[comic fan]

Dark Horse April Solicitations

Dark Horse Comics Solicitations for April, 2011 - Comic Book Resources

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON EIGHT VOLUME 8: LAST GLEAMING

Joss Whedon (W), Jane Espenson (W), Scott Allie (W), Georges Jeanty (P), Karl Moline (P), Andy Owens (I), Michelle Madsen (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)

On sale June 1
FC, 168 pages
$16.99
TPB, 7" x 10"

The season finale is here! At long last, the Big Bad stands revealed—Angel is back, and it’s tearing the Scoobies apart, testing the limits of their friendship. But Twilight’s unmasking is only the beginning, and Buffy must still face the ultimate betrayal.
Series creator Joss Whedon writes the final story arc of Buffy Season 8, taking his greatest characters to places only he can! Teamed with series artist Georges Jeanty, Joss reunites the dysfunctional gang of Buffy, Angel, and Spike, in the thick of it together for the first time since Season 3, and gives the Scoobies their gravest challenge ever, defending reality itself from the onslaught of demons. It’s the biggest Buffy finale ever!

• Collects Buffy Season 8 #36–#40.
• This volume also includes the spy-thriller Riley one-shot by Buffy series writer Jane Espenson and artist Karl Moline.

[comic fan]

Brad Meltzer podcast.Talks Buffy Season 8 starting at the 50 minute mark.

http://wordballoon.libsyn.com/cracki...zer-s-decoded-

1)At the start of season 8,Joss let the writers pick which characters they wanted to write and pitch whatever they wanted.Instead of pitching a specific character to write,Meltzer piitched how he saw the Buffyverse.Joss liked some things and hated others but asked him to write the ultimate arc of season 8 and Joss would close it out.

2)Joss loved Brad's geeky comic stuff like the machine from the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover.

3)Meltzer talks about the B/A sex scene.They went back and forth on how to handle it with Joss blurting out to lets just show everything.The whole issue will show it.

4)Joss told his writers upfront at the start of season 8 that Angel was Twilight.They knew the beginning of season 8 and the end of season 8,how the season would end but they didn't know the in-between,the middle.That's when Meltzer came up with the idea of how the Buffyverse works and The Universe had a plan.That if the universe was smart enough to create slayers when there are vampires,how is it not smart enough to have a plan for them too.This is how the eco-system works.

5)Meltzer didn't think he would use Andrew at all.He originally thought the comedy stuff would be with Xander.But as season 8 progreesed,Xander took on a much more mature adult role and Meltzer felt he couldn't ram that take on Xander down the stories throat.It wouldn't be true of where the character was at anymore.Andrew was now clearly filling that role.Andrew took over every scene he was in when he was only going to have a small role.

6)Would love to write for Buffy Season 9 but it's time dependent since he has so many projects.If the schedule works out than he would love to be back for season 9.

[comic fan]

Gail Simone confirms she's been asked to write for Buffy Season 9 and plans to immerse herself beforehand in the Buffyverse.

Jinxworld Forums - View Single Post - Gail asked to write Buffy season 9?!?!?!

Re: Gail asked to write Buffy season 9?!?!?!

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and respond to this.

I have been trying not to respond, mainly because I didn't have much that I could say at this point. But that stupid Bleeding Cool story made a big splash somehow and so I figure I owe it to everyone to say what I can.

Yes, I have been asked to write for the next run of Buffy comics. The people asking have been TREMENDOUSLY nice, by the way, a real credit to the industry and the franchise, just to get that in.

It's true, I have not watched Buffy. I have the first two seasons on disc, but haven't watched them. It is not because I don't find it appealing, in fact, it looks like a terrific series, but I just don't watch much television. I have seen the first couple episodes, and thought they were great fun.

I am not at all offended by the people who find my lack of Buffyverse knowledge off-putting. I think that is a perfectly reasonable concern. No one involved wants anyone working on the stories who doesn't know their stuff. It's always frustrating to read a story where the writer got everything wrong, wrong, wrong. So, no worries there.

All I can say is, I am a research hound when I write characters. I had never read a Deadpool comic when I took over that book. If I took this gig, I assure you, I would immerse myself in Buffy stuff 24/7 before I ever even considered putting a word on paper. You can say a lot of things about me, but I don't slop work out for a paycheck. I take this thing seriously, and the dedicated Buffy readership deserves the best efforts of the person writing the book.

My understanding is that there is something in my writing that reminds people somewhat of Joss' works. I've been hearing that for years. My guess is that the Buffy people felt I would bring some of that sensibility to the project, and they are confident enough in the Buffy series that they believe I would enjoy working in that universe.

That's it, I hope that clears some stuff up!

[MagnusXXN]

Am I the only one that looks at this so called season 8, and thinks....this doesn't make any sence? Angels good, Angels evil, Angels good, Angels evil...

Buffy loves Angel, Buffy loves Spike, Buffy loves Xander, Buffy loves Angel and Spike...

The universe wants Buffy and Angel to have sex....for some reason that....Angels Twilight....and sorta evil....but its ok cuz Buffy loves him...

Its like you need to drop acid to follow the story line here.




): )

[comic fan]

Buffy Season 8 soundtrack as picked by the creative team.

Soundtrack to Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 | Facebook

Soundtrack to Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8.

by Dark Horse Comics on Monday, January 17, 2011

Music is no doubt an important part of any Joss Whedon series. So, with the end of Buffy the Vampire Season 8 happening this Wednesday at a local comic shop near you, we asked the creators to pick songs they though encapsulated this tumultuous ride. The pseudo-compilation is more of an EP than an LP for all you audiophiles out there. None the less, we hope you enjoy this selection of songs as we end another chapter in the life of the world's favorite vampire slayer.

Tracklist:

1) "Bitch Is Back" by Elton John

Chosen by Editor and Writer Scott Allie

YouTube - Elton John The Bitch is Back 1986

2) "Heaven and Hell" by Black Sabbath

Chosen by Letterer Jimmy Betancourt

YouTube - Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell

3) "Defying Gravity" by Idina Menzel

Chosen by Artist Georges Jeanty

YouTube - Defying Gravity - Wicked (With Lyrics!)

4) "Black Horse in a Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall

Chosen by Artist Jo Chen

YouTube - KT Tunstall Black horse and a cherry tree Tarantata

5) "More Than This" by Roxy Music

Chosen by Colorist Michelle Madsen

YouTube - Roxy Music - More Than This (High Audio Quality)

6) "Rotten Hell" by Menomena

Chosen by Editor Sierra Hahn

YouTube - rotten hell - menomena

7) "Uniform Grey" by Sarah Harmer

Chosen by Executive Producer and Writer Joss Whedon

YouTube - Jessica at Sarah Harmer - Uniform Grey

[comic fan]

For Once, Something Good Happens on Buffy's Brithday | Blogtown, PDX

For Once, Something Good Happens on Buffy's Brithday

Posted by Courtney Ferguson
on Tue, Jan 18, 2011



Buffy Summers' birthdays have been historically terrible (Angel loses his soul after they have sex; Giles betrays her; Giles gets turned into a demon; Dawn sets the house on fire; Dawn enslaves her friends and steals a leather jacket; Dawn is still alive). But all that changes this year! Celebrate the Buffster's 30th with Dark Horse and Cosmic Monkey Comics. The bash goes down tomorrow at the Multnomah County Central Library, which is also when you can pick up the last issue in Dark Horse Comics' Season Eight series (nearly four years in the making!) from Cosmic Monkey. There will be games, prizes, giveaways, and more. Also: Get all your geek questions answered by Buffy Editors Scott Allie and Sierra Hahn*, who will be in attendance.

Wednesday, January 19
Multnomah County Central Library, US Bank Room
801 SW 10th, 5:30-7:45 pm

* Who was kind enough to answer my most Shameful Email Ever:

COURTNEY: I have a pressing nerd question for you. I can't figure out the timeline of Buffy's age. (God, I'm sorry to do this to you). So I understand that in 2011 she's 30, but it seems like in Season Eight it's around 2006, what with the Amy Winehouse name-dropping and all, so Buffy would be 25. (OMG, I hate myself). Is there a little fudging of years in the storyline of Season Eight? Has more time transpired in the comics then I'm imagining? Will this all be explained in the last issue, and I should just settle down and wait? I suppose it could be 2006 or 2007 in the Buffyverse and we're just in the future celebrating her b-day. (I'll shut up now).

SIERRA: Regarding Buffy and her age... We've sort of fudged the age thing a bit. Season Eight takes place a year or so after the end of the show, putting Buffy and her pals in their mid-20s. Vague? Yes. That's the answer/non-answer. We just refer to them as "twentysomethings."


Buffyfest will be posting a end of the season interview with Scott Allie at some point in the next few days.

buffyfest (buffyfest) on Twitter

Oooh. Just checked the Buffyfest email & saw our end-of-season interview with Super @ScottAllie ! It's juicy!
about 2 hours ago via Mobile Web

[slayerboy42]

SPOILER ALERT about the #40
DO NOT READ if you don't want to know anything :












Willow and Kennedy are now over.
Simone shot the general.
Giles left everything to Faith but one very special book went to Buffy.
Buffy is having nightmares.
Forewarning from Spike.
Some damn fine scenes with Willow, Xander and Faith.
Interesting tie-in with Not Fade Away.
And a letter from Joss, it's all good.

[comic fan]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/48135

Wednesday Brings The Season-Eight Finale of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!!

Published on: Jan 19, 2011




I am – Hercules!!

The eighth and longest season of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” launched March 14, 2007 in comic book form and written by a lot of the same screenwriters behind the 1997-2003 TV show, comes to an end Wednesday with a final issue scripted by series mastermind Joss Whedon.

The 40th issue of Season Eight was delayed slightly to commemorate the 30th birthday of Buffy Summers (as established on the TV show).

Writers who migrated from the first seven seasons to the eighth include Joss Whedon ("Toy Story," "Speed"), Drew Goddard (“Lost,” “Cloverfield”), Jane Espenson (“Battlestar Galactica,” “A Game Of Thrones”), Doug Petrie (“CSI,” “Pushing Daisies”), Drew Greenberg (“Dexter,” “Warehouse 13”) and Steven S. DeKnight (“Smallville,” “Spartacus: Blood and Sand”).

Issue #39, released last month, featured Very Big Death. #40 looks to be the sad epilogue.

Word is there will be a ninth season, also in funnybook form, but we may not see it launch till Joss Whedon is done writing and directing Marvel’s big-deal “Avengers” motion picture.




Buffyfest Buffy #40 Analysis

Buffyfest: Buffy #40 Analysis - SPOLIERS (but only a little)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Buffy #40 Analysis - SPOLIERS (but only a little)

Disclaimer: This is not a review. If you're looking for the full on spoiler fest, you ought to poke your peepers elsewhere. This here is some fine genuine analysis so get the darn comic and, when you're done flipping through it a few times, put on your best smarty pants, and then read this thing.

Hope.

It might just be the theme, not just of season 8, but of Buffy as a series. Sometimes hope can be the thing that leads us to salvation but, sometimes, it can lead us astray. Sometimes the road to hell is paved with hope.

I suspect that was Brad Meltzer's intention during the "Twilight" arc as he cobbled out this idea that one girl vs. innumerable vampires, demons, ad infinitum works but an army of slayers makes for a topsy turvy world gone wrong. We all know that Buffy's decision in Chosen was going to have consequences, that her decision to call all the potentials at once meant taking the choice away from countless other women but, at the same time, I don't think it's enough to say "Buffy was wrong". I don't think a writer can ever say, simply, "that was bad, no cookie for you" nor can we, as viewers or readers ever say, conclusively, what the truth of things is.

All that being said, Buffy was wrong. She betrayed herself, she betrayed her girls, her family, her friends, and the world. That's the theme after all. Betrayal. And hope, but we're not there just yet. Keep that one in your back pocket for now.

Buffy #40 is the end of the great experiment that was Season 8. Can you take a show that aired for seven seasons and turn it into a successful comic book? Can an army of slayers unite to fight the forces of darkness? Can fandom not bicker and , in general, behave like a bunch of collective dillweeds for five seconds? One of the best (and worst) things about Season 8 is how all of these things have become so interconnected. Buffy, Joss, you and I… we're asking the same questions, fighting the same struggles; we're just doing it on different playing fields in different ways. But this is Joss's baby and, before everyone else has their final word, el jefe gets to say his piece.

What's he saying? Well, I think he's saying that there is no one single ideal that can keep hundreds of unique voices in synch forever. I think he's saying that Buffy is a charismatic leader but, then again, so was Hitler. I think he's acknowledging some of the flaws that have been repeatedly pointed out, most especially that sex in space is kind of silly.

Buffy #40 is an entire issue that simultaneously gets back to the old formula while also saying "Don't get too comfy just yet". It's a pinch of fan service with a few heaping spoonfuls of "I'm still in charge, alright?" This is the last time we'll probably see all the Scoobies contained within the same pages for a while and we don't even see them all together at once. This is Buffy's POV, so it all ekes out a little at a time.

What we do get is gloriously familiar. Buffy with Xander and Dawn is the humor and intimacy of family. Buffy with Willow is the shared pain of regret, the labored love and resentment that two best friends can only share when they've given and taken away everything from each other. Buffy and Faith are the separated sisters still in constant competition despite themselves, both still vying for the love of a father that can't hear them anymore. Buffy and Spike are the old lovers, uneasy in their own skin whenever they're close but still trying to look beyond the scars they've given each other and still reach out for…

Hope. Because changing the world aint all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes when you try to build a better world you sort of kind of accidentally almost destroy the entire universe in the process. Sometimes you don't change anything at all and, even when you do, it's never in the way you intended it.

But, if you're Buffy, there's always hope. It's the thing that separates her from Angel, and the reason I think Joss chose to mirror the end of "Not Fade Away". Funny thing about a mirror, what you see in the reflection is the same but opposite.

Hope is the one thing we all struggle to keep. We're all hoping that out lives will have meaning, that we can make a difference. Whether your demons are literal or metaphorical, whether you're the one who created it all or are part of the community that binds it together, we all hope for more, for better, from each other, from ourselves, from the world.

I just hope we don't all accidentally have a fan orgy in the vacuum of space and destroy the universe in the process. All I'm sayin'!

Posted by Bitsy

Spoilers for the issue.

For the discussion of Buffy #40 - BtVS - Whedonesque.com

God bless Diamond for getting their deliveries to the UK on a Tuesday. Anyhow details now follow

Willow and Kennedy are now over.
Simone shot the general.
Giles left everything to Faith but one very special book went to Buffy.
Buffy is having nightmares.
Forewarning from Spike.
Some damn fine scenes with Willow, Xander and Faith.
Interesting tie-in with Not Fade Away.
And a letter from Joss, it's all good.
Simon | January 19, 10:20 CET

Joss' letter is about how season 9 will be different, the intent for season 8 and thanks to Dark Horse and IDW.

Willow and Kennedy are over because Kennedy wanted power. And it's obvious that Willow is still in love with Tara. The damn fine scenes contained some damn fine lines. The nightmares are about Giles and Angel. The book was the first ever book Giles showed Buffy. Spike warns Buffy that someone is coming for her. The tie-in is that the last line of season 8 is the last line of Angel season 5.
Simon | January 19, 10:47 CET

Oh and no more new Slayers. And did we know Giles' middle name is Edmund?
Simon | January 19, 10:52 CET

Let's go to work. Does Buffy say it to the scoobies or just to herself?


She says it to herself.


Can't Spike be a little more specific about who or what is coming for her?


No. As he says "I haven't actually got to that bit yet." It could be Simone as on the second last page we see a panel of her, with pics of people she has killed and Buffy too. But there is a face covered in blood and wearing red shades also on the second last page that I don't recognise so he could be the season 9 big bad?


What did Joss said about the intent of S8? (pretty please)


Reconciling the optimistic, empowering message of Chosen with the dystopian, Slayerless vision of Fray's future. And the consequences of Buffy and Willow's empowering spell. It looks like Season 9 will be a back to basics (and Joss says he completely changed his plan for it).


Wow, Giles left everything to Faith?


Yes, Faith has a theory it's because Giles thinks Buffy is stronger than Faith and she [Faith] needed more help. The panels with the book are quite powerful.

There's also a lot of pissed Slayers and Wiccans out there.

This is a very good issue and I think it will please those who wanted to see Buffy interact more with the rest of the core characters. Something that Joss acknowledges in his letter.


I realized along the way that the things I loved best were the things you loved best: the peeps. The down-to-earth recognizable people. And Mecha-Dawn. (She has a tail!)
Simon | January 19, 11:28 CET

I read this Tuesday and with all of my spare time wrote up a more in-depth summary with some thoughts. I wasn't allowed to buy the issue, so I had to write from my recollection, but here it is if anyone's interested:

The story begins and Buffy is working in a coffee shop in San Francisco, doing a quick summary of where her life is now. I think does a good job of establishing the tone of the issue. It then transitions into the first meeting between Buffy and someone that she knows. What initially strikes me is that the art is not at the level that I wish that it was. Maybe that's me, maybe it's the artist or the inker or that it was rushed for the deadline or maybe it's something else, but it begins with Buffy speaking to Kennedy and it took me more than a minute to recognize Kennedy (of course, how many times have they conversed by themselves this Season?). I just wasn't expecting that. Kennedy is angry, but for a very unexpected reason. Willow recently broke up with her. We see Willow meeting Buffy in San Francisco. They talk of a few things, Willow says that she ended it before Kennedy could have, because she was sure that Kennedy would have, now that Willow no longer has her magic. Willow attention is turned toward contemplating the loss of magic, and how that affects her and the rest of the world. She doesn't fight with Buffy, there's definitely not the sense that what happened means that "they'll never speak again" or it's going to "tear anyone apart" or anything of that nature. But it's clearly affecting her, she's thoughtful and perhaps more reserved.

We see The General and get an idea of how the military views the new situation as well as how he views it, right before he is unexpectedly shot in the face. We have a brief glimpse of Giles' funeral and we hear of his will. I wish that we had seen his friends speaking at his funeral, I was hoping that his life and memory could have had more time devoted to it, but this is only one issue and so his will is more pertinent. He left nearly everything, from his home to his money, to Faith. Buffy obviously has conflicted thoughts on this and she goes to visit Faith, who explains that she doesn't know why Giles did what he did, but she guesses that it was because Giles might have thought that Faith needed it more. That Buffy, no matter what she might go through, would have the strength to survive on her own. Buffy was left a book and Faith tells Buffy that she is THE vampire slayer now. Staying with Faith is Angel, but he seems to be in a state of deep shock. His eyes are open but his mind doesn't seem to be there. As a fan of AtS, I hate to see that, though pragmatically I have to admit that there was no way for them to thoroughly cover his role in S8 quickly, even if they had wanted to do so. I'm sure that they'll spend time on him in S9.

We hear that Harmony is no longer popular and that neither is Buffy. But Harmony will be appearing on Dancing with the Stars (and that show actually is mentioned again later). The remaining Slayers blame Buffy for ending the magic and don't even want to be called Slayers anymore. Spike comes to visit Buffy and they have some witty banter/ Buffy makes it clear that Spike is not allowed into the apartment she's staying at. We see that Buffy is sleeping on the couch in Xander & Dawn's apartment. She keeps having the same dream and Dawn is supportive of her. Xander doesn't get many lines, but Dawn has a few. Jokes are made, and there are comments about some of Dawn's transformations through the Season. Later on we see Buffy, as she's trying to sleep on the couch, suffer through Dawn's cries. Dawn is in the other room moaning loudly to Xander about their love making, but then we see that Dawn is by the door, and by herself, as she's clearly pulling a prank on Buffy. But Buffy doesn't know that, and so she goes out on patrol instead.

She is confronted by three women who no longer call themselves Slayers (I'm sure that we've seen them before, but I haven't re-read the Season in awhile, sorry). She tells them that she doesn't want to fight, but the talk becomes heated and finally they attack her. She fends them off, and tells them that while she doesn't want to fight them, she will defend herself if they continue to come after her. She leaves and as this is all happening, Buffy becomes more confident and assured. She has made mistakes, but she will get past them. She will continue to strive, and as she prowls the night, she sights a vampire. For me, the ending seemed clear. Whatever else has happened, her name is Buffy and she slays vampires.

There are several pages of letters and a crossword puzzle. But before that, there was a full page letter from Joss. Personally, I enjoyed that most of all. I don't feel that I could begin to do an adequate job of summing up what he said, but I think that it was clear and honest and insightful, and I was very glad that he addressed that which he did.

By the time that the story ended then I thought that it struck a very confident and optimistic tone. Still a lot of problems to look at, relationships to examine, conversations that might be had. This Season had it's struggles, perhaps some because of the medium, and perhaps some for other reasons. But I do very much like the tone that it ended on. I felt that as the story went along it was as confident and assured of itself as it's been yet, and for one of the few times this Season, I wished that I could have gone on reading, and immediately seen what happens next.
Risch22 | January 19, 13:27 CET

Staying with Faith is Angel, but he seems to be in a state of deep shock. His eyes are open but his mind doesn't seem to be there. As a fan of AtS, I hate to see that, though pragmatically I have to admit that there was no way for them to thoroughly cover his role in S8 quickly, even if they had wanted to do so. I'm sure that they'll spend time on him in S9.

I think it ties in well with AtS because of the Angel/Faith redemption relationship. Though they could have wiped the blood off his face.
Simon | January 19, 13:33 CET


Faith: "You're the only Slayer. You always were."
Buffy: "Then I really did fail."
Simon | January 19, 13:38 CET


"I think it ties in well with AtS because of the Angel/Faith redemption relationship. Though they could have wiped the blood off his face."

Yeah, I very much agree that it was meant to be a reversal of their roles in AtS. I did wonder about the stains on his face too. The best guess that I can come up with is that it was left as a visual shorthand for how badly off he is. I think that they could have just put that in the dialogue though.

[ edited by Risch22 on 2011-01-19 13:44 ]
Risch22 | January 19, 13:43 CET

The best guess that I can come up with is that it was left as a visual shorthand for badly off he is.

Yes or maybe he doesn't want the blood washed off because he wants to punish himself. I think the guy that I couldn't identify in the second last page is Roden (going by the two neck chains). I'm going to have re-read that particular arc to see if that panel was there.
Simon | January 19, 13:50 CET

"Yes or maybe he doesn't want the blood washed off because he wants to punish himself."

That could be it too, though I figured that that interpretation was less likely because he was sitting up with the vacant look. If he was conscious and punishing himself then I would have guessed that he would have been more downcast. He could have his head down, possibly his face in his hands, he might have been lying on the floor. Something along those lines.

"I think the guy that I couldn't identify in the second last page is Roden (going by the two neck chains). I'm going to have re-read that particular arc to see if that panel was there."

Unfortunately, I can't say that I recall.
Risch22 | January 19, 14:01 CET


"What's that all about? Is it said in a jokey manner or is she serious? Kind of seems like a slap in the face that Spike isn't allowed in. I get that it's Xander and Dawn's place, but even those two shouldn't have a problem with Spike considering he helped save their asses/the world again."

I wasn't entirely sure if she was joking or serious and wondered about it too. It was said and then they cut to the next scene. Might have been half and half.

I can see her wanting not to deal with him right then because after everything that she just did with Angel, she may very much want to lay off any romance for awhile. They seemed civil before then, but that's as much as I was able to glean from that dialogue.
Risch22 | January 19, 14:06 CET

[comic fan]

Joss Whedon interview about the end of season 8 and hints at season 9.

Joss Whedon talks about the end of the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 8 comic, and the future of Season 9 -- EXCLUSIVE | Shelf Life | EW.com

Joss Whedon talks about the end of the 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 8 comic, and the future of Season 9 -- EXCLUSIVE

by Adam B. Vary



The acclaimed (oc)cult TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air in 2003 after seven seasons. But for nearly four years, Buffy’s story has lived on in creator Joss Whedon’s “Season 8″ comic book series, which finishes its 40-issue run today. Whoa, boy, did things go down. (WARNING: Some big time spoilers follow, for both “Season 8″ and the impending “Season 9.” Consider yourself warned now.) Over the course of the “season,” Buffy became a god, battled (and boinked) her ex Angel, and watched him kill her mentor Giles. And then she effectively destroyed the seed of all magic on earth. Issue No. 40 deals with the aftermath, and — as Whedon makes clear in his exclusive Q&A with EW — it also gives some pointed hints for what to expect in Buffy “Season 9.” Whedon also talks about his new comic series about Angel with publisher Dark Horse, some of his controversial plot turns in “Season 8″ — Buffy goes lesbian? Xander and Dawn get domestic? — and what actor Anthony Stewart Head’s reaction was when Whedon told him his character Rupert Giles was going to bite the big one.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So no more magic, huh?
JOSS WHEDON: [Chuckles] Well, let’s not use hyperbole. No more magic in the sense of not so much entirely convenient magic. I wanted to play with the idea of the world dimming a little bit. Possibly because that’s how I feel about it, or at least this country in the last 10 years. And I wanted to do a little bit of a little bit of a reset, where things seem more back down to earth. I got very excited when I had a comic book with the idea that I could do absolutely anything. We hit a lot of beautiful notes and I’ve got a lot of great writers working [on the comics], and I’m very proud of it. But at the same time, it’s like, yeah, “You can do anything” is not really the Buffy mission statement. The Buffy mission statement is, “What does this feel like?” So I wanted to bounce it back a little bit to the real world.

Issue No. 40 is clearly setting up Season 9, and makes it seem like it is going to be far more human-scaled.
It will be more like the television show. With the comic, we just sort of said, “Wheee!” Ultimately, “Wheee!” caught up with us in a cavalcade of mythology. It became clear, as it did with the show, that people really liked when Buffy’s adventures reflect what she’s going through in her life [and] what we’re going through in our lives at that age. That was the thing in season 8 that we didn’t tap into as much as I think we ultimately should have.

You did seem to touch on that idea when you, essentially, made Buffy a god with her own idyllic world, and she pretty much rejected it right off the bat.
Yeah. I feel like we’re true to the characters. It was just that very basic mission statement of, “You know what, I’m going through this, too.” Not a lot of people are leading armies. Buffy, part of her charm is that the fact that, outside the mystical world, she was nobody. And it was interesting to put her in that power position and to play on that grand scale. But ultimately, I think the fans more enjoy her when she is the little underdog and not the little overlord.

Not that anybody who’s a Buffy fan should be that shocked that you did this at this point, but Joss, you killed Giles.
Yeah, I did. I did. I have several reasons for that, some of which I can’t reveal because ripples from that event are going to be a part of both [the Buffy "Season 9" comic and the new Angel comic]. Part of it was really just feeling that Giles’ place in the comic book did not sit the way it did in the show. To have this paternal, expositional guy there — it wasn’t really something that played in the comics the way it did when Tony Head [i.e. actor Anthony Stewart Head] does it. I wanted to make all this matter and have something that would send emotional ripples through all the characters. Also, I’m a prick. But I did tell Tony it was going to happen before it did. At first he said, “Oooh,” a little worried. Then I said, “Angel’s gonna kill you.” He said, all excited, “Oooh! That’s great!” [Laughs]

Perhaps the other most controversial choice you made was to enter Buffy into a lesbian relationship. For some fans, that did seem to come oddly out of left field.
You know, I didn’t hear any real objection to that. But I don’t go trolling on websites for people that don’t like me. I’m very fragile, like an egg. We had talked about the idea of Buffy having a lesbian fling as one of the things that does actually reflect where she is in her life, if you consider the events in “Season 8″ to be her college experience. It’s that time in your life where that might happen. We just slammed right into it with a splash page, instead of tenuously inching towards it. And that was largely [writer] Drew Goddard’s call. He said, “You know what? It would obvious to start building toward this, and then seeing that play out, how that would be. I think in a lot of these situations, it just kind of happens, and then you deal with it.” It’s more interesting and it gives us a better opportunity to face the reality of a situation like that.

You also had Xander and Dawn ultimately become a romantic item, and you outed vampires to the world. It seems like you wanted to advance the story in a really meaningful, significant way on a lot of fronts.
You can’t just sit around and spin your wheel with these guys. The show lasted on the idea that people are constantly changing. What makes them interesting? So, is Willow destined to go dark? How is that future going to unfold? Who is in love with whom? Who can’t be with whom? That’s part of what makes their interaction rich. It’s not just, “We’re clever and funny, the murder is solved.” It’s just not the way I write. It was still very clear to me that Xander and Dawn were going to end up together by the very start [of Season 8]. And actually, I was surprised that anybody was surprised. All their interactions were so tight, and occasionally weirdly physical. It was all pointing there. He tried to have a relationship with somebody else, but some prick killed her.

You mentioned earlier about getting into a bit of trouble thanks to the freedom that comic books afforded you. But what was your favorite “We could never do this on the TV show” moment?
I gotta go with giant Dawn. I loved giant Dawn so much, absolutely more than the readers, but I didn’t care. The idea that Dawn becomes a giant and all the permutations of that, some of which we didn’t even get to do, that was such a delight for me. It just absolutely fit in the universe. It was the right kind of problem for Dawn to have.

On the penultimate page of issue No. 40, there’s a guy in John Lennon glasses who looks fairly evil. Am I right in thinking he’s new? Or am I just not remembering him from season 8?
He’s a new guy. I can’t tell you about him. But you are not wrong to say you don’t remember him, because he has not appeared yet. He has yet to come.

In the Fray storyline from “Season 8″ — in which Buffy got sucked into the world of your spin-off comic about a slayer living far into the future — we met Dark Willow again, and we seem to be heading in that direction the way we left Willow at the end of “Season 8.”
Well, maybe. It’s a question we’re holding out there right now: Is that her destiny? Can she get her powers back? This idea of magic being taken out of the world — that’s going to be her personal obsession and will result in a miniseries. She can have center stage for a while. Whether or not that means that’ll send her to become the evil Fray’d version of herself is something we’re going to dangle.

Finally, all due respect to the amazing artists who drew the comic and did the covers, but do you ever miss having the actors to bring these stories to life?
I do. Particularly, as I said before, in the case of Giles. Tony has this cool sexuality that just doesn’t come on the page when he’s saying, [in a British accent] “Oh, this book says blah blah blah.” It’s hard to capture some of the stuff that the actors bring. Tony is astonishing. I can’t speak highly enough of how artist Georges Jeanty captured their likenesses, but still made it look like a comic book and not like balloon heads on hastily drawn panels. And the way he captured Buffy was really lovely. But yeah, you hear [the characters] so well, sometimes it’s like they’re there. It is frustrating at times. You’re like, “Why can’t they just be there? Let’s get the whole gang back together again.”

For more on Joss Whedon and the future of the Buffyverse — including how Whedon really feels about the recently announced plans for a Buffy reboot movie without his involvement — check out this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands Friday, Jan. 21.

[comic fan]

Joss's letter in the back of the issue is up at the Dark Horse site.

The Endless Season: Wrapping up Buffy Season 8 :: Blog :: Dark Horse Comics

The Endless Season: Wrapping up Buffy Season 8

01/19/2011



So, our endless season ends. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve thrown up a little in our mouths, but most of all we’ve learned. Not you guys—us. We’ve learned what you like, what you don’t, how this TV show translated to the world of comics, and how it didn’t quite. We’ve lost a few fans along the way and, hopefully, gained a few. I can’t say exactly how much has changed, in our lives or our work. The only thing that’s certain is this: all of us involved in this venture, without exception, have weirder-looking hair.

If you’ve read this issue, you’ve got a sense of where we’re heading for Season 9. Back, a bit, to the everyday trials that made Buffy more than a superhero. That made her us. I was so excited to finally have an unlimited budget that I wanted to make the book an epic, but I realized along the way that the things I loved the best were the things you loved the best: the peeps. The down-to-earth, recognizable people. And Mecha-Dawn. (She has a tail!) So that’s what we’ll try to evoke next season—along with the usual perils, and a few new ones, of course.

Every season of Buffy had a different intent, and a different set of challenges, from which to build. The biggest challenge in Season 8 was that many years ago I wrote a Slayer comic and set it in the far future so that it could never affect Buffy’s life. I was so young. But the challenge of reconciling the optimistic, empowering message of the final episode with the dystopian, Slayerless vision of Fray’s future gave Season 8 a genuine weight. There is never progress without hateful, reactionary blowback. That’s never been more apparent than in today’s political scene in America. The mission was to deal with the consequences of Buffy and Willow’s empowering spell (the good and the terrible), steer toward a possible Fray future without undoing all the good Buffy had done (the girls still have their power), and tee us up for a very different Season 9. Some adjustments had to be made along the way, particularly when I completely changed my plan for Season 9. I changed it for the reasons stated above. No matter how interesting the world stage or mystical dimensions can be, Buffy’s best when she’s walking that alley, dusting vamps, and nursing a pouty heart. We’re not going back to square one, but our square will definitely have a oneishness to it. It should be nice, after the wild ride that was Season 8—not always perfect, but made with love and delight that I think shine through.

The people who need to be thanked really deserve more than just thanks—but we’re all too scattered for the inappropriate touching required to convey my gratitude and occasional awe. Scott Allie is why there are editors. Smart, patient, pushy when it’s time to be pushy—straddling the minutiae and the Big Picture in a way any show runner would envy. Georges—no book without Georges. If I didn’t make the smoothest transition from TV to comics, he sure as hell did. He drew wonderful likenesses that never felt like portraits, and panels that were dynamic, funny, and emotional. . . . No one could have evoked the ethos of the show better. Jo Chen’s covers make me cry. I won’t say more, or I’ll cry.

If I start listing the writers, this will be longer than the comic. But Drew Goddard writes the stuff I wish I had. Brad Meltzer writes like he was on the staff for all seven years (and is a nut for structure, which helped more than I like admitting). Jane Espenson, Brian K. Vaughan. . . . Wait, didn’t I just promise not to do this? Everyone brought such love and talent to the table, writers and artists and inkers and colorists and letterers and editors I’ve left in the cold (sorry, Sierra) in order to wrap this up. . . . The point is, this has been a long, strange trip, but it worked (when it did) because so many overqualified souls poured themselves into it. I’m grateful.

I’m grateful to the guys at IDW, particularly Chris Ryall and Brian Lynch, for handling the Angel series with such passion and hilarity, and for being kind and cooperative when I decided the two universes needed to be under one roof.

And I’m grateful to you guys, for coming on the ride. I promise it won’t get smoother. We’ve got a lot of new—and old—friends along, some new titles, and a bunch of limited series. . . . It’s nuts; I’m exhausted by the end of Season 8. So why am I so giddy about Season 9?

Maybe I’m a fan.

—Joss Whedon


I got my copy now.I'll try post dialog when I get chance.Enjoyed the issue greatly although left with lots of questions.

[comic fan]

IGN interviews Scott Allie About The End Of Season 8 and Season 9.

http://comics.ign.com/articles/114/1144844p1.html

The End of Buffy: Season 8

Editor Scott Allie discusses the finale to Season 8 and what is still to come in Season 9.

January 19, 2011
by Jesse Schedeen

Few segments of geekdom are as devoted to their obsession as fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These fans cried out in pain when Buffy and its companion series Angel went off the air. And they celebrated when Dark Horse chose to continue beyond the end of these two shows with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8. The saga of Buffy and the Scooby gang has unfolded over the course of nearly four years, 40 issues, and multiple writers. And now, with the release of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #40, that saga comes to a close.

To mark the ending of this mammoth undertaking, we chatted with editor Scott Allie via e-mail. Allie shared his thoughts on co-writing the final arc with Whedon, the complicated relationship between Buffy and Angel, and bidding farewell to several popular characters.

But fans needn't worry about the future of the franchise. Dark Horse is already prepping Buffy: Season 9 and a new Angel series for later this year. We also asked Allie more about what the publisher has in store for these new books.

IGN Comics: Your name name is credited along with Joss Whedon's for the scripts in "Last Gleaming". How would you describe the writing arrangement on this arc? How does it compare to Joss' previous efforts on the series?

Scott Allie: We worked really closely together on the outline, then I went off and wrote scripts, sometimes in pieces, and ran them by him. He gave me notes, sometimes extensive, sometimes light, and then the book was drawn. When it was time to letter, he'd first go over the script and polish the dialogue in places. I think this was similar to arcs that other writers wrote, except that he generally gave them dialogue notes before it was drawn. So it was at least as hands on as with those other writers, but not the same as him writing the arc himself.

IGN Comics: Presumably Joss had a fairly comprehensive outline for Season 8 when work began. How much have plans for the series evolved over time? Is the series ending differently from how you originally planned?

Allie: The big picture is exactly the same, but a lot of details changed. We knew from the get-go that Angel was Twilight and that this would mean the end of magic, the ultimate betrayal being betraying oneself. We knew she'd get super powers, but didn't know exactly how that would come across—it was a little more like a superhero story, with Brad at the helm. Lots of details changed. At one point Warren and Amy were going to kill each other, but we got jazzed about the idea of Warren liquefying when the magic ended.

IGN Comics: "Last Gleaming" is easily the most densely packed arc of the series. Have there been any unique challenges putting this final story together?

Allie: It was the end, and we had to tie down everything we could, so that was different than previous arcs. There were a lot of plot threads in this thing, and we did not sew it all up, but the effort to do that, to decide how much we were going to do, that took a lot of figuring. And the death of Giles thing, that was the only time we kept a secret from the other people on the creative team.

IGN Comics: Issue #39 featured several major character deaths. Was it hard dispatching fan favorites like Giles and Andrew? How have the fans been reacting to these events?

Allie: Wait, who killed Andrew!? No, Andrew didn't die. Are you thinking of Warren? Andrew just got knocked out. And everyone hates Warren, so that was easy, and sort of fun, and hopefully funny. But Giles. Yeah, that was not good. We all felt sick. There were long talks. Whedonesque threw up some kind of funeral announcement and closed the site for a day in memory. Tony Head has recently commented on the comic, and that was a relief. In that his comment was not that I ruined this or that, as some of the fans have said.

IGN Comics: Which character do you feel has shown the most interesting growth and evolution over the course of these last few years?

Allie: I'd say Xander. I think he's matured, settled into himself. I was pretty excited to see him rebuff Buffy like he did, when she tried to steal him out from under Dawn. Oh, no, wait, it was Faith. She's grown the most. Not just in this season, but over the course of Seasons 7 & 8 she's become something better than she was. She's still vulnerable when it comes to Buffy, but she's a much more mature person than she was on the Angel show, and before that. I'm excited to see her evolution continue.

IGN Comics: What can readers expect from issue #40? Does it serve as an epilogue to "Last Gleaming" or are there still more trials ahead for our heroes?

Allie: I didn't write this one, it's all Joss, and so you know there are arduous trials in store for the kids. It is epilogue, to the whole season, but in doing that, it shows what her life is like after the dust settles. And there are challenges, which will get worse in the next issue …

IGN Comics: How would you characterize the relationship between Buffy and Angel in the aftermath of this big battle? Are they back to being antagonists?

Allie: Gotta wait for #40. I like what Joss did, don't want to do anything to diminish it.

IGN Comics: Jo Chen's cover to issue #40 forms an obvious parallel with issue #1. Will there be other parallels drawn in the story itself?

Allie: Yeah, very much so. And, in odd ways, other key moments in the characters' histories. The Joss issues are always the best, in particular the standalone issues. I'm happy that some readers would disagree, because it's a shame when there's only one choice for best story … but for me, his are the best, and this is a great one to go out on.

IGN Comics: What can you reveal about Season 9 right now as far as premise, creative team, and structure? Can we expect other Season 8 writers to return, such as Brian K. Vaughan or Brad Meltzer?

Allie: Some Season 8 writers will return, but there will be important new members of the team. We're all getting together in a week to work on the story, and things will be a bit more solidified there. But it will be very different from Season 8, in important ways, including how it's put together.

IGN Comics: Will the Buffy comic and the new Angel series co-exist in the same way the two TV shows did when they were on the air?

Allie: I'd kind of say moreso, but not that Buffy and Angel themselves will be crossing over all the time. Maybe not at all. They'll need a break, but in other ways, the two titles will have connections the shows did not. And one publisher, instead of two networks.

IGN Comics: Can readers expect any other Buffy projects in the gap between Seasons 8 and 9? Are there any other one-shot specials in the pipeline like the Willow and Riley specials?

Allie: There will be something bite-size between seasons, but nothing major. There's really not that much time. Six months, I think? It'll take that long just to rev this engine back up, man.

IGN Comics: WB has been showing some interest in producing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot not tied to the current Buffy universe and continuity. Should that movie materialize, would you have an interest in producing comics set in that universe in the same way IDW publishes G.I. Joe books set in various universes?

Allie: ****, look what DC does with Batman, that's no more unified a continuity or approach than IDW's various Joe books, is it? That's totally cool, and a valid way of presenting your characters. And Disney's got that new, edgy, Breaking Bad-style version of Mickey Mouse on Disney After Dark, which I'm looking forward to. But that's different than saying, Hey Joss, let's work really carefully with you to do an official, canonical continuation of your iconic female character … plus we're also gonna do this other thing over here that you've been wicked polite about. Who knows, though, maybe they'll work something out with him.

Buffyfest's Interview With Scott Allie.

http://buffyfest.blogspot.com/2011/0...e-on-road.html

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Exclusive Interview: Scott Allie on the Road Behind and Ahead for Buffy



Wow, it's been a long, strange trip. There's been ups, downs and outright wars - so basically, it was like any other season of Buffy. And just like other seasons, there's something bitter-sweet about saying goodbye to the gang for awhile. Luckily, we spoke with Scott Allie, editor and writer of the season, to keep the fire from going out for just a little longer.



Buffyfest: So, we’ve come to the end of Season 8. It’s been a long haul with many ups and downs. What is your most memorable moment from the past 4 or so years?


Scott Allie: When Joss emailed to tell me, "You're officially cowriting the finale with me." Or the moment that I realized, in a meeting with Marketing, that we hadn't shown issue #12 to Fox.


Buffyfest: Those sound memorable! Now, in this final issue, we find Buffy living in San Francisco. Who's idea was it to set Buffy up in SF for Season 9?


SA: Pretty sure that was Joss. He had a pretty solid idea of where she'd wind up after this.


Buffyfest: What about that city made sense in the decision?


SA: Lotta stuff. It's a good place for a girl in her twenties to restart her life, and that's what she has to do. It's a meaningful place for a young person to head to. Plus she's gonna look really good doing the Batman thing hopping around those particular rooftops. We liked the idea of keeping her in California, but striking out to new ground. And we felt like San Francisco was a city that was up for grabs, in terms of superheroes. Lot of factors.


Buffyfest: Now that we’re at the end of the season, how much time has passed from the beginning of Issue 1 to the end of #40?


SA: I don't know. We haven't spent two minutes talking about that, to be honest. It's not long—it's not four years. Mostly things moved along pretty quick, although they were in Tibet a lot longer than it took to read those issues. But mostly things moved ahead without a lot of time passing. So maybe it's been a year, somewhere around there.


Buffyfest: One of the most asked questions in the forums is “Who's the prince?” Is this something we should have figured out already or is there more to come on this in Season 9?


SA: No comment.


Buffyfest: We'll take that "No comment" as "There are a lot of comments I can't share". Getting into specifics of issue #40, who's the bleeding guy on page 23? If you can't tell us, can we at least get a hint?!


SA: "Bleeding"? Is it his blood, or someone else's? Find out in Season 9.


Buffyfest: Oooh! Ok, moving on to the big break-up of the issue. Does Kennedy know that Willow's a cheating slimeball and, if not, do you think she would feel differently about their break-up if she knew the truth?


SA: I don't think she knows, but we could alter that depending on how we set things up at the beginning of Season 9. I think more info for Kennedy can only make her feel worse. Willow's not at her best.


Buffyfest: No she is not, but Faith is! She gets Giles’ belongings, but Giles still gives Buffy the title of THE Slayer even in death. Is your interpretation of Giles leaving Buffy the "Vampyre" book the same as Faith's?


SA: My interpretation is different than Faith's. Faith's right, but there's more to it than that. Giles wouldn't give it to Buffy to burn Faith. Giles was a smart guy.


Buffyfest: Even though Faith is helping Angel, she seems reluctant to do so. Has she forgiven Angel or is she just doing it for the good of the group?


SA: Her gratitude for what Angel did for her goes way beyond forgiving him. It's the sort of thing where you never have to say you're sorry. Faith has grown a lot this season, and she's uniquely equipped to deal with Angel now. She's up for this. And her concern is not the group.


Buffyfest: Who's idea was it for Angel to crash at Giles' apartment in London: Faith or Buffy?


SA: I'd say Faith.


Buffyfest: Faith has "faith" in Angel. What about you? Is there hope for Angel?


SA: Yes. I think there's always hope for people. But he really has to earn it. He has to grow from this. He has to find a new way to deal with who he is. He really has some bad karma, and I mean that far beyond him having done some bad stuff he has to make up for.



Buffyfest: Connected to that, we have Buffy’s last line in the issue being “Let’s Go to Work” which Angel’s iconic last line in “Not Fade Away”. What’s up with that?


SA: It's the mission statement, but it also means something real different from when Angel said it.


Buffyfest: What story are you looking most forward to telling in regards to Season 9? Why?


SA: Oh, I don't know. There's a lot. I've been really excited about some stuff with Willow for a long time, but as we tie some things together in the early planning, there are things that get more and more interesting. We've got bits for Faith, something for Spike, for Angel, for Buffy that I'm really excited about. Angel's gonna have some of the best bits. But there are lots of things we still have to nail down.


Buffyfest: Continuing with Season 9, what’s a Buffy and Angel world going to look like without magic? Are there any loopholes we need to know about?


SA: There are loopholes. Look at the dialogue between Willow and Aluwyn in one of my issues. Aluwyn spells some things out. But the world is really different. There are both good and bad repercussions to this.


Buffyfest: In tune with a world without magic, will we see Fray again next Season?


SA: We've talked about it, but only if it makes sense. Only if it pushes the story forward. We definitely want to bring Fray out again, but it might not have a place in Season 9.


Buffyfest: What about the alternate slayer from the issue, “The Chain”? The fairy makes an appearance in this issue, so will we see the slayer again in Season 9 or is her death imminent at the end of the issue?


SA: I've always thought of her as dying there, but it's possible she survived.


Buffyfest: Are the titles set in stone? Last we heard at Comic Con, there are going to be Spike and Willow books, as well. Is there any more news on that?


SA: We still have some work to do. Neither Spike nor Willow are set in stone—the only things that are rock solid are the two main titles.


Buffyfest: We know that this past weekend, you had a writer's summit in L.A. to map out the story for Season 9. Can you tell us who was there?


SA: Joss, Sierra, me, Zack, Jane Espenson, Drew Greenberg, Danny Kaminsky, and a few other writers ... names we'll share soon. There were some people we were counting on spending the day with who weren't able to make it because of their busy weeks, which was disappointing.


Buffyfest: How did the process of setting up the story go?


SA: Great. It was fun. It was educational for me, and I've got a lot riding on it. We nailed the themes, the central conflicts. Lots of details to work out, but we found the main plotlines for all the main characters, and we nailed down our starting points. We still need to do outlines, breaking the bits into a real structure. But we spent the day throwing around ideas, seeing which ones still sounded good an hour or two later, and then watching ideas overlap and reconnect. It's gonna be a weird season.


Buffyfest: Can you tell us about any great moments that came out of the meeting?


SA: Lightsaber fights and karaoke. I didn't even think I knew the Thompson Twins.


Buffyfest: Ha! To be a fly on that wall. Finally, any other Season 9 news you’d like to share?


SA: Just that Joss is taking a bigger role in it than we initially expected. He'll be more directly involved in the writing than I was expecting, which is a relief. But we've got some other good stuff set up, things I wish we could tell readers, but now is not the time.

Buffyfest: Don't worry. We'll be waiting patiently. Thanks for being a part of the reason we still get to talk about Buffy. See you next Season!


SA: Thanks, Michelle—thanks for keeping the readers talking.

Posted by Michelle

[comic fan]

Review: Buffy the Vamipre Slayer Season Eight #40 - Comic Book Resources

Buffy the Vamipre Slayer Season Eight #40

by Greg McElhatton, Reviewer

So, this is it, right?

Well, not entirely. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine" will happen before too long, so this isn't the end of the story, but it's the end of the "season" and as such, it's time for pieces of story to start wrapping up.

Fortunately for all of us, if there's one kind of story Joss Whedon was particularly good at on the original show, it was the epilogue to a season. With the climax hitting in the previous issue, here we get to see Buffy and company start picking up the pieces of everything that's broken. And of course, that means it's time for some recriminations, second-guessing, and glances ahead on what's to come.

This isn't the first time that Buffy's big victory was at least in part a mistake (Angel getting dragged to Hell at the end of Season Two is a popular example), and Whedon does a nice job of exploring the self-doubt and agony that Buffy's going through as she once more tries to figure out if she did the right thing. Finding out how the destruction of magic is affecting not only spellcasters but also existing and potential Slayers is a good story hook, and it's fun to see how everyone takes it a little differently. In many ways it's a brave new world for Buffy and company, now, and it's good that Whedon's taking a little time here to explore it.

The other characters get their own moments in the spotlight too, which is appreciated. It'd be easy to push them to one side, but everyone gets at least a small scene. Still, the primary focus is Buffy, and her final rooftop confrontation with some of those that feel betrayed by her actions is a classic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" scene, one you can just imagine happening on the show itself.

Georges Jeanty's pencils aren't the best we've seen on the book, but they're not the worst either. Some of his likenesses are better than others, but looking back to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight" #1, the several year ride on the book seems to have taken a bit of the wind out of Jeanty's sails. Some of the pages look downright rough, especially the ones with Dawn. Still, there are some moments which I think Jeanty hits just right, like Buffy at the reading of the will, or the two-page sequence of Buffy fighting her attackers on the roof. It's a nice reminder that when given the proper time and/or motivation, Jeanty can show us just why he was picked for this assignment in the first place.

Whedon has said that when the Season Nine stories begin (later in 2011), that the book will be "a little tighter, a little more concise." I can't help but think that's a good thing. This is a strong ending, but this series in general was drawn out a bit too long to have its proper impact. With a strong conclusion for now, though, at least it's ending on a positive note.

Preview: Angel #41 - Comic Book Resources

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: "Angel" #41

Courtesy of IDW Publishing, CBR is pleased to share an exclusive preview of "Angel" #41 by David Tischman, Mariah Huehner, Elena Casagrande, and Jenny Frison. The issue hits stores next week, January 26.



Angel quickly adapts to his new situation, only to discover that Wolfram and Hart and James are the least of his worries, as someone unexpected decides it's time to stop playing nice. Meanwhile, Connor and the gang are under attack at the new headquarters from yet another threat!

[comic fan]

Rebekah Isaacs To Pencil Buffy Season Nine? Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movies and TV News and Rumors

Rebekah Isaacs To Pencil Buffy Season Nine?

Submitted by Rich Johnston
on January 20, 2011

The final issue of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight came out today.

But Buffy Season Nine is due to have a new look.

As Georges Jeanty moves on to DC work, so it’s time for Buffy to take a new artist in return.

Bleeding Cool understand that Rebekah Isaacs, recently on the DC/Wildstorm book DV8 but also comics like Drafted, Sheena, DMZ and Hack/Slash is tapped to pencil Buffy Season Nine later this year.

Here’s some examples of her work to get us all in the Buffy mood…

[BA4eva]

Issue #40 sounded interesting to me. Im surprised Giles left everything to Faith but it is nice I think.

[comic fan]

Full Scott Allie Slayalive Q/A for final issue of Buffy Season 8.

[SA24] SPOILERS: Scott Allie Q&A for #40 *Complete*

[SA24] SPOILERS: Scott Allie Q&A for #40 *Complete*
We're back, Buffy fans!

Scott Allie, Dark Horse editor and Buffyverse comics writer (other writing credits include Exurbia and Solomon Kane), is back for another Q&A to celebrate the release of the final issue of Season 8, Last Gleaming Part V, written by Joss Whedon and penciled by Georges Jeanty. Thank you, Scott!

Of course, it's January 19, so we're also celebrating a certain Slayer's birthday!

The Rules

•Please remember to ask one question per post and do not ask another question till the pending one has been submitted. I'll be sending the questions along in batches of ~ten, so you'll get the chance to ask several questions throughout the session.

•The SlayAlive moderators have contemplated enforcing a strict No Shipping Rule for this Q&A session because the questions became overwhelmingly shipper-oriented after the release of Issue 33. I'm uncomfortable mandating what fans choose to care about in the Buffyverse--relationships are important to the story and it's natural for fans to care about them. However, this was a serious problem in the past, so please use your judgment wisely. If this Q&A begins to read like a 'Validate My Ship' affair, I will begin to actively moderate which questions are submitted.

•If you want to participate, but you're not interested in registering at this time, you can email your questions to me (emmie [at] slayalive.com) and I'll submit them for you with credit. I will only be accepting questions for the duration that this Q&A thread is in progress.

•If this is your first time participating, please skim through past Q&A's as your question may have been answered already.

Everybody ready? Steady? Go!

1. Enisy: Out of curiosity, how much of #37, #38 and #39 was you (rough percentages)? Were there any scenes that were overwhelmingly written by you, or overwhelmingly written by Joss?

Scott: We did the outline together when I was at his office in May, and then I wrote the scripts. He gave me notes, and I rewrote some scenes, tweaked dialogue here and there; then when we were getting it lettered, he rewrote some of the dialogue. So it's hard to say how much of the story was mine or his—if you asked, I could probably tell you if any given bit was his idea or mine, but my memory may not be perfect. But in the end the dialogue was probably a bit more mine than his, but a lot of him. And the stuff that was mine wasn't necessarily my first draft, so to speak.


2. Moscow Watcher: Are you already working on season 9 and if yes, do you already have an overall plan of the season - i.e., do you know the main events, settings, confrontations, the ending, etc.? And - at which point of working on season 8 Joss has completely changed his plan for season 9?

Scott: We are working on it, but it's still just taking shape. I'd say we know the themes and geography, we know where everyone is, and we know the basic directions for all the principle characters, and their chief obstacles. The order of those obstacles remains to be seen, to some degree. And I think we abandoned the initial Season 9 plan around issue #28 or so, something like that.


3. Morphia: Could you explain Joss's reasoning behind writing Buffy's decision not to invite Spike into her apartment? It seems pretty harsh that she's seems to be pigeonholing him mentally in the same box as Angel. Is this a story point, as in, Buffy wants to get some perspective about vampires and therefore wants to keep Spike at a distance too? Or is it simply that Dawn and Xander don't want to extend the invitation and she's abiding by their wishes?

Scott: I don't see how she's pigeonholing him in the same box as Angel. I don't think there's an Angel comparison there. I'd say it's more of your latter option—Xander of all people probably doesn't want Spike in his house. But this isn't meant to be Buffy issuing a big rejection of Spike.


4. Maggie: Hi Scott, I love this issue a lot. I have a lot of questions, but I only get one for now. So it's just a point of clarification about #37. In what panel did Buffy's fantasy start? Or is it meant to be ambiguous? Thanks!!

Scott: Meant to be ambiguous. That sort of gag often plays ambiguously, but it's especially right for it to be ambiguous in this case, to reflect Buffy's confusion about the important facts of the situation. I should mention that that part was entirely written by Joss—despite my answer above, my cowriting didn't kick in until page 7 of that issue, I believe.


5. AndrewCrossett: Was Willow simply wrong with her theory that Buffy was getting her powers from dead Slayers?

Scott: Yeah. We had some fun with that—the idea that Willow was landing on significant wrong answers. She's normally so darn smart.


6. Bamph: So who was the Prince?

Scott: Sorry, next!


7. drywallman: Why did Xander go down into the Hellmouth in issue 39, and more importantly why did the story need him to go down there?

Scott: I'd say the former is the more important part of the question. At one point, we imagined EVERYONE down there in that final scene, and then as it got writing, we realized everyone would be really really busy. I'll say in my opinion, Xander went down there because at the end of the day, at the end of the world, he's the one who most needs to be there by her side. But his specific reason for going back down there was to help Buffy, in whatever way she needed, not realizing how totally impossible that would be for him. We didn't really need him to be down there—as you can see, he doesn't really do anything. Well, not that you can see...


8. bonnaleah: Was the information that Whistler gave to Angel about saving the world correct, or was Whistler an agent of Twilight?

Scott: The info was not entirely correct, in that it was distorted and spun, to leave out the bad parts. Whether Whistler was a willing spin doctor, or he bought into the spin is a question that you're left to ponder, probably until we revisit the character. But the information was not entirely correct. Angel bought into the Twilight business without know all the facts. He's still responsible for going along with it, but he didn't sign on for doing exactly these terrible things that he wound up doing.

9. Danny: Who is 'the woman I'll never meet again' that Willow references? Is it Aluwyn as the panels suggest, or Tara, or does it perhaps regard both of them?

Scott: Huh. That's a great question. I got an answer, but I think it's wayyyyy better if it's open to the interpretation you threw out.


10. Morphia: Joss says in his letter to the fans at the end of the issue that he thinks letting the current slayers keep their powers upholds the positive message of female empowerment at the end of Chosen. However, since the story seems to be saying that empowering all those women upset some sort of balance and caused all kinds of trouble, I'm not sure I agree with him. It seems to me more like the story tells us that empowering women is a bad thing. What's your reading of it? Is Joss suggesting that compromise is the most we can hope for?

Scott: You can read it that way, sure, but where does it say that empowering women is bad? The way I see it, you do something that big, and it causes ripples you can't control. We talked about it, and what he specifically said there was the decision. Empowering all those women DID upset the balance. And it almost led to the end of the world, but it didn't. We discussed the possibility that magic leaving the world would rob the Slayers of their powers, but felt that THAT would undermine the empowerment message too much. Just having nothing bad come of the empowerment would show say that you can get something for nothing, which isn't very dramatic.


11. Uncannyslayer: Some of the more heated discussions about Season 8 have been related to the little amount of information given about Angel's motivations. Will Season 9 give us more insight to this or will it be moving on to new stories from the start?

Scott: Yes. The former, I mean. We will reflect on that some. I think it's due.


12. Michamon: Are we going to see Giles again in any form (ghost, flashback, etc.) or is he lost once and for all?

Scott: Flashbacks, probably.


13. Bamph: A year ago Twilightgate hit, and God has it been a full year from that, but anyway when that hit there were many interviews. In one of them with Comic Book Resources, I think, Joss said that the reason Angel wore a mask as Twilight was to not screw things up for IDW and buy them three more years of telling Angel stories before having to deal with season 8. That if Dark Horse had the Angel licence still than Angel would never had been wearing the mask. Joss said that he didn't want to step on IDW's toes who were just trying to produce good Angel comics. Do you have any ideas about how Angel as Twilight would of been done differently without the mask since you would lose the mystery aspect of who was under that mask? And do you think this would of improved the story or hurt it?

Scott: I don't know. I don't remember Joss saying quite all of that, but maybe he did. We definitely did certain things to prevent trouble for IDW—mission accomplished, right? clap clap clap. But yes, the story would have been way different without the mask. I think it might have made some people happier, in that his motivation would have been explained much more.

14. Enisy: Was Buffy still affected by the glow after her departure from "Twilight"? Can her controversial "bestest weirdest best day" speech be attributed to it, or is that all her?

Scott: There's some of that in there, yeah.


15. ThatEvilLawFirm: Hey Scott! I'm a big fan, thank you so much for doing this. I haven't had a chance to read 40 yet, but my question is about the events of 39.

So I'm probably in a really unique group, I think the scythe is AWESOME, and I was sad when it was destroyed (not as sad as watching Giles die...). My question for you is, was the scythe the only thing that could destroy the seed? It seems to me that Giles went specifically looking for it to take back to try and break the seed. If so, how did Giles know that it was needed to break it?

Scott: I don't like saying the scythe was the only thing that could destroy the Seed, because that really makes it like a video game, but the scythe was uniquely able to do that. Maybe other things could do it, but Giles knew the scythe had a purpose in all this. Remember Giles had been looking for the Seed, in secret? He knew a great deal about the scythe and the Seed.


16. Maggie: Here's an open-ended question. In #38 you had Dawn say that a lot of people had missed major plot points (or something to that effect). That read to me as a little bit of fourth wall breaking. Have there been confusions in at least some of the fandom about what's going on that have surprised you? If so, what are the major plot points that at least some of us seem to have missed? Are there any major plot points that you think should have been more clearly presented?

Scott: First, yes, that was me embracing some meta stuff. Not my normal comfort zone, but I thought it worked in this world. And yes, I've been surprised and confused by some of the fans' complaints, but I try to see that as my fault, not theirs, and learn from it. I don't remember right now, though, which ones there are, but generally, yes, whenever a large number of readers miss something, I wish we'd done it more clearly. But I also don't want to spoonfeed, or dumb it down. It's a tough balance, and my judgment in there isn't perfect.


17. Zamolxis: If all the magic in the world is destroyed how come vampires still need an invite in someone's home?

Scott: 'Cause with magic the authors get to make the rules, and we're saying that these things are characteristics of the individual creature, trapped in this non-magic world. So Slayers have their powers, their strength. That big C'thulhu thing Spike was chasing could fly. Vampires drink blood to live and can't go out in sunlight. And need an invite.


18. Bonnaleah: What was the point of Angel and Spike arriving through portals?

Scott: They were elsewhere. Read Spike #8 from IDW!

19. Emmie: I have to say, the hardcover collection of "Tales of the Slayer" is a gorgeous book and, of course, it's made me eager to own a hardcover deluxe edition of Season 8. Any movement on this front? When might we expect the hardcover release? Any hint of the specials to be included?

Scott: Movement, yes, schedule and teasers, no. They're still a ways off. But they will generally be in the mold of Tales.


20. Uncannyslayer: Again about Season 9 speculations, and sorry if this has been asked before... Is it planned to use characters like Illyria, Connor or even some of the characters created by IDW? I would of course assume that you have complete freedom to use the characters from the Angel show, but it is unclear to the public whether the deal between Dark Horse and IDW includes their characters.

Scott: Legally, any characters created as part of the license become the property of Fox, and we're licensing it all from them. This is how we were able to reprint all the old Marvel Star Wars comics, and use the ridiculous green rabbit from the Marvel run in one of our Star Wars comics recently. That's not to say that we will do it, but we do have the freedom to do it.


21. MikeB: Is the reason why Illyria -- and Connor -- wasn't in Season 8 because they are Angel characters and therefore DarkHorse simply couldn't use them? Or was it more about not wanting to have to explain who these characters are? It'd seem that Illyria, Groo, and Connor would have been useful in the fight in Season 8.

Scott: We could've used anyone we wanted, but we didn't want to screw with IDW. We had to screw with them because Joss's plan hinged on Angel as Twilight, but we didn't want to trot everyone out just to do it, or just for fan service, if it would just lead to reader confusion. Enough of that thanks to Angel and Spike. The characters you mention could have been useful in a fight, but I don't know that they would have been useful to the story—they would have just further distracted from the core four.


22. AndrewCrossett: Is it true that with the end of magic, the two biggest mystical dilemmas in Angel's life... the "true happiness" curse and the Shanshu Prophecy... are no longer in effect? (Not that true happiness looks to be anywhere on Angel's radar right now.)

Scott: Standby for Season 9. As you'll see from one of my answers above, we reserve some freedom to interpret the new rules of magic.


23. Wenxina: In response to your response to Moscow Watcher's question (the bit about abandoning the initial Season 9 plan), does that mean the plan involving "multiple dimensions" is down the toilet? Or are major elements of that being tweaked to fit within the scope of a more conservative season?

Scott: It means it's changed. The plan is down the toilet, but as no one but us knew what the plan was, no one don't know what exactly is down the toilet. Some of the ideas will remain, and yes, the goal is a more conservative, small season, focused on the characters. But it's also going to be a complex season, with various threads spinning out of it.


24. leyki: Hello. Why didn't anyone notice that Mr Jeanty accidentally created an extra character? I am talking about the general. As a matter of fact, here is what Mr Jeanty told us


AndrewCrossett: Do you know why General Voll (from Long Way Home) disappeared, and this new nameless General took his place? He seems to sound quite a bit like Voll when he talks.
Georges Jeanty: Yeah. That was my bad. I had no idea that those two guys were one and the same. Major blunder on my part! Sorry. He just disappeared forever and when he resurfaced I thought he was someone else.

Scott: It's complicated. It's partly a side effect of the multiple writers. Sorry. Lame answer. Just not going into it ...

25. Zamolxis: Spike said that Buffy was "attacked and controlled by forces no one could comprehend" and Buffy didn't deny it. Is this what Buffy also believes now and what we are also to believe: that she was controlled by Twilight (through the glow and the superpowers)?

Scott: She was under an influence. I think we've answered this a lot now, right? You've got to be willing to interpret it yourself, but we've made the drug analogy, some of you have made the drug analogy. More that than possession, but a little of each. She was influenced. What exactly that means, how much personal responsibility it leaves on her, is up to your point of view. On TV the other night I heard someone say an alcoholic under the influence kills a person in their car, it is their fault, not their addiction's, not the fault of the alcohol. I agree with that. There might be a sliding scale of readers' perceptions of personal responsibility. If we just said that everyone was possessed, that'd be a strong case for saying that no one was responsible for anything they did. I think that'd make a lame story.


26. Veiriti: As a huge fan of Spike I’d like to know more about Spike’s role in Season 9 and his interaction with the other characters (Buffy, Willow, Faith, Angel) and about the possibility of his own mini (or outgoing) titles.

Scott: Nothing to share at this time, and that is not a question. I am certain you do want to know those things.


27. Sosa Lola: Now that Xander and Dawn left the slaying life, does that mean they won't get arcs related to Buffy's mission next season?

Scott: To be determined. They'll be in Buffy's book; they could possibly get spinoffs. Unknown exactly how the side series will roll out, at this point.


28. Morphia: I enjoyed the Willow and Riley one-shots filling in some of the blanks in the story. I didn't feel I really knew what was going on with Willow until I read the one-shot. Any chance that any other blanks could be filled in in season 9? Buffy learning for the first time that Spike was alive, for instance (I know Georges Jeanty has lobbied Joss for such a scene)?

Scott: Do you guys really think that narratively, that's a good scene to go back to? I can see how it will help putty in the little wedges in continuity, but does it really need to be done? Depending on what goes on with them in Season 9, it MIGHT be relevant, I could see Buffy and Spike having a conversation where he calls her on her callousness and she says, You know how I found out you were alive ...? But unless it's pertinent to something going on in Season 9, we probably won't go back to it.


29. Neil: Hello Scott, thanks for an amzing season 8 ride. Can´t wait for the next season to start, which leads up to my question. I would like to know if you could explain what Joss meant when he said in the letter: Some adjustments had to be made along the way, particularly when I completely changed my plan for Season 9. I would like to know if you could share the story, as long as it doesn´t interfere with the actual planned storyline for season nine, of course.

Scott: Nope, sorry. Joss will possibly spill it at some point, but I don't want to go into more detail about the abandoned Season 9 plan than he already has.

30. angeliclestat: When it was first announced that 'Angel' was coming back to DH, it was said the title would be under the Buffy:Season 9 banner, which was obviously upsetting to fans of 'Angel the Series'. However I have noticed in recent interviews that there seems to be a clear separation between the 'Season 9' and 'Angel' titles. Can you confirm that Angel will be it's own series with it's own name (i.e. Season 6 or whatever), or is it still part of Buffy:Season 9?

Scott: Our Angel title won't be Season 6, it will be part of the Season 9 program as a whole. There will be at least two regular, ongoing titles in Season 9, and Angel will star in one of them. Calling anything we do Angel Season 6 would be way too confusing—it'd negate everything IDW has done, which is not our intention. And it'd lead readers online to argue about whether Season 6 must happen concurrent to Season 8, and blah blah blah, I cannot even predict the ways in which calling it Season 6 would not work. The reason all these books will be part of Season 9 is that Season 8 massively changed the world for these characters, particularly Angel. The comics we launch next year will be referred to under the banner Season 9, in that they follow Season 8. If there is a Willow title, it will be part of Season 9, even though Willow has never had a single season of her own, much less eight of them. We are blurring the lines between the titles, because we see the characters all as existing in one world. Fortunately it's a big world.


31. Enisy: What happened to Twilight in #39, after Buffy broke the Seed? Did he disappear when the magic was abolished? But he wasn't magical; he was a new universe.

Scott: Nothing really happened to him. What did the readers call him? Miss Kitty Twilight? Please continue to use that name, if I've got that right. When the Seed broke, the gateways to the other realms were cut off, and Miss Kitty Twilight was stranded in his soulless, orcless world.


32. Bamph: It feels like this season tore a lot of things down and tore a lot of the characters apart. Would you say that next season then is about building things back up and rebuilding in general?

Scott: I don't know if I'd say it, but you wouldn't be wrong if you said that. I don't know that that's what it's about, but there's gonna be a certain not-small amount of that.


33. ThatEvilLawFirm: So my next question is also about the scythe, but it's a bit complicated and possibly spoilery, so feel free to be as vague as you want. We know that Buffy smashed the scythe in her time, but we also know that at some point in Fray's time she is given the scythe, and that Buffy also gets her smash on with that scythe. Will we see an explanation for this, or is it possible that Buffy drastically altered the future, but that at least some parts were inevitable? (i.e. we know that Erin and Melaka remember Buffy being in the future and that their world didn't end, but is it possible now that the Magicks are gone that they have no memory of Future Dark Willow Being there, or that she really wasn't there?)

Scott: All those things are possible. Sorry, but stuff like that we'll figure out as the story needs it, and then we'll do whatever's best for the story. But I am forever wanting to do more with Fray.

34. Emmie: Issue 40 was surprisingly hopeful considering the ramifications of breaking the Seed. In "Chosen", Buffy says that "being the Slayer [is] a burden we can't share." The message to me was that Buffy's burden was relieved when she shared her power because she wasn't alone, she was no longer the Chosen One. Season 8 changed this by isolating her through fame and her leadership role, and now she's the only Slayer because Faith is following a different mission and the other Slayers have renounced the name. With Buffy, it always comes back to solitude, a condition seemingly enforced by her ever-changing situation, something she can't escape. And yet there's hope. Only in "Last Gleaming" that hope is embodied in her alone and to my understanding, the empowerment of "Chosen" was not merely that the Potentials became strong, but that they became many. The hope of one became the hope of many. How do you reconcile the final messages of "Chosen" and "Last Gleaming"?

(It seems to me that the hope of "Chosen", of a bright horizon with endless possibilities, has bowed down to the bleakness of Fray's future. I'm left to wonder: Is a story of women's empowerment really so bleak?)

Scott: The story poses the question. It's for you guys to answer. I don't know that either story can simply reduced down to a message, and that those messages need to be reconciled; I think the stories present ideas, and that each idea multiplies the other's complexity. These girls are many, they are strong. They are not a monolith, although they gave that a shot.


35. Sosa Lola: I'm really excited about S9. I'm especially excited because we're going to get a lot of character moments and interactions. As a huge Xander fan, I was a little disappointed that most of his interactions had been just with Buffy and Dawn in S8. Will he get more interactions with other characters like Spike and Faith and Willow? I'm especially excited about him and Spike, lots of witty banter and here's hope for growing respect and a reluctant friendship.

Scott: The approach to Season 9 is definitely intended to give more room for the classic character interaction, which was limited this season because there was so much plot. So vaguely, yes, but I'm not addressing specifics.


36. AndrewCrossett: Satsu was my favorite new character of season 8. I know Joss has written off the Buffy/Satsu pairing as a "college fling," so there won't be any more of that (much to my disappointment), but will Satsu be a factor in season 9, maybe along with Leah and Rowena as well?

Scott: Satsu will still be around in Season 9, but I can't say how important she'll be, or how directly involved with Buffy and the core characters.

37. Bonnaleah: In the TOYL arc, Future Willow says that the most important thing about death isn't who dies, but who kills them. Is there something significant about that statement, or was that just thrown in because it sounds cool?

Scott: It was really significant to her, at that moment—she'd survived centuries, in part because the only person who had the stones and the right to kill her wasn't there to do it. But it's very true—That we will die is the nature of life, it doesn't mean that much. It doesn't matter who dies, because no one won't die. Giles was gonna die eventually. But the most memorable thing about his death is who killed him, because of what it means. Who killed him will redefine the world for a lot of people. Nikki the Slayer died. They all do. But Spike killed her—the boyfriend of a Slayer that hadn't been born yet. That will forever color who Spike is, and it gives Nikki a significance in Buffy's life beyond just any other Slayer. On Dexter, Rita died, which is terrible—but for Dexter, I think the worst part must be that the guy who did it was someone he could have stopped much earlier. And when Jenny Calendar died, Giles was very depressed—but the fact that Angel killed her changed the group dynamic forever—defined that dynamic. Because of what it meant, for Angel to do that. But yeah, it does sort of sound cool.

38. Bamph: It's been said that season 9 will be sort of like the early Marvel Universe with characters interacting occasionally more fluidly between books. I'm a long time comic book reader going on nineteen years now. I enjoy the big company wide events like The Blackest Night and Civil War.That sort of thing wouldn't work for Buffy since it's is own universe. But since there will be more of a Marvel Universe feel and interconnectivity via the events of season 8, I was wondering if we could eventually see during season 9's run, a smaller scale one or two month crossover between the two monthly season 9 books and any other miniseries or maxiseries that is introduced? An example of what I'm talking about is the upcoming "War Of The Green Lanterns." It will be running through Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corp and Green Lantern:Emerald Warriors. Would something like this work under the season 9 format on occasion?

Scott: It would, but it's probably not what we're gonna do. The notion of crossover definitely applies to Season 9, but it's gonna be fairly fluid in many ways, and natural, whereas the way crossovers are done today are so stunt oriented. These are just characters living in the same world, although some of them are separated by distance. So all they have to do to interact is get together. It could be for earth-shattering stuff, or it could simply be convenient. And it's gonna go beyond crossovers, which I think of as one title character getting together with another title character. If Andrew appears in Buffy one month, and a different book the next month, is that a crossover? Because that sort of thing might happen a lot.


39. Tyler Austin: I was reading somewhere that "Angel: After the Fall" was written out as "not canon" (it was in the same article that had Joss's interviews about the final issue). Do you know anything about this? I loved the AFTER THE FALL story and I would kinda be upset to see character development/a story planned by Joss ignored...especially when it was advertised as the "continuation of the T.V. show." So, IS After the Fall part of this Buffy Season 8 universe?

Scott: I don't remember Joss saying After the Fall isn't canon. Anything Joss laid out for the characters is canon.


40. Maggie: You've been working closely with Joss on this story for several years now, with a special intensity this year co-writing Last Gleaming. How has your understanding of the 'verse changed during that time? A top three would be great.

Scott: Ha, top three. Yeah, that's too big a question to answer. It's all changed. Coming to understand a few key characters, Spike included, has been a great experience. Understanding what matters to Joss, what's seen as unimportant, has been an eye opener, and will affect my writing on other projects. I think he has a great perspective on that, a better articulated version of a perspective that I share. I don't know ... maybe that doesn't really feel like three things, but trust me, it's way more than two.


41. Wenxina: In your interview with Buffyfest, you mentioned that Joss will be taking a more hands-on role than originally anticipated. It doesn't sound like the beginning of Season 9 will be delayed (inferred from your interview with IGN). How are guys making this work, with Joss being busy with The Avengers?

Scott: Joss is kind of superhuman. I believe this will work. We've got a new thing going on that we'll be announcing before too long, and we think great things will come of it. But basically how we're making it work is that as soon as #40 was done, ideas started pouring out of his head about what Season 9 needs to be, so we're laying ground work now, faster than we'd initially imagined we would.

42. Tiger Fan: I understand that this last issue was a way to wrap things up and set up for S9. But like much of S8, I was worried that Xander's actual storyline would be pushed to mostly background growth and now with the last issue I get see the set up for Buffy, Willow, Spike, Angel and Faith, which is great, but Xander seemed to be on a don't blink alert. Many are worried that we'll be seeing Xanya 2.0 in that he'll be sidelined with his relationship with Dawn much like he was with Anya. Plus, I have to admit its a little frustrating to see how far Xander has grown but not having the fun of watching the growth unfold as we have with say Willow, Faith, Spike, Angel, etc. So my question is will he get a storyline outside of his relationship with Dawn and that is about him and not how he reacts to other characters storylines and not background growth?

Scott: Too early to tell.


43. Emmie: Are we saying goodbye to Kennedy in this issue? Or will we see her again in Season 9?

Scott: We'll see her again.


44. Tyler Austin: One of the things that's always kinda bothered me was when curse words within the comic are covered with "%$#$." I'm not a regular comic book reader so I don't know if you have to do that or not. I feel as though they sort of take me out and remind me that its a comic book and kinda seems kiddish to me. If you want the characters to say the word, why can't we, the readers, read the word? Willow says "dumb ass" which is alright. It just seems strange to me. If it's just going to be covered up, then what was the reasoning to put in there in the first place? Buffy had to watch it's language for seven years. Just wondering.

Scott: Yeah, I have very mixed feelings on this. But because of the ridiculous inconsistent standards of this country, we can't put certain words in here without having to slap a Mature Readers warning on it, and preventing retailers from selling it to anyone under 18. Stores have gotten into tons of trouble because some troubled parent has been mad about a four-letter word in a funny book. So we wind up being kind of conservative, in sad ways. But some of us who grew up on comics, Joss included, have some affection for that anachronistic %$@#ing device, and so we use it with small pleasure. Sorry it bumps.

45. VampSlayer: Can we expect to see the Angel characters in his new title in Season 9? The characters - Such as Connor, Illyria, Gunn, Lorne - weren't mentioned in Season 8, and I'm beginning to worry about them. It seems Angel will be hanging out with Faith in Season 9, but I don't want to see his other pals lost in the shadows.

Scott: We're making decisions about all of them, one by one, in terms of how they fit into it. We'd love to use all of them, we're definitely going to use a lot of them.


46. Bamph: Season 8 has concluded and we got season 9 coming which will run for the next few years although everything we've heard is that it won't run as long as season 8. Joss clearly had more stories to tell after the ending of the T.V. shows and since he could never get some type of live action continuation going for various reasons,he did it via comics. But do you think there is going to be a point where Joss says that is it? This is the end of Buffy's ,Angel's and these specific characters stories? This is the last season and the canon story is done? We have Fray which season 8 has now led the road to but in your mind do see Joss building to an eventual ending for Buffy herself as well as Angel, Spike, Willow, Xander and the core characters and would Dark Horse be okay with Joss eventually closing out Buffy's story?

Scott: I assume there'll be a time when Joss says that's it, but I'm excited by his level of interest now. We gave him every out to leave Season 9 up to us and his writers, but he just started pouring out ideas, because he's really into the characters. But I think of all stories as finite, and so I'd love to be a part of the end of her story, and would obviously respect the hell out of his wishes to close it down. It'd be bad for Dark Horse's bottom line, but you gotta do what's right.


47. ThatEvilLawFirm: I think I've read somewhere that you basically had Season 8 "mapped out, but not definitively scripted" or something along those lines, and the same for Season 9. Is there anything you wanted to do in Season 8 that you didn't get to, and will that alter your original plan for Season 9? I am literally begging you to be as specific as you can, just fyi, I'm really curious to know what could have been!

Scott: Ummmm ... around the time we started Season 8, we knew the major points of how it ended, and so we had a reallllly general idea of what Season 9 would be. But we never got specific about that. As Season 8 unfolded, we eventually mostly scrapped that Season 9 concept. Not because of what we didn't get to do in Season 8, but because we wanted to take the story down in scale for the next season. And the original plan was pretty broad. Wow, all those words, and I gave you know specifics. Sorry, but I am getting really good at this ...

48. Maggie: In #33 Angel told Buffy that his plan was to keep casualties to a minimum, but also to push her to become what she became. But the pushing seemed to involve, among other things, defeating her army by killing a lot of slayers (and also letting a lot of relatively innocent misled human soldiers get killed). How do we reconcile those two aims?

[Emmie adds: Scott, this might sound familiar, like you've answered this before, because the topic is related to a question I asked six months ago that you said we'd need to ask again later on.]

Scott: How you reconcile those two things is you write Season 9. The most looking back that we'll do in Season 9 will probably have to do with Angel and what he did, the choices he made. In the flashback portion of #36, and in the Riley oneshot, you see Angel starting down a slippery slope that led to a vertical chasm made of ice. Mostly I DON'T want to look back, gotta move the story forward, but they're not mutually exclusive.

49. AndrewCrossett: Is Dawn still the Key?

Scott: Remains to be seen. Also remains to be seen if it's relevant to the next part of her story. It's been a while since her being the key was really relevant to the story, in my opinion, and so it's likely that won't change in Season 9. I know a lot of people hoped that when magic left the world, she'd blink out like Warren splashed out, but you know Joss isn't gonna say goodbye to HER that easy.

50. Bonnaleah: Can we look forward to Jo Chen's beautiful artwork gracing the covers for S9? Please, Please, Please, say yes!

Scott: Jo will be involved, but the extent is undecided.

51. Dorotea: About our intelligent Universe , of course (whose final goal of evolution seemed to have been glorious self-destruction), was it the correct interpretation that our local Universe was geared toward self-destruct eventually via selecting two champions? If so, would you say it will try to do it again - say in another 300 years after the Slayer line is reinstated?

Scott: As George Harrison said, All Things Must Pass, and I think George might have been our universe's favorite Beatle. And the question of whether we have anymore pending apocalypses becomes an interesting question in a world without magic. One that we may address.


52. Morphia: Buffy has a tendency in the show to mentally separate the people she loves from the bad stuff they did by apportioning that bad stuff to an evil alter ego. She did it with both Angel and Spike, though both insisted they were the sole ones to blame. 'There's no one else,' Spike said, and Angel didn't differentiate himself from Angelus.

I understand why Buffy does this, but if it means she's taking more than her fair share of the blame it's not very healthy. In no 39 and again in no 40, she refers to Angel as 'Twilight.' Is this an indication that she's doing it again?

Scott: My read on it is that at this point she can't stand to be in the same room as Angel. So she might be doing a little bit of rationalizing for the sake of her mental health, but he ain't off the hook.

53. Neil: I was wondering how the Angel title will work within Season 9. Will the two titles run parallely like back then the Tv shows did, with different overall storylines and probably big bads?
Or melts the Angel title into the overall Season 9 story like Angel fitted into Buffy in the first three seasons, that means that they share the overall storyline and/or Big Bad.

Scott: More like the two separate TV shows. But the world has been drastically changed, and so those changes to the world will affect both titles. And in the shows, actors had contracts that put them on one show or the other, and there are limitations like that that won't exist for us.


54. Stormwreath: What did Angel actually think he was going to achieve in Season 8? I know he was misled and deceived and all that, but what did he expect to happen?

I ask because a lot of people are interpreting his plan as "I'm going to destroy the world so that Buffy and I can become gods in our own private paradise"; but surely that's utterly selfish and evil and out of character for him. Unless he was possessed all along? Or having some sort of suicidal existential breakdown? But if that wasn't his intention, what was it? Did he not even know the world would end - he just thought it would carry on as normal while he and Buffy found paradise - and he was taken by surprise? Or did he think the apocalypse was inevitable and inescapable, so he was just being fatalistic and salvaging what he could from it? Or did he originally think that he and Buffy would somehow be saving the world - or starting a new one that would be just like the old but better - rather than being the cause of its destruction?

Scott: He was not possessed all along. Like I said, some of this will be covered in Season 9. He bought into a vision of this thing that was painted a little more rosey for him than the reality of the situation would turn out to be.

55. ThatEvilLawFirm: How many of the empowered slayers are upset with Buffy? People like Rona, Chao An, Vi, Rowena, Satsu, Leah, all of these girls were in Buffy's very close group, if not inner group, and so I can see them being pissed and wanting space from Buffy for now, but I find it hard to believe that they would turn COMPLETELY against her and want to take her down like the random slayers/wiccans in 40. Will we be seeing any of the named slayers again?

Scott: We will see at least some of those Slayers again, and you're right, they are not all of one mind. But pretty much none of them are happy about stuff, they're just not all uniformly or equally unhappy.

56. MikeB: Was Buffy slaying after 8.39 or did Giles through his will giving Buffy the “Vampr” book and/or Faith telling Buffy that she’s the one Slayer and always has been and/or Dawn pretending to be having sex with Xander result in Buffy going out to slay for the first time since 8.39?

Given Spike was providing her information and was her only ‘Scooby’ and didn’t mention anything about “Hey, Buffy, you still not slaying?”, and just the general circumstance of Buffy for some reason deciding not to slay for 6 months, it seems obvious that Buffy was slaying and that maybe the Giles and Faith things made Buffy decide that she’s THE Slayer again not that she hadn’t been slaying at all since 8.39.

Scott: She has been slaying from time to time, yes. And it's been pointed out that the chronology of the events in #40 are not crystal clear, which is entirely true.


57. Emmie: Fans have been speculating that the "Vampyr" book that Giles bequeathed to Buffy is actually the Slayer Handbook Giles mentioned way back in Season 2, but as far as I know, canon has never definitively linked the two. Is the "Vampyr" book supposed to be the Slayer Handbook?

Scott: [Emmie adds: answer pending]


58. AndrewCrossett: How much awareness did the general population have that something very big and very bad was going on during the Apocalypse? We were told about massive global environmental catastrophe and hordes of demons pouring in from multiple portals, but things seem to have been pretty calm there in Venice where Amy and Warren were, and everything is back to normal by the time of issue 40. Buffy, the leader of the dreaded Slayer Army, is able to work more or less anonymously in a coffee shop under her real name. Did the legendary cluelessness of Buffyverse civilians extend to cover even this apocalypse?

Scott: People know big ****s went down, but the demons weren't everywhere at once, so not everyone knew it was happening while it was happening. It wasn't over head in every city, and people in the plaza in Venice have way better stuff to do than look at Twitter. Afterward, not all details were known to the public, and some things were worked out with the government(s), after the world was more or less saved by our intrepid adventurers.


59. Wenxina: First things first, heartiest congratulations to Sierra on her promotion to editor. On that note, will she and Freddye Lins continue to work with you on Season 9? Considering that you'll have multiple books running at the same time, I'm assuming that the editorial team will consist of more than just you pulling triple duty (though if you did, I'm awash with respect).

Scott: We're all in this together. It's possible we'll bring a fourth into our unholy trinity, but we'll remain the core of it. Sierra's been working in the capacity of a full editor for a long time, and now it'll be official, and now some of the titles will be more hers, and some will be more mine, but we'll continue to do it all together, with Freddye keeping us sane and mostly on time.


60. Nathan: Can you give us a rough estimate as to how many issues there will be in Buffy's ongoing series and Angel's? (Separately, if you can.)

Scott: Twenty-five each.


61. Bamph: What would you say was the biggest failure and biggest success of season 8 as a whole?

Scott: I don't know, it's not a sporting event, so I don't so much think in those terms. The whole thing was a victory of the human spirit, yet it ain't nearly perfect. The next one will be different, and hopefully better, because you always hope. But I guess maybe the biggest failure is that one or two readers are really fuzzy on the plot mechanics of the whole twilight event and the way Angel and Buffy got powered up.


62. Maggie: Scott, first off -- thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Your efforts in reaching out to fans and/or being available to them is much appreciated. So my last question.... I'm really fuzzy on the plot mechanics of the whole twilight event. What was going on with the way Angel got powered up and the way Buffy got powered up? He arrives in this world with power, she needed to be brought low to receive that power. Is there a parallel in that he was low before he got here, or is there a reason why they got their powers in asymmetric ways?

Scott: I'm glad you brought that up, Maggie. Yes—he was brought low in his adventure previous to arriving back in this world, and that's how he got to the place where he was ready for the power. He was transformed. Buffy needed to go through a transformation, and the failure in Tibet gave her that. Um, I don't supposed Bamph would accept the massacre in Tibet as the biggest failure of Season 8...? Not what s/he was talking about...? Damn.

Okay, thanks everyone, have a great summer, see you next season!