty through sorcery. Through them, Angel learns more about the young man Giles was, and what he could have been. And when Angel succeeds, he resurrects Giles … as a 12-year-old.

Throughout the Season 10 and 11 comics, we see Giles, the stalwart, serious librarian and Watcher, with his mind intact but his body wracked with the intense emotions and hormone swings of puberty. More painful is the fact that he is an adult that society won’t look at as anything but a child, a fascinating dynamic to see play out.

Fun Fact: According to the Dark Horse art book “Buffy Seasons 8 & 9: Panel to Panel,” the looks for Giles’ aunts were based on the daughters of Giles actor Anthony Stewart Head.



Making Andrew a character you care about

Personal Buffy confession time here, folks: I hate Andrew Wells, the sort-of reformed villain who was a nemesis in Season 6 of the TV show and helped the Scooby Gang throughout the back half of Season 7. I thought he was an obnoxious, over-the-top caricature who didn’t earn the redemption he was seemingly given in the Season 7 episode “Storyteller.”

So throughout Seasons 8 and 9, I would grit my teeth every time Andrew would be featured. And it often felt like the writers didn’t much care for him, either, because he was constantly screwing up. He was a failure as a Watcher. He put Buffy’s brain into a robot and caused a pregnancy scare. He does what he does because he thinks it’s the right idea and doesn’t think to check with anyone to make sure it is.

But in “Buffy: Season 10,” writer Christos Gage does something I didn’t think possible: He made me understand and empathize with Andrew. Because of all the stupid things he has done, Andrew tries one more over-the-top thing to redeem himself: He tries to resurrect Tara, Willow’s long-dead girlfriend who died at the hands of Andrew’s friend Warren. And when Willow confronts him, he explains himself, explains that he feels like a screw-up, that he wants to make right, and after years of trying, now it finally feels like he earned that shot at redemption.



Season 12

Each season of Dark Horse’s Buffy had a different feel and theme. Season 10 is probably my favorite, as it did a great job of balancing the action and the character beats that have always been integral to what makes Buffy a show that viewers and readers care about.

That said, Season 12 has been something that can only be done as a comic. I can’t rank it above Season 10 yet, since I haven’t seen how it concludes, but the first three issues have been everything you could want from a Buffy story. It takes aspects of continuity from across the TV series and the comics and puts them together in one epic tale. Since there is no companion “Angel” series, all the major characters left in the Buffyverse are together for one last story. Buffy has come into her own, not only as a woman but as a leader. And with only four issues to tell an apocalyptic tale, everything is nicely compressed without a panel wasted. This is the finale “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” has earned after 20-plus years, and I can’t wait to see how it all wraps up Wednesday.


ETA

Editor Notes Comics has read Buffy S12 # 4.

https://mobile.twitter.com/edsnotecomics

Editor's Note Comics
@EdsNoteComics

@Christosgage I just finished Buffy. Very strange to say goodbye to this story. You hit the exact right beat at the end. Once it hits stands, I have one big question. But this was a phenomenal run. Thanks for everything

HandlerLyon
@HandlerLyon Replying to @EdsNoteComics @Christosgage

Great to hear you liked the ending. I'm so nervous. Can you reveal anything? 🥺

@EdsNoteComics Replying to @HandlerLyon @Christosgage

I don't dare say much. Almost every point from the shows and comics is resolved. Some stuff from way back gets brought up again. The last beat rewards the comics fans in a big way. Enjoy the ride, don't flip to the end.

[comic fan]

First review for Buffy S12 # 4.

Comic Book Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12: The Reckoning #4



Comic Book Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12: The Reckoning #4

Phillip Pratt September 17, 2018

The Bitter-Sweet End of an Era

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 12: The Reckoning spells the end of a long relationship the franchise has enjoyed with the world’s fifth largest comic company, Dark Horse Comics. With the Disney acquisition of 21st Century Fox looming, it was all but inevitable. The comic company has been putting out Buffy-related titles since 1998 while the show was still in production. After Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, Dark Horse Comics picked up where it left off, starting in 2007 with Season Eight. One could argue the franchise played a hand in making Dark Horse Comics the powerhouse it is today (the status of the industry as a whole notwithstanding). Chances are, while this is the end of Buffy at the publication, there is a good chance, that like Star Wars, it’ll continue at Marvel Comics. Question is; should we expect a fresh start after a complete reboot?



At the end of last month’s issue, we saw the arch villain Harth (the vampirized twin brother of a Slayer from the future) claim all the strengths of the slayer-line for himself by interrupting a process that would have delivered said powers to Buffy. With all that power in his hands, Harth begins to make short work of Buffy and friends who find themselves at his mercy. As the demon horde begins to close in for the final kill, Willow and Dawn enact a plan to open a portal to hell in the hope of trapping them all inside. However, it’ll most likely end with the Scoobies going along for the ride as well.



Overall the action and pacing in this issue felt rushed. You can sense that everything is wrapping up as the main threats are dispatched little more than halfway through the book. What’s left over is a ‘slice of life’ segment that just doesn’t feel like the end of the road for the franchise. I’m not sure if writers Joss Whedon and Christos Gage wrote this with the intention of leaving it open-ended, but that’s exactly what happened. I wouldn’t say it was done well because it simply comes off of as anti-climactic.

Georges Jeanty’s pencils are as they were in the prior issue. Not bad, but not great either. Some panels/pages are better than others. Attention to the action in the background is a bit sharper than in the previous issue. There is no real improvement or fall in terms of quality there.



The Verdict

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 12: The Reckoning is a fine end to an arc. However, I cannot say it was a worthy cap to the long run the franchise has had with Dark Horse Comics. I believe it deserved a better, more coherent sendoff. I suppose it’s hard to plan a story amidst corporate maneuverings. If the creators had been given more time to wrap this up, could the book have been better across the board? I believe so. From a life-long Slayer devotee; it’s a shame that such a storied and fan-loved book has to end on such a tame note. If Buffy is indeed continued under the Marvel Comics imprint, utilizing the same continuity, perhaps it won’t all be for naught.

Pros
◾Fun banter
◾Lots of warm, fuzzy, nostalgia

Cons
◾Anti-climatic ending
◾Pacing could have been better

7.5Overall Score

So the actual battle is resolved halfway through the issue with the last part being basically the aftermath/what happens to the survivors deal.

[comic fan]

Buffy Comics From BOOM! Studios Offically Announced

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Stakes Out a New Home at BOOM! Studios - IGN

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Stakes Out a New Home at BOOM! Studios

IGN exclusive first details on Buffy’s big move.

By Joshua Yehl

Comic books featuring Buffy the Vampire Slayer now have a new home at publisher BOOM! Studios

The license for comics based on the Joss Whedon-created franchise previously belonged to Dark Horse Comics and now, after 20 years, it will be moving to a new comic publisher for the first time. BOOM! has plans to release new Buffy monthly comic series, limited series, graphic novels, and more in partnership with 20th Century Fox Consumer Products.


Art by Matthew Taylor. (BOOM! Studios)

During Buffy’s time at Dark Horse, numerous tie-in comics were produced, most notably a series of comics supervised (and sometimes written) by Whedon that continued from where the television show left off, titled Season Eight, Nine, Ten and so on. The final issue of Season Twelve released yesterday, and the trade paperback for Season Twelve, out on December 12, will be Dark Horse’s final Buffy publication. All previously published Buffy comics will be fair game for re-publication under BOOM!. Dark Horse’s Buffy license expires at the end of 2018, so BOOM! will be free to publish Buffy comics starting in 2019, although an official launch date has yet to be revealed.

“I remember watching the premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer over 20 years ago, and the feeling of empowerment that came with seeing a girl get to kick ass and have flaws at the same time, and to not apologize for who she was. It’s an honor to oversee that world for a new generation and to bring them that same feeling of knowing your greatest power comes from being true to who you are,” BOOM! Studios Executive Editor Jeanine Schaefer said in a statement provided to IGN. “Buffy is about love at its core, love for your friends and yourself. The characters are allowed to be equal parts human and monster, and seeing them struggle to balance those parts of themselves, the same parts we all struggle with, is why it still resonates with audiences of all ages and backgrounds today.”

BOOM! also publishes comics based on popular franchises Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Adventure Time, and Planet of the Apes, among others, in addition to original series like Abbott, Mech Cadet Yu, and the award-winning hit Lumberjanes.

https://www.cbr.com/buffy-the-vampir...-boom-studios/

BOOM! Studios Acquires Buffy the Vampire Slayer License

BOOM! Studios has partnered with 20th Century Fox for a new line of Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, graphic novels and more.



Joss Whedon’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer has found a new publishing home at BOOM! Studios.

Announced today by IGN, BOOM! will partner with 20th Century Fox to release new comic book series, limited series, original graphic novels and more, all centered around the Buffy franchise.

“I remember watching the premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer over twenty years ago, and the feeling of empowerment that came with seeing a girl get to kick ass and have flaws at the same time, and to not apologize for who she was. It’s an honor to oversee that world for a new generation and to bring them that same feeling of knowing your greatest power comes from being true to who you are,” BOOM! Studios Executive Editor Jeanine Schaefer tells IGN. “Buffy is about love at its core, love for your friends and yourself. The characters are allowed to be equal parts human and monster, and seeing them struggle to balance those parts of themselves, the same parts we all struggle with, is why it still resonates with audiences of all ages and backgrounds today.”

Promotional art for the announcement shows Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers standing in front of her high school, a pack of zombies with a cell phone in one hand and a wooden stake in the other, highlighted with the phrase, “High School is Hell.”



In an interview with CBR in August, Whedon revealed Fox’s plans to pull the Buffy and Firefly licenses from Dark Horse, ending a 20-year relationship between the property and the publisher.

Debuting on The WB Television Network in 1997, Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for seven seasons and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as “Buffy Summers.” 20th Century Fox Television is working on a Buffy reboot alongside Whedon, with the series set to feature a black actress in the title role.


I'm surprised that they are announcing it this early.I figured next year or maybe at NYCC in a few weeks.The day after the final Dark Horse issue hits is a surprise.

Based on the artwork,it looks like we are returning to high school.But is this new stories set in the season 1-3 era or a reboot because Buffy is sporting modern tech..

ETA

https://www.newsarama.com/41908-new-...-new-home.html

New BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Comic Book Series Launching at a New Publisher

By Chris Arrant, Editor September 20, 2018



BOOM! Studios has acquired the comic book license for Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, following 20 years exclusively at Dark Horse Comics. First reported by IGN, BOOM! plans to launch a new Buffy monthly title, as well as limited series and graphic novels.

"I remember watching the premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer over 20 years ago, and the feeling of empowerment that came with seeing a girl get to kick ass and have flaws at the same time, and to not apologize for who she was. It’s an honor to oversee that world for a new generation and to bring them that same feeling of knowing your greatest power comes from being true to who you are," said BOOM! Executive Editor Jeanine Schaefer.

"Buffy is about love at its core, love for your friends and yourself. The characters are allowed to be equal parts human and monster, and seeing them struggle to balance those parts of themselves, the same parts we all struggle with, is why it still resonates with audiences of all ages and backgrounds today.”

Dark Horse's last original Buffy issue, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 12, The Reckoning #4, was released this week. A collection of that limited series is due out December 12, with Dark Horse's license expiring at the end of 2018.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is owned by 20th Century Fox, which owns a stake in BOOM! Studios. Neither BOOM! nor Fox have stated how the impending Walt Disney Company acquisition of Fox will impact BOOM! or the Buffy franchise.

BOOM! Studios is scheduled to begin publishing Buffy in 2019.



ETA 2

https://screenrant.com/buffy-vampire...-ending-comic/

Joss Whedon Finally Gives Buffy Her Happy Ending

by Thomas Bacon
on Sep 20, 2018

Warning: SPOILERS for Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning #4

The story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is finally complete. Fifteen years after the TV show finished, Joss Whedon and Christos Gage have penned the final adventure of Buffy Summers, arriving at the ending described as "the culmination of all Buffy seasons." And yes, it's a happy one.

These are strange, bittersweet times for Buffy fans. At this year's SDCC it was revealed that Fox is rebooting Buffy for a new era, although details are yet to emerge. That fresh start also signaled an inevitable farewell; the titular heroine's adventures have been ongoing in comic book form ever since the series was canceled in 2003. With a TV relaunch of some kind in the cards, there was no way Buffy's comic adventures could continue. Fox pulled the plug, and Dark Horse Comics lost the license. Which means it falls to Whedon and Gage to wrap things up - once and for all.

As Whedon had expressed in an interview with CBR, he had considered a tragic ending to the story. After all, a Slayer is traditionally someone who fights right up until the moment of their death, and the Slayer's friends - particularly Buffy's - are likely to suffer a similar fate. But Whedon decided that rather than end in tragedy, he would bring Buffy's story to a triumphant close. The final issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning sees Buffy and her allies successfully defeat the terrifying threat of Harth, a vampire who absorbed all the powers and memories of the Slayers throughout time.

The issue ends on a beautiful, optimistic note. Buffy and Faith have both decided it's time to try to live a normal life at last, and set their sights on a more official role, signing up for the San Francisco Police Academy. The Buffyverse has changed a lot in the comics since the TV show ended, and there's now an active Supernatural Division to police the vampires and demons roaming the California scene. Naturally, both Slayers are keen to get in - if only Faith can get through basic training without injuring any of her fellow cadets...

As for Willow, she's found a place of relative peace, running a center dedicated to empowering women. Willow has always trod the boundary between light and dark, but now the witch believes she's seen enough of her future to know how to change it. The end of Xander and Dawn's story will surprise anyone who hasn't been keeping up-to-date with the comics; they've become a couple, and are now bringing up their baby daughter, Buffy's niece Joyce (named for their late mother). Giles, for his part, is reforming the Watcher's Council. and finally, the issue ends with Buffy still friends with her two would-be vampire suitors, but not actually in a relationship with either Angel or Spike. About as fitting a close as we can think of to one of the strangest supernatural love triangles of all time.

The interesting question, though, is whether or not Buffy's story is truly over. After all, the Slayer is a legacy passed down from one generation to the next, and Monica Owusu-Breen, showrunner of the upcoming Buffy series, has promised a brand new Slayer. It's entirely possible the new series is a relaunch, and not a total reboot. If that's the case, all these farewells to Buffy could set the scene for the season to come. Until then, it all worked out for the Scooby gang.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning #4 is now available from Dark Horse Comics.


ETA 3

Some tweets from Ghristos Gage.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Christosg...4167670785?p=v

Christos Gage

As my last Buffy issue hits, I want to thank @DarkHorseComics and all my editors there, @KabaLounge @rebekahisaacs @SadMeganGirls @SteveMorrisArt and all our brilliant collaborators. And of course @joss for trusting me with his babies. The pleasure, the privilege is mine.

9:25 AM - 19 Sep 2018

https://mobile.twitter.com/Christosgage?p=s

@sarbz Replying to @ComicBookCorps @DarkHorseComics and 4 others

Only 4 issues this season?

1:34 PM - 19 Sep 2018

Christos Gage
@Christosgage Replying to @sarbz @ComicBookCorps and 4 others

That's all we had time for!

4:18 PM - 19 Sep 2018


https://mobile.twitter.com/Christosg...5302962177?p=v

TessaMcG

Spuffy fans just don't get it, do they? Buffy is her OWN end game. She ended the DH comic seasons *single* & happy with an amazing new career pathway. Buffy isn't a prize to be won, stop treating her like one. Thanks @christosgage & @joss #BTVS #Buffy

11:59 AM - 19 Sep 2018

Christos Gage

@Christosgage Replying to @TessaMcG2 @joss

No offense meant to Spuffy fans, I love the relationship, but I thought it was time for Buffy to be both single and in a good place because it's important to show she's capable of that & it's a good thing. Doesn't mean she won't be with someone later but she doesn't NEED to be.

4:21 PM - 19 Sep 2018

[comic fan]

Some thoughts on this issue and season 12 as whole.

First,Speaking as a B/Aer and now having read the issue,I'm perfectly satisfied.I'm happy with how both Buffy and Angel's interaction and Buffy and Spike's interaction are handled and presented at the end of the issue.Right now I don't even care which ship or if either has s future.As a end point currently in its present form for BTVS,this whole aspect worked for me.

Overall,I'm satisfied with season 12 as a whole not just how they handled B/A and B/S.I think this would of benefited being longer.Six to twelve issues.The time travel aspects were a little wonky but I like how the Fray future and Buffy's fate that has been hanging over the verse since the Fray miniseries was resolved.I was convinced Buffy would die or be gone and I'm very happy that didn't happen.

Ofcourse I hated the Angel/Illyria thing although as I've said elsewhere,the goodbye moment between her and Angel actually worked for me as she made her sacrifice which I know is strange given how I feel about the pairing.It was something important I noted to both Gage and Jeanty in my questions to them in the Slayalive Q/As.The fact that they got someone who hates the pairing to buy into it for a micro second.lol I also noted to both that I liked how the final interactions between Buffy and Spike and Buffy and Angel were handled.With that said,I hope Angel and Illyria never hook up again if she's found.

Going back to length,With Illyria's(and by extention Fred's) sacrifice,I wish we could of gotten Gunn in there.If the series had been longer,I think we would of gotten some appeatrance from Gunn and Connor.But I know the length problem was out of Gage's and Joss's hands.

As for Buffy and Faith as cops.Yes,I don't think it's realistic for them(especially Faith) but I'll go with it

The end was sugary but you know what,I liked it.Considering I was expecting a bleak ending for Buffy herself,I'm happy.

[comic fan]

Another tweet from Christos Gage.

https://mobile.twitter.com/Christosg...0888223744?p=v

★Spy★ ★Spy★
@fandomspy
Sep 21

Replying to @Christosgage @TessaMcG2 @joss

i'd accept that if you guys had actually shown what didn't work between Buffy & Spike instead of taking us from them being in love to them not working cause they didn't have enough angst? The expositional step backwards re both their development was like a sudden slap in the face

Christos Gage

@Christosgage Replying to @fandomspy @TessaMcG2 @joss

I’m afraid we just didn’t have room for that. 4 issues was all there was time for before the license changed hands.

1:05 PM - 21 Sep 2018



Sounds like if Season 12 had been allowed to be longer,they would of gotten more into why Buffy/Spike broke up