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CBR's Behind Buffy Season 8 #39 with Scott Allie and Georges Jeanty. BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 8: "Last Gleaming" - Comic Book Resources BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 8: "Last Gleaming" As Twilight falls on Dark Horse's "Buffy: Season 8," co-writer Scott Allie and artist Georges Jeanty tackle the shocking events of the penultimate issue #39 including the death of a major character and plans for "Season 9." by Kiel Phegley, News Editor SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8" #39, in stores now. It took four years for Joss Whedon to find a way to continue the adventures of Buffy Summers on the page of a Dark Horse comic after the 2003 end of the popular "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" television series, and now another end is facing franchise fans as the best-selling "Season 8" comic is down to its last two issues. But before Buffy, Angel, Spike and the Scoobies all return to (a much more brief than four year) hibernation, some of the biggest, most shocking events in Buffy-verse history are on hand. To help prepare fans for the hit series' impending finale, CBR is back with an all-new installment of BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 8 - a monthly column featuring interviews with the creators and staff behind the creation of Buffy's last two stories, highlighting the questions being answered, the characters thrown into crisis and the future of the entire franchise. This week, readers are still feeling the shockwaves from issue #39 – the penultimate chapter in the season's "Long Road Home" mega-story, and to help uncover the most info, CBR News spoke with both "Buffy" editor extraordinaire (and final arc co-writer with Whedon) Scott Allie as well as series artist Georges Jeanty. Below, the pair go over what it felt like to bring this important story to a close, discuss the major death and major losses suffered at the end of the story, tease how the end of the "Angel as Twilight" era will roll into the upcoming "Season 9" series and so much more. CBR News: Gentlemen, before we get into the issue itself this week, since we are down to the end of the end here, I thought I'd check in and see where everyone was at. Have you wrapped the final issue of the series completely, or are there still a few pages to go before it's sent out to the printer? Georges Jeanty: I'll let Scott answer that one, because I'm sure he's elated. Scott Allie: [Laughs] Yeah, Georges is done, so we're all happy. Georges and Andy are both done, and the coloring and lettering is getting finished right now, so we're real close. The letter column's done, and we're putting the last few pieces together and waiting to see colors. Then we'll be all done with #40. How does that feel? I'm sure it' a bit sad to be seeing such a big project, but after years of work how differently did this book end than you thought it would when you begain? Allie: Well, Georges thought it was only going to be a few issues! Jeanty: Yeah, I originally thought it was just going to be four issues, and then 12 issues, and then 25! It just kept getting longer and longer, so I didn't know that there would be an end to be honest. [Laughs] Allie: Yeah, Georges only signed on for the first arc, and we didn't have the idea at that point that it would be one artist and a million writers. We thought it'd be this rotating team of people on what at the time we thought would be 22 or 25 issues. But then we really liked what Georges was doing, and so when Brian Vaughan was coming on as the second writer, that was the carrot to get Georges to stay. Then I think he figured out that he actually liked it, so he stuck around after that. Jeanty: [Laughs] Yeah, I actually learned the material and thought, "Hey! This is pretty good!" Allie: And Georges just so came to define what we thought the book was that it became increasingly important to keep him around. But originally for me, the moment it all really started was when Joss sent me that first script from out of the blue. We had been talking about doing something that we might call "Season 8" for a couple of years at that point, but when a script showed up, it was just a huge surprise. I didn't have a real concept of what it was going to be by the end. So it has definitely been a long, crazy trip for us. I think for me it's been about five years from getting that first script to where we are now. Wow. And you've had a strong hand in working on a lot of the stories you've edited, from the Hellboy stuff to books like "Umbrella Academy," but with "Buffy" you're ending by actually coming on as co-writer and saying, "Here are some images from my head to help end this story." Has that made this last leg a bit more intensive than it was all the way through. Allie: Yeah. For sure. And that's certainly the part that I couldn't have seen coming when we started. That's been huge fun and a great way to go out. I've been right there with Joss and Georges from the beginning, and nobody's more invested in this thing than us. So being able to do that with all three of us being a part of it at the end was really gratifying, and it was an amazing payoff. Working with guys like Joss and Mignola, I look at it as a real educational experience. I'm always learning better how to tell a story by editing someone like Mike or Joss. So now being able to co-write and get notes from Joss and really pick it apart with him that way, I really feel like I've learned a lot working on this final arc. Jeanty: You hate to say things came full circle, but they really did at the end of this. It felt like, "Wow! This is how we started the whole thing!" Georges, looking at #39 specifically, it felt like the issue was laid out for you as "the action issue," with big fight beats on almost every page. Did you guys know for a while that Joss was going to write a quieter coda issue for the finale, or did this big fight come on in and dictate how things would go? Jeanty: I think once we got to #36, I knew pretty much that #39 was going to be a real climax and #40 would be the aftermath. And oh my God! I never draw in sequence and am always doing things out of order. Now, looking back on #39, it felt like that thing was never going to end. [Allie Laughs] I was endlessly drawing some creature here, something there...it just felt like there wasn't a lot of architecture on the page, it was a monument of either Slayers or creatures or demons or explosions or what have you. I'm glad that I got the script in pieces, if I remember, because if I would've read the whole thing, I would have gone, "I can't draw this in the time allotted." Allie: With the way it ended, #39 was the total climax and #40 as the coda, that was a surprise because going into this last meeting I had with Joss in May where we sat down and broke out the last five issues together, when we started the process, we knew basically what happened. We knew the events that have now taken place in #39, and we knew what the coda was going to look like. But when we first started breaking things, we thought that the pivotal climactic stuff was going to happen in the beginning of #40 and that the coda, which Georges has just finished drawing, would be five or six pages. I'm much happier with the way it worked out – getting all the climax and the big stuff in #38 and 39, and then with what happens on the last pages few pages of #39, I'm so glad we have a full 24 pages in issue #40 to come down off it. If we had to come down off that moment in that room in six pages and then go, "Okay guys, we'll see you in ten months!" that would have sucked. It would have been a real bad rhythm. Jeanty: And the great thing about #40 is that Buffy is on every page. There's sort of that closing of the doors and opening of new ones where there's a literal point where she goes to each and every person she has to talk to and has that – either a resolution or a setup for more conflict. I like the fact that we're following the main character through all this, since we've just been through all this for the last four years. This issue is a nice way to close it and reaffirm who she is as it closes at the end of the day. Well, I've got some pages picked here from #39 to talk about, and I'm sure you'll remember which moments are what even if you didn't draw them in order... Jeanty: Oh, I've got this issue right here. I went to my local comics shop and picked it up! Allie: What's the name of that local comic shop? Jeanty: Oxford Comics in Atlanta, Georgia! Well, we're starting here with a big action page – Angel throwing a plane, even – but what stood out to me here was that the story focuses back in on how Buffy views herself and how she feels at fault for this situation saying, "This is some kind of cosmic vengeance." When I spoke with Brad Meltzer, he stressed how much her taking everything on the chin is ingrained in the character. How do you guys view that aspect as it played into this series and this issue in particular? Jeanty: I think the great drama that is Buffy is that she's always thinking something is her fault or that she created something, and I think the fans have really latched onto that. With who she is and what she's done in the whole of "Season 8," I can definitely see her having some issues in "Season 9" because I think, for all intents and purposes, this is, psychologically, the most upsetting season for her. Allie: This is a pretty big failure for her in a lot of ways. She did what she had to do, but it's pretty devastating for her. And on this page in particular, the stuff you're talking about reminds me of a phrase Joss has always talked about with his writers: "What's the Buffy of it?" In any conflict, in any situation, she's the main character, and you've got to bring it back to her in some way. When I initially wrote this page, the narration was too focused on Angel, and then Joss steered me toward bringing it back on to her. So those last two lines are about "Yeah, what's going on with Angel is important, but we've got to keep an eye on how it relates to her." I do find her kind of narcissistic in a sense, but she's always going to blame herself and see her fault and failure. Even in the midst of this colossal fight, the fight of her life in some ways, it's a little bit of self-pity and self-flagellation, but it's what she does. Georges, we talked last month about how military stuff is some of your least favorite to draw. Is this giant, flaming plane the last of that for you? Allie: I'll say that Georges did point out to me the stupidity of a guy grabbing a plane in flight and the idea that such a plane would just come apart and completely shred itself. Jeanty: Yeah, I just keep thinking of the physics of it all. [Laughter] Allie: Oh yeah, it's stupid. He's quick to point out that it makes no sense, and he's right. But it was like "We need a superhero moment here. We need a stupid, big moment." Because if they're just punching each other for five pages, I don't know. But even thought it doesn't make sense, I think it looks kind of cool, and I love the way Georges drew it. I love how big it feels. Jeanty: There is that thing with comics that I think Jack Kirby had said: Something doesn't have to make sense, but if it has that cool factor, people will let it go. Speaking of big moments, this page starts with a tree growing high enough to stab a dragon in the chest. But for me, one aspect of the "Buffy-verse" that I've never really had the best handle on is how the various genre elements, from vampires to witches to demons, always synched up. Was part of this story for you guys about putting all those pieces right up next to each other? Allie: It was largely just about getting the biggest things possible onto the table. Aside from the protagonists, there are no vampires here. I'm always bummed out a bit that we don't manage to get more vampires onto the page sometimes, but I felt like having a bunch of vampires fall into the big war scene wouldn't be big enough stakes. It wouldn't take the fight grand enough. But yeah, Willow's magic and the dragons and all this interdimensional demons and stuff - we needed to have all the magic on the table in the final battle because of how it's going to turn out. We needed it all there so that when we flip the switch, you could feel the effects immediately. You can see them right on the battlefield. Jeanty: For me, I'm always editing myself, and I was looking at that page when I got the book and thinking, "We should have put some sparkles around her because she's actually materializing in that scene." And it screams at me that it's something I didn't do and that I could have made it more clear. So I'm always editing something when I'm finished with it. Well, you were talking about drawing out of sequence and getting pages in chunks. Do you tackle these things in terms of "Here are the magic pages" and "Here are the underground pages" and such? Allie: Well, he got the pages in pieces, but in order...right? Jeanty: Yeah, I think so. It's more that I'm just working out what the aesthetics are. So here we've got a dragon for a few pages. I will tend to draw those pages with the dragons together because I have the reference, and it's quicker to draw all of that in one fell swoop. There's a whole lot in this issue, and it's kind of impossible to cover it all without showing every page, but I wanted to focus on this bit with Faith because it's one of the really clear supporting cast moments in this issue and one of the last of those moments after a string of them in this arc. Was part of the goal here to reach back to the BKV arc and give that thread a final beat at the end? Jeanty: Well, I don't know if this is a spoiler or not, but a lot of this really does set up what will come again. Certainly in the next issue, you'll get more of this. It's been a great little subplot – how Faith, while she is on par with Buffy in every way, is always Number 2 – and I think that stuff has been personified a lot more in "Season 8." Allie: In "Season 8," we set up certain things in Brian's arc, and the [Jim] Krueger one-shot dealt with it a little bit, but we never delved as deeply into the Faith arc as we could have because we had to stay focused on the main story. There was so much going on with Buffy and then Angel in the main story that we didn't get to go as deeply into Faith's growth and her relationship with Giles as we wanted to. So it became really important that we gave her a moment and check in with the two of them at the end, here. Their mission – the agenda they developed in Brian's arc – is something they're never going to get to pay off, now. Now she's left with it, and it'll certainly be a part of what's going on with her in "Season 9." Jeanty: And if I'm not mistaken, some of the dialogue changed there too. I remember it being a little more cathartic from what is written. Allie: The main thing I remember is that I had a really bad line of dialogue for her at the bottom of the previous page. Joss and I fixed that, but I think the two panels of them together was pretty much the same. You remember there being more? Jeanty: I remember it being more of her relegating herself and going, "Yeah, go save your #1" instead. But Georges, you really sell the emotion of that moment in the second panel on that page. I'm not sure any additional dialogue is needed there. Allie: You're absolutely right. Georges delivers what it's all about without having to say it. I'm looking back through the earlier draft of the script right now, and I think you're remembering what the intent of the panel was, but you really got that across. I'm looking at the first draft, and there's even less dialogue than there is now. The idea was to show her – she says the word "right" and it's there to sum up her disappointment. Georges, you just nailed it, and so that one word doesn't hold a candle to the image. Jeanty: When I read the scripts, I read them as any fan would. There's a point where I separate myself as an artist, but as a fan is how I go through the first reading. I try to visualize it in terms of "What if this were being filmed as an episode" and I can see all the "Buffy" episodes, understanding Joss' edicts so well that I can materialize it more than just going, "What's your motivation here?" If you know the characters, you know what they're feeling. As we go along in this issue, the phrase that kept popping up in my head was "Collateral Damage." [Laughter] So much gets lost and changed through the comic, but it came through these big moments. This one, we get to see Angel punch a hole in the Master's head, which is a really intense moment. Did you try to pace this so that with each change, the character's affected got bigger and bigger? Allie: I don't know that we thought about it like that, exactly. Back in those meetings we had in May, we blocked out all that was going to happen. So we knew at this point that Angel had to kill the Master. By the time I got to writing this issue, we had talked so much about the Master in the previous couple of issues that felt the best way to deal with him finally after all the buildup and all these years was another quick, unceremonious murder. And punching him through the head - was that in the script, or was that you, George? Jeanty: No, that was in the script. Allie: That may be a call out to something in "Umbrella Academy" where The Boy punched someone in the head, but I liked how it looks here. I like seeing the back of his head go, and I'm sure to some longtime fans and readers, it'll feel too unceremonious. But the point at this time was "Yeah, there's a lot happening, and there's huge consequences." And one of the things Joss and I talked about in terms of the character was that Joss finds the Master really funny. That wasn't my initial impression of the character, but once I'd seen that I was like "Totally." He's the high-faluting comedy relief in some ways. So the back of his head gets blown apart. And then he gets dusted, which I love how Georges handled that in the next panel where you see pieces of skull flying as green dust floats around. I think as I wrote this like this, I was thinking, "Angel doesn't have a stake, so the other way to kill a vampire is to cut off his head. How can we do a new decapitation? How do you make decapitation interesting and original? Well, a fist straight through the head is like decapitation." So now it's canon. Punching it through the head until it explodes is officially a way to kill a vampire. Allie: [Laughter] I think so, yeah. I think most people just don't have the stones to do it. Jeanty: I actually think that works in most walks of life. Allie: Yeah! Almost anyone you punch through the head will probably die. [Laughter] Two pages later, we get a much more serious and intense moment, which I'm sure you'll be hearing about from fans if you aren't already. Allie: I am never going to another convention. [Laughter] Jeanty: Not without security, I'm sure. But Angel kills Giles. I'm not sure there's much else to say about it. At what point did Joss realize Giles was going to sacrifice himself to complete this story? Allie: That was a while ago – and I hope you appreciate this, Georges – because when we started having this conversation, there was a moment in the conversation, it reminded me of a scene in "The Godfather." And in this, Georges is basically Luca Brasi. We started talking about it, and it was like "Georges is going to go crazy. Georges is not going to like this." I said, "Okay, I'll deal with the fans and with Sierra [Hahn], but who's going to handle Luca Brasi? Who's going to tell Georges?" I think at the point when Georges found out we were going to do this, that was when we got the reaction we were expecting. What did you think when you found this out, Georges? Jeanty: Obviously, being a fan and knowing all the lore, you have to prepare yourself for this thing. And I was more on the side of pleading. I thought, "If I don't actually draw it, it doesn't actually happen. Maybe if I talk to someone first, they'll reconsider this thing." I remember talking to Joss at one point, and I told him "You really have to justify that to me" – I can't believe I was so bold in saying that – "before I actually put pen to paper. Because speaking as a fan and not the artist, you are going to get an upheaval here." And Joss went on to describe it, and at the end of the day I do what I'm told. But I was really pleading. It was one of those things I understood because people were still reacting to Tara. So I was going, "Could you please kill somebody else and not Giles?" [Laughter] Allie: And by the way, Joss will not necessarily provide that service to every fan who calls and says, "You need to explain yourself." [Laughter] But I think he felt it was important and that Georges had earned that explanation. For me, I don't take it lightly at all. I was a little shocked and amazed when it first came up, but it has everything to do with where all these people are in their lives – where Giles is at, where Angel is at, where Buffy is at. The decision to kill a pivotal character is something that you can't just do for shock value or for the sake of housekeeping or to prove a point that there are stakes involved in the story. It can't just be about that, and it wasn't about that. This didn't start with any of those concerns. It started with who and where these guys were at, and it ended with me going on Netflix and going to the episode where Angel kills Jenny Calendar and doing a screen grab of him snapping Jenny's neck and pasting that into the script and saying "This is what Joss wants you to draw." Joss wanted us to exactly echo that moment from Season 2, which was a pretty rough moment. Jeanty: And all I did was reverse it. When Angel did it then, he was facing left, and here he's facing right. It sort of bookends that whole scene. Here we get a match-up of those harder moments and the hilarious as Willow loses her magic while Warren splats to pieces. With the Seed being broken, magic is being taken from the world. Where does that leave everyone? Is there any magic left? Any powers left for the Slayers? Allie: I'm only going to answer this questions because we have sort of already answered it in the comic, but we will get into it a little bit more in #40. Aluwyn explained that if the Seed breaks, the Slayers will retain their power because their power is in them. They were born with it, and then it was activated. Things that have power latently in them will still have whatever they have. But witches tap into energies from other dimensions and other realms, so they will no longer have the ability to tap into those things. Demons who live on this earth – like vampires which are revenant humans with demons in them – will still be here. But there probably won't be any new vampires created because there won't be any more avenues for demons to come through and get into their bodies. New demons won't appear on earth. You can't conjure a demon or get one to show up because there's no way for them to get here or for us to get to them. So the demons being sucked up through those holes in the sky are gone. There are demons that won't get sucked out. There will be thousands of demons left on earth that will still be here, but if they can't get away and more can't come, then if the army and Buffy and everybody were to team up and wipe out the thousand or so demons left around, that'd be the end of it. And if the vampires were all killed, there'd never be anymore vampires. But for now we've got some demons running around and some vampires running around. And we've got some Slayers who still have their latent abilities, and Buffy will still have her Slayer abilities. But Willow is, as I think we make pretty clear, entirely powerless. Georges, what's it like for you to transition between such big, serious moments and then things like Warren? That mix of real emotion and tongue-in-cheek stuff is what "Buffy" is known for, but it must be hard to juggle those elements on the page. Jeanty: Well, totally, but you've kind of got to look at it – with this whole series – from a different point of view than drawing a Superman or Batman book. A lot of who this series is being done for are people who've never read comics, and what you do in terms of how you show it is making things as identifiable as possible because if you miss your chance the first time around, you can really mislead the reader and make them feel like they can't follow a comic. To me, that sounds like an oxymoron to begin with, but they really feel like "I don't read comics, so I don't know what's going on in this Buffy book." As an artist, I've really tried to make it as plain as possible and in saying that, I try to chose scenes and angles that are the most depictable. So when you're trying to deal with comedy or horror or things that move back and forth, it's a very delicate balancing act because you cannot alienate the viewer who's already skeptical about the medium. So I try and keep my storytelling very basic and straightforward. Allie: One of the things we love the most about Georges – and Karl [Story's] another guy who does this well when a lot of guys who work in this don't do it – is the way that he so comfortably can slip from superhero action to real heartfelt drama to really silly, funny ****. He does that without making abrupt style changes. He just kind of slides. It's really graceful and keeps a continuous vibe to the story with a great emotional impact. In this bit with Amy and Warren, I loved it. He nailed it and made it stupid and gross and funny...and probably not too tragic, but what's going on around it is so tragic that when Warren turns into a puddle of goo, it's both funny and makes you go "That sort of means terrible, cataclysmic things too." Jeanty: And in the Joss Whedon universe, that's par for the course. Like I said, there's so much in this issue that we can't get to here from what's up with Spike to what the Lion of Twilight turning away is all about, but one last page that struck me was the very final page. For all the crazy action in the issue, it ends on a very quiet moment. Why go out on such an understated series of images? Jeanty: Well, with me I look at this and just see what I did wrong. Honestly, as we said, I was getting pages as they came in, and I did not know the Scythe was going to be broken. If I would have known that was the case, I would have broken it when Buffy swung at the egg. So when I look at this, every time I just go, "God, if I just would have broken that in an earlier shot!" Allie: Ending on such a somber, quiet page is kind of the same reason why I'm glad we have all of issue #40 to reflect on this. You just need to take it down a second. The action is so high-pitched for such a long time, and then starting around page 17 when she cracks the egg, it's the ending but it's also the beginning of the fireworks. It's been so loud and traumatic that writing things like the page of Willow screaming was rough. I thought, "I think she'd just be screaming, but there has to be words." So I'm hearing this girl traumatized, and I just need to take it down for a minute after that. We knew we had to do the image of Buffy laying on the ground, which had been foreshadowed in issue #10. We knew we needed that, and the question was "Is that the last image of the story?" I think it would be weird to purely end it on that. So I like the idea of Xander just stumbling around looking horrified and angry and then getting one last image of Giles so people can't mistake the fact that he's lying there dead. People can't mistake the fact that things are just miserable. It's just good fun. Jeanty: I think that this is the beauty of monthly comics. It cannot be replaced, and it's so well said here. With all the events going on here and in this page in particular, you see it and you digest it. You may not understand it all together, but now you have 30 days to look at it and start to postulate and think and let it resonate and start to come down from this obvious high. By the next issue, you're prepared to go, "Okay, I've waited a month. Give me my just desserts and fulfill what I was thinking about." I was thinking about this as I was doing this issue: once this is collected in a trade, I don't think the resonating factor will be as much. You can just turn the page and move on to the next issue. Here you have to wait, and there's nothing anybody can do until the next issue but be left feeling whatever they're feeling on this last page. Allie: Another thing about this page that was in my head before we had to break down the five issues was that I had thought when we had talked about this scene over the years...I'd imagined the scene as having all the main characters in one room together. It just seemed like that's what was going to happen. Then as we were working on the story and all the pages individually, you just had to go, "No. All these guys need to be doing stuff. So...wow. Willow's not in the room." It was really weird to me that Willow wasn't in the room, but I think it adds to the devastation of the issue that we don't even see the principals together on the last page. Willow's screaming her head off on a battlefield. Xander's speechless. Angel's literally speechless. And Buffy's crying too hard to acknowledge anybody. That initial image I once had of everybody in a room together – even if they were all crying and tearing their clothes – would be more upbeat than what we see here. Jeanty: Right. You look at this as "All bets are off." Well, for everybody waiting the 30 days for the finale to come, what do you want to say about how "Season 8" ends? Obviously, "Season 9" is in the offing, but do you feel this season wraps in a way that's satisfying, or are a lot of questions left as to what comes next? Jeanty: I've said that #40 will definitely set the tone for "Season 9," and after reading it, you'll definitely understand why there will be another season. Allie: Good point. But I don't know, it's weird. I think the thing about issue #40 is that we were all happy when we figured out that the action was climaxing in #39 and that #40 would have room for a denouement. Then we were really happy after we decided that we were going to have me co-write the last arc that Joss was going to be able to write #40 by himself. One of the things about this book is that his arcs have been great on "Season 8," but when he comes in to write a one-shot, the one-shots always do an amazing job of rallying the troops and redefining exactly where we are after a flurry of activity in the issues before. Like Jane's five issues – those were cataclysmic in a lot of ways, and they ended with Buffy getting superpowers. It was really fortunate that Joss was able to jump in and write a one-shot after that to get a crystalline focus on who everybody was and where they were at. That's something he can naturally do better than anyone else can do. It was so essential for him to do issue #40 by himself. And so I think what issue #40 does is reestablish who everybody is at the end of all these events. It takes them down a notch and let's them be the characters that they are. One thing Georges said earlier is that in issue #40, Buffy is on every page, and it's all about her relating to the principal characters...or not relating to them at all. It hits the reset button. In a lot of ways, it could have been issue #1 of "Season 9." It kind of is the beginning. It's the interesting thing about the comics: in so many ways, "Season 8" is not like a season of a TV show. One of the ways in which it isn't is that we have this denouement that gets us right into "Season 9." It establishes a brand new world order after these terrible events. Normally, you didn't get that at the end of a season. You had to wait until September to see what the fallout was. And I think more than any season of the show – or any pair of seasons of the show – the events of "Season 8" directly put you in "Season 9," and "Season 9" will be very much about dealing with what happened in "Season 8." Check back to CBR next month for one final BEHIND BUFFY SEASON 8 focusing on the 40th and final issue of the best-selling series!

[comic fan]

Anthony Stewart Head comments on Giles's death in Buffy #39.

Official Anthony Stewart Head News and Information

'GILES' DEMISE

It's obviously sad because it's the end of a great character, but the thing we love about Joss is his ability to tell great stories and the fact that he never shies away from haunting and impactful twists in his plotlines; the death of Joyce in the TV series gave rise to a catalogue of brilliant stories. Ripper R.I.P . Tony Head

[ashleyt]

That's actually pretty neat

[comic fan]

Preview Pages for tomorrow's Angel #40.

Comics Continuum: IDW Publishing First Looks

IDW PUBLISHING FIRST LOOKS

FIRST LOOK: ANGEL #40







Angel #40 will arrive in stores on Dec. 15 from IDW Publishing. The issue is written by David Tischman and Mariah Huehner, with art by Elena Casagrande and covers by Jenny Frison and Casagrande.

Here's how IDW describes the issue:

"Zapped…elsewhere, Angel discovers an old nemesis with a common foe, as James continues to turn L.A. into his own private demon farm. Can the enemy of his enemy be his friend, or is Angel about to get major league betrayed?"

Angel #40 will be 32 pages and will cost $3.99.

[comic fan]

Un-colored version of Jeanty's Buffy #40 cover including the missing person from the cover.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 COVER JEANTY/VINES, in MICHAEL ALEXANDER's FOR SALE Comic Art Gallery Room

[comic fan]

I have my copy of Angel #40 but I don't have much time to get into any details.On my way out again.Here are a couple points though.

1)I agree the art is jarring for Angel although it does sort of work for me in the future setting.

2)The future setting is very Sci Fi hence the art working somewhat for me in these parts.

3)Looks like Angel is going to make another deal with Wolfram and Hart but under his terms this time.

3)In the present day,we ctach up with Anne who is rescued by Gunn,Connor,Laura and Poly.

4)They learn about Angel's car accident and being missing from Kate.

5)Connor has a big blowup at Gunn towards the end of the issue.

6)Issue ends in the future and a mystrious figure(Angel seems to recognize the scent) indicating that Angel keeps making the wrong move by confronting W&H and they have to make sure he does not forget that.

[ashleyt]

Another deal with WR&H? That'll end well.

[comic fan]

Slayalive posts Buffy Season 9 sample art.

SlayAlive Forum - Buffy Season 9: What do you want?

Buffy Season 9: What do you want?

by CowboyGuy
Published on 12-15-2010

I'm sure there is so much everyone would like to see covered or explored next Season. So what are you hoping for? I for one am looking forward to more from Faith, and seeing what life is like for Buffy in San Francisco. I'm not really looking forward to more Xander/Dawn, but I guess it's inevitable (still not a fan of the ship). MORE SPIKE. But not more Spuffy, please. That's so Seasons 6-7...

I think Spike is a better and deeper character when he's not following Buffy around, and his existence isn't as a foil to her (i.e - from the IDW Angel stuff). Still curious as to how he has a space ship and a crew of giant roaches too. I'm also pretty excited to see the state of the Scoobies, and what Willow is up to as well. I'm even open to more Kennedy! *dodges rocks* Anyway, back to Buffy for a second. She was more or less a single woman in Season 8, and even in Season 7 she was not technically in a real relationship a la Riley or Angel. is it time for a new man (or woman) to come into her life? What do you think, and what are you hoping for?

Found some art request submissions for Season 9...check them out. I love seeing stuff like this. But, unfortunately it's not official. I received an email from Scott @ Dark Horse, letting me know that this art is no longer in consideration for Season 9. I do quite like them, official or not.











He worked on a title for Dark Horse as well as a title for Marvel. This summer he was asked by Scott to do a submission of his art for Buffy Season 9. He says it was like a "try out in the eventuality of taking over the title starting with Season 9." Also, his likeness tests for Buffy, Faith, Angel and Spike have seemingly met approval from what I can glean. Meaning Sarah Michelle Gellar's team, etc, have approved the likeness factor for their respective depictions, should this artist get hired. Other than that there is no official answer or announcement to give.

We know from Issue 40 hints that Buffy is living in San Francisco. But I wonder, when asked by Scott to submit samples, was he given panel direction? Such as "in this page we wanna see Buffy, Spike and Angel in an apartment, with a map of Romania on the wall" or "Xander enters on the last panel of page three"?

Just a clarification I just got from Scott, this is art is no longer being considered for S9.

But, it's nice to look at anyway


The source of the art.

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Buff...e-01-167754513



This is the first page of the sample I was asked to make for DH's "Buffy the vampire slayer". I had quite some fun with this one as the short sample script was custom written. Thus the action is taking place here in Romania's capital Bucharest. It's actually quite suited considering how everybody knows us by the Dracula stories if not by something else (unfortunately).

The hotel in panel 1 is a combination between its old look and the new renovated one. IN the far background on the right you can also see the Intercontinental Hotel, the biggest in Bucharest. On the wall in the back you can see both the maps of Romania and Bucharest.

I really hope you guys will enjoy this page as much as I did drawing it.

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Buff...e-02-167754989



Here's the second page I have done. I loved having to draw the room from two exactly opposite angles in order to describe the space's every detail.

In the first version of this page Xander didn't have the patch on his left eye, but good thing a fellow artist colleague of mine saw that and immediately notified me

Enjoy!

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Buff...mple-184099043



Here is another sample I was asked to do on Buffy for the 9th season of the title. I haven't received the editor's feedback on it yet, but I'm pretty hopeful. I now Geroges Jeanty left a very deep mark on the title, so I can only hope to live up to that and take it further - if given the chance.

In the mean time you guys enjoy it.

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Buff...ness-167752541

Buffy likeness



As you could read in my Journal entry I was asked to make a tryout for DH's "Buffy the vampire slayer". The first step in that direction was to make the likenesses of the main characters, which I am gladly posting for you all to see and hopefully enjoy.

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Fait...ness-167753582

Faith likeness



This is Faith whom was quite challenge due to her very interesting facial features and a hot body too I particularly had lots of fun drawing the full body shot on this one.
Enjoy verybody!

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Ange...ness-167753281

Angel likeness



This is Angel. Although I might have cheated this on a bit with all the dark on the full body shot, the main purpose was getting the portraits right. They were approved.

I have a lot of fun with the likenesses because one needs to stay true to the actor's look, but also revise/optimize certain flows they might have. Anyway, the min purpose is to have these sell to the actor represented.

Hope you guys enjoy

http://druje.deviantart.com/art/Spik...ness-167754158

Spike likeness



And here's Spike who's facial features don't really allow you to make many mistakes. They're every specific and very well defined. I really enjoyed drawing James Marshall impersonating Spike.

Enjoy everybody!

[comic fan]

Illyria #2 preview pages and interview with writer Scott Tipton and artist Elena Casagrande.

Tipton and Casagrande Discuss "Angel: Illyria" - Comic Book Resources

Tipton and Casagrande Discuss "Angel: Illyria"

Prolific IDW scribe Scott Tipton interviews artist Elena Casagrande about their work on "Illyria: Haunted" and other comics in the "Angel" universe, sharing exclusive sketches and a five-page preview!

by CBR News Team, Editor


Illyria is "Haunted"

As IDW Publishing's popular line of "Angel" comics begins to draw near its conclusion, one of the most popular supporting characters is receiving a long overdue moment in the spotlight with the miniseries "IIllyria: Haunted," written by Scott Tipton and Mariah Huehner and drawn by Elena Casagrande.

CBR News is pleased to present series co-writer Scott Tipton as he interviews Casagrande about their work on "Illyria," which sees its second issue hit stores on December 22 – and is also happy to offer an exclusive 5-page preview from "Illyria" #2!

Although she’s done her share of superhero work at Marvel and elsewhere, Casagrande has in recent years been specializing in books based on media licenses from television and film. In this exclusive interview, she explains what goes into capturing a likeness, the trick to making an emotionally empty character “act,” and which "Angel" character she considers “the one that got away.”

Scott Tipton: Over the course of your career, you've done a lot of work on licensed properties, from your solo debut on "The Ghost Whisperer" to our work on "Star Trek," and our current work on "Illyria" and "Angel." With so much of the success of the work depending on capturing the likenesses of the actors, how do you approach "designing" a known character for comics? Do you rely heavily on source material, or do you try and create a caricature that captures the actor's "essence?"

Elena Casagrande: I think that the likenesses of the actors in a licensed comic book are really important: the main reason why a fan wants to buy that comic is to find again his or her favorite characters and "hear again their voices" (if the writer is good!); moreover, I have to respect the image of the actor because it's the base of the character, the first step to recognizing the product and the first step to attracting the fans, old and new ones. I have many pictures of every character, and if I'm not satisfied with them, I look for the actor in another episode or movie and then I try to imagine the expression that I need in the comic, as natural as possible for that character. I mean, some facial expressions are an exclusive of an actor, so I try to be as close to him or her as I possibly can.

What do you find more difficult, keeping a consistent likeness during action sequences, or trying to convey emotion in more dramatic scenes, where you really have to make these recognizable characters "act?"

During a talking scene in a comic, it's easier to reproduce the likenesses because in the TV shows they are the most recurrent scene, so it's easy to imagine how every character should act. In an action sequence it's harder: in the TV series everything happens so fast that we can't focus so much on the expressions, so I try to imagine how every actor could have an angry, or surprised or scared face. Also, in the dramatic scenes I emphasize the emotions, bringing out some signs on the faces to be more than what we would see on TV; I have to exaggerate this emphasis of the characters because their image is the only way I have to communicate the emotions in their words, having only a silent picture of them instead of a moving sequence, sounds and music.

Starting with our work on "A Hole in the World," then moving on to the monthly "Angel" series, and now our "Illyria" miniseries, "Haunted," you've been drawing Illyria steadily for almost a year and a half now. With a character like Illyria, it must be even more difficult than most since the character is emotionally stunted, so you can't even be really exaggerated in her expressions. What's your experience been like in working with the Illyria character?

Honestly? Very easy! [Laughter] She's so stunted that I haven't to worry so much about her expression, since she'd be the same in most part of her sequences! But in some moments also I will give her some body signal to communicate, like the skewed head of a very serious expression, quite dangerous. There were some moments, especially in the "Angel" ongoing comic series and in the current series "Haunted," where I had to underline some scenes, so I humanized Illyria more than I normally would: it was strange for me to see her in that way, but necessary and in the end a nice result.

It seems to me like often your focus on the Illyria likeness is on the eyes. Is that where you start, in terms of capturing the emotion?

Sure! Her eyes are the first part through which we can see her like she is: empty. So they're big, open and staring and – and this is important – the pupil is bigger than a human one.

Normally, you do complete pencils and inks yourself. But in the current issue, you worked with artist Walter Trono, who provided pencils based on your layouts, which you then inked. How closely do you oversee the penciller's work in a situation like this? Is he working from your specific direction, or does he have some room to interpret the script himself?

I gave him some very rough layouts from which he could work, during the first part of the issue where there are more talking scenes; during the action sequences I gave him the freedom to realize them and he did great work. I focused only on the likeness and some more stylistic features.

One of the things we got to do in "Illyria" #2 was indulge in a bit of outright comedy, something that's occasionally in short supply in the dark, moody "Angel" books. Is this something you were looking forward to?

Oh yes, absolutely, I love those moments in "Angel"...they make more dramatic the rest of the story!

Another fun aspect of this second issue was being able to guest-star Spike in such a significant role. I get to deal with the Spike/Illyria relationship through dialogue, which seems like the much easier job. How do you approach expressing that relationship between the two of them through the visuals?

I worked especially on Spike; he's so expressive that he works for both of them. Illyria has her stillness, a rigidity about her, her emptiness, her awkwardness, and the best way to show them is to show Spike's reactions to them; they, on this level, are opposite characters but are living a similar situation, so we can see two different reactions to the same unease: to be excluded from the world.

"Angel" had a very large cast of regular and supporting players over the course of its five seasons, and by this point you've had the opportunity to tackle almost all of them. Are there any that you dread having to draw, whether because they feel difficult, or just because getting them right takes a lot of work? Conversely, which characters do you love seeing in a script? If it was your dream "Angel"book, who would be in every issue?

I'm a fan of Angel but I have to admit: the hardest character to draw right is Angel. The actor has a likeness that’s very hard to reproduce, so often I would wind up drawing someone who is reminiscent of Angel, but he wasn't David Boreanaz...and I wasn't happy. Often I will re-draw him different times, until I'm satisfied and I think, "It's him!"

The challenge about my favorite likeness is won by Spike: Angel fans, don't hate me, but it's true: James Marsters has a face more distinctive than all the other characters. With the hair, the eyebrows, the nose, the cheekbones and the chin...it's easier for me! Anyway, it will be hard for me to leave all of them!

And I would have loved so much to draw Cordelia...sigh!



Designs for new characters in "Illyria" #2 by Walter Trono (left) and Casagrande (right)


Cover for "Angel: Orpheus," a proposed miniseries that was later dropped, featuring Casagrande’s first and only likeness of Cordelia.

[comic fan]

Illyria #4 cover at Chris Ryall's blog.

License to Illyria RyallTime Blog

License to Illyria



Comic Book Resources has a new interview with ILLYRIA co-writer Scott Tipton and artist Elena Casagrande where the two talk about the approach to the miniseries, what Illyria is facing over those four issues (which then impact the ANGEL series), and offer up a multi-page preview of the comic, too. Just follow this link.

Oh, above is a piece not shown in the interview or anywhere else yet — Casagrande’s cover for ILLYRIA #4.

[ashleyt]

Thanks for the update

[comic fan]

IDW March 2011 Solicitations

IDW Publishing | The home of 30 Days of Night, Star Trek, Terminator, Transformers, G.I. Joe...

ANGEL #43 (of 44)
David Tischman, Mariah Huehner (w) Elena Casagrande (a) Frison, Runge (c)

THE PENULTIMATE ISSUE OF IDW'S ANGEL SERIES! Time is quite literally running out for Angel. He must stop the ultimate Big Bad, Wolfram & Hart, and somehow get back to Connor before L.A. becomes a permanent demon farm. Can Illyria help, or is the sacrifice too great?

*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio
FC 32 pages $3.99



SPIKE #6 (of 8)
Brian Lynch (w) Stephen Mooney (a) Nick Runge (c)

Why is Willow out of the Buffyverse and in Las Vegas with Spike? Why does she need to help Spike with? How are they going to deal with John and Wolfram & Hart and Drusilla? Plus, spaceships and bugs are coming!

FC 32 pages $3.99

[slayerboy42]

Can't wait for January 19th for the season finale of Buffy season 8 !!

[comic fan]

I have my copy of Illyria #2 of 4.

First of all,One of the things I've really enjoyed throughout IDW's run with Angel is the relationship between Illyria and Spike and that continues here.I can really see Spike becoming a mentor to Illyria in humanity and that's all over this issue IMO.I really hope we continue to get Illyria and Spike interaction in Buffy Season 9 at Dark Horse.

The gist of the issue is that Spike gets help for Illyria to reach The Deeper Well from a trickster demon named Sally who Spike is friends with.Sally basically looks like a cute pink elf.I wish we could see more of her actually after this issue as another ally/connection Spike has.Sally sends the two of them to retrieve what turns out to be a heart shaped locket.I won't spoil how that ends up going but it's a great twist(after some great Illyria centric gags) and ties into the theme of the issue which if you read the preview pages should be very clear.That theme is all over the resolution of this issue.The issue ends with Sally sending Illyria on her own to The Deepr Well.

Great issue overall.

[comic fan]

Georges Jeanty Full Slayalive Q/A for Buffy #39.

[SPOILER] Q&A with Georges Jeanty Session 17

[SPOILER] Q&A with Georges Jeanty Session 17
Hey all!

Rules are simple: Maximum of three (3) questions per member until I submit your questions to Jeanty. I will post a note to let you know when I send off questions to reopen the floor. As always, there is a possibility of a delay, so thanks for your patience. Keep it clean, keep it civil. Simple right? Entries are welcome until I post a closing post. Questions regarding Twilight NO LONGER HAVE TO SPOILER-TAGGED! (Thank goodness... it was a pain having to make sure that the appropriate questions/answers were spoiler-tagged).

This is for the penultimate issue of S8, and Georges told me to let you all know to go nuts. Within reason, of course. No questions that are meant to simply further your agenda (especially in shipping!). Everything else is fair game, but be respectful of each other AND the man who's gracious enough to take your questions.

Anyone who's reading this and not a member, I'm accepting questions at wenxina@slayalive.com. Feel free to send me your questions and I'll add them to the queue with credit to you.

Please note that Georges is often not really at liberty to divulge big spoilers, so don't waste those questions here... "No spoilers/comment" is a reasonable response to those.

Alright... GO!

1. ThatEvilLawFirm: Hello! What a shocking and amazing issue! So myI think question for you:Will we see the major ramifications of the destruction of the seed this season?

Georges: Not this season, obviously, but it does make for some interesting stuff in Season 9- most of which is hush hush!

2. ThatEvilLawFirm: We've been told that ALL demons are banished from Buffy's dimension and I know this won't be covered in the one issue remaining, but what does that mean for characters from Angel, such as Illyria, Cordelia (I guess she is still part demon even though she is a higher power?), Betta George, Lorne (not around, but still sort of in this universe), etc.?

Georges: Those are very good questions... that I'm sure the Angel series from Dark Horse will address. I mean all the demons weren't killed, they were just banished, so they gotta be somewhere. More interesting fodder for next season.


3. ThatEvilLawFirm: In Fray we were told that the Watchers Council became a group of fanatics. With Giles' death, it seems like this is imminent, since the only watcher left now is Andrew (I think it's stated that he is a 'Watcher in training'). Is there any chance that next season we will start to see the story center around the Slayer's organization fall apart due to lack of a head watcher?

Georges: It's a whole new season. And so much was left unsaid in this one. There are so many places to go... are you starting to see Season 9 shaping up..?

4. bamph: Hey Georges. What a powerful issue. I guess this ranks up there with "Becoming" and "The Gift" as heartbreaking finales. I'm sure you'll be flooded with questions on this one. Here are my first three. Now that the issue is out, can you tell us about the challenges and emotions you had on the art in this issue especially on Giles death and the ending of this one?

Georges: That was a tricky one. I felt it paramount that I had to talk to Joss if for nothing else then just to voice my feelings on that issue. I had that page laid out a couple of ways. I first toyed with the idea of making it an extreme close up when Angel twists Giles head, and then more and more I got the parallel to the death of Jenny Calendar, right down to the curved arch with Giles and the curved window with her. I really wanted the impact to come across and for the reader to understand that Giles was being killed here. Drawing such a quick action was tough because of course, comics don't move, so I had to capture the act as it happens. I took great care with the next panel with Giles laying there because I knew we were going to be running this image again in the issue and in the future. I thought of it as that one image that sticks in your mind when you see a horrible scene.


5. bamph: Can you clarify now who was the betrayer and who was the prince or do we still need to wait for the final issue next month?

Georges: Oh... that would be telling. You get a hint in the next issue, but Angel doesn't get out of this unharmed.

6. bamph: Buffy/Angel shippers have been scared in recent months due to the build up hype surrounding how bad things would get in #39. Buffy #40 I'm guessing, deal with the fallout of #39's event. I'm sure you can't say much. But after this issue and Season 8 in general, can the Buffy/Angel relationship come back from this like it has before with Angelus next issue and in Season 9 in your opinion? Or has Buffy/Angel really been torpedoed and there is no hope for a future for them after this? Anything you can say would be really great right.

Georges: Oh, it's just awful... this has been a tragedy all around. But there is compassion from a very unlikely source...

7. sosa lola: What was the moment that made you really upset when you read the script? Obviously it's Giles' death, but if there's something else you can add, I'd be very interested. (I'm still crying over Giles' death by the way.)

Georges: Aside from Giles' death I thought I really got across Buffy's grief on the last page of that issue. It is a throwback image to Issue 10 where this whole ending is foretold, but I finished that page and thought, I did a good job of getting Buffy's expression on that page, I think, because it was my own as well. So every time I look at that page I get the pain she's feeling.

8. Hellbound Hyperion: Vagina monster -- your idea or Joss's? (Yeah, I ask the tough questions, the hardball questions!)

Georges: In a way it was Scott's. He was on me to do some demons that weren't the regular bi-peds we'd been seeing, so I went in a whole 'nother direction. And all of a sudden I'm hearing the jokes of Willow fighting the Vagina Monster...!

9. Hellbound Hyperion: Now that we've seen #39, can you describe the general mood of #40? I get the feeling it'll be resolution (in terms of story) but not... peace, per se.

Georges: I think it takes place 6 months after. It more sets up season 9 than ends Season 8. Kind of like the way the last episode of Season 4 sets up Season 5.


10. Hellbound Hyperion: Just kind of curious: did you re-draw the panel from #10 with Buffy on the floor ("Betrayal. The closest, the most unexpected...")? I don't have my TPB on me but the panel in #39 looked like an excellent reiteration of the panel from #10. (Great work all around this issue, by the way, and for the series in general! )

Georges: Yup. That was Joss with all the foreshadowing even way back in Issue 10! Also, the creatures that Giles rides in to join the fight are the same ones from way back in Issue 1. Also, that's the same jacket that Buffy's been wearing for the whole season which we first see in Issue 4. I tried to wrap up a lot of things with this issue, visually speaking.

11. drywallman: Should Xander fans feel let down considering the indications that he would do something really important in this issue when, in reality all he does is stand around and watch others act? Does issue 40 do anything to make up for this? As it stands that whole bit with the General telling Xander about the Seed seems really pointless.

Georges: Or maybe he got the information from the General to go down there and was himself about to be killed had Giles not shown up...? I think Xander understood that the forces that were going on around him were way beyond his capabilities, sometimes the best thing you can do is just to witness events to relay them in the future.

12. Dorotea: Hi Georges,IOY to read this season to its bitter end - and so I do. Your art is amazing - I keep repeating myself, but well, I hope this is OK with you. Chuckle.Now to the questions.What was the point of resurrecting and bringing Master back into the story ? He seemed pretty irrelevant, to be honest. Just give your personal reasoning please. Even Warren's brief comeback had made more sense to me - by the way hilarious scenes with him and Amy! Thank you for lightening the mood!

Georges: Hey you!
I have to agree with you a little bit. I'm not sure why the Master was brought back like he was. I think overall he was a red herring to the big climax. That's a better question for Joss.

13. Dorotea: Spike chasing after that vagina monster, eh? Whose idea was that?

Georges: Again, I think that was Scott. He's such a naughty boy...

14. Dorotea: Twilight keeps complaining about 'you cannot abandon the universe you have created'. Can I ask you to comment on my feeling that this is Joss mocking himself and his Buffyverse fandom - that universe that he had created and that keeps chasing after him and begging not to abandon it, and that S8 is his way to get back at us ? Just kidding, but every joke has a grain of truth in it.

Georges: That's a good grain. I don't know. Another good question for Joss. I won’t even speculate because I don't know where Twilight falls in Season 9, so I don't want to give anything away.

15. kdeb: Hi Mr Jeanty,I think this issue contains some of your very best work. The panel of Angel killing Giles, which mirrors his murder of Jenny Calendar in season 2, is particularly impressive, and the blood red coloring really adds to the effect.

Georges: Please, it's Georges!

Here are my questions:Scott Allie has just done an interview with Buffyfest, in which he says that Spike will return and have a scene in no 40. I know you can't spoiler, but will this be where the Spike/Buffy relationship finally gets the respect that Scott promised us it would get in the last Q&A he did on this board?

Georges: I don't want to say too much, but I can say that scene with Buffy and Spike reminded me a lot of the scene in Season 5 when Buffy goes out on the porch of her back yard and Spike shows up ready to kill her and she's crying and all he does is sit there and pats her on the back in sympathy, which is what she needed right then and there. Sometimes that’s what we all need. Not to solve our problems, but to just sit there and sympathize... 'sometimes there just aren't enough rocks.'

16. kdeb: When we see Spike pursuing the so-called vagina monster in No. 39, is he pursuing it in our dimension or into the one where all the other monsters are going?

Georges: Some how that monster evaded the portals and as such, is retreating in our dimension.

17. kdeb: In the web comic “Always Darkest,” in Buffy's nightmare, Angel and Spike joke with each other that she can't tell them apart. Many readers thought that this actually meant something, but it seems not. What, in your opinion, was the point of it?

Georges: I haven't read that. If I had to guess it would be that she thought vampires were interchangeable. Either that, or the possibility that Spike and Angel are hung just about the same.

18. cheryl: Hi Georges, wish I had something positive to say but at the moment I really really don't.My first question is this...why in the world would Joss ever kill our beloved Giles? I mean, seriously? A universe without Giles is...broken.

Georges: When I talked to Joss about this issue he did give me a reason, but I think it's something he wants to develop next season.

19. cheryl: Will we have any reason whatsoever to cheer at the end of the next issue?

Georges: Well, it doesn't end with anyone dying... sorry, anyone else dying.

20. cheryl: What about that twist aka gotcha moment? Tell me that it wasn't the death of Giles because that was more like a sucker punch to the gut after having a bucket of ice water dumped on you.

Georges: Wow, you are graphic. I don't think I ever said it was a twist, and I don't know if it's fair to say sucker punched. It's just a tragedy.

21. leyki: Hi, Georges.I would like your opinion about some things.1)In previous Q&A, you kept referring to Angel, as "poor Angel".Can you please tell me why do you think somebody who-tried 3 times to cause an apocalypse and succeeded twice,-totally forgot about his son,-fooled everybody this season, Buffy, the scoobies, the army, Amy, Warren, human beings, in order to make his plan work,-was willing to stay in a "paradise" with Buffy and leave billions of people in Earth to die,-came back only because Buffy was leaving him there alone and went to fight only because Buffy told him to,-believed in speaking dogs and birds instead of listening and trusting the people he claimed he "loved"-and basically is responsible for the death of thousands, maybe even more, and now for killing Giles,why such a character deserves your characterization of "poor"?I would really like your opinion in that.

Georges: I'm hoping my feelings on that will be the gist of the Angel series. I meant poor Angel, because at least in this season, he was misled and not in control of his actions. There's going to be a lot of good drama in his book next year! Be sure to pick it up.

22. leyki: What did the twilight logo actually represented? It's been a while since we last heard-saw of it, was there a reason for it, or just for effect?And who actually thought of its drawing? You? Joss? Allie? Who was the inspiration of it and what did it represent?

Georges: I think Buffy said it way back in Issue 2 (“… a beautiful sunset”).

23. leyki: Same thing goes for Spike, was he back only for his fansThe witches in New York could see the fight in Sunnydale and teleport anyone there, what was the reason for Spike to appear in the last issues? He didn't do something significant to the story, like the Master's appearance that Dorotea asked before me.

I just want to see your point of view, and thanks in advance.

Georges: I think he was always meant to come, he was just late to the party. And he had a lot of knowledge that the rest of the gang didn't have. So... relevant. And let's be real, how could this series have ended without Spike showing up?

24. woundeddwarf: Hi Georges. Are we going to get an explanation as to why both Angel and Spike arrived on the scene through portals?

Georges: That's a good question... for next season.

25. woundeddwarf: Will we learn anything about the world being in ruins prior to Angel becoming Twilight? For instance, was it destroyed as part of the plan to convince Angel to become Twilight? And if so, who did the destroying since kitty Twilight wasn't born yet?

Georges: Well, kitty wasn't in that form, but that doesn't mean he wasn't around. Again, more fodder for next season... You see, I was telling you guys when you read this issue you'd understand the need for a Season 9!


26. woundeddwarf: Is there going to be any kind of payoff to Twilight's words that it will end when Buffy turns the sword upon herself?

Georges: Now that is a little out of my jurisdiction...

27. sosa lola: What was Angel going to do before Xander brushed him off? Was he going to explain or comfort Xander? What was the wording in the script Joss and Allie wrote? (This is a huge fan of Xander/Spike and Xander/Angel so I'm very interested when it comes to Xander and the main vampires.)

Georges: As I remember, the script says that Xander recoils from Angel not knowing what he would do, and that Angel was all kinds of confused. Keep in mind, all this sets the stage for a very emotional series when the Angel book comes out. The Champion has been laid low, there will be a lot of accountability.

28. sosa lola: I really, really love the panels with Willow crying. You made me cry so hard: Buffy's reaction to Giles' death and Willow's reaction to losing magic hit me so hard, all thanks to your drawing. What was your favorite panel in this issue?

Georges: Aww thanks! I've always done my job when I can make someone cry! I don't think I had a favorite panel in this issue, as such. I was just really focused on the storytelling. I knew this was a VERY emotional issue, for me included, so I wanted to try and bring across that in the storytelling. That is always the most gratifying thing when you can tell a story with words and pictures that moves people. It's why I love doing comics, and what has always had the most impact on me with the comics I read. If you just give this medium a chance I really think it can touch you just like any other. That's what hooked me and has kept me reading since I was a kid. There are some comic books that have moved me as much as any movie or novel.

29. AndrewCrossett: I notice that in this issue, the battlefield death scenes... young girls getting ripped in half, burned alive, melted in agony... were a lot more graphic and disturbing than they were in earlier issues. Did Joss or Scott specifically ask you to do it that way, or were you trying to ramp up the horror factor of your own accord?

Georges: That was all in the script, but I noticed that too. It seems that the carnage got amped up for this issue. I'm still not sure why Faith was able to survive the melting man. I don't know who's twisted mind that came from. That's probably a better question for Scott.

30. AndrewCrossett: We saw Leah getting rescued, but I have to ask... are my other two favorite Nu-Slayers, Satsu and Rowena, OK?

Georges: I think so. I know Satsu is alive and Rowena was running around there somewhere. I really liked Ro. I felt we didn't use her nearly as much, I would have loved to developed her a little more! I hope they come back in Season 9... but that Simone.... bitch.


31. AndrewCrossett: I have some suspicions about that "vagina demon" that Spike is chasing. It didn't get pulled back into Hell with the other demons. We know that the female sex organs symbolize a passage from one world to another, and there is a certain snaky goddess who tends to have very sexual themes associated with passage into her world. So, is everyone maybe misunderstanding what that demon is and what it's trying to do?

Georges: Wow, you guys are really reading into this one! While it was written that that demon escapes, there was never any mention of making it a female body part. I think it was described as an HP Lovecraft demon. That's all. It was just luck that I choose that one to escape. It could have just as easily been the other large demon that Willow was fighting.


32. AndrewCrossett: When last seen, the Twilight Lion was walking away into the landscape of Twilight. It's kind of frustrating to think this will be the second season in a row where the Big Bad just gets to walk away with no real consequences. Will we get any more closure on what happens with that Lion or the Twilight world?

Georges: I think you have to ask yourself whether or not the 'Lion' was the big bad. Remember it was just a personification of the entity. What it ultimately will be is still a mystery. I don't know how that fits into Season 9.

33. AndrewCrossett: Considering the global catastrophes going on, with the environment going crazy and demons pouring in through multiple portals, how could things have been so calm in Venice where Amy and Warren were? This seems like something too big for even Buffyverse people to be clueless about.

Georges: Well, we know that the military is aware of the Slayers so if there is any cluelessness (?) going on then I think it will be through the orchestration of those men in black... but yeah. I agree. Slayers have gone global and in this day an age of information it's hard to assume it was all a fluke. I would love to explore some of the fallout from all this, and also all the damage Harmony has done.

34. AndrewCrossett: How badly physically injured was Willow by her fall?

Georges: In the script it's said that she falls pretty far and breaks some bones.

35. bamph: In one of his interviews for the new issue, Scott Allie gave some info on next issue.

Spoiler:
He said it's very Buffy focused. Buffy is in San Francisco and she checks in with several although not all the characters close to her. They couldn't fit everyone in. Scott confirmed that Spike gets a scene with Buffy and Dawn is in the issue. This seems to be the elephant in the room and may be too spoilerish but does Angel get a moment or any interaction with Buffy in this issue and does Willow?

Georges: I think it's too soon. What Angel did... how can you forgive that?

36. bamph: With Season 8 finishing up can you talk a bit about your collaboration with each of the writers you worked with during the course of the season? Any differences in how each worked with you?

Georges: This is where I have been the luckiest guy in comics! I've had the opportunity to work with some of the finest writers in and out of the business! And each and every one of them was gracious to a fault. Brian K. Vaughan surprised me the most as to how much of a Buffy fan he was and delivered what Joss said was an authentic Faith story. He really understood the characters.
Jane Espenson was an absolute delight. She fell into the comic thing like she was doing it for years, and has a work ethic that's enviable!
Steven D. Knight's issue was one of the tightest issues I think we've done in the series. There was very little, if any fat in that story.
Drew Goddard was like a kindred spirit. We both have a love for Godzilla and the such, so his arc felt more like two little boys playing out their fantasies of giant monsters!
Brad Meltzer was great. He's worked in comics over at DC and really understood what was necessary when it came to his arc. I think he had the toughest job with all that was going on. It was a pleasure to draw from his scripts.
Scott was a surprise. I didn't know he was writing until I got the script and I thought he performed admirably.
Joss, well what can I say? Very seldom you are in the company of geniuses, and with Joss it was me being in awe the whole time. Whenever I suggested he do something different for the sake of the story I always caught myself and said, you just told Joss Whedon to change something! I will forever be in his debt.

37. bamph: As a fan now, what are you looking forward to in Season 9?

Georges: All the human stuff. You'll get a good bit of that in Issue 40 but I love the interaction of the characters and how they handle things and I think Joss struck a good note with the end of Issue 40. Season 9 promises to be more emotionally charged than season 8. I can't wait to see it!

38. leyki: In a previous Q&A, I asked you about Dawn in #40 cover, and you said that she is there.;This is what we have seen,;http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6677/40cover.jpg Can you tell us if this is what the cover will look like, and if yes, then where is Dawn?If not, can we see your cover for #40?

Georges: I may have spoken too quickly on that one. Dawn is there but I'm not sure what they were doing with that cover. That would be a better question for Scott.

39. zamolxis: Hi Georges and thanks for the warnings. Angel killing Giles the same way he killed Jenny Calender was shocking.Can you tell us what would mean a world without magick for vampires, would they still turn to dust after being staked or be vulnerable to direct sun light?

Georges: That's a good question. And something that you'll see explored in Season 9. Sorry I can't say more.

40. zamolxis: In a previous Q&A you said you didn't knew about Spike's arc at the time you drew the dreamcubes sequence. Do you remember when you found out about Spike being in the story and your reaction to it? Before or in January 2010 after Joss Whedon's interviews - the so called Twilightgate (when the Twilight is Angel covers leaked)?

Georges: I knew it was an inevitable that Spike would make his way into the book. How could he have not? I didn't know how he'd make his appearance but I knew he was coming. I love Spike. I think he adds a great dynamic to the book. Ever since Cordelia and Anya were killed off I think he's the only one who tells it like it is and doesn't fear the consequences.

41. zamolxis: Are you familiar with the motion comics? If yes, what's your opinion on those especially considering that they cut out lines from the original story?I don't know when you'll be able to answer to our questions so .. happy holidays!

Georges: Thanks. Happy Holidays to you and everyone out there! I have been watching the motion comics. I'm of two minds with this to be honest. I think it's great that the motion comics will reach an audience that maybe never read the books, and it will further solidify the canon of Season 8, but I also think the motion comics are a little lazy. They had great production value and the reproduction and voices are top notch. I just think it's lazy on the part of the medium. Here you have the whole comic being read to you and moved for you as you watch it. For all that I would think you'd just read the books. I don't find the motion comics to be like Audio books which I listen to regularly. Reading is one thing, but comics are also a visual medium and having that handed to you the way it is, I would think your imagination would be able to fill in the story. It's like wanting to drive a car but when you sit behind the wheel everything is automatic and all you have to do is sit there. I support the motion comics, I just do find them very relevant.

42. bamph: Who's the one character from the T.V. show that you wish you got to draw in season 8 and didn't?It can be from Angel's show too.

Georges: Over the years I've become very friendly with Juliet Landau, and spent a lot of time with her at shows. From that one on one, she's really opened my eyes as to how much depth there is in Drusilla. I would loved to have tackled that character! So maybe in Season 9.

43. bamph: I enjoyed your work on the Batman side of things such as The Return of Bruce Wayne issue and the Manhunter co-feature. Do you have any DC comic or Marvel comic work coming up during the Buffy break?

Georges: I believe I'll be doing a Teen Titans fill-in and maybe some stuff at Marvel. It all depends on the scheduling. I have a few friends at DC so I seem to get more work over there.

44. bamph: Do you have any new thoughts about the Jossless Buffy reboot film now that it looks like it's going forward at Warner Bros. with the producer of the Chris Nolan Batman films and has a screenwriter?

Georges: I am so conflicted! At first I was right there with everyone else that if Joss ain't a part of it, it shouldn't be happening! Then I heard that Heather Morris is being considered for the role. I hate to admit it, but I'm such a Glee fan (she plays the blonde Glee Cheerleader Brittany) and she is among my favorite characters! Joss directed an episode and I know he's friendly with her, so I can only imagine what he might be thinking. Nothing will replace the 7 seasons (8) of the show for me, but remember, also, that people were in an uproar when Paramount announced it was doing Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I think TNG rivals the original series. So I have hopes...

45. moscowwatcher: Hey, Georges,Your art in this issue was great. I'm sure that some of the panels will be declared iconic in the future. And, as a Spike fan, I'd love to thank you for his last close-up - that of a ragged warrior who never gives up. Fantastic job!

Georges: I hate to say it for fear of enraging the Angel fans, but Spike really is on the road to redemption. He's becoming more and more the hero. That's how I've been drawing him. And before all you Angel purists start spouting disdain, it's Angel who's getting his own title next season, not Spike.

Questions:On the page where Buffy breaks the Seed, the bottom panel features many pictures of girls. The common opinion is that these girls are Slayers and they feel the same shock. But it's unclear if they feel the end of magic in general or the loss of their Slayer powers. Were you given any specific instructions regarding that panel?

Georges: That's something I added. I thought with the shattering of the Seed, it was the break that was felt through all the Slayers everywhere in the world. Even the ones who might not have been fighting in Sunnydale. I wanted to get across that this was more than just Buffy swinging in an attempt to end things. This act will resonate throughout the world of magic.

46. moscowwatcher: It looks like Amy and Warren are dining at the Piazza San Marco in Venice - the place the most subjected to inundations. Was it a deliberate choice to demonstrate that the catastrophes, produced by space-frak and demon invasions were more or less local and the rest of the Earth isn't affected? Or it was a random location?

Georges: I think the whole of the world is affected. We just didn't have a whole lot of pages to show that. Amy and Warren were shown that way to suggest they thought they got away unaffected, but as you know with magic it doesn't matter where you are, we are all connected by the green.

47. moscowwatcher: A question about #35: in one of the panels Buffy has three wristwatches on her hand. There was a theory that they symbolize three different timelines: Buffy, Fray and a new timeline that cristallyzes as season 8 reaches its end. It there any truth in our speculations or these three wristwatches don't symbolize anything?

Georges: Wow. That was really searching for a meaning... Buffy was going through all those costume changes because she was embodying Slayers from the past...I hate to say I did the watch thing to suggest more what time period that Slayer might have been, which was the mid-80s, which was the age of the Swatch watches. Because they were so cheap, people would wear more than one as a fashion statement. Sorry, no big read in, just fashion statement.

48. drywallman: There is speculation circulating the boards that Willow may have been crippled by her fall from the sky in issue 39. I understand if you can't confirm or deny that but could you tell us if there is any validity to such speculation?

Georges: In the script it said she broke some bones form the fall. I don't know how that plays out.

49. drywallman: Are we going to find out how Giles knew that destroying the Seed would stop Twilight, and why he chose not to act when they were first in the room with the Seed?

Georges: Man that is a good question....

50. drywallman: Does Xander show up in issue 40?

Georges: Yes.

51. kdeb: I guess no one knows much about Season 9 as yet, but from what you do know, do you think Spike might have a better role in it than he's had this season?

Georges: Yes.

52. leyki: So, basically, as I understand it, only three people knew that breaking the seed was an option: Willow, the general, and Xander.There is talk going around the boards, especially after the pre-scripts that Mr Allie gave to Buffyfest, that the story was kind of changed at the last minute, making Giles go after the Seed instead of trying to kill Angel, maybe because that gave Giles a more epic death, since if Angel had killed him after he was being attacked, that would look like self-defense.So, instead of making Xander break the Seed, or informing Buffy that she has a 3rd option, Giles tried to break it losing his life.What do you have to say about this?

Georges: Makes you want to read the new Angel book next season, doesn't it?

53. leyki: In the previous issue we saw Buffy losing her powers near the Seed, and in this issue Giles says that "their power fades near the Seed", meaning Buffy and Angel. How come then they both seem so super powerful while fighting each other near the Seed? They both have their super powers, although they are standing right next to the Seed.

Georges: I think that because they were two supercharged beings fighting each other it was on a grander scale because of their power not their proximity, to the egg. Kinda like when you slap jumper cables together. Apart there's no charge but together there are sparks.

54. leyki: At what point exactly, do you think that Angel was totally aware that he was going to leave Earth and every living thing on it to die? Was it when he first let Twilight affect him? After some time?

Georges: I don't think he had a firm grasp on everything. His motivations were more motivated from selfishness. All he wanted was to get that feeling he had with Buffy back in the “I Will Remember You” episode. I sympathize with him. He wants what we all want. Love. Happiness. All of that. Can you imagine having all that ripped away from you... a second time?

55. leyki: We saw that basically, every important man in Buffy's life abandoned her. Her father, Angel, Riley, Giles in season 6 when he needed him the most, and finally Spike.Do you think that our girl was basically feeling lonely? Didn't have somebody in her life in Season 8?Do you think that this was the reason that she tried a gay relationship? And do you think that her feelings for Xander came out of loneliness? After confiding in him and him turning her down, we don't see any more feelings from her, and love just don't go away like that. What's your opinion about it, or what have you heard from the writers?

Georges: I think that in some dark little corner of herself, Buffy knew she was reaching with the Xander thing. While there is a love there, I have often that Buffy can get a little caught up in her own drama. While I can totally justify her doing that, I don't think she would have followed it through. She's a conflicted girl, and when things get heavy she does tend to turn to the men in her life (which is funny, because I think she's the strongest person of the series). I think that's one of the things that fans can identify with. She's not perfect and she has weaknesses like we all do. I think it's great that Joss has her learn from all this and become stronger as a person. That's what makes her so real.

56. leyki: Who do you think is the most developed character in the Buffyverse and why?

Georges: That's a Barbara Walters question! Are we saying just Season 8 or all the seasons? I think Willow has had the greatest arc of the whole series. She started on one side of the spectrum and has evolved into something else. I hope that Season 9 brings a lot of Willow and where she is in her life. Also, Season 9 might not be the kindest to her...

57. Dorotea: "I think it's a beautiful sunset."Hello again, Georges,Will we ever get a solid explanation of the meaning of Twilight's symbol and why 'Buffy was right' in her initial guess about it? Issue 40 perhaps? Or is it going to be left to our imagination - sort of like the 'prince' and the 'betrayal' ? If issue 39 was all about total devastation and destruction of all hope - how can Twilight still mean anything positive? Please give it your best guess.

Georges: That's up to Joss. I think there will be a recap of Twilight but where it goes from there is all Joss.

58. Dorotea: Will we ever see or hear from Whistler again in S8? S9?

Georges: I forget. Who's Whistler again?

59. Dorotea: There seems to be a debate between those who believe that Giles intentionally sacrificed himself in order to jolt Buffy into action - either to (1) kill Angel or to (2) destroy the Seed. Do you think her not killing him was justified in the end? (It had cost the world its magic whilst if she killed Angel again the world would have been spared and the magic would have remained.)

Georges: I don't think Giles intentionally got himself killed. He was being pragmatic by trying to destroy the Seed. Him getting killed was just good writing. It came out of nowhere and the ramifications of such will be felt from here on. Like any good literature, the death of a character shouldn’t just be for shock value but instead have ramifications and should shake things up emotionally.

60. beeemkcl: In the comic, was there supposed to be any ambiguity about whether Giles was going to try to destroy the Seed or was he thinking about attacking Angel as well?

Georges: I think any good story makes you think, and this one was no different. Yes, you're supposed to be left with your own suppositions. Everyone understood that there was a war going on and in war there are casualties. This became a question of the greater good.


61. beeemkcl: We assume the Sight and prophetic dreams come from the Powers That Be or others that exist in another plane or dimension. So, with the Seed broken, would Slayers no longer have prophetic dreams? In Fray , Harth Fray does but we assume the Seed is still broken. And what about those like Drusilla? Will she and oracles or whatever no longer have the sight?

Georges: Another good question... and another good reason for Season 9. Remember me saying that when Season 8 ends you'll understand why there should be a Season 9?
Starting to sound good, huh?

62. beeemkcl: Did Buffy know that Spike's ship would save him or assume that once on the ground Spike would scurry back to safety?

Georges: I don't think so. Once again, this is (was) war. You mourn your dead after, but in the thick of things you hope for the best.

63. zamolxis: Speaking of prophetic/Slayer dreams, in "The Long Way Home," Buffy dreamt of a dragon burning her, in the next arc she dreamt of the current green griffin and in "After These Messages..." she dreamt of a green dragon. What is the meaning of this changes in her nightmares?

Georges: That her journey is ongoing. It's not over yet.

64. zamolxis: Angel got his superpowers from Twilight. Why was Buffy "pushed" (chased) to get her superpowers if they came also from Twilight? Or do Buffy's powers have a different source, the dead Slayers as Willow thought or something completely different like the Seed - the glow in #34 was white - after the Seed is broken there's a white flash? (I thought that Buffy got her superpowers to fight against Angel, but instead she foolishly believed his sweet-talk and brought Twilight into existence. So instead of protecting the world she help destroying it)

Georges: Hasn't this sort of thing happened before? I think that yes, Buffy got her strength from Slayers, that's why she didn't get all corrupted like Angel did. The white flash I believe meant to represent the White magic that Willow used in Season 7. Again, she's not perfect. I see Buffy on a learning curve, like most of us. She doesn't have a manual of how it all turns out, but I think you'll find Season 9 to be more personal season.

65. zamolxis: Why did the demons attack Japan, France, random country castle, random sea when all they wanted was the Seed which was in Sunnydale?

Georges: Those are the places we knew about but in no way meant those were the only occurrences. It is to be assumed that other Slayers were fighting other battles that we just couldn't get to in Season 8.

66. Shane: Hi! The panels of Giles' death were done really well.Question: I'm assuming a large part of Angel's Season Nine journey will be about his redemption and living with his failings. So based on that and on your own understanding of Angel, do you think a significant part of it will/should be specifically about Giles since he was such an important figure in many people's lives? Or will he treat the destruction he has caused as a whole alongside everything else he has done over the years?

Georges: Well, at least for one major player in the Buffyverse their life is going to change, in a big way! That will pave the way for the new Angel series (which wouldn't be Season 9 for him, by the way).

67. Shane: Do you know if his actual story for Season Nine has been planned already? If so, are there going to be hints about it in issue #40?

Georges: Yes. And yes.

68. veiriti: Hi Mr. Jeanty, your art was very dynamic in this issue. And I loved the close-ups pictures of your heroes. I’m concerned for Willow. She lost her magic and that was the essence of her life, she is devastated… I’m really sorry for her. Would she forgive Buffy? Or maybe that self tragedy will turn her into Dark Willow’s future version? I hope it won’t happen; I don’t want to lose another beloved character…

Georges: All I can say is to keep reading....

69. veiriti: I really loved your Spike close up scene where he said “The Slayer. She did”. Why did Spike leave to chase the V-monster instead of helping Buffy or stick around to help the survivors?

Georges: Spike saw a threat leaving and he in a position to chase it down. I don't think he was leaving Buffy and the gang, just going after a loose end. And again, there was total chaos going on. No one knew much about what everyone else was doing.

70. veiriti: In his video interview Mr. Allie mentioned a scene with Spike and Buffy. I know that’s a spoiler, but I’m eager to know what the scene is about.

Georges: I think the one he's talking about comes in the next issue. You know it wouldn't be right to give anything away. Can't you wait till January? It's nothing big, but it's a nice little scene kinda like in the movie West Side Story between Maria and Tony on the fire escape.

Thank you! And have a nice Christmas holiday!

Georges: Thank you guys! As always this has been a lot of fun and it's always a joy to marvel at how passionate you guys are. I love it. I don't share all your opinions but I certainly share your passion! I hope we all have another season of all these characters that we have grown to know and love so much. Even if I'm not involved in Season 9 I will be there to pick up the first issue!

Thanks again!

ETA

Scott Allie posted this pic from Buffy #40 on twitter.

@amandashowers Nope, here's one from Buffy #40. Sunset, ... on Twitpic

Looks like Buffy and Willow to me.