[*Lethe's Bramble*]

Loving the graphics!

[comic fan]

More tweets from Christos Gage.

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

ChristosgageChristos Gage

Still drinking my coffee so here are some ANGEL & FAITH answers to stuff people have wondered about.
1 hour ago

ChristosgageChristos Gage

I figure the word "zompires" was spread by Andrew and also picked up by Buffy's cop pals and became worldwide "cop speak."
1 hour ago

ChristosgageChristos Gage

Clem can eat food (and kittens, though he swore off them) but his kind get actual nourishment from emotions. Unless Joss doesn't like that.
1 hour ago

ChristosgageChristos Gage

Here's the big one. Of course Angel was "playing god" as Twilight. He WAS a god. Or he felt like one, anyway.
1 hour ago

ChristosgageChristos Gage

The Twilight stuff seemed like a good idea at the time. I may get more into this here but it's an ongoing part of Season 9 so stay tuned.
1 hour ago

ChristosgageChristos Gage

We will be exploring what both Angel and Whistler were thinking with the whole Twilight thing.
1 hour ago

ChristosgageChristos Gage

By the way, with ANGEL & FAITH #8 @rebekahisaacs serves notice to the comics industry to step up their game. Awesome stuff.
1 hour ago

[comic fan]

First Buffy S9 # 5 review.Some spoilers.

Review - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #5 - Slayer, Interrupted | BAMFAS.com :: Entertainment*Gaming^Food-Music+Life

Review – Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #5 – Slayer, Interrupted

By Jenny– December 30, 2011



Script: Andrew Chambliss
Pencils: Karl Moline
Inks: Andy Owens
Colors: Michelle Madsen
Cover: Steve Morris
Alternate Cover: Georges Jeanty with Dexter Vines & Michelle Madsen
Created By: Joss Whedon
Published By: Dark Horse

A Zompire mob is in full effect and Buffy, with a little (very little) help from Xander and Dawn, is trying to lessen the mob as best she can. She thinks she succeeds only to find out that she has failed miserably. However, all was for naught, she’s just dreaming. Buffy’s dreams, always vivid and a bit confusing are no different this time around. As she attempts to figure out what they mean she enlists Willow’s help. The dreams (references to the first Slayer, season 8 and Disney) finally become clear(ish) and it seems that the magic conundrum is on the verge of being resolved (no, they don’t learn complicated card tricks). Willow must take her own path and as Buffy’s roommates are questioning whether they can all continue living together because of Buffy’s dangerous slaying, Buffy’s world is positively turned upside down!

This issue has the potential to set up some very interesting and very important verse changing storylines (if the big “whoa” moments are indeed real and not part of a dream or something along those lines). The dialog and art are very good and the cover is one of my favorites so far! I didn’t know how to feel about this issue when I finished reading it but as it ruminated for a while I realized I really liked it and I am super excited to see where it is going to take us. Everything is very good, albeit a little “wha?” inducing, but ultimately a strong issue.

Release Date: January 11th, 2012

ETA

Full Scott Allie Slayalive Q/A for Angel & Faith # 5.

http://slayalive.com/showthread.php/...6656#post86656

Q&A with Scott Allie for ANGEL & FAITH #5

Hey all.
Welcome back to our Q&A sessions with Scott for ANGEL & FAITH. Everyone is free to submit ONE (1) question at a time.
As before, we're going to limit the Q&A to a total of 30 questions this time. I'm going to collect 15 questions, and then close the session until the answers come back. I'll then reopen the session for new questions, or follow-ups if deemed necessary.

As before, since we only have 30 slots to fill, I'd prefer that questions not be squandered on spoiler-baiting. While I understand that it's hard to resist, I reserve the right to not include those, if spoiler-baiting seems to be the only function of the question. An example of a spoiler-baiting question would be "When will Connor show up in A&F and will he and Angel have a long and heavy talk about how Angel could be willing to leave him on a dying world while he and Buffy traipsed off into paradise?"

I'll also be selective about clarification questions. Too often, this has become a fan exercise in demanding answers for things that are meant to be interpreted, and the material is there for that. An example of a topic done to death would be "Does Angel remember ordering the execution of the "spike" guy in "Retreat"? Can he be held accountable for the massacre on the Tibetan mountainside, pitting depowered Slayers against soldiers?" Such questions are better asked in the relevant discussion threads, as they're provocative and discussion-worthy. These Q&As are not meant to be tools to help you prove a point.

As usual, rudeness will not be tolerated. Thank you for your interest, and I look forward to seeing your questions. I'm also accepting questions and questions about questions at wenxina[AT]slayalive.com.

1. Bamph: What do you think makes Angel heroic?

Scott: He wants to do right, he wants to help people, he wants to confront evil where he sees it, and he'll put his life on the line to do it. He doesn't ever mean to put himself first.

2. FangedFourLover: Whose idea was it to make Drusilla come to the "Angel and Faith" world in the next arc as opposed to "Buffy", yours, Joss', or Christos'?

Scott: I can't remember. I don't think it was Joss's. Pretty sure it was Chris', but it might have been mine or Sierra's.

3. AndrewCrossett: I have a question about the "zompires" and the mechanics by which they are created. In Buffy #3, Willow says "When someone becomes a vampire, a demon possesses their dead body. But without the Seed, demons can't pass into this world. The demon has to possess the vampire's body from another dimension." I took the last sentence to be Willow clarifying that the demon had to come into this world from another dimension and now couldn't, so the zompires are simply people transformed physically into vampires, but without any demon spirit to provide intelligence and purpose... they're just non-sentient monsters.

But a lot of people took that sentence to mean that the demon now controls the vampire body while remaining in another dimension, like remote control. This seemed to be supported by the latest issue of Angel & Faith, where Angel talks about the demon control being like "faint radio waves." But I was under the impression that with the Seed gone, no travel or communication at all was possible between this world and other dimensions. Otherwise, I'd have thought Aluwyn would have made contact with Willow somehow by now.

So, could you clarify the real explanation behind the zompires (at least insofar as the characters understand it at this point)?

Scott: The demon has a very loose connection to the person, because the portals are all either closed or nonexistent. The mystic realms are all still there, of course, earth is still here, and so while the passageways are all messed up, Season 9 will explore ways in which the different realms remain at the very least side by side with us ...

This season has also led to a lot of conversation about the metaphysics of the demon/vampire/human connection, and we have some varying theories. Joss doesn't want it nailed down in a scientific kind of way, so we try to make sure that what we do loosely works within a few differing ideas for the metaphysics of it. We think that giving the readers something to ponder in terms of the nature of these characters is more interesting than explaining it.

4. Sosa Lola: Hi, Scott, loved the Harmony issue, so funny! In the issue, Harmony wants to start a campaign to fix Angel's image, twisting the truth by saying that Angel was going to take the good humans to Twilight and leave the bad ones to burn. Angel says later, "But that IS what I was going to..." Was he talking about "creating a new universe and leaving the current one to burn" or "taking the good people to the new universe he created and leaving the bad ones."?

Scott: He meant both. I want to do an issue of Angel drawn by Bob Sikoryak in the style of Charles Schulz in which Angel keeps trying to explain what he was thinking in Season 8, but Faith repeatedly pulls the football out from in front of him, and no one else will listen to him, and every page ends with him saying, "Good grief!" Twenty-two pages of that, at the end of which, still no one knows what the hell he was thinking.
Angel was manipulated into taking point on a very bad plan that he never fully understood because he never bothered to understand it, too wrapped up in the idea of doing an ultimate good deed.

5. Vampire in Rug: So Connor is going to appear in the upcoming issues. I can't wait! I think things might get a bit tricky for the writers regarding Connor and Faith though. Faith and Connor have met each other in season four of Angel. However, when Angel signed on with Wolfram and Hart, he altered the memories of everyone who ever met Connor so that nobody remembers him. Presumably this would include Faith. During season five, the magical box containing Connor's old memories got smashed which shared the memories with everyone in the room: Wesley, Angel, Illyria and Connor. So Connor now has his original set of memories as well as the happy fabricated memories that Angel made for him. Faith wasn't in the room when the box got smashed, so in short: Connor would remember meeting Faith but Faith should not remember ever meeting Connor. In "After the Fall", W&H shared Connor's identity with all the demons and vampires in HelL.A (to make Connor a target). But this wouldn't affect Faith because (a) W&H didn't share the memories with the humans of LA and (b) Faith wasn't in Los Angeles at the time.

Having Connor knowing who Faith is but having Faith not know who Connor is kind of puts you guys in a tricky spot, right? When they meet each other in the comics, it should be the first time they have met from Faith's point of view. Any plans on how you're going to deal with that one? You could reintroduce them to each other in a funny/awkward way. Or you could say that after the Seed of Wonder got destroyed everyone got their original memories back, but that opens up a can of worms because then everyone who has ever met Dawn would know she's a product of fake memories. And Connor's adoptive parents would be pretty freaked out too if they found out their son has only been around for a few years. I guess you could say that Angel explained to Faith about Connor off-screen or off-the-pages. Have you thought about how you're going to tackle this weird situation when Connor shows up and meets Faith (again)? Also, are there any plans to talk about the new powers IDW gave Connor? Would be neat if he still had them. Or again, you could just say that the Seed-breaking made him normal again. I must be the only person who actually liked seeing Connor on the show, so I can't wait for him to show up again in the comics!

Scott: I'm excited to get Connor into the series, because it lets us deal with things we couldn't get to sooner, which is this messed up relationship between father and son. As for Faith, she definitely knows who Connor is. We will skip the scene where Faith says, "Hi Connor, I know you know me, but I shouldn't know you, except I do because your dad and I have talked about you a lot while we've been trying to get our **** together in Jolly Olde." So we won't say that Angel explained all this to Faith off-panel; we'll just assume readers can figure that out, and that it wouldn't be very interesting to read, not as interesting as the untangling of the relationship between father and son, especially in the wake of the Drusilla arc.

6. Morphia: Angel's admission that it was his plan all along to take the 'good' people to the new world with him when he was Twilight and leave the evil people to die reminds me of when he locked the lawyers in the wine cellar with Darla and Dru in season 2. - ie. he's playing God, choosing who gets to live and who dies. It seems to me you guys are really hammering home the message that Angel still hasn't learned from his past mistakes. At the same time, because we're mostly seeing him through Faith's eyes, we don't have much idea what's going on in his head so we don't really know how self-aware (or not) he really is.

My question is, was this a deliberate choice, agreed between Joss, yourself and Mr Gage, to make what's going on with Angel more mysterious (and frustrating), or will the POV between the two title characters be swapped on a regular basis?

Scott: I think you've put it pretty well here, Morphia, and I don't think he's terribly self-aware. He's definitely repeating old patterns, and I hope that he does learn from it this time, and that we see him move forward once and for all. Chris deals with Angel's relative lack of self-awareness pretty nicely in the Connor arc. We continue to favor Faith's point of view, but Angel finds more opportunity to express himself, not always perfectly well, as people confront him a bit more about his decisions.

7. Moscow Watcher: Great issue: witty, bouncy sense of humor; priceless jabs at pop culture; dialogues to frame and put on a wall. Christos Gage hit his strige here, and the issue is pure delight from the first to the last page.
Question: when you were working on the issue, especially on the panels where Harmony talks about grooming Angel's public image, did you and Gage talk and maybe joke about parallels between Harmony's PR team and Dark Horse team, who also has to work hard to reestablish Angel as a hero?

Thank you! Happy New Year!

Scott: Yeah, definitely to some degree. We wanted to wink and to nod at some of what's gone on. But we're not trying to say that Angel is a perfect hero, and you should ignore the things he's done. That was Harmony's idea for him, but I think the story is all about his shortcomings as a hero, and how his poor choices and his heroic aspirations come into conflict.

8. Dorotea: Do you think Harmony is right - i.e. 'letting go' of the past and not burdening one's consciousness with guilt is what benefits the individual - and by extension the humanity - the most?

Scott: I think Angel could use a little letting go of the past. You gotta take responsibility for what you've done, trying to atone for it is good, but in this way, yeah, I think Angel could learn a little from Harmony. I think Faith has learned this already, and is better off because of it. We've all got regrets, we've made mistakes, probably none of us so much as Angel. But if you make every day be all about the things you've done in the past, it's a pretty bad way to live.

9. Menomegirl: Hi, Scott. First off, I'd like to say thank you for continuing to do these Q & A's. Secondly, I'd like to say that I'm enjoying these Angel & Faith comics quite a lot. For the first time, I feel like I'm reading a story that's truly worthy of the Angel series itself.

My questions are: how much whitewashing of Angel's character is there going to be? By that I mean, is everything Angel did as Twilight going to be handwaved away (the same way the bad things he did on the series were)?

Scott: I don't think we're trying to do that. Is that what Moscow Watcher was getting at above? I don't read it that way, but I'm curious what readers are seeing. In my comment above, about letting go of the past—that's not meant to be whitewashing either. Letting go a little isn't saying it never happened, it's just syaing that there's more to life than what already went by. Angel can't seem to do that. A guy who's obsessed with redemption, with making up for his sins, who's hated by a lot of the people around him—how is that whitewashing? Who's saying Angel didn't screw up? Not us. Not Faith. Certainly not Nadira, who's meant to be a sympathetic character. When a sympathetic character views one of the protagonists as a villain, that's not whitewashing.

10. Wenxina: Can you confirm that one of the upcoming 5-issue minis you mentioned at NYCC is going to be Willow's story? Along those lines, can you officially state when that project will drop?

Scott: I cannot confirm that!

11. spuffyspangellover: Hey Scott! Season 9 has been incredible so far. I especially loved issues #4 of both Buffy and Angel and Faith. Which issue of Angel and Faith has been your favorite thus far?

Scott: Aww, I can't say. Thank you, but I don't know. I've been enjoying what we're doing, I'm proud of it, I love the teams we're working with, including the fill-in guys. But I don't have a favorite issue at this point. Maybe when there are more completed, but right now it's all just a blur of good times and deadline nightmares.

12. Lone Wolf: Hi, Scott. In After The Fall Wesley was last seen saying he'll be watching over Illyria, what happened to him? Do you think he is still under contract with Wolfram & Hart or has he moved on to the spirit world? Has there been any discussion to revisit his character in someway in A&F?

Scott: I don't want to address Wesley's ultimate fate, but as of right now, we don't have plans to use him this season. That could change.


13. Skytteflickan88: I'm still very confused about the Twangel deal, but figured another general "WTF was Angel thinking" question wouldn't add to the discussion. So I'm going to ask specifically about something that's been bothering me ever since I read it. When Buffy and Angel are still in the Twilight world, and Buffy rips open a portal and they see Xander and the others fighting against the demons, Buffy wants to go back, but Angel wants her to leave her friends to fight on their own. He actually seems to not understand why she wants to go back, almost like he doesn't get that she can't leave those she loves to fight for their lives. Why is that? Why does it seem like he's forgotten what it feels like to be willing to die for those you love? Did he think they would actually be ok on their own? Did he simply not care about the outcome? Was Twilight possessing him?

Scott: Yes, he was somewhat possessed at that point, but he was also just so caught up in this mission he was committed to that it was the only thing that mattered. He believed that if he followed through on Twilight, it'd all be all right. I know some people are frustrated with the "somewhat possessed" concept, but that's how this works. There are times when he's outright possessed, a puppet, and others when he's heavily influenced, and still others when it's simply his own imperfect judgment buying into the Twilight idea and taking him down bad paths. He believed that what they were doing would bring an end to the fighting, and he believed their friends would be okay—"They'll survive. They always do."—but you can see his resolve breaking down in #35 as he and Buffy talk it out.

14. Menomegirl: Thank you! I've read both your reply to me and to Moscow Watcher; you've definitely given me something to think about as the series progresses.

I would like to pose a question that asks for your opinion, rather than a question about the comics, if I may.

Do you think it's redemption that Angel's actually seeking? Or is it absolution that he craves?

Scott: Well, if I understand the difference, I'd say he wants redemption. Absolution would just be forgiveness, and I don't think that's what he wants. Redemption is more objective, more of an actual feat or accomplishment, and that's what he wants. For his current actions to cancel out his previous actions. Also, Absolution is a fine comic written by Christos Gage for another publisher.

15. zamolxis: Hello, Mr Allie and Congrats on Buffy going digital.

This came from Buffy #4, but I think it applies to both titles. We saw Buffy and Spike being sucked out of their powers with no consequence whatsoever, both remaining still slayer and vampire.

It looks like a no-limit source and probably some former witches/warlocks/demons will figure it out that magic can be extracted and start enslaving vampires, slayers or other mystical creatures for their Duracell properties (similar to exploiting the Mohra demon)

Is this correct? Did Buffy and Spike remain unaffected magically after being temporarily drained? Are we going to see magic harvesting farms?

Scott: Excellent question. We will see some people harvesting power in different ways. In terms of the Siphon, had Spike or Buffy been fully drained, it would not have been temporary.

16. Bamph: Georges suggested this type of question might be more for you in his latest Q/A. The next arc of Buffy is two issues,#6-7. Will the arc following 'On Your Own' be a short one or a more traditional 4-5 issue arc and will Angel & Faith have any two issues arcs coming up after,"Daddy Issues" or is it sticking to the more normal formatting of one-off and 4 or 5 issue arcs?

Scott: Arc lengths will vary, always adding up to 5-issue trades.

17. spuffyspangellover: Scott, what do you think makes Angel(us)'s relationship with Drusilla so captivating?

Scott: She's unrepentant, but her whole existence is one of the things Angel needs redemption for. She's one of the worst things he's ever done, and yet she remains one of our only unrepentant main-character vampires. There are a lot of other things I find interesting about Dru, too, and you'll see a lot of it explored in the coming issues.

18. KingofCretins: Scott, there's a little inconsistency so far (although reasonable, since they are different books, such things happen) between how "zompires" are depicted in "Buffy" and "Angel and Faith" -- in the former, they pretty explicitly evoke zombies, brainless flesh-craving, useless eating machines. In the latter, they appear to be sort of a "mook" class of vampire, capable of following instructions and so on. Are they generally going to be more one than the other? How much intelligence would you say they have, compared to the greater fictional lexicon of zombie/alien/monster things?

Scott: I think the difference is partly in the fact that Chris writes Angel & Faith a bit like a crime book, and his criminal monsters use the zomps as thugs; in San Francisco, we're not dealing with a structured monster class, no order or organization, so the zomps are running around like zombies. We'll see a little more of the unorganized zomps in A&F, probably not any of the ordered zomps in Buffy. In terms of intelligence, I think they're a little more intelligent than what we normally think of as zombies, but not much more.

19. Matrim: How is it possible for Harmony to "reform"? We had seven seasons where it was repeatedly stated that vampires can't do that. Spike needed a chip, support from Buffy and he still had to go get a soul. And now suddenly not just Harmony but apparently tons of other vampires just decided to stop killing as if this is no big deal? Don't you think that's a bit inconsistent? And shouldn't Angel, Faith, Buffy and the rest of the principal characters ask themselves how is that thing possible and what are its ramifications as far killing vampires (as opposed to refusing to kill even the vilest of humans) goes?

Scott: The vampires are following Harmony's rules so they can get by in society. They're getting their blood in other ways, and probably a lot of them are continuing to do it the old way, and still doing it in secret. There is a lot of conflict or the main characters in terms of what they're supposed to do in this new world order. It's not the total focus of the story, but it's in there, and you'll continue to see it come up in dialogue.

20. AndrewCrossett: Are there any plans as of yet to "check in" with any of Buffy's close associates in the Slayer Army last season -- such as Satsu, Leah, Rowena, Vi, etc.? It would be interesting to get an update on what they're doing and how they feel about Buffy.

Scott: We're going to see some of those girls in #11. We're tempted to push more of them into the story, but we don't want to force it, or cut away from the main characters.

21. Sosa Lola: Hi, Scott, I've seen this asked somewhere else and figured it'll be fun to hear what you think: Xander came up with the name "zompires" in #3 of BtVS, how did Angel know about it?

Scott: Xander did coin it, and it spread virally through a certain social networking site that will go unnamed for now ...

22. Moscow Watcher: Hi again, Mr.Allie,

I'm sorry if my previous question sounded like concern about the possibility of whitewashing. I asked about your awareness of certain parallels because I'm curious about the creative process, and how much fandom reactions influence the final product.

My question: on the eve of the New Year, could you tell fans what to expect in 2012? And what do you expect from us in return?

Thank you for answering our questions!

Scott: I just want to understand the notion of whitewashing, because it seems like it's a topic among readers. I've gotten a few emails about it, and the word was used in someone's questions yesterday. I've had emails this week saying that we're either condemning him, trying to destroy him as a character, or whitewashing him, which I think reveals the strong perspectives in the readership. In terms of the new year ... there'll be some shocks and surprises, some fury directed at us, and some announcements about side stories that I think will be exciting. At this moment, we're working on the collections of the first arcs, and the first hardcover collection of Season 8. So I'm gonna have an increasing stack of books I'm proud of, and we're going to get a lot of input from readers.

23. Dorotea: I would like to ask about Whistler and his role in S9, besides being the most irrelevant and badly dressed Big Bad the verse had ever known. With him being stuck in England - are we to assume that his fixation on 'setting things straight' with Angel is his personal obsession, or is this more of a general 'juctice always finds its mark' thing? I mean - he used to be a prominent figure in BtVS verse, why is he currently only concerned with Angel's end of things, when it was really Buffy who ended Twilight?

Scott: Whistler has a complicated agenda that'll be revealed over time. But I think he's always been more interested in Angel than Buffy.

24. Wenxina: Hey Scott. Other than the FCBD flipbook, can, or should we expect more ancillary projects in the vein of the MDHP shorts for Season 9/Angel & Faith?

Scott: We don't have any plans for more short stories, actually—something might come up that we decide to do in DHP or something like that, but for the most part the stories will be told in the two monthlies, and in side miniseries under their own title.

25. Morphia: Hi Scott

In view of the fact that Faith is keen to get Angel to put his past behind him, and you say that we're not likely to see them talking about Connor, can we hope to see any scenes where they discuss Angel's past in some fashion?

I ask because I really enjoyed the panel in 5 where Faith says she can't think why she gets called the ****ty one given that she seems to be the only one who hasn't slept with Spike, and Angel looks all guilty and embarrassed. That was fun, and because Mr Gage writes Faith's dialogue so well, I would love to see more of her putting Angel's past into perspective with her unique view on things.

Scott: Sorry, I misspoke if I said they're not going to talk about Connor. And I got an email from someone that makes me think I really garbled my answer on that—I understand that Connor and Faith met in the Angel TV series, and I also know that there is a complicated situation around Connor's history and what characters remember of it. We're going to skip over all of that, because there is a very simple and obvious explanation: these things have been covered in conversations we the readers are not privvy to. If we were to write a conversation in which Angel explains to Faith that he has a son that she met but doesn't remember meeting ... this would be excessively boring, bad drama, inside baseball. So they're not going to have that conversation. But as Chris has said, Connor is going to feature in the upcoming arc, and there will be a lot said dealing with Angel's relationship with his son, said by Faith as well as other characters. I love what Chris has written about it so far, and I think it will please readers.

26. Maggie: Hi Scott,

Faith keeps drawing parallels between her and Angel -- but their falls are actually quite different. Will that difference become part of the story? Or are all redemption stories more or less the same?

Scott: Yeah, their sins are very different, but I think the more important difference is their redemption and where they're at now. You're totally right, Maggie, absolutely, but the story is about the differences in where they're at now. In the upcoming arc you get some of what you're asking about, but it's more about redemption than the sins themselves.

27. janas: Hello, Mr. Allie

This is the first time that I have submitted a question. I'm happy to know that Connor will be in London with Angel and Faith, and I can't wait for him to show up again in the comics.

Is there a remote possibility of seeing Connor in San Francisco too? I remember that before Season 9 began, you have spoke of this and to me it was an incentive to follow the comics, but Mr. Andrew Chambliss said recently that for now there are no plans to bring Connor to Buffy, and that's a disappointment.

My question is simple:
Will Buffy meet the son of Angel in Season 9?

Scott: No plans for that to happen. Possible, but the plans for Connor are all about his interaction with his father and the people he's traveling with. Sorry. I think my earlier comment that you might be refering to was the potential in Season 9 that any character from either show can take on a role in either comic. There will be some mixing and matching, but maybe less than you'd like to see. One of the complaints with Season 8 was that we were dragging in too many supporting characters—in Season 9 we're definitely only bringing in characters that are essential to the story being told.

Thanks, all, and happy new year—
S

This concludes the final Q&A session of 2011! Thank you all for your continued interests, and we hope to continue doing these in the new year, time and availability permitting, of course.
Happy New Year, and thanks again, Scott, for continuing to do these sessions with us!

[Ace Of Hearts]

Thank you comic fan!

[comic fan]

Second advanced review of Buffy S9 # 5

Preview – Review! Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #5 – Slayer Interrupted | What'cha Reading?

Preview – Review! Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #5 – Slayer Interrupted

Posted on January 1, 2012

Writer: Andrew Chambliss
Penciller: Karl Moline
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Michelle Madsen

From the Dark Horse site:

“Buffy’s dreams have become all too real lately as she deals with a magicless world. She’s still fighting creatures of the night, as Willow and Xander grow distant and nightmares plague the Slayer. But something is telling Buffy that there is more to her dreams than meets the eye . . . and that her greatest fears may yet become reality!”



When I was in grade school I used to go to my grandmother’s house a lot. I would wind up there after school when I was too young to hang out around the school where my mom was teaching after-school. It was great, she always treated me like a little prince anything and everything I liked was always at my disposal, but I also remember her need to watch her “stories”. General Hospital was, I think, her favorite. I remember being so unbelievably bored when she had that on just waiting for my chance to turn on cartoons. I remember promising myself that I would never care about stupid stuff like that.

Well friends January 11th’s Buffy has shown me that I was fooling myself if I thought I didn’t have stories of my own. Buffy was a soap opera as a tv show and has definitely remained one in comic book form. The slayer army, Xander’s inability to have a girlfriend that doesn’t get killed, Dawn’s crazy love life, Willow losing her powers, face it fans this is a soap. So obviously I must hate it, right? Well no lately I’ve been noticing the comic books I really enjoy are definitely action packed and super-heroy but they all have very character driven plots. X-Factor, X-Force, iZombie, Irredeemable, Animal Man I could go on and on.

I do have to admit that the plot had gotten a little stale towards the end of Season 8. What with the whole “Big Bad” named the same as that annoying sparkly vampire series. Also the deaths not only of Giles but of all magic as well. It had gotten depressing and I was kind of reading the title out of habit, waiting for the plot to turn.

Well wait no longer fans of the Buffyverse! It finally seems like our heroes are getting back to just that, being heroes! Last months finale to the “Freefall” four parter was a good issue, chock full of action and drama (as well as a cool cameo by Spike) but it left me wondering where they would go next. This new issue really felt like a return to the show, there was slayer lore, Buffy getting help from a “scooby” or two and some really huge reveals. No the magic has not returned to the world but our heroine is finally working on it.

Buffy’s world has always been a little angsty and emo-ish and the start of Season 9 wasn’t much different. A lot of hand wringing and it’s all my faulting. Now it seems that Buffy has been punched in the gut and told to woman up! As well as stumbling across a clue to finding out just how, if possible, to undue what she’s done. And that big reveal I mentioned? Definitely big. I’m really looking forward to seeing just what Joss and the crew have cooked up for us this time. I just hope those dark kids will be quiet while I’m enjoying my stories.


Publication Date: January 11, 2012
Format: FC, 32 pages
Price: $2.99
UPC: 7 61568 18159 3 00521


ETA

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...review&id=4308

Angel & Faith #5

by Kelly Thompson, Reviewer

Despite how much I’ve been enjoying “Angel & Faith” thus far, I was hesitant about this issue -- even with the always exceptional Phil Noto as guest artist -- since it guest-starred arguably my least favorite Buffy Universe character, Harmony. Those fears were averted however, as Christos Gage and Noto do great work delivering a fun issue that manages to keep things moving forward while still taking a little breather.

In “Angel & Faith” #5, Harmony Kendall, considered (at least by herself) to be the most famous vampire in the world, seeks out Angel’s help as a former investigator. Harmony, a reality show darling, and a vampire with the fairly ethical (or at least acceptable) stance that vampires should not kill or sire humans, is being blackmailed with a sex tape in which she sires a vampire. This tape was made before her reformation and she fears it will ruin her if it gets out (even though she made the tape herself as a possible way to keep herself in the limelight when her reality show got canceled). Angel and Faith have a pretty good time trying to detective their way through the mystery (though mostly they bust heads). The resolution is as silly and obvious as Harmony is, but it works in the same way that Harmony as a character works.

I credit Gage on the success of this charming and completely enjoyable little standalone tale. More importantly, however, I credit Gage with finding a great voice for Harmony that feels accurate to the television character, but somehow superior to what we generally saw there. She’s funnier here (even though she, of course, has no idea how funny she is) and Gage smartly gives Harmony her own little tale instead of just a few good lines. Gage finds a perfect balance between the character that you want to kill for being such a vapid idiot, and the character that speaks a surprising amount of truth in their naked observation. In her way Harmony is a truth teller, and those are always interesting characters because they turn things around in interesting ways for our main protagonists, who generally cannot afford to be truth tellers. The effect on both Angel and Faith in this issue raises the bar on the book and allows it to be more than just a throwaway.

For his part, Phil Noto delivers fantastic visuals, as usual. His style is not as representative of the actors as series artist Rebekah Isaacs -- his Harmony looks nothing like actress Mercedes McNab -- but it works, nonetheless. His storytelling is clean and blissfully easy to read, and he’s one of the most consistent artists around, a rare and precious thing in comics. Noto’s bright immaculate style is a perfect fit for Gage’s light story. Dan Jackson’s colors are a poppy flat execution that have clearly considered the tone and spirit of this story, which is different than the four issues that preceded it. As a team, everyone is paying exceptional attention to what they’re doing and the results are simply great comics.

“Angel & Faith” continues to barrel through as one of the best and surprising new books out there. Smart and funny, with beautiful art and exceptional character arcs, so far “Angel & Faith” is comics done right.

[comic fan]

Buffyfest has Buffy S9 # 8 Jeanty cover.HUGE SPOILER!!!!

Buffyfest: Exclusive Madness! Major Spoiler! Variant Cover for Buffy #8.

Monday, January 2, 2012
Exclusive Madness! Major Spoiler! Variant Cover for Buffy #8.

Seriously, shield your eyes if you have an aversion to spoilers because this one's a doozy!

What a way to kick off the new year. This killer exclusive from the fine folks at Dark Horse is the retailer variant cover for Buffy #8. You've no doubt already seen the Tom Lenk cover out in the Twitterverse, but this beast is a whole different story.

We've even got a quote from Super Scott Allie!

"People are gonna assume this is a prank or a fake cover, but it's not. She really does get her arm torn off by a zompire in the middle of a big battle involving Spike and Dowling. It's not a dream, unlike much of the action in Buffy #5. Why show it on the cover? It gets to be a drag saving all the juiciest stuff for the insides, and we think that it'll still have some surprise impact when it happens."

Don't know what to say about this!



HOLY %%%% :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

[indigo sunrise]

I saw this earlier and I am SO SHOCKED. At first, without reading the text to go with it, I thought that surely, it must be a metaphor for her losing her Slayer powers, that it couldn't really mean that she actually loses her arm. I'm just.. no words.

[fireondandelion]

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