[comic fan]

The actual FCBD preview pages.

BuffyForums







ETA

Third Angel & Faith # 7 review.

http://justaboutcomics.com/?p=4879

REVIEW: Angel & Faith #7



Daddy Issues” – Part Two

Executive Producer: Joss Whedon
Script: Christos Gage
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Colors: Dan Jackson
Letters: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Cover: Steve Morris
Alternate Cover: Rebekah Isaacs and Dan Jackson
Designer: Justin Couch
Editors: Scott Allie and Sierra Hahn
Assistant Editor: Freddye Lins
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Last issue Angel and Faith discovered that Mother Superior is indeed the vampire Drusilla and she seems to have become sane. As a new fan of these characters, the opening of this issue really provided the origin of Drusilla that was needed to know to understand Angel’s amazement and struggle upon seeing her at the end of last issue. Drusilla seems to be one of those sins that Angel has still not atoned for in his heart, but what happens now?

Christos Gage opens this book on a great origin tale of Drusilla and Angel’s relationship through the years and provides a stronger understanding of the story arc’s name “Daddy Issues”. I continue to look at this book through a new reader’s eyes and trying to understand these characters, their relationships, and motivations. Gage continues to provide strong storytelling and engaging dialogue without leaving new readers behind and not boring readers who know these characters. There is a fine line that a writer has to balance in order to do this, and Gage takes on the challenge and succeeds with every issue.

The revelation of how Drusilla is sane and how she is “helping” those who come to her is something that Angel does not approve of, but cannot handle at this time leaving Drusilla out there to continue to be a thorn in Angel’s side and a reminder of the peace she seems to now have and the peace she seems to be offering Angel. This issue adds just another level of complexity to Angel’s character and his struggles within this series.

This issue isn’t entirely about Angel’s struggles. Faith has some changes come in to her life as her father has come seeking her out to reconnect with her. I don’t know how much of Faith’s family life readers know, but once again Gage provides just enough information to give readers the basics so that they understand the impact of the scenes between Faith and her father and how this issue ends. Faith is a very strong character and it will be interesting to see how she deals with what is coming.

The art in this issue from Rebekah Isaacs and Dan Jackson continues to be strong each and every page of this issue. This issue has more dialogue than action in it which seems to let Isaacs and Jackson really focus on the character and set design as well as telling a very strong story through facial expressions and posture. This team remains at the top of their game and really makes every issue special.

Angel & Faith continues to be one of my favorite books each and every issue. As I have said before, I come to this book new to these characters and I love learning a little more about them every issue. Gage, Isaacs, and Jackson are producing a top notch comic book that should be read by fans of comic books, not just fans of Angel and Faith.

Story: 5 out of 5 | Art: 5 out of 5 | Overall: 5 out of 5

[comic fan]

Fourth Angel & Faith # 7 review.

ANGEL AND FAITH #7 Review |

February 28, 2012

ANGEL AND FAITH #7 Review



“ANGEL AND FAITH” continues to delight us readers. Christos Gage says his writing seems to have kicked in with Issue 5 but I think he’s been on a roll all along. Rebekah Isaacs draws like a masterful demon! Gage and Isaacs are a dream team to say the least together making the lead characters, the story, everything so appealing. With Issue 7, we reach Part Two of “Daddy Issues” which lives up to the promise of its opener.

We’ve got quite a mangnificent creature to contend with in this current arc, the Lorophage Demon. In Issue 6, it was depicted in all its viloent glory in a flashback to Giles in his schoolboy days. Back then, Giles and his fellow trainees were in a Hogwarts type of academy and, for one exam, they had to match wits with the demon. With its bulging head, red glowing eyes, and proboscis, it looks like it just stepped out of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. These suckers are truly suckers! They feed on trauma and so, in theory, they could suck all the bad memories right out of you and have fed for the night. Win/Win, right? Wrong. These critters suck and suck and suck until you’re dead. However, as a certain other baddie has found out, it’s quite possible to teach one of these things to hold back a little and not kill its prey. This would bring the Win/Win scenario back into play and that is what Drusilla believes she has done.

If you read the last issue, then it will be fresh in your mind as to who Drusilla is. She is a victim of Angel when he was the decadent psychopath, Angelus. Back in 1860, Angelus devoured all of Drusilla’s family, and made a special meal out of her. She became one of the undead and lost her mind. A hundred and fifty years go by pretty quick, Angelus is no more and all that is left is Angel who is really, really sorry for what he’s done. Is that even close to good enough for Drusilla? Uh, no, not really. So, that brings us back to her experiments with Lorophage demons. She sure seems to have gotten the hang of how to control them. The problem is that this whole thing is too good to be true. Those people who go through the process of “losing” their trauma, have actually lost a part of their souls. You take the good with the bad, right? You can’t just have the bad sucked right out of you, now, can you?

In this issue, given the title, we further explore the relationship between Faith and her ne’re-do-well father. Now, Drusilla has her daddy issues being the sire of Angel but Faith has her own issues too. Her dad has tracked her down to London and looks mighty repentant. A drunkard all his life, he swears up and down that he’s changed, this time for good. Faith is NOT buying that. But, then for some strange reason, Angel urges her to give the old guy a break and she turns around and runs after her dad full of forgiveness. Where’s that headed? Well, you may be right to suspect this is not going to work out.

Now, for the bonus item, and you fans will have to help me. There is one panel which makes a reference to something that is a bit unclear me. Drusilla and Angel have their big confrontation. She has put him on the defensive and, in this scene, tears his shirt off. She then appears to point at his right nipple and it looks like he’s looking right down at it too. And she says, and I quote, “The tooth of Ammut, devourer of ancient Egyptian souls!” She is pleased that he has “merged it” to his flesh. Jeesh, so does Angel wear a spooky relic on his right nipple? Well, stranger things have happened. It doesn’t look bad on him, if that’s what it is.

ETA

The first Buffy S9 miniseries is announced.Drusilla five issue miniseries written by Juliet Landau.It picks up right where the "Daddy Issues" arc in Angel & Faith leaves off.

'Buffy' star Juliet Landau writing Drusilla spin-off comic miniseries -- EXCLUSIVE | Shelf Life | EW.com

'Buffy' star Juliet Landau writing Drusilla spin-off comic mini-series -- EXCLUSIVE

by Adam B. Vary



The mad vampire villainess Drusilla appeared in only 17 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer during the show’s seven season run, but as deliciously performed by Juliet Landau, the character proved to be a major fan favorite. Well, Dru is back, and in a big way: EW can report exclusively that Landau is currently writing a five-issue Drusilla comic book mini-series, part of Dark Horse Comics and Buffy creator Joss Whedon’s ongoing expansion of the Buffyverse in comic book form.

Due to launch in June, the first issue of the spin-off, Landau tells EW, will pick up “literally a panel after” Drusilla’s final appearance in issue No. 9 of the Angel & Faith comic series (out April 25). “I think you will get different sides of Drusilla than have ever been seen before,” she adds, but her lips are sealed for any details on the story beyond that. So you’ll just have to sate yourself with this exclusive first look at the first issue’s main cover, by Steve Morris, below:



Landau co-wrote two Dru-centric issues of the Angel: After the Fall comic for IDW two years ago, but this is her first time diving back into the head of the homicidally unhinged vamp on her own. “It was an actor’s dream role,” she says. “There’s so much range and dimension and so many different colors to the character. It’s just really rife with possibilities in terms of where you can go. You can go to any era or any direction, really.”

Currently finishing up writing the third issue, Landau says she’s been working “very closely” with artists Cliff Richards and Tim Seeley on the visual design of the comics, and learning just how much fun being limited only by what a pencil can put on paper can be. “If you want a bit aerial shot, you don’t have to hire a big crane. There’s a freedom in that in the storytelling that’s really liberating.”

And it’s not like Landau’s plate wasn’t already full when she took on this project. She’s in her sixth month performing John Patrick Shanley’s play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea in Los Angeles and she just shot a guest spot on Criminal Minds directed by series star Matthew Gray Gubler. “I’m a little light on sleep,” she laughs, “but it’s all good!”




Cliff Richards and Tim Seeley are on art.Georges Jeanty did the varient cover.These must be the covers Georges was taliking about in his tweets a while back.

ETA 2

Juliet Landau Writes Drusilla Spinoff "Buffy" Comic - Comic Book Resources

Juliet Landau Writes Drusilla Spinoff "Buffy" Comic

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress Juliet Landau will pen a five-issue comic series based Drusilla, the popular character she played on the Joss Whedon show.

Steve Sunu, Staff Writer/Assistant Editor/Reviews Editor


Juliet Landeau revisits Drusilla as the writer of the character's "Buffy" spinoff miniseries

Actress Juliet Landau is back to reprise a fan-favorite role -- but not in the way you'd think. This June, Landau will pen a five-issue "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" spinoff series starring Drusilla, her character from the television show. EW.com reports the Drusilla spin-off will pick up directly after Dru's appearance in "Angel & Faith" #9 with art by Cliff Richards and Tim Seeley. Landau previously wrote two issues of IDW's "Angel: After the Fall" in 2010, another arc which focused on Drusilla.

"I think you will get different sides of Drusilla than have ever been seen before," Landau told EW.com, emphasizing her enjoyment in crafting the character on "Buffy." "It was an actor's dream role. There’s so much range and dimension and so many different colors to the character. It’s just really rife with possibilities in terms of where you can go. You can go to any era or any direction, really."

In 2010, "Angel & Faith" writer Christos Gage spoke to how Drusilla fits into the greater scheme of the title. "Faith's father -- who has never been shown before -- returns to her life, and you can bet that's not going to be a simple situation," Gage said of issue #6. "But the 'Daddy Issues' referred to in the title also allude to the relationship between Drusilla and her sire, Angel. Drusilla knows him like few others do, and will reveal to readers a major part of Angel's plan to resurrect Giles -- a part that will potentially cause huge problems down the road. … I think fans will be very surprised by Dru. You'll see her in a way you haven't seen her before. That's not hype, it's fact! And yes, she's a great deal of fun to write."

Stay tuned to CBR News for more on "Drusilla" and the rest of Dark Horse's Buffyverse titles!


ETA 3

Drusilla Writes Her Own Buffy Spinoff Comic For Dark Horse | Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors

Drusilla Writes Her Own Buffy Spinoff Comic For Dark Horse

Written on February 28, 2012 by Rich Johnston in Comics

Juliet Landau, who played Drusilla in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel TV series is to write a Buffy Season 9 spinoff comic, featuring her acting alter ego. This is one of two such spinoff series promised by editor Scott Allie to accompany the ongoing Buffy and Angel & Faith.

It is also the first instance of Dark Horse’s Buffy line employing someone who worked on IDW’s Angel comics, as Landau co-wrote two issues of Angel: After the Fall starring Drusilla.


ETA 4


New CBR Behind Buffy S9 with Christos Gage and Scott Allie on Angel & Faith # 6 and the other Angel & Faith # 11 cover(I think they misprinted since this cover gives away the guest star in the next arc).

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=37249

Behind Buffy Season 9: "Angel & Faith" Welcome Drusilla

Writer Chris Gage and Editor Scott Allie stop by to reveal the secrets of the "Daddy Issues" arc from Giles' history before the Ripper to Drusilla's new plan and beyond with an exclusive look at the cover to issue #10.

Kiel Phegley, News Editor

One of the Buffyverse's biggest draws is back in more ways than one. Earlier today, news broke that Dark Horse Comics will be welcoming actress Juliet Landau to write a new series starring Drusilla – the twisted vampire she played for years on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer."

Meanwhile, Dru just made her – somehow sane – return to the world of the comics in last month's issue of "Angel & Faith" which opens new questions as to how the breaking of the Seed has impacted her, what her plans are for her former sire and how her return will throw a wrench in Angel's plans to resurrect Giles.

Before issue #7 hits this week, CBR News invited "Angel & Faith" writer Christos Gage and editor Scott Allie for a new installment of our regular BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 9 column to look behind where the series has been so far and what lies ahead from the secret past of Giles to Drusilla's plan to the chilling effects of the Lorophage demon and more.

And be sure to check out our exclusive cover to May's issue #10 while you wait for a full interview with Landau later this week on CBR!


EXCLUSIVE: The cover to "Angel & Faith" #10.

CBR News: To start, let's talk about the feel of the book as a whole. "Angel & Faith" has grown to remind me of the "Angel" TV show in some ways as it deals with the demon underground of London and other kinds of street-level stuff. Did you want to add a bit of that flavor into the proceedings since this was the first time you were doing an ongoing that wasn't a direct continuation of a show with the whole cast and everything?

Christos Gage: Speaking for myself, I think Joss had mentioned having a noir-ish feel to the book, which is where I think what you're talking about comes from. I've always liked that sort of feel. The book that Scott read that made him feel like I'd be a good fit for this was "Area 10" – a Vertigo graphic novel I did with Chris Samnee. That had elements to it similar to this.

Scott Allie: The "Angel" TV show evolved in a different way than "Buffy" did. "Buffy evolved in a straight line where as I think "Angel" jumped around a bit more and was a different show every year in a different way of "Buffy." I think it was all about finding a noir-type world with Angel and building that world around him. So the idea here would that this would be another iteration of that. You take the same character, you put him in London, and you give him a new supporting cast. There was definitely an attempt for this to be a sensible evolution out of the TV show while still contrasting what's going on in the "Buffy Season 9" series. Looking at this in a kind of post-modern way, putting him back in that detective role felt right.

When Joss and I were scripting the last few issues of "Season 8," we were talking a lot about how we would launch "Season 9," and he had a particular way he wanted the Angel book to work. But he didn't know exactly how he wanted to execute it. He said, "We've got to find somebody who can some up with the right approach." And after reading "Area 10," I though Chris was the right guy.

Chris, once you got started how did the fact that the book has two main characters impact how you approached this?

Gage: Well, everyone felt from the start that we didn't want this to be "Angel and Faith as Batman and Robin." We didn't want Faith to be the sidekick always reacting to Angel. We wanted her to be a co-lead as it were. That's something we talked about in terms of her continuing her work with the Slayers. That works particularly well since Buffy has had a falling out with the remaining Slayers, and they tend to resent her for destroying the Seed and making it so no new Slayers would be called. I talked a lot about how Faith was the one character in the Buffyverse who has grown the most since her first appearance. Xander has grown a lot, but to me, Faith started further back with more baggage and problems. Now we're at a time when in one of these issues, a girl looks at Faith and says, "What do we do? You're supposed to be the grown-up." [Laughs] It's like, "Are you kidding me?" But she really is in a lot of ways.

In many ways she's grown up in this relationship with Angel. She's the one saying, "We need to be careful with how we think about bringing Giles back from the dead." That was something that was almost impossible when there was magic in this world, and he's just rushing in headlong. So it wasn't a challenge for me to make Faith a strong character. She already was a strong character. The biggest challenge for me was in keeping Angel a bit of an unreliable narrator, as it were. I want fans to root for him, but I want them to be as uncomfortable with his plan to resurrect Giles as some of the others are. But I still don't want to make him unlikable or someone you root against. That's been a real tightrope walk. No one seems to hate him so far.

Allie: It depends on what message board you look on.

Gage: Well, they hate you for what you did, Scott.

Allie: [Laughs] I wrote that issue! One of the things that Joss weighed in on is what Chris is talking about. He was worried that we might make Angel irredeemable again. And I think one of the things that works about the setup of this series is that right from issue #1, we set up the premise that Angel's goal is to bring Giles back. With that as such a big scheme and a crazy idea, it did set up a dynamic where it felt like Faith would just be reacting to his terrible idea. That was one of the things that got a lot of early conversation early on so Chris would give Faith a strong enough reason to exist all her own.



Issue #6 started a brand new arc, so what's most important for each of them in this story? We know we're going to meet Faith's father, but we also get a lot about Giles' father and the Council of Watchers. How does that all come together?

Gage: I know for me, I always said from the start that I want Giles to be the third most important character in this book, even though he's dead. We know he kept Watcher diaries, and now they're using those diaries to find menaces that need to be dealt with – and Angel's using it to find a way to bring him back. But one of the ways I'm really enjoying the book as a device is that it allows us to look into Giles' past. One thing I'd love about the show as when they'd flash to Angel's past. They never did that with Giles!

So with this particular arc, it's called "Daddy Issues" because you've got Faith's father coming into the picture. You've got Drusilla coming in with Angel who was her sire. And then you've got the flashback to Giles' relationship with his father, and it's the first time that character's been shown. I have to admit, at first I had him as much of a colder character like Wesley's dad, but Joss stepped in after reading the outline and said, "I don't want him to be like Wesley's father. We've had a lot of cold fathers in the Buffyverse. Can we find a different way to play him?" And then I thought of him being from that World War II generation. He's very loving, but at the same time, he's got that attitude of "Keep Calm And Carry On." Duty comes first for him. He loves his son, but there's a duty that has to be fulfilled and a legacy to be fulfilled. So he says, "This is our birthright, son" and in a very Baby Boomer sort of way, we get this scene in #6 where Giles says, "I reject you and everything you stand for." To me, that's a lot more poignant if the father is a sympathetic character rather than a dick.

Allie: We knew that Giles rebelled. The premise of his whole character was that he had a rebellion. But to have a have a better father to rebel against shows a lot more about Giles than if he was just mad at his father for being a jerk.

Gage: And Giles' father will be seen again in issue #10 where we'll spend even more time with him.



At the end of the issue, we get a hint that there's more of Giles' story to follow from this event. Will that be something we'll see in issue #10?

Gage: Actually in issue #10 you get little boy Giles. I think he's about ten years old in that one. We're not going to do a linear thing. What was interesting about this issue was that people went, "Oh, is this where we see Giles become Ripper?" No. It wasn't a sudden, abrupt thing. I don't think I'm letting the cat out of the bag when I say that we do want to show Giles as Ripper. How could you not when you're doing flashbacks? But that was the beginning of his journey. We know from the show that he did go to Oxford and then dropped out. So in our first issue of the series, we saw Giles at the age he was right before he died. Now we've seen him as a teenager, and next is him as a little boy. We'll also see him as an early 20s punk magic dude and beyond, so hopefully you'll get a complete picture of Giles before he came into "Buffy." But it's not a biography. It's more that we'll see pieces of it that relate to the present day story we're telling.



The Lorophage demon is that thread that connects past and present here, and he's a creepy looking dude. What's his significance for the story with Dru moving forward?

Gage: There are some plot-related reasons for him, but what I wanted to do was explore past traumas. One of the great things that Joss did and does in his storytelling is that he finds threats that are somehow related to the journey the characters are going through. So for example, if Buffy is feeling like people are ignoring her, she'll get cursed and start to disappear. It's always something like that. So I wanted to create a character like that – a demon who feeds off trauma and brings it to the 'fore. As far as the visual, this is where Rebekah Isaacs is our secret weapon. I've gotten to the point where I don't need to say anything to her to design these. I think for this one I just said, "Needle fingers and a proboscis. Go nuts." And she went and designed this creepy ass character. It's something that send shivers up your spine. I'm writing an arc right now with a lot of demons in it, and I've been saying, "Do whatever you do." The name here is because the suffix "phage" is Greek for "to eat" and "Loro" stands for pain. So it's a pain-eating demon.



We also get a flashback here to a very specific moment in Faith's past on the show. How do you decide where and when to do these callouts, and how do you make them worthwhile for all the readers?

Allie: This is all Chris. Everybody on a project like this knows that a good way to reconnect with the readers is to remind them where it all came from. Everyone is motivated to keep rewatching and keeping those shows alive. Rebekah is like a diehard Joss fan, and so I know for her it's fun whenever Chris calls something out.

Gage: I watched 12 years of "Angel" and "Buffy" within the space of a year, and I'm a continuity nerd. So whenever an opportunity comes up to do this stuff, I see no reason not to put it in. But for the new reader – and this is something I picked up working with Tom Brevoort at Marvel – you've got to make sure to remember that every issue could be somebody's first. We do a little flashback panel here that makes the people who love the show go, "Cool! I remember that." But new readers will go, "I get it. She killed somebody thinking they were a vampire when they weren't." And that gives Rebekah a chance to draw Buffy too. It's a win-win all around, so you'll see more of it in issue #7 with the moment where Angelus first lays eyes on Drusilla when she was a normal person.



So Drusilla. We know that she's significantly different here from what she's been in the past, and I know that could be part of the changes in the world. But Dru is a character with a very specific voice and feeling. How do you work to keep her authentic to the original even in this new state?

Gage: For me, the point was "Let's not just bring Drusilla back to bring her back." One of the things we've been exploring with Angel is not a madness per se, but when he becomes Angelus it's the dark side coming out and a loss of control. With Faith, she's got that temper that overtakes her. The fun part is messing with that. Now Angel is the one where people are saying, "Is this guy crazy?" and Drusilla is the sane one. She's got these followers, and she's not siring or killing people. She's following Harmony's rules. So it's a matter of "Let's take this familiar character and view them in a new light to see what that reveals about all our characters." And again, I try to follow Joss' example there. He did that a lot in the shows.

What does Drusilla represent for both Angel and Faith in their place in the book right now?

Gage: For him, she represents a sin already committed – taking this girl who in many ways was the opposite of what he was as a human being since she was a good and devout person, and then destroying that. She represents that sin, so it's always difficult for him to deal with her. And what he's trying to do in resurrecting Giles is another way of him making up for his past. So him dealing with past sins will continue to be an issue for him.

With Faith, I'm trying to think of what I can say since we're waiting for her father to come back. Since I'm wary of spoilers, I'll just say that the past coming back to haunt them is going to be a major issue for everyone.


That has to be the Morris cover for Angel & Faith # 11.So confirmation of Willow(she left SF with the Scythe) in the next arc of Angel & Faith

ETA 4

Some tweets from Christos Gage including a tentative title for the issue 11-14 arc.

https://twitter.com/#!/Christosgage

Christos Gageþ@Christosgage

It's been a privilege coordinating ANGEL & FAITH and the DRUSILLA mini with @julietlandau ! I think you'll love it!
- 28 Feb 12via web


SlayAliveþ@SlayAliveForum

@Christosgage Could you tell us what the title of the new arc for A&F is?

Christos Gageþ@Christosgage

@SlayAliveForum Family Reunion maybe? Something with Family in it.
28 Feb 12via


tentative title ="Family Reunion "

Besides Willow,I'm betting Connor is going to be in this arc too especially since it's set in L.A.

[amy2345]

This is awesome news about Dru! She's one of my favorite character in both Buffy and Angel. Love it

[comic fan]

Spoiler for Angel & Faith # 7 from Maggie.

BuffyForums

Really good issue.

Drusilla's sanity is a result of the Lorophage demon eating away all her pain. (It's not related to Mosaic, so those of us who want to keep treating IDW as non-canon may do so).

What's excellent is that Dru has set herself up with the job of helping the helpless. She has the demon eat on the pain of people who have been damaged by life. They get rid of their pain, she gets people willing to share a spot of blood from time to time, everybody wins. It's such a great mirror for Angel! The quick fix that doesn't really address the problem. Angel sees right away that just ripping away pain robs people of their full humanity -- but that's what Angel himself does. Most notably with Connor.

Who finally gets a lengthy mention. Connor's been trying to get in touch with Angel, who won't take the call. He says it's for Connor's own good, cause all he ever does is get Connor hurt.

I just so love it that Angel can see what's wrong with Drusilla's mode of helping the helpless, while doing pretty much the same thing. His horrified reaction that Dru can't be doing good because she's soulless is perfect. Like I said, she's a mirror for the way Angel tries to do good with a soul, so Dru's present crusade just barrels into his wheelhouse o' denial.

Drusilla sets the lorophage on Angel, but calls him off (with her hypnosis thingie) before the demon can rip out Angel's pain. She tells Angel that she's going to wait for him to ask for it. She also reveals that Angel's got some phlebotinim device attached to his nipple that basically causes any piece of Giles' soul that is floating around to land in him. Angel's already picked up a few pieces. Drusilla says this can't work -- since Angel already has Angelus in there. Three's a crowd.

Dru's parting lines are great: "I can take the guilt away. Fix it so you can live with killing that poncy librarian. Let me help you, Angel. Before this goes too far. I know what it's like to have voices in your head. Three is too many. The day will come when you can't keep them quiet any longer. And oh what a bad day that will be. When you want me.. you know where to find me."

Along the way Dru says that she knows perfectly well that Angelus is in there all the time, whispering to Angel, sometimes slipping out. It's a neat little solution. The two-entity people can probably role with it. But it works for folks like me who see Angelus as just a dark side to Angel. Anyway, the message here is that Angelus is lurking and could well manifest, even if Angel keeps his soul.

Faith's Dad stuff is less interesting. He's an alcoholic who arrives saying he's now sober. We get some moments from Faith that strike me as authentic. (She's PO'd at the guy). But deep down she wants love from her Dad and so she goes with the possibility that this time maybe he is for real there for her. Of course, it's revealed on the last page that he's just looking for a way to get into Giles' house to retrieve a mysterious object for some mysterious person. That's a betrayal that was 100% not surprising, though it could work out into something interesting.

But mostly this issue rocks for the exploration of Angel's darkness, and especially for shining a light on just how un-self-aware Angel really is. It's the first A&F issue that really moved me. Angel is in a heap o' trouble, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. But that's the basic message. Humans need to go through their pain, through their dark, to get to what's real. It's the first time I really feel some hope for the guy.

ETA

Preview pages for Buffy S9 # 7.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...eview&id=11613

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #7



Still seeking normalcy in the midst of zompire-stricken San Francisco, Buffy contemplates a life-changing decision the likes of which few Slayers have ever faced. Meanwhile Spike rushes to the aid of Detective Dowling, who’s in over his head with his recent investigation into the undead bloodsuckers plaguing the city.









Ah man,her roomies want her to stay and she thinks they don't because of their first reactions which is admited as gut first over -reactions.They wanted her to stay.


ETA 2

Here's a full summary of Angel & Faith # 7 from Zianna.

http://slayalive.com/showthread.php/...0187#post90187

Summary

Here's the summary.

The issue begins with Angel narrating the past. We are in 1860. He is stalking Drusilla. She is everything that he isn't, a dutiful daughter, a devout Christian, an unspoiled and innocent girl. With only one look at her he knew that she would become his masterpiece. Angel remembers how he slaughtered her family and how she turned to God for help. But Angel managed to plant the idea of her being evil into her head and he killed everyone that she turned for help. He convinced her that there was no salvation for her and he destroyed everything that she had. And when there was nothing left, he aimed her mind and managed to destroy that as well. And he made her insane and then sired her, in order to condemn her for the rest of the eternity.

Back to the present. Angel keeps on thinking. Nothing lasts forever. He's got a soul now. And his once greatest achievements are now his biggest sins. Even Drusilla has changed and he can understand that. There is something different about her, she is sane now. But how?

"It's a funny story", as Drusilla tells him. He knows that she has always loved having pets, and someone suggested to her a Lorophage demon. Normally these creatures don't feed on vampires, they need to feed on trauma and pain, and vampires don't have a soul to feel that. But thanks to Angel, Drusilla had been able to feel pain and trauma even without having a soul. And her new Lorophage friend was so hungry when he woke up from hibernation, that it nourished itself on every trauma that Drusilla had. She can still remember what Angel did to her, but all the fear and the pain now is gone. And then she wondered what to do with herself. And since every girl admires her father, she decided to be like Angel and start helping the helpless. Usually a Lorophage demon feeds on its victim's trauma, but it keeps on sucking until there is nothing left but a corpse. But with Drusilla's guidance, everybody can be happy. And she can also help Angel as well. People crippled from fears and ghosts of their pasts, now come to Drusilla for help. She takes away their pain and in the process her pet gets fed as well.

But Angel doesn't bite it. He knows that people are getting crazy hurting one another and he attacks the Lorophage demon trying to kill it but the demon easily defends itself against Angel. Drusilla keeps on talking saying that she can't help everyone, some people are too much disturbed. But he can ask any of the people that are there. And some of them start telling their stories and their traumas, thanking Mother Superior at the end for her help. Angel is quite surprised when he hears the nickname. But as Drusilla tells him, she had to use another name, she knew that Angel was in London and she didn't want him to track her until she was ready for it. And now she is. She obeys Harmony's rules, the people she "heals" are so thankful to her that they let her feed on them, just some drops of blood from each, she doesn't kill humans anymore. And she can help Angel as well. He is still stuck in his past, but his past can't hurt him anymore. She wants Angel to let her take away all his pain. But Angel gets mad, puts on his vamp face and attacks Drusilla. She doesn't have a soul, she can't be capable of doing selfless things. But on the other hand she doesn't kill anymore, she obeys the rules, and Faith stops him and tells him to go. As Faith and Angel leave, Drusilla tells him that she's waiting for him to come back when he's ready. She can never cross at him because they will always be a part of each other.

Faith and Angel on their way back start arguing. Angel wants to stop Drusilla, but Faith reminds him that they need a reason to start a war. But they have a reason, Drusilla drives people crazy, she takes away their emotions which are what makes them humans, she messes with people heads and drives them crazy the way he messed with hers once. "The abused kid becomes the abuser. It's all my fault!". But Faith doesn't agree, because people go to Drusilla voluntarily. It's not their job to interfere when people want to do that. And some people seemed pretty good next to Drusilla. "Ask me, there are some things of your head" Faith finally tells to Angel just before she sees her...

"Dad?" He is waiting for her. Faith quickly hides her weapon behind her back. Daddy tries to touch her face, but she pulls back wondering what he's doing there. Her dad says he's different now, he's been sober the last 6 months but Faith doesn't believe him. Her dad continues talking saying that she has every right not to trust him, but he has finally managed to put all the bad things from his past behind him and he's asking for a second chance. He just wants to fix things between them. Faith doesn't believe him and she walks away, hearing her dad saying that he;ll be in London for a couple of days and he still has the same phone number. When she reaches Angel, who was standing a little bit further, he tells her that he doesn't smell alcohol on her dad. And that gets Faith really mad. Angel should be the last one trying to give her any advice about parents, his child has called so many times and he has blown him off every single one of them. But Angel defends himself saying that that was the best thing to do. When he was born he swore to give him the best life he could offer, but then he realized that that was a life away from him. All he's ever done to him was to hurt him and to cost Connor his childhood. Connor is better now way from him. Faith replies that it's hard to see that when he lives at the other part of the world. And Angel stops talking only by telling her that he can never change what he is, but her father can, which makes Faith run after her dad.

Angel is left alone walking. He ends up at the East End, in an abandoned house. He remembers. He enters inside, and he hears a familiar voice. It's Drusilla, she is also there. This used to be her house, the place where he slaughtered her family. All those years she could hear their screams in her head over and over again. She used to write lyrics about itm but now she is able to return to that house after all those years for the first time. And she's actually thinking of buying it. Angel starts apologizing, he's so sorry for what he has done to her. But Dru stops him. She was just a stupid girl believing that her gift to see the future was a curse. She would have had a terrible life, if he hadn't sired her and now she's finally free because Angel set her free. And she wants to return the favor to Angel. The Lorophage demon attacks Angel trying to suck out his pain but Angel defends. "This isn't freedom, this is lobotomy!" And he starts fighting the Lorophage demon. But unfortunately the demon is much stronger than Angel, and only Drusilla is able to stop it. And she does. Angel understands that she's being using hypnosis on the demon, something that he wasn't able to master himself. But Drusilla says that everybody needs someone for guidance. And the Lorophage demon has her. The vampires have Harmony and her rules. Sure she misses the screams and the pain she used to cause to her victims, but one must move on and not hold on to the past. And so must Angel. But she won't change him until he asks for it. Drusilla has decided to give Angel the choice that he has never given her. He'll change only if he wants to.

Angel ironically replies "Good thing you're immortal" which makes Dru mad and she tears up his shirt. "Your foreplay could use some work" Angel says. "I see you, Angel, I know what you're up to. My mind isn't the only thing that's clearer, my sight is as well". And what she can see is the Tooth of Ammut, the devourer of ancient Egyptian souls attached to Angel's right nipple. Even with the seed broken, it can still work as a fragment of the spirit and Angel has merged it with his flesh. And she understands Angel's plan: "When you find them, the pieces of your dead friend have only one place to go, Into you."

Angel tries to avoid it, saying that he is familiar with what Drusilla is able to do and understand. But Drusilla keeps on warning him. Angel plays with the fire. She knows that Angel has already managed to find a couple of fragments of Giles' soul and he merged them inside of him. And that's the reason why he acts like Giles sometimes. Dru with her vision has seen him. But the more of Giles he takes, the more Giles takes place inside of him. And Giles' voice becomes louder and louder inside Angel's head, Drusilla knows it. But inside Angel's head there are already two voices living there, Angel and Angelus. And Drusilla knows better than anyone, Angelus doesn't just come back when and if Angel loses the soul, Angelus is always there inside of Angel's head talking to Angel all the time. Angel gets more defensive trying to deny that Angelus is always present inside of him, that Angelus is just a part of him, but Drusilla insists. She knows better than anyone. Angelus is always there like a devil on your shoulder, whispering to him to do evil all the time. And he's a persuasive little devil, isn't he?.

Angel gets even more defensive. "Angelus doesn't exist, not as long as I have a soul, it's been that way for over a century!" But Drusilla insists. She can see into Angel's past. She can see him feeding on the dying cashier back in the '70s. Who was urging him to do that? Angel has had enough and stops her. He's good at ignoring people and that's what he'll do. He says goodbye leaving her. But Drusilla keeps on telling him that he should let her help him. She can take away the pain he feels for killing Giles before it goes too far. Drusilla knows better that anyone what's like to hear voices in your head. And the day that Angel won't be able to stop the voices he hears inside his head is not far away and it won't be a joy. And finally she tells Angel: "When you want me, you know where to find me".

Back to Faith. She's at home with her father who is amazed with everything that now belongs to Faith. But he also sees her weapons. Faith tries to justify it saying that Giles used to collect those, but her dad knows the truth of who she really is. After all the things he has watched on the TV, he has figured it out himself, and Faith feels relieved about it. And her dad feels so proud that his little girl can kick anyone's ass. And he also shows her his chip of being sober for the last 6 months. It's a new start for him and he's also hoping for a new start with his daughter. Faith's mobile phone rings, she picks it up, it's important, she needs to go and she leaves her dad alone at home. When he's alone, his phone rings as well. He answers, "Don't worry sire, you're gonna get exactly what you asked for" he says, while holding a piece of the things that Giles used to collect.

To be continued.

ETA 3

here's Kairos summary and review of Angel & Faith # 7.

http://kairosimperfect.livejournal.com/96432.html

A&F #7, Summary and Review

The issue begins with two pages of flashback to Angelus driving Drusilla mad, and then his reaction to seeing her as "Mother Superior" in the present day, and instantly sensing that she's sane. He says as much and asks how.

Drusilla calmly explains that the Lorophage demon is her new pet. They normally won't feed on vampires because vampires are unlikely to experience trauma, having no souls. Drusilla, however, still contained the agony of her psychological torture at Angelus's hands, and the demon woke from its hibernation and sucked it all out. She now remembers the pain, but doesn't care. She decided to emulate her "father" and help the helpless - by feeding their trauma to her new pet, which she can restrain so that it doesn't kill its victims.

Angel is horrified and alludes to those of the victims he's seen who have gone mad and killed others. He attacks the Lorophage despite Dru's explanation - that people are coming to her voluntarily, and that she takes their pain and feeds her demon, no harm done.

The demon throws off Angel's attack easily as Drusilla scolds him for being rude. She hands the floor to the humans in the room for their testimonials. One speaks of losing his wife and kids; one talks about being a drug addict. Both feel like better people after meeting "Mother Superior".

Angel asks her about the name, and she says she was keeping her presence secret from him until she was ready, though she had a vision informing her that he was around. She's excited to see him and says that he shouldn't be offended by what she's doing, since she's following Harmony's rules, drinking only a little blood which her followers offer her, and has turned the Lorophage from a predator to a healer. She offers to take the burden of guilt from him: "You're stuck in the past, Angel. But you don't need to be."

Angel vamps out as she touches his face, and grabs her hand. He says that without a soul, she's not capable of doing anything selfless, and she informs him that there's something in it for her: personal comfort. There's no reason to fight, she says, but if he insists... Faith gets between them. The humans are looking angry; Angel will obviously have to fight them if he tries to hurt Drusilla.

As Faith guides Angel out the door, Drusilla tells him to come back when he's ready. "I could never be cross at you, Angel. We're part of each other, you and I. We always will be."

Faith and Angel walk home. Angel is saying that they have to stop her; Faith reminds him of the new rules, and that they need a reason. He says that the reason is that Drusilla is driving people insane. "You take away their emotions, even negative ones, you're shutting off part of what makes them human. It's no wonder some of them snap." He goes on to talk about how Drusilla is re-enacting what he did to her; the abused kid grows up to be an abuser. Faith dismisses his guilt on the matter and points out the people in Dru's sanctuary who made their choice and seem to be fine. "Ask me, there are some things it's better to put out of your - head -"

They've reached the house. Faith's father is setting on a ledge at the doorway. He greets her, saying how grown up she looks, and she pulls away and asks what the hell he's doing here. He says he's been sober for six months, and she retorts sarcastically. He says he understands that she has no reason to trust him, and he'll go if she wants, but he finally turned it around and wants to fix things between them.

She turns away from him, and he says, "Okay. I get it," and leaves after saying that he's around for a couple more days and his cell number's the same. As he leaves, Angel tells Faith that it's none of his business, but he didn't smell alcohol on her father.

Faith is angry, first saying that that just means he's a sober bum, and then claiming that she won't take family advice from Angel, who keeps blowing off his own kid when he calls. Angel responds, none too calmly himself, that it's for Connor's own good. He's only ever hurt Connor, and he wants to give him the best life he can - by staying the hell out of it. "He's a man now, with his own life. And he's a lot better off without me in it." Faith believes he's too far away to be able to tell.

Angel changes the subject back to Faith's father: "Do what you want. All I'm saying is, I can't change what I am. Your father can." Something about this seems to strike a chord in Faith, and she runs down the street to catch up with her father, a smile on her face.

On the next page we see Angel alone, checking out a Victorian house on the East End with a "For Sale" sign up. He opens the door and recalls doing the same thing as Angelus - it's Drusilla's house, where he killed her family. "Fond memories?" he hears. Drusilla's standing there. She talks about how she used to have the memories from this places stuck in an endless loop in her head. She hasn't been back until now, but it doesn't frighten her anymore and she's thinking of buying the house.

Angel interrupts her to apologize. She won't let him, saying that he set her free, as she wouldn't have had any kind of life as a religious girl with visions. She wants to set him free too. The Lorophage attacks from behind as she says so.

Angel rips its needle fingers out of his forehead, saying, "This isn't freedom. It's a lobotomy." Next it stabs him through the chest, and is reaching to his forehead wounds with its proboscis when Dru stops it with her hypnosis. Angel, bleeding on the floor, makes a comment about how good she always was at that, while he couldn't get the hang of it. She says that the demon just needs guidance, in the same way that Harmony is guiding the world's vampires into changing their ways. She misses the thrill of the hunt, but she says they can't cling to the old ways. She won't force Angel to change, but she's waiting for him to ask for it.

"Good thing you're immortal," he says, and she responds by ripping his shirt open and thus securing the audience's sympathy with her. He's confused, but she says her sight is clearer now and points out a stud in his nipple: "The Tooth of Ammut. Devourer of ancient Egyptian souls. Even with all links to her hell dimension gone, it's still a magnet for fragments of the spirit. And you've merged it with your flesh. So when you find them, the pieces of your dead friend have only one place to go. Into you."

Angel pulls his coat closed and says he's not intimidated by her; she says she's trying to help. She's seen him displaying Giles' mannerisms in tiny ways, and knows that the more pieces of his soul that Angel takes in, the louder his voice will become in his head. Angel already has Angelus in there, and Dru knows there's more influence there than Angel's human friends imagine. Angel denies it, saying Angelus doesn't exist as long as he has a soul, but Dru calls him "a devil on your shoulder, whispering evil, tempting things", and looks into Angel's memory to remind him of the cashier that he fed on in the seventies.

Refusing to listen to her, Angel moves to get out of the house. Dru tells him one more time that she can fix everything so that Angel can live with having killed Giles, rather than living with his voice in his head along with his own and Angelus's. "The day will come when you can't keep them quiet any longer. And oh, what a bad day that will be."

We go back to Faith and her father, now at the Giles residence. He's impressed by all the old stuff, and she says she doesn't know what most of it is. He points out the flatscreen TV as her own acquisition, and they talk about baseball a little until he sees the weapons cabinet. Faith tries to pass it off as the last guy's collection, but her father lets her know that he knows she's a Slayer. He figured it out when he saw them on TV - he's not freaked out, just relieved that some of her behavior from the past has an explanation and happy that his little girl can kick ass. "And you're really not drinking?" she asks. When he confirms he's not, and that he wants to start fresh, they hug.

Faith's phone rings. She's reluctant to leave, but tells her father it's an emergency and asks him to stay until she gets back. He tells her not to rush on his account. When she's gone, his own phone rings. It's someone he calls "sir" and has promised something. He reaches onto a shelf and picks up a green glass orb, telling the person on the phone, "You're gonna get exactly what you asked for."

*


Thoughts beyond summary:

As far as plot advancement goes, there isn't a lot that this issue offers. We find out more about Angel's plan to resurrect Giles, Drusilla lays out a plan of her own, and Faith's dad shows up. Good stuff, but thanks to all the previews and spoilers that the publisher hands out like candy, we already knew that all of it was coming. There's still this pervasive feeling of disappointment that we're not yet at that part that casts a shadow on the excitement of finally being at this part.

But none of that matters because this issue is still going to rock your ass off. What we got instead of plot was character development and expanded yet consistent internal mythology - my two favorite things! Christos Gage, how did you even know that?

Drusilla has maintained a spot near the top of my favorite character list since I started watching the show, mostly because I have a thing for crazy girls but also because she's just all-around amazing. So the crazy girl thing just got taken away from me, but I can deal with that. What's interesting is that her insanity was tied directly to her trauma. Thus, her new confidence and self-control mean she's both happier and more dangerous, and on top of that, she's no longer a tragedy. She has no reason to hate Angel! Yay! Angel has no reason to not kill her! Uh...yay?

She's also doing a great job of explaining in layman's terms (actually this expression is funny because she's Mother Superior) the dilemma of the new vamp lifestyle. More than anyone except perhaps Harmony herself, she's found the best possible way to capitalize on it: she's got a stable food source, a cult who worships her, and a project to keep her entertained for years. We might understand that what she's doing is wrong, but it's not an easy stance to defend, since she isn't killing and she is making a lot of humans happy. But she's evil! She's completely evil! What I loved in this issue is that her motivations (and by extension the motivations of all the vamps) are clearly laid out within a single panel: Angel says she's not capable of doing anything selfless, and she agrees instantly. Then she goes on to explain that it doesn't matter why she's doing it - she isn't causing any harm, so Angel should have no reason to stop her.

Is it okay to let people choose to go insane? I think it's not. Angel thinks it's not. Deep down inside, I think Faith think it's not, but I wouldn't blow off her side of the argument. If someone found me a way to siphon off a few of my worst memories, I probably wouldn't even take a day to ponder it before I signed up. (Hey, has anyone seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Wanna talk about it?) But getting rid of just negative emotions is shakier. Angel's been through that with Jasmine, and he has a very sharp understanding of the role that his own negative emotions play: without them, he wouldn't be able to choose to not let them rule him.

So we finally got the rundown on the current Connor/Angel standing. It's exactly what I would have expected if I had known that Connor knew where Angel was. So that's good to know, though it still leaves us with no more insight on Angel's Twilight days. What I really liked was the way Angel showed us the contrast between himself and Faith's dad. It's true, Angel can't change. He can't be a good father by taking an active role in Connor's life. But he believes in humans having the potential to become better people by choice.

One of the latest covers released for an upcoming issue shows Faith and Angel in LA. Is this a guarantee for a Connor/Angel reunion? Maybe not, but it's worth crossing fingers over.

Ooh! Hasn't there always been some ambiguity about whether Dru's hypnotic abilities were unique to her or something that all vampires could learn? Well NOW THERE ISN'T.

Drusilla saying that she can see Giles' behaviors in Angel is something I think we have to take her word for. There isn't really any way that the art could get it across, and anything in the dialogue would be a bit too obvious. I was a little annoyed that the last two issues went by without any Gilesisms (not counting inviting Harmony in because we know that was an authorial slip), but if it's just supposed to be that subtle, okay. I'm kind of glad to see that it was an intentional move on Angel's part, just because I think that'll make the better story. It's not going to work, I think we can be sure of that, but it does keep Giles with us and complicate Angel even more.

Now, in the B/A fiction I've read, I've seen Angelus appear in various ways, from a second personality that speaks directly into Angel's mind to an indefinable influence to a null and void part of Angel's past. My own interpretation is that Angelus is a convenient name for "the demon" which has always canonically been there. It's Angelus who animates the dead body where it lives along with the soul, Angel. It has a personality, because it lifted one from the human life it once devoured, but it's the same personality that the soul has, except that it's infected by evil. The two can interact within Angel's mind, but only insofar as a person can have an internal debate while making a choice. To Angel they both feel like "self", which makes it difficult for him to know where his feelings on any particular matter are coming from, but they're distinct.

I don't think that anything in Dru and Angel's conversation contradicted this. Actually, I think it supported it 100% and I'm thrilled. I was a little disappointed in Angel for the way he denied Angelus being there, but I gather he wasn't in any state to stay and argue rationally, and it's all just semantics to a point anyway - maybe he doesn't call his demon Angelus, in which case sure, Angelus doesn't exist.

What's Mr. Lehane up to? I don't know, but I'll give him this: the father/daughter scenes were starting to get so sweet (Faith was so happy!) that I instantly realized he was either going to die or it was going to be even worse. Is his betrayal going to count as "worse"? Let's hope so, or he's probably still going to die.

ETA 4

CBR Juliet Landau,Christos Gage,& Scott Allie interview on Drusilla miniseries and new art.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=37271

Landau, Gage & Allie Discuss "Drusilla"

Juliet Landau, star and writer behind "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" villain Drusilla explains the mysteries driving the five issue mini-series in June with "Angel & Faith's" Christos Gage and editor Scott Allie. Plus, exclusive art.

Kiel Phegley, News Editor


Actress Juliet Landau writes the five issue "Drusilla" miniseries, premiering in June. Photo by Deverill Weekes.

When the slightly askew vampire Drusilla returns to the world of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" this June, she won't be alone. The just-announced, all-new five-issue "Drusilla" mini-series from Dark Horse Comics won't only be written by actress Juliet Landau, who portrayed the villain over the course of the original "Buffy" TV show, but it will also draw in a number of threads, ideas and characters from Dark Horse's "Season 9" of Buffy comics and the ongoing "Angel & Faith" series where the character was just introduced.

"I think the appeal is really that she's such a rich character with so many dynamics and contradictions," Landau told CBR News. "She's a villain, but she's also got a very sweet, childlike vulnerable side. She's really a mystery from having all these elements rolled up into one. She remains this mysterious, enigmatic character. One of the things that's exciting in relation to the comic book is that Drusilla is rife with possibilities for story because she's lived 200 years. There's so many different eras she's been a part of and then in terms of her own personal history, it's very deep. So there's a lot to draw upon literally and figuratively."

Joined on interior art by Tim Seeley and Cliff Richards, Landau initially came to Dark Horse through another artistic connection. "Juliet was introduced to me through [regular Buffy artist] Georges Jeanty," editor Scott Allie explained. "Georges goes to a lot of Buffy conventions now and he goes over to England often for those shows."

"Scott and I have been talking about this for quite some time -- ruminating and planning and finally doing it," the actress added. "But it did come through Georges. He's become a really dear friend and I'd forgotten that that's how Scott and I had met even!"

Jeanty will provide covers for the series alongside Steve Morris and Landau explained that from the beginning, she wanted her friend involved in her series. "Georges did a drawing of me as Dru that I have hanging in my house," she said. "It's an exquisite, incredible piece that would make an outlandishly amazing cover. He did that pretty early on when we first met and I was really excited about it. And I've been very, very involved with the artists on this, both on the covers and the internal art -- sending along reference images and designing the panels."

Storywise, "Drusilla" will spill out of the current "Daddy Issues" arc in "Angel & Faith" where so far she's been a bit different than readers have seen in the past. Writer Christos Gage explained how the world of "Buffy Season 9" changed not only Dru in his book but the entire world of the character. "I wrote the first issue without it confirmed that Juliet would be doing this, but when it all fell into place, we exchanged e-mails and she was very gracious and nice," Gage said. "She said 'Here's what I want to do. Is there a way that this can dovetail with what you're doing?' I said absolutely. We've found a way for the two stories to follow on each other, but it's not a 'crossover.' You don't have to buy one to read the other. Hopefully my arc sets up her story in a way that you want to know more about Dru and then in Juliet's book, that's exactly what you get. I've seen what she's got planned and it's some really cool stuff."

Readers looking for where the two sync up should look no further than "Angel & Faith" #9, though they should be looking closely. "It actually picks up directly where the 'Angel & Faith' comic leaves off -- literally the panel right after," Landau said. "So it's going to be a continuation from that moment going forward."

Allie noted, "As we progressed in Chris and Rebekah [Isaac's] arc, we started fine tuning the connections. Juliet was reading Chris' scripts and then she was turning in the scripts for her first issues as Rebekah was finishing art on the second to last issue of the 'Angel & Faith' arc, #9. So we had her stick some characters into the background doing different things and saying, 'Let's take this guy from Chris and Rebekah's story and make him this guy from Juliet's script.' There's really that connective tissue working there.

"It picks up very directly from Chris and Rebekah's story. And the very catalytic scene that starts off Juliet's story could just as easily been part of the climax of the 'Angel & Faith' story. They really dovetail nicely together," Allie said. "One of the things that makes this a better fit for Season 9 is that so much in the world has changed since Season 8. Just like Chris is doing so much with Giles' history in 'Angel & Faith,' the 'Drusilla' story has one foot in the past in a big way. We can look at who she's been as well as who she's going to be in the new world. One of the questions that's going to be really fun to pose in this story is 'Where does such a classic, gothic, old world vampire fit in to this current world?' Dealing with Drusilla in a world where vampires have become en vogue creates a turning point for her in her very long life and one she probably wouldn't have preferred."

"It definitely shows a really different side of Dru. In terms of how that impacts the other characters, it's very interesting to see how that pays off," the actress said. "I sort of find that every creative process -- I've been directing, producing, writing and acting -- are all kind of similar beasts. And I definitely found working on this, because I inhabited Dru over the course of six seasons, that picking up Dru and slipping back into her skin came surprisingly easily."

The editor noted while other actors have come on and done stories in the "Buffy" world before now, the Drusilla series stands out because of that closeness Landau has with the character. "Having done this before, I'm seeing something different in Juliet. When Amber Benson wrote the 'Willow & Tara' stuff, she was very much approaching it as a writer writing this story about this group of characters. With what Juliet's doing, her understanding of the character she played on TV means that the plot is really just a blossoming of that character. She's got a real internal understanding of who Dru is.

"And one of the weird things people are going to notice about the 'Drusilla' series is that while it's completely about Drusilla, there's an elusive quality about her where she's somewhat at arms length from the reader," Alie said. "It's as much about other people's perception of her as it is about Dru herself. Not every page is about Drusilla running around doing her crazy behavior. In a way, it's strangely soft focused on her with the plot and so while it all sprouts from Juliet's understanding of the character, the plot brings in a lot of other kinds of characters. It's so interesting. It all evolves from Juliet's understanding of Dru from the inside the way only an actor's perspective can provide."

"I'd agree," said Gage. "When actors inhabit roles, they do a lot of thinking beyond what's in the script about who this person is and where they come from. Juliet is giving so much thought to what effect Drusilla has on the world and other people and entities that they encounter. It's a very interesting approach and I'm really looking forward to it. Fans of Drusilla and Buffy in general will really dig it, I think."

Allie noted that by the series end, "We get to see who Drusilla becomes. She does become something new in this -- not in the sense that she sprouts wings or anything, but she's evolving right along with the changing world."

Fans who want to see more of Landau ahead of the comic's June debut can still catch the star in a production of John Patrick Shanley's play "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea" at the Crown City Theater in Los Angeles. "We've been running going on six months. We've been extended four times and it's been an amazing experience," she said. "John McNaughton, who directed the Robert De Niro film 'Mad Dog And Glory,' directed and we've gotten to be the Critic's Pick of the Los Angeles Times and all these raves. It's been an exquisite experience and I'm so happy to be continuing that in NoHo through the end of the month. Then, I just shot a guest-starring role on 'Criminal Minds' and finished an independent called 'Dark Hearts' as well as did voices for the animated DVD that was just released 'Justice League: Doom' so it's been very busy lately."

Landau noted that the "Criminal Minds" guest spot led to a "Buffy" reunion of a different sort. Series star Matthew Gray Gubler stepped behind the camera, of which Landau said, "He's incredibly talented. He as in the episode and directing and it was a really interesting, dark, cool episode. I can't wait to see how it turns out. And a lot of the 'Buffy' and 'Angel' alum crew are now working on 'Criminal Minds.' The key makeup artist Jane from 'Angel' is there and the D.P. on 'Criminal Minds' was the camera operator on 'Buffy' so it was amazing. It's really fun to get to work with everybody again."



Artists Tim Seeley and Cliff Richards lend their talent to "Drusilla."



"Drusilla" picks up directly after Dru's appearance in "Angel & Faith" #9



By the series end, fans will get to see who Drusilla becomes.

"Drusilla" hits stores from Dark Horse Comics in June.

[comic fan]

Finally got my copy of Angel & Faith # 7,"Daddy Issues Part II of IV"

I thought it was a really great issue.Alll the Angel/Dru interaction really popped for me and Dru most certainly seems more dangerous sane.The sanity adds to her cunning since I don't think insane Dru would think to pull a scheme like this and tie Angel and Faith's hands so effectivly by following Harmony's rules.No way insane Dru would do that.

I wonder if Dru will still be sane when this arc concludes and her miniseries?

The reasons Angel has been acting like Giles and could invite Harmony in i think were pretty figured out before this issue's release but there is a twist to it.With Angel actually collecting piecves of Giles soul into himself.Does this make anybody else think of Voldemort horcruxes?It's not exactly the same but seems a little similar at the same time.

I can't wait for Faith to find out because I don't thin kshe will be on the same page.

As for Faith and her father.That plot is sort of by the numbers.Faith has major league wanting for a daddy as seen by her relationhip with The Mayor.So I'm not surprised about her about turn after talking to Angel.I think she really wants a father and was looking for a reason to welcome him back which Angel gave.Unfortuantly,looks like her father is going to betray her.I wonder if they guy he's stealing that orb for is Whistler?

And I loved the Connor mention.Definit setup for an upcoming arc I think.Angel staying away for Connor's own good is typical Angel.Somehow I doubt Connor is goign to appreciate that reason when they do finally hook up again.

Overall,another strong issue.

[comic fan]

First advanced review for Buffy S9 # 7.

Review - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #7 - On Your Own Part 2 | BAMFAS.com :: Entertainment*Gaming^Food-Music+Life

Review – Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #7 – On Your Own Part 2

By Jenny– March 2, 2012



Script: Andrew Chambliss
Pencils: Georges Jeanty
Inks: Karl Story
Colors: Michelle Madsen
Cover: Phil Noto
Alternate Cover: Georges Jeanty with Dexter Vines and Michelle Madsen
Executive Produce: Joss Whedon
Published By: Dark Horse

This issue begins with Buffy’s roommates, Tumble and Anaheed voting on whether Buffy should stay in the apartment with them. As quickly as they come to their decision they realize that Buffy is already gone. Spike, being the stand up vampire that he is, has taken all of Buffy’s burdens and planted them firmly on his shoulders in hopes of alleviating as much stress and pain off of Buffy that he can. This is not to say that Buffy is incapable of taking care of things, but she is clearly going through some life changing stuff and Spike wants nothing more than to help and be there for her. True to form, Spike is putting out fires all over the place. After a fight with Buffy, Spike receives a call from Detective Dowling who asks him for assistance because he has come across a nest of zompires. Without hesitation, Spike steers his bug infested floating castle in the sky to the nest and jumps into action. Turns out Spike needs some help too and as Buffy helps him and returns the favor, it highlights how great of a team Buffy and Spike really are. After the zompire threat is gone, Buffy and Spike have a heart to heart (I’m not going to lie, I got super giddy here) and then, in typical form, everything goes to #@!% just as fast. Tragedy strikes and we are left wondering what the hell just happened. I read the final panels over and over again and I still don’t know what to think!

This issue was great, especially for the Buffy and Spike shippers (me!). There are a lot of sweet moments followed by a lot of what the &%#@ moments. This issue has it all, the sads, the happys, and most importantly, the sitting there like a deer in headlights unable to form a single thought! The art and dialog are excellent and I especially love Phil Noto’s cover showing a relaxed Buffy and Spike enjoying a glass of wine and a crossword puzzle, the picture of normalcy. Waiting another month for the next issue is going to be an excruciating task but I think it’s definitely going to be worth it.

Release Date: March 14th, 2012


ETA

http://fandomania.com/angel-and-faith-7-comic-review/

Angel and Faith #7 Comic Review

Posted by Kimberly Lynn Workman



Issue: Angel and Faith #7
Release Date: February 2012
Writer: Christos Gage
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Colors: Dan Jackson
Letters: Richard Starkings and COMICRAFT’S Jimmy Betancourt
Cover: Steve Morris
Alternate Cover: Rebekah Isaacs and Dan Jackson
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

In the world of Angel and Faith, there are plenty of Daddy issues to go around. Not only is Faith’s actual father back in the picture, we are also treated to a newly-sane Drusilla coming in to complicate Angel’s life. Or perhaps she’s making everything better? That’s the debate raging in this issue of the comic.

I absolutely adore Drusilla. She was glorious and deadly when she was insane, so to give her back her sanity and let her run wild means we’re in for a treat. We got to travel back to the beginning and fully explore the Daddy issues Drusilla has with Angel. Back before she was turned, she was a good girl with a loving family. Angelus destroyed all that. He killed her entire family, convinced her that she was evil, drove her crazy, and then condemned her to eternal life. Evil, sweet sweet evil. I always liked Angel better when he was bad.



But that power he had over Drusilla is no more. Not only is he on the soul-train of regret over his past actions, Drusilla is no longer the insane mess that she once was. No, she’s had all that pain and insanity feasted upon by the Lorophage demon and it’s been taken away. And what does she do when she’s got her wits again? Tries to be just like her Daddy Angel. She wants to help the helpless and she’s got a deviously wonderful plan to do it. The Lorophage gets to feast on the broken emotions of the humans who come to Drusilla for help, they get their lives back in return, and Drusilla gets a steady supply of blood for her troubles. A win for all involved.

But Angel doesn’t see it that way. He wants to stop her, despite the fact that only a few have been broken by Drusilla’s attempts and many more are better off for having met her. Faith sees the situation as more beneficial than Angel will allow himself to admit. And I have to say I’m siding with Faith on this one. If the people are coming to Drusilla, then she’s not forcing the Lorophage demon on them. No one really loses in that situation, considering they come in knowing the possible consequences. Drusilla just wants to help people, she claims, and she really wants to help Angel out from under the weight of his despair and regret. The Lorophage demon could remove all that pain and give Angel a clearer mind, if he’d just allow it, but that’s not going to happen just yet. Drusilla won’t force this upon Angel, despite the fact he never afforded her the same benefit. She’s willing to wait until he begs for it, and considering the extent of Drusilla’s mindplay abilities I have no doubt Angel will come calling for her help in the near future.



And if the regret of past actions doesn’t drive Angel over the edge, the situation with Giles surely will. He’s merged the Tooth of Ammut into his flesh and he’s started taking on pieces of Giles’s soul. That’s why we’ve gotten glimpses of Angel acting or sounding like Giles already. And the more of Giles he takes on, the more voices will be vying for control inside Angel’s head. There’s Angel, Angelus, and now Giles. That’s two too many and it’s just going to get worse. I do look forward to seeing Angel fall apart from the strain of his new endeavor and I am intrigued by the secrets that Faith’s dad seems to be holding. We’re in for a complex mystery that’s just gearing up!

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

[comic fan]

Review: Angel & Faith #7 - Comic Book Resources

Angel & Faith #7

by Kelly Thompson, Reviewer

"Angel & Faith" #7 is the first issue of the series that hasn't really hit the mark for me. It's still a solid book, but it's just not ringing true enough to give it the emotional punch of the first arc.

Christos Gage has a good handle on both Angel and Faith's voices and personalities, enough so it was clear to readers something was going on with Angel's personality and that continues here. However, on the plotting front this feels a bit weak. The second installment of this new arc, titled "Daddy Issues" is set up to parallel both Angel and Faith's relationships to or as fathers. Angel comes into contact with Drusilla, who he sired more than a hundred years ago but not before driving her insane; while Faith comes face to face with her absentee alcoholic father, now apparently sober.

The parallels are nice in general, but it feels as if Gage wants them to work so much he's willing to push the characters to unbelievable places to get the story he wants. Despite Faith being a kinder, gentler version of herself these days and much redeemed from her past, I don't believe for a second she would accept her father back into her life in the three short pages it takes. Nor do I believe she is such a trusting fool she would trust him so absolutely once accepting him. It would be an interesting avenue to explore and I absolutely believe that Faith would want these things and could eventually come around to letting him back in, but not in a few short pages. In the end, it feels like a great idea but botched in execution.

While Angel's reaction to a now sane Drusilla feels more on point, most of what has made the Drusilla character fascinating has been stripped away. It's possible this new development in her character could make for some interesting stories and keeping a character stagnant is never the strongest choice, but so far it's not terribly interesting. Drusilla felt like a much riskier and bolder character in her previous incarnation and it's sad to possibly lose that.

Rebekah Isaacs continues to absolutely nail these pages. She's fallen into an easy look for both Angel and Faith feeling natural and appropriate. Isaacs' handle on Drusilla is more nebulous, but strong and better than what most artists can manage when straddling the line between fictional character and known actor who inhabited the role. More importantly, Isaacs' character design for Drusilla's pet monster Lorophage Demon is wonderfully horrifying. As always, the artist particularly excels at the little details so many artists miss -- the clothing choices, the background details, the minor variations in facial expression. There's an highly enjoyable effortlessness in Isaacs' pencils as she rockets through the story, a fevered pace willing you to keep up with it. She remains an excellent fit for this book and I find myself hoping we'll get a "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" crossover so we can see her take on even more Buffyverse characters.

"Angel & Faith" has been a strong book since it debuted and this issue is good, but just doesn't quite hit the same sweet spot that others have managed.

[comic fan]

Second advanced Buffy S9 # 7 review.

Buffy (Season Nine) #7 - Sneak Review

Buffy (Season Nine) #7 – Sneak Review

Posted by Nicole Sixx



** The following review while careful not to reveal any actual spoilers from this issue, it does tease the reader with hints as well as spoilers from issues past. Please feel free to purchase issue seven on 03/14/2012 **

So, as you all may have noticed, there seems to be a major “dum dum dum” styled moment at pretty much the end of every issue this season. While this is awesome as a reader, as a reviewer sitting there staring at the major and highly controversial hot potato that was Buffy deciding to get an abortion, I knew I had to figure out a new reviewing style.

As such, in this issue there is another major reveal. Can things get any crazier from here for the Slayer? Let’s find out in issue eight!

As for the rest of the issue, this is a highly Buffy and Spike centric issue. Romantically so. In the issues leading up to #7 Buffy’s need for normalcy and tendency to always run to Spike have been touched upon, and in this issue after running yet again to Spike after such a jarring and complicated string of events and decisions, this part of their relationship finally comes to a head. The words Spike has been working up in him on rooftops across town will finally come out, and Buffy will be left with even more complications in her heart to match the ones in her life. Of course, so will Spike.

On that note, I think it’s important to realize that Buffy always runs to the men in her life. Angel, Riley, even when he was Angelus we can remember Buffy realizing aloud how her first instinct was still to just go run to Angel. When Buffy needs support without judgement she does what all of us do, goes to see the person who loves her the most. Running to the person that keeps you strong when you have to stay strong to keep everyone else strong is not a weakness. It’s a strength to know that you need it. If she didn’t, Buffy wouldn’t be human. In fact, the way Buffy loves might be one of the most normal human things about her.

There are other more practical plot developments laced in as well, combined with some lines that made me giggle. If you’re a Firefly/Serenity fan as well I think you might enjoy it. I got that feel from it and as a nerd could see some real fun happening with it. Also, the Zompires are still very much an issue and I look forward to seeing more about the core post-seed plot developing.

Lot of amazing art this issue as well, I was particularly fond of the sky this issue. Seriously, I loved it. Excellent attention to color, and you Spuffy fans are going to be absolutely delighted at the scenes about to unfold before you and how the art reflects them. – N


ETA

Tweet from the second reviewer,Nicole Sixx.

https://twitter.com/#!/nicolesixx_/s...27207117619200

Georgia ‏ @Light_Watcher
@nicolesixx_ thanks I read it! But no spoiling at all..will we at least find out anything about Buffy's feelings for Spike? Or only Spike's?


Nicole Sixx Nicole Sixx ‏ @nicolesixx_
@Light_Watcher That's complicated. #wink #onemoreweek!

[comic fan]

Preview Pages for Angel & Faith # 8.

Preview: Angel and Faith #8 - Comic Book Resources

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: "Angel & Faith" #8

Dark Horse Comics has provided CBR with an exclusive preview of "Angel and Faith" #8 by Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs. The issue, with a Steve Morris cover and Isaacs variant, hits stores March 28.



Faith faces off against a troubled Slayer and the Irish mob, which is no easy task with a visitor from her past clouding her thoughts! Even with support from Angel, will Faith be able to maintain her sanity and follow her new righteous path or will she take the easy route and fall back on her old, murderous tendencies?

Angel & Faith series writer Christos Gage (Avengers Academy) and series artist Rebekah Isaacs (DV8) are bringing the blood and the pain!

[comic fan]

Third advanced review for Buffy S9 #7

Major Spoilers Podcast #390: The Longbow Hunters | Major Spoilers - Comic Book Reviews and News

It's a podcast.The talk starts at the 38:20 for the direct link or 18 minutes in the recording.

If you are a fan of Buffy and Spike specifically if you are a Buffy/Spike shipper,this is probably a good issue for you.There is a lot of Buffy and Spike talk.There is a lot of discussion which is something they don't usually do about the nature of their relationship and their thing.And as promised there is a pretty shocking spoiler at the end of the issue.The reveal on this last page of the issue had the reviewer going HOLY CRAP!One of the characters in the issue even goes HOLY CRAP!There's bits with Spike's talking cockroaches.

Those are the spoilerish parts.There's a little more in the podcast on thier opinions of the issue and season 9 so far.

ETA

Zianna wrote up the full transcript of the podcast.

http://www.buffyforums.net/forums/sh...046#post611046

OK, here's the interview, I did it very quickly, so any errors I'd like to be forgiven.

Let's talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
This is it next week?
This is a March 14th release and according to our inside man at the DH comics we're not supposed too many spoilers.
Oh no, I give away a lot of spoilers.
It may not be such a spoiler.
Plus the spoiler it's right there in the title.
Yeah, true.
So, I got this thing, this Buffy the vampire thing and Buffy is...Well it's kind of a spoiler, she's a slayer! A vampire slayer! And what she does is she slays them!(obviously he's mocking the not giving away too many spoilers thing here) That's all I can really say about this issue.
But in last issue though, wasn't she pregnant with Spike's demon baby or something?
We actually did not find out who the father was.
OK
Basically Buffy woke, up, Buffy found out she was pregnant. Last issue, you know she talked to Spike. Spike is one of the possible candidates for the father. She does not remember getting pregnant . The expectation is that she had a house welcoming party in her apartment, in issue 1, she blacked out supposedly and ever since then she didn't realize anything that could make her pregnant. This issue has some really fascinating bits and pieces to it. Her roommates are discussing whether or not they want this crazy woman in the house and Buffy is trying to figure out what to do with her life. If you are a friend of Buffy and Spike, specifically a Buffy/Spike shipper, this is probably a good issue for you. There is a lot of Buffy and Spike talk, there is a lot of discussion, which they don't usually do about the nature of their relationship and their thing. And, as promised, there is a pretty shocking spoiler at the end. The reveal in the last page of the book had me going "Holly Crap!". In fact it has everyone going "Holly Crap!", it has one of the characters on screen going "Holly Crap!"
So it's not as shocking as the 1st or 2nd issue of this volume where you think there are demons coming to kill Buffy and they are like loan collectors, it's not shocking like that, is it?
No. If you pay attention to the solicitations, there are a couple of hints to what's going on. But again, when it comes to those kind of things well definitely...First of all, this is one of the strongerst issues of S9. And in S9 I have heard complaints that it seems to be the season of enduring. I think we're getting to a point where the book is really hitting to a stride, it looks wonderful. As far as the interiors, the cover, at least the version of the cover that I got, is absolutely gorgeous. And it's really hard to draw 2 things, and it's kind of annoying for a book featuring Buffy and Spike, ti's hard to draw Buffy and it's hard to draw Spike. But the likenesses on the cover are ridiculous.
I think that's a Noto cover?
I think it is. The interiors are (? Jeanty gentil? don't know here, anyway something good). He did many of the issues of S8 if not all of them and the interiors are really great, there's bits with Spike talking to cockroaches 'cause you know Spike has a spaceship full of cockroaches and they are wonderful. Depending on how the big spoilerish ending goes, this could be super super awesome. It could be something that goes to places we've never seen. It's definitely doing something that we haven't necessarily seen in Buffy in a while and I am a big fan of that. And it's kind of an interesting short of take on the dilemma of the last issue. Plus it has Spike and Spike is probably the best character in the entire franchise.
Yeah, back to the 2 final pages. That is kind of shocking and pretty strange indeed. In regards to the complaints that many people may be having. What you described in your non-spoilery review, you described the very first issue of this volume to me.
Really?
Yeah. Buffy didn't know what she was going to do, she's with a bunch or roommates who don't know it they want to keep her around, she blacked out in a party, this is 1st issue all over again, it's how it felt like. Now granted, as I flipped through the issue that's not the case, but I can understand why people may say it. But that's a shocker and if people wanna pick it up that in March 14th 2012 from DH comics.
Hopefully your copy doesn't have DH loge all over it . It's really weird to look at hose faces without having a DH logo all over it because it fells somehow like I'm trapped "in the other dimension!"

[comic fan]

Chris Samnee teases Angel & Faith inks.

Instagram


gPeek at some of this morning's Angel & Faith inksh

Fourth Buffy S9 #7 review.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #7 Review |

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #7 Review



Buffy in San Francisco, just a normal kid trying to figure things out, right? That's what was supposed to happen, at least for awhile. Season 9 has been dancing around that premise with big hints that nothing stays the same for too long. Part Two of On Your Own, gives us a look at what might have been, or might be, or was supposed to be, if a certain former vampire slayer were to settle down with a certain vampire.

Season 9 has taken its time to find its groove, as most fans would attest. Itfs probably pretty safe to say that, with Issue 7, we can see how things are coming together. We are seeing that promise from the first issue of getting to see Buffy be normal, try to be normal. With this close to a two-parter, Buffy and Spike are thrown in together after Spike has found himself working for the SFPD in their fight against a zompire uprising.

There are vampires, or zompires, in them thar hills! Nob Hill, Forest Hill, Telegraph Hill and so on. Plenty of hills in San Fran, full of the undead and that's not counting some of the natives! We see poor little gnormalh Buffy constantly returning to what she is, a vampire slayer!

To see Buffy have to deal with a love-struck Spike, a vampire she normally would shoot a spike through rather than cuddle with, is a lot of fun. And how did these two mixed up kids end up canoodling on a huge cockroach blimp? Sort of just happened, right? Way cool, man. Itfs interesting how, even with all those violent and deadly zompires to deal with, Buffy Season 9 somehow manages to keep things light and loose as opposed to its far more intense spin-off, gAngel and Faith. Things just happen at a much slower pace in Buffyfs world and it sort of works.

In the spirit of keeping it slow and steady, let's hope the writing by Andrew Chambliss keeps taking its time to give us the pithy dialouge we love and all those little added Whedon quirks. Then therefs the art by Georges Jeanty. Sometimes it seems a bit rushed but I think we all get that things are coming together. So, keep it up Dark Horse talent. Keep to the slow and steady.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9, #7 comes out March 14. For more details, and just to say hello, visit Dark Horse Comics.


ETA

5th Buffy S9 # 7 review.Actually,it's not really a review.It's a twitter post from a CBR reviewer.

https://twitter.com/#!/79SemiFinalis...38612272082944

Kelly Thompsonþ@79SemiFinalist

All right Buffy fans...do I try to get Buffy #7 for CBR reviewing next week...even though I've read it and am INSANELY CONFUSED?!?! #notsure


ETA 2

Update to fourth Buffy S9 # 7 review.

http://comicsgrinder.com/2012/03/09/...on-9-7-review/

Buffy in San Francisco, just a normal kid trying to figure things out, right? Thatfs what was supposed to happen, at least for awhile. Season 9 has been dancing around that premise with big hints that nothing stays the same for too long. Part Two of gOn Your Own,h gives us a look at what might have been, or might be, or was supposed to be, if a certain former vampire slayer were to settle down with a certain vampire.

Season 9 has taken its time to find its groove, as most fans would attest. Itfs probably pretty safe to say that, with Issue 7, we can see how things are coming together. We are seeing that promise from the first issue of getting to see Buffy be normal, try to be normal. With this close to a two-parter, Buffy and Spike are thrown in together after Spike has found himself working for the SFPD in their fight against a zompire uprising.

There are vampires, or zompires, in them thar hills! Nob Hill, Forest Hill, Telegraph Hill and so on. Plenty of hills in San Fran, full of the undead and thatfs not counting some of the natives! We see poor little gnormalh Buffy constantly returning to what she is, a vampire slayer!

To see Buffy have to deal with a love-struck Spike, a vampire she normally would shoot a spike through rather than cuddle with, is a lot of fun. And how did these two crazy mixed-up kids end up canoodling inside a huge cockroach blimp? Sort of just happened, right? (Well, without giving anything away, there is a quite serious reason why these two would consider living together.) But itfs interesting how, with the serious stuff, even with all those violent and deadly zompires to deal with, gBuffy Season 9 somehow manages to keep things light and loose as opposed to its far more intense spin-off, gAngel and Faith.h Things just happen at a much slower pace in Buffyfs world and it works. Moments like Buffyfs roommates taking a vote to decide whether or not she should remain with them are priceless.

In the spirit of keeping it slow and steady, letfs hope the writing by Andrew Chambliss keeps taking its time to give us the pithy dialouge we love and all those little added Whedon quirks. Then therefs the art by Georges Jeanty. Sometimes it seems a bit rushed but I think we all get that things are coming together. So, keep it up Dark Horse talent. Keep to the slow and steady.

gBuffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9, #7 comes out March 14. For more details, and just to say hello, visit Dark Horse Comics.

So would this be a strong hint that Spike is revealed as the father in the next issue?

(Well, without giving anything away, there is a quite serious reason why these two would consider living together.)

[comic fan]

Some twitter comments from Buffyfest.

https://twitter.com/#!/buffyfest

buffyfest ‏ @buffyfest
Been soooo busy & this Buffy #7 has been here TAUNTING me! I don't know how I've let it go this long, everyone on Buffyfest read it but me!!

Zamol Xis ‏ @Zamol_xis
@buffyfest Main reaction I've heard from other ppl was WTH is happening? What's yours?

buffyfest‏ @buffyfest
@Zamol_xis my main reaction is WTF!?!?! no seriously I have no idea what's happening. It's gone mental.

buffyfest‏ @buffyfest
Just want to put it out there: Issue 7 of Buffy is like OMGWTFcakes... @projectiledan will elaborate a bit tomorrow on Buffyfest.


And here's Buffyfests review.

Buffyfest: Buffy Season 9 #7 Spoiler-lite review

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Buffy Season 9 #7 Spoiler-lite review



You may have heard in the last few days that those of us who received an early press release of the latest Buffy comic could only respond by saying “WTF did I just read?!” My reaction was much the same. For me, it’s because Buffy Season 9 #7’s last three pages left me so shocked that I had to read them over several times before I could believe they really went there. Is that a good thing?

I don’t think so, no.

I wish there were a way to scream from the rooftops exactly what happens so I can express specifically why I would have gladly nudged my laptop off the bed, allowing it to gracefully careen into many pieces on the ground below if only it were in the budget to easily replace. That would spoil a big reveal, though, and I’m just not that sort of girl… or any sort of girl, really.

The good news, however, is that the thing a lot of people seem desperate to know about (what’s happening between Buffy and Spike) is something I feel I can talk about. Some spoilers to follow.

Let’s back up. Before everything goes computer-hurlingly wrong for me, Buffy Season 9 #7 is, at its core, all about Buffy and Spike. It is more about them than it is about abortion, zompires, giant bugs, et al. That stuff is there but it is window dressing. The main event is them finally talking about the elephant in the room.

Spike is still in love with Buffy. Buffy claims she didn’t realize that's why he's been sticking around the bay area which makes her seem even more oblivious than usual. This isn’t my first slayer rodeo, though, and while I’ve considered even comics Buffy to be keenly perceptive of the world around her, our girl can be a tad dim when it comes to relationships.

Right now you’re probably thinking, “If Spike reveals his feelings, does Buffy verbally reciprocate?”

Well... not exactly, no.


Alright, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that I genuinely believe she absolutely would have if not for what happens in those last three pages.

While Buffy claims she wants to live a normal life, she moves out of her apartment with two perfectly regular folks and moves in with an ensouled vampire who lives on a spaceship full of giant bugs. Connect the dots, folks. It ain’t hard to work out how she feels about Spike.

I’m so tempted to say more. I will say that a Spike/Buffy fan’s frustration in this moment is not only matched but, I think, exceeded by my own.

Granted, I may feel totally sated come this time next month, but right now I feel a potentially serious misstep has been made. On the plus side, y’all are gonna be speculating just as much as you’ll be complaining all month, and I, for one, will be right there with you.

Come Wednesday, let's talk about this more in-depth.


ETA

Andrew Chambliss interview about the Buffy FCBD interview.

http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/...ticleID=118813

Buffy has never needed a vacation so badly as she does now - with the world overrun with zompires and other fallout from Season 8. Luckily, Spike has got the perfect solution: a "spacecation"! Silver sponsor Dark Horse will give Buffy fans an adventurous FCBD read that has so much conflict, they won't want to put it down!

Here Writer Andrew Chambliss discusses his passion for writing, why readers should pick up the book, and his favorite comics growing up in Freecomicbookday.com's exclusive interview.



FCBD: Set your project up for those that might be new to your comic book. What can we expect to see in terms of story and art?

Andrew Chambliss (AC): The Buffy FCBD book finds everyone's favorite vampire Slayer trying to get a break from her life on earth -- a life where she's trying to juggle roommates, a minimum wage job, and a new breed of zombie vampires -- by taking a quick trip into space with her former vampire boyfriend, Spike, who just happens to have a spaceship at his disposal. Of course, a Slayer can never truly escape her calling, and Buffy may discover that she and Spike have an unexpected passenger aboard. Georges Jeanty, who is the regular artist on Season 9, did some great artwork on the FCBD book, and it'll really give everyone an idea of what to expect from Season 9 if they haven't picked up any of the issues yet.

FCBD: What has been your favorite part of book or character to tackle?

AC: Getting the chance to write Buffy -- a character who I used to watch on a television and whose existence pushed me to want to become a writer -- has been a dream come true. Spike is also loads of fun, so putting Buffy and Spike together for FCBD seemed like the perfect idea.

FCBD: Tell our readers why they should pick your book first on FCBD.

AC: A Slayer, a vampire with a soul, giant bugs, AND a spaceship! Plus, it's free. What's not to like? Like the series, we set out to tell a story that's fun, has some heart, and hopefully more than a few laughs.

FCBD: What’s your favorite part about being able to work in comics?

AC: Opening the e-mails from Georges with his pencilled pages. It's the moment where the script really comes alive for me, and makes all the time I've spent sitting in front of my computer staring at a blinking cursor suddenly seem worthwhile.

FCBD: Many newcomers will be picking up comics for the first time on FCBD—what was the first comic you remember reading?

AC: The first comic I remember reading was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As a kid, I couldn't get enough of them on TV so I went back to their roots as comic book characters and read everything I could get my hands on.

FCBD: Where will you be for this year’s FCBD? Do you have any annual FCBD traditions?

AC: I'll be picking up the Buffy/Guild FCBD book of course! I don't have a tradition yet, but maybe this will be the start of one that will continue for many years.

FCBD: Looking to the future of the book, is there anything you can tease about what's coming?

AC: Buffy Season 9 is going to take Buffy on a journey where she really has to examine her life and all the decisions she's made so far. In one of the upcoming arcs, she's going to try to use her Slaying powers to build a career for herself as a bodyguard, and she may even end up working alongside another Slayer we all remember from the TV show.

[comic fan]

Another Buffy S9 #7 review.

the Realm Cast | Review: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #7

Review: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #7

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Dawn Cordero



On Your Own: Part 2. Faced with a life-changing decision, Buffy moves in with Spike in the roach motel spaceship. Detective Dowling gets in trouble with a huge zompire nest and Spike needs to bail him out with Buffy in tow. Slayage commences, but what happens to Buffy in the process. Hugh WTFery at the end! A preview and alt cover after the cut.

ETA

8th review of Buffy S9 # 7.

http://www.fandompost.com/2012/03/13...on-9-7-review/

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #7 Review

Posted by Maria Selke
March 13, 2012



“Is this all the closet space you have?”

Creative Staff:
Writer: Andrew Chambliss
Artist: Georges Jeanty

What They Say:
Still seeking normalcy in the midst of zompire-stricken San Francisco, Buffy contemplates a life-changing decision the likes of which few Slayers have ever faced. Meanwhile Spike rushes to the aid of Detective Dowling, who’s in over his head with his recent investigation into the undead bloodsuckers plaguing the city.

The Review:
Our story commences with Buffy’s roommates trying to decide if they intend to let her stay. The exchange is perfect, light-hearted and fun. Jumping right into Buffy and Spike on the cockroach blimp, where she’s planning to move all of her things in, continues to set up an entertaining plot. The real question on everyone’s mind, though, is what Buffy plans to do about her pregnancy, right?

There is a lot to like about this issue. The Phil Noto cover is a real draw. Even if I weren’t committed to this series, the sight of Buffy and Spike hanging out on the couch would cause me to grab it off the shelf. The continued involvement of Detective Dowling is appealing. Buffy needs to reach out to new sources of aid, especially now that Willow has disappeared on her own errand. I also love the sparks that fly between Spike and Buffy. His willingness to be there for her, even now, makes me love him even more. There is a fabulous level of action throughout, with Buffy and Spike jumping in to help the officers with a nest.

Yet the issue is far from perfect. I’m still looking for the return of the big bad guys. Severin and Simone were just getting fleshed out – just starting to get really fascinating- and then we jumped away from them. I find that frustrating. Without spoilers, I can also say I found the way this issue ended to be very unsatisfying. In spite of the fact that I had very serious misgivings about the pregnancy either way, I didn’t expect this ending. Not only didn’t I expect it, I didn’t really like it.

In Summary:
I don’t know why this was the way that the pregnancy storyline was resolved. It felt forced, without really addressing the important issues that the unexpected pregnancy brought up for Buffy. Overall, though, the rest of the comic made up for the ending that I really didn’t like. The interactions with Spike and the presence of the police officers were strong and entertaining. I just hope that the surprise ending leads us back into more contact with some of the larger forces of evil in Buffy’s world. That’s what I really want to see next. That – and the continued presence of Spike.

Grade: B


It sounds like the pregnancy plot is resolved in this issue and it's tied to the WTF reactions from everybody?

[comic fan]

Newsarama.com : Dark Horse JUNE 2012 Solicitations: MASSIVE #1, More

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: DRUSILLA #1 (of 5)

Juliet Landau (W), Cliff Richards (P), Tim Seeley (A), Andy Owens (I), Cris Peters (C), Steve Morris (Cover), and Georges Jeanty (Variant cover)

On sale June 20
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries

As Drusilla flees through the streets of London, her savagery is witnessed by a documentary filmmaker who becomes fixated on her. He wants to bring the story behind such a unique and mysterious specimen to the big screen! His hunt for Drusilla, past, present, and future, sets him on a path of no return!

• Actress Juliet Landau writes Drusilla!

• Follows the events of Angel & Faith #9!

[comic fan]

The big WTF reveal/ending to Buffy # 7 is revealed.Buffy's a robot.

Maggie's summary/thoughts

BuffyForums

Who even knows what the robot thing is about. But it at least fits with them being willing to spoil Buffy's loss of an arm.

The Spuffy stuff has me quite irritated, also. We get to hear Buffy repeat for the gazillionth time that Spike is NOT! her boyfriend. That if she wanted normal she'd be running in the opposite direction. Her idea about him being on deck to help raise the slayeret was a bad one because if she did want normal, he's not it.

Spike goes ahead and says he's in love with her. To his credit, he gets mad when she says she'd be running in the opposite direction of him if she wanted normal. And to her credit she gets that it was a *****ed up thing to say to him. He also manages to stand up for himself some -- saying he was a twit to think things might have changed, and that he was going to take off once things were sorted with Buffy. He doesn't want to be the dark place she runs to when things aren't working. "That's not why I fought to get my soul back. That's not why I've been sticking up for you about the seed. And that's certainly not why I've stuck around this bloody city." He goes on to say he can give Buffy what she needs and that he wants normal too, with her. At this point she's looking at him with a soft expression, but not the doe-eyed omg I love you expression we saw from #33-#39. He goes in for a kiss in silhouette and then we get arm torn off and WTF-ery.

So I'm sure the Buffyistas see it otherwise, but for me it's a complete vindication. Buffy isn't into Spike and hasn't been into him. Granted she's got some subconscious something going. But consciously she doesn't see him that way. All of which is exactly what I mean when I say Buffy doesn't love Spike. We also get more of her basically giving him nothing in order to get him to keep expanding on how wonderful she is blah de blah.

On the Spike front I feel vindicated by two things that I did want to see:

1. Spike really wants normal.

2. He also thinks he could be good with the kidlets. He cites his experience with Dawn. And he's solicitous of the baby throughout. I won't go so far as to say he's pro-life. But he was very much into the idea of baby slayerette.

I guess one would say that the story does demand at this point that his love get requited. And maybe by the time it does, I'll stop being ticked off about how much nothing Buffy has for Spike at present.

Meanwhile that all gets sidelined so we can deal with this bizarre plot twist. Oooh aahh.


ETA 2

Zianna's summary of Buffy S9 # 7

http://slayalive.com/showthread.php/...0726#post90726

Right, first of all boy am I glad that finally I can make some posts without people thinking that I'm a moron or a lier when I was saying what I knew and when I was saying that Buffy isn't pregnant. How can somebody say that Buffy is pregnant when she knows that Buffy is a robot? And ever since #2 I knew this spoiler that we would find out that Buffy is a robot. When the cover with Buffy losing her arm came out and I asked for more details about the issues, then I was told that there is actually a pregnancy storyline before, but then it was too late to say something without sounding like an idiot who was insisting for so long that Buffy isn't pregnant and I was almost given an order not to say anything else at all. Of course I can't say anything else about future spoilers so don't ask, and like I said a couple of months ago only news and reviews from me, I can't post anything else. Anyway, I can't say more so here is the summary of the issue.


The issue begins with the review pages. Buffy's roommates take a vote on whether they should allow Buffy to stay with them or not. And both of them are confused and surprised at the other when they realize that both of them want her in the apartment. It's actually safe to live with a slayer, she has a crossbow and she could teach Tumble how to use one and she's actually a cool person. They just had overreacted. But when they both go to her room to announce her the good news they realize that Buffy has already gone, finding only her stuff packed there.

We go to Buffy. She's on top of the spaceship, which is flying over the city. She looks sad and she's thinking. Spike comes telling her that her suitcase is in the cabin and that the bugs can pick up her things whenever she wants. She says when the roomies are not home, Tumble is too scared of cockroaches which have the size of an actual cockroach, imagine what would happen at the view of a giant one. Spike worried asks her if she's sure about it. Yes she is, her roomies look at her now the way people look at Spike whenever he gets his vampire face. Another proof of how messed up she is with ordinary things. But that isn't what Spike wanted to know. He was actually asking her about the pregnancy. He called the doctor as she had asked him to do and arranged an appointment for her for the following day. And Buffy doesn't want to postpone or cancel it, she is sure about it and she wants to get through with it once and for all. For the first time in her life she feels that she must do the right thing considering her life and choices.

We're leaving them for the moment and we go inside a police car where Dowling with his partner are.They hear on the police radio that help is needed on the Pioneer Park. There is a vampire threat. And Dowling has some stakes hidden inside his car after meeting with Spike the previous night. And they decide to move and go to help.

Back to Spike and Buffy this time in the spaceship cabin.
"Is that all the closet space you have?"
Buffy complains while she tries to put her clothes inside it. But it fits all of Spike's clothes.
"You have like one jacket".
"What makes you think I don't have doubles?"
and the snarking between them has already begun. But Spike wants to get things right to the point and wants to know if it was true that he was her first choice to run away with when she found out she was pregnant.
"We would have just ended up in some apartment just like this. Cramped. Dingy. Slightly less steampunk. And definitely sans the molting legs",
is Buffy's reply. Lol, bug!Sebastian wasn't careful when he/she/it was cleaning up the place. If Buffy had thought of getting away from her calling forever, who would have been a better option to consider doing it with? But she believes that things wouldn't have worked up between them. And that makes Spike complain, he says she has never watched him with kids before and he has certainly done a great job looking out for Dawn the 147 days she was dead.
"But Spike, if I were trying to have a normal life, you'd be exactly what I'd be running away from"
she says, which makes Spike totally angry and gets out of the room. She has already regretted saying that, but it's too late. Spike is so furious that he lets it out on bug!Sebastian while he/she/it tries to apologize for losing a leg in Buffy's cabin.
"Want to lose another?" he says and his phone rings.

It's Dowling on the phone. Spike still frustrated tells him that he doesn't have any time right now to tutor him about vampires. But Dowling admits that he's not ready for a vampire nest and now he knows why. He is looking at one this very moment and that makes Spike get back to reality and forget his anger and to run for help. The detectives are alone on this for the moment. Their back up is already dead. A crashed police car and a scene full of blood. And the attack on them begins. A zompire goes for his partner.

Back on Spike in the ship. He orders the bug to get to the park ASAP. Goes to Buffy to tell her what's happening while she's having a hard time trying to realize why the bugs use European sockets.
"Real question is why do Europeans use alien's sockets"
says Spike. And he tells her about the nest and that he's going to help the detectives. Buffy wants to go as well but Spike wants to hear nothing about it. Until she does the abortion, slaying is forbidden to her.
"Understand?"
he says while we see Buffy's angry eyes.

Back to the detectives. Dowling's partner is in a very bad position and Dowling can do nothing but just watch her getting attacked while he hides behind the crushed car. But unfortunately more zompires arrive and they go straight to him. He runs inside the tower and locks himself there. Just right when Spike arrives and jumps out of the spaceship attacking the zompires. Two can play this game so he puts on his gameface as well and starts dusting. Meanwhile back inside the tower building, Dowling tries to remember what he learned the previous night.
"Pointy end out. Aim for the heart."
Buffy is watching everything form the spaceship. She sees the zompires climbing the tower trying to get to Dowling and orders the bugs to take the spaceship as close as they can so she can jump in for help. The zompires have reached Dowling and he's in a truly bad position. Just in time Buffy comes and helps him and he does his very first dusting which certainly won't be his last. While Buffy is getting ready to slay the rest of them, Dowling is surprised to see her living inside the spaceship as well.
"It's a new arrangement"
she tells him.
"When did you and your vampire boyfriend decided to play spaceship?"
"Spike is not my boyfriend. Did he say that?"
Buffy says while slaying the zompires. But Dowling didn't have to hear that from Spike, it's written all over his face that he's in love with Buffy.
"Get on that spaceship and don't touch anything. Not that you'd want to. It's crawling with bugs"
Buffy orders him and runs to help Spike because things get tough for him down there. But Buffy pretty easily eliminates the threat and helps Spike who thanks her for that.

"Is it true Spike? Are you still in love with me?"
"You really going to make me say what everyone else already worked out?"[/I]
But Buff is terrible at everything besides slaying and wonders why he didn't tell her. How could he? She has more serious things to work out and he touches her belly. But he understands now how things are between them. So when he knows she's fine he'll take the spaceship and run away from her and from her life.
"Because I don't want to be the dark place you run to when things aren't working. That's not why I fought to get my soul back. That's not why I've been sticking up for you about the seed. And that's certainly not why I've stuck around this bloody city."
And Buffy is very surprised to find out that he's been sticking around there for her.
"I didn't stay for cable cars and rise-o-roni. I can give you what you need"
he says and he touches her jaw.
"I want normal too. And I want it with you"
he continues while they're getting closer and closer ready to kiss. And suddenly...

A zompire attacks out of nowhere tearing apart Buffy's arm. Spike attacks the zompire and slays it. He grabs Buffy's arm while she still hasn't realized what has happened and wonders if that's her arm! But right now her arm is the least thing that should worry her because as Spike says, she's gone all mechanical and he signals the bugs to come and pick them up. The panels change and for a while we go to Dowling who talks to the bugs surprised to find out that in their home planet they step on little humans, just like we humans do here on Earth stepping on little cockroaches. But of course the bugs are just kidding.

We go back to Buffy and Spike.
"I don't understand. I'm me. I'm Buffy. I'm not a robot!".
But Spike knows what it's like to be around a robot and she's certainly one.
"I think this means I'm not pregnant. Spike...I am a f@#$ing robot!"

End of issue.

ETA 3

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...review&id=4536

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Nine #7

by Kelly Thompson, Reviewer

"Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Nine #7" by Andrew Chambliss and Georges Jeanty is an incredibly controversial comic. While it is arguably less politically controversial than the previous issue, there are plot developments here that will leave fans in a tailspin.

The issue begins with Buffy's roommates voting to let her stay in the apartment only to find she has already left and moved in with Spike in his steampunk bug spaceship, a development sure to make Buffy/Spike fans nearly faint with excitement (I say that as one myself). In-depth emotional conversations between the two friends and former lovers will both curl fans' toes and continue the political controversy of the last issue as they discuss her impending abortion.

However, the real craziness in this issue comes after a fight with a huge nest of zompires when Buffy has her arm torn off, which is not even the most shocking development. I'm incredibly serious. As a devoted fan of these characters almost since their inception, had I been asked to make a list of things that might happen in this issue, I never in million years would have come up with what the last few pages reveal. This plot point, regardless of how the creative team plans to explain it in the future or what plot twists will ensue, is painfully clear for now.

The Buffy universe constantly surprises me. When Buffy died (all three times), when Angel lost his soul, when Spike gained his, when Buffy and Spike finally became lovers and then eventually friends, when Buffy's mother died, when Buffy turned out to have a sister and when Giles was killed -- these were all shocking moments in Buffy lore, but they were quite simply nothing compared to this. As a fan and reviewer, I honestly don't know what to do with this information.

The issue itself is wonderful. Chambliss has an effortless handle on these characters' voices and Jeanty's art is so quintessentially "Buffy" at this point that when I see his art, I instantly think of Buffy. This issue is filled with so much good, it's nearly impossible to fault it -- conversations between characters many fans have waited years to see that remain absolutely true to the characters and their individual evolutions, a solid battle sequence and some funny stuff to take the edge off rounds out the issue. However, the important thing is that ending. That ending will leave you reeling.

If it were not for my absolute faith in Joss Whedon, this development might worry me. How will it resolve? Is there a plan? What does it all mean? But I do have great faith in Joss Whedon, as last issue reminded me when he delivered a controversial story I could both respect and felt absolutely true to these characters he's created. So I will sit back and wait very impatiently at whatever he has in store for these characters. Chambliss and Jeanty have proven themselves more than worthy of rolling this story out with all the respect, beauty and consistency it deserves. I am unprepared, but incredibly intrigued.


ETA 4

I have Buffy S9 # 7,"On Your Own part II of II."

I have a mixed reaction to the issue.

On the robot front.I think this could be interesting.Right now there are two major questions.

1)Is this a Buffybot that thinks it's Buffy or is it Buffy's consciousness.inside the robot?

I think the answer could go either way at this time since I don't think this issue gives enough to jump to either possibility yet.I suspect we might get this answer next issue.

2)When did the switch happen?

Again,I don't think we can jump to any conclusions yet based off issue 7.I think that answer is coming if not in the next issue specifically then at some point in the next arc.

No matter what these answers are I'm sure Andrew is involved.We saw him working on a robotic arm in issue 3 and the next arc sounds Andrew centric based of the solicitations.Plus the Noto cover for issue 8.

How this effects the pregnancy plot I have no idea.It could of been resolved in this issue or it might not have.I think that will depend on the answers to the two above questions.

I liked the bits with Dowling and the bits with bugs.Also the bit with Dowling and the bugs.

As for the Buffy/Spike stuff.It's hard not to let my ship biases influence my opinion.I'm a Buffy/Angel shipper and I'm not a fan of spuffy so that stuff really doesn't do much for me.Since I'm not rooting for the relationship as a romantic pairing,this issue as whole wouldn't speak to me hence the mixed reaction.

I do think it's Jossian that Spike might of just poured his heart out to a robot and if Buffy's mind isn't in the bot,than everything in this issue was not to the real Buffy.That really does feel like thing Joss would pull.

Also I am curious what Scott Allie meant by this tweet back in December.

http://twitter.com/#!/ScottAllie

@ScottAllie Buffy #4 was great issue!Thank you Scott!The moment between Spike and Buffy was so heartbreaking.Loved it!S/B 4ever!

Scott Allieþ@ScottAllie

@Veiriti wait till you see #8!

7:03 PM - 16 Dec

Now that we know the reveal in this isuse,is Allie's tweet something bot related?

So a eh reaction from me but I think the bot thing could be interesting.