[comic fan]

Larger version of Retreat Trade Cover.

Jo's Playground

Retreat - Buffy Season 8 tpb and my departure from Buffy
Some folks have written to me regarding concerns that I've left the Buffy series as the cover artist. Not so! I'm still onboard. I did have to take off a few issues for personal reasons but I'm back and in fact have already completed 4 new covers!
I'm unsure how these things get started but it most likely stems from a simple misunderstanding or misreading of some statement or other.

Now that that is settled, here is a larger image of my cover illustration for Retreat, the most recent Buffy Season 8 tpb, from none other than Jane Espenson.

[comic fan]

Preview Pages For Angel:Only Human #2 out next week.

Newsarama | Exclusive IDW Preview: ANGEL: ONLY HUMAN #2

Exclusive IDW Preview: ANGEL: ONLY HUMAN #2

04 September 2009



Angel Only Human #2 (of 4)

By: Scott Lobdell, David Messina, Pierfederici, Dave Dorman, Messina
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Pub. Date: September 09, 2009

They consider themselves the purest strain of demons-they are the Scourge! This race of demon supremacists are determined to liberate an enslaved Old One from the nether-bowels of... Texas!

Fortunately Illyria and Fred are on hand to make sure that doesn't happen. That is, if she's not distracted by a passionate kiss from Fred's long ago prom date!

[comic fan]

The J. Scott Campbell Buffy cover for Wizard Magazine #217.

The Comic Book Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

NEWS POSTED August 31, 2009

Wizard Magazine #217's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Tie-In Cover Revealed

J. Scott Campbell returns to Buffy six years after doing the cover to the Buffy: Chaos Bleeds one-shot with the cover for Wizard Magazine #217.



The issue is available September 30 2009 in comic shops. Available everywhere October 13 2009. Stay tuned for the full version.

[comic fan]

Scott Allie's Full Slayalive Q/A for Buffy Season 8 #28.

SlayAlive: A Buffy Forum - SPOILERS: Scott Allie Q&A for #28 *Complete*

SPOILERS: Scott Allie Q&A for #28

Dark Horse Editor, Scott Allie, and writer of Exurbia and Solomon Kane is back for another Q&A to celebrate the release of Buffy Season 8 #28 Retreat - Part III written by Jane Espenson and penciled by Georges Jeanty.


Remember to please submit one question per post and do not submit another question till the pending one has been answered.


If you want to participate, but you're not interested in registering at this time, you can e-mail your questions to emmie@slayalive.com and I'll submit them for you with credit. Again, we'd really love people to actively join in, but I'm hoping to encourage any fan out there with a great question to feel free to share it.


If this is your first time participating in the Q&A, please take a look at past Q&A's as your question might have already been answered. Thanks!

1. AndrewCrossett: In the Bones season 4 DVD set there's a trailer listed for a "Buffy season 8 adaptation." Can you tell us what this is, and if Dark Horse is involved at all?

Scott Allie: We're not involved, and I don't wanna talk about it. Sorry.



2. bamph: Buffy Season 8 has been pretty historic I think.The first time a comic book was really done as the canon continuation of a T.V. series with the creator and many of the writers of said series directly involved and the comic overseen just like a season of the series. Now that we are 28 issues into this 40 issue series,what lessons have you learned on this project and have you learned things from Buffy Season 8 that you plan to apply to Buffy Season 9? Has anything come up that surprised you as an editor and do you expect to learn more lessons still as we head into the end run of season 8?

Scott Allie: The main thing here is just learning about writing from Joss, and how to manage a long-term story with various writers. It's something I've had to do a few times before, but doing it with Joss is new. Another big thing—long-term scheduling around a single artist. We are so attached to Georges, every time we throw in a fill- in it's a compromise, so we've had to work out different ways to keep Georges front and center. So with Season 9 I'd like to work in more lead time. And ideally I'd like to go with one writer, but not if it meant compromising. Getting Jane Espenson to come on for 5 issues or to not come on at all ... I'd rather have Jane.



3. Ben Marston: There has been a lot of speculation about a motion comic/ season 8 adaptation due to the feature shown on the Bones season 4 DVD collection. As Fox has the rights to this, could there be a new video game in the works based on the story of season 8? If this is not the case, how would you feel about putting this idea forward?

Scott Allie: It's not a video game, but I don't have any affinity for video games, so that sort of thing wouldn't appeal personally to me. Not that I'd be against it, but I'm not the guy to advocate for it.




4. buffycomic: Is Dark Horse involved at all with the upcoming Wizard Magazine cover featuring Buffy Season Eight drawn by J. Scott Campbell? What was the choice of J. Scott Campbell versus someone more associated with the comic (i.e. Karl Moline, Jo Chen) doing the cover instead?

Scott Allie: Complicated. Jo was unavailable at the time that they needed the cover. Other great names were thrown around, but there were a variety of factors to consider, including Wizard's editorial direction, and which artists were approved by Sarah Michelle Gellar.




5. neowhobaz: Will there be any more big reveals by the time the arc is over?

Scott Allie: Yes.




6. iloveromy: Will Buffy be coming to DH Mobile?

Scott Allie: No.



7. vampmogs: I'm not sure if you classify this as being too spoilery or not. However, I was wondering if you could shed some light on Buffy's mindset at the end of this issue. Are we supposed to think she was going to Xander to confess feelings for him?

Scott Allie: Too spoilery. We'll be dealing with those feelings soon, though not soon enough for some of you. Joss thinks long. No instant gratification.




8. Emmie: So, any Buffy or Whedonverse news you want to share from DragonCon?

Scott Allie: I don't think I'm making any Buffy announcements at Dragon Con, though I am doing some panels with Georges and one with Felicia Day.


9. slayerette: In a lot (if not all) of the Buffy seasons prior to 8, the audience usually has a heads-up on the big bad. I'm thinking Ben is Glory/Glory is Ben. The first can look like anyone. etc. Will the readers get to see Twilight in all his non-masked brilliance before the characters do? Or do we get shock and awed at the same time as Buffy and/or Team Buffy?

Scott Allie: You'll see when the heroes see.



10. wenxina: Seeing as it's convention season still, are there any Cons that you look forward to over the rest, and why?

Scott Allie: I'm writing this from the floor of Dragon Con, so yes. Dragon Con. My best chance to see Georges, to hang a little with Buffy fans. And this year I get to see Felicia and Ron Glass as an added bonus, and Mignola's coming. Plus: Atlanta cuisine. Not to pander or anything.




11. buffycomic: As there's another 12 issues left if Season Eight is running 40 issues, are there any more guest artists filling for when Georges takes a break between arcs?

Scott Allie: Yeah. Karl's doing the Will oneshot after #30, then we'll do something, maybe a 2 parter, after Meltzer's last ish.




12. vampmogs: We only have 12 issues left of the season. Are you at all concerned that this isn't enough time to tie up all the loose ends and deliver a satisfying conclusion?

Scott Allie: Yes. It's possible it'll go to 41. I know. Everything changes.




13. nixennacht: I was wondering if now, a year later, you can tell us, why the Buffy tarot never made it into production? Since I really liked them I was also wondering if there chances that the rest of designs are going to be released online maybe?

Scott Allie: I cannot. I liked them too. Maybe I'll do next month's Q&A drunk and you can get it outta me.




14. thomas: Maybe this is too spoiler-y, but over the course of the season, I've really taken a liking to Bander. So, at the moment, I'm totally heartbroken. So, could you by any chance maybe say whether Buffy is into Xander or not? That's what a lot of people (even non-Bander shippers) got from the issue, especially from the Xander/Buffy stuff. Are we right to think that?

Scott Allie: Yeah.



15. bamph: So was Amy the cat for sure and does that make her the mole?

Scott Allie: The rat molecat, yup.



16. AndrewCrossett: I had a lot of major questions and red flags regarding some of the major interrelated elements of this issue: Andrew's "secret" and his reason for calling the group together on the last page; Willow's sudden emotional swing and reaction to Buffy's confession; the identity of the spy; the vanishing cat. I know you won't answer those questions, but am I right to think that whole situation is still in progress and not fully revealed yet?

Scott Allie: 12 issues left, guys! And 2 in this arc. Definitely in progress!




17. Jay: Was Dawn and Xander getting together Joss's idea from the start, or was that one of those things that was thought out later?

Scott Allie: I think he had this generally in mind from the get go, but it took shape slowly. He definitely didn't know when it would happen until very recently.




18. sosa lola: How did Amy find Buffy's hiding place despite all the magic suppression?

Scott Allie: Suppression wasn't enough. Didn't that make sense in the story? I thought that worked, that this scheme wasn't foolproof.




19. Ben Marston: With the Deluxe Editions of Buffy season 8, have there been talks about special features and the quality of the books. Would it be too much to ask for something along the lines of what IDW did with the Angel: After the fall HC collections, in terms of high gloss paper, bookmarks, graphics, special features, shiny cover? (Dreams of the Heaven)

Scott Allie: We're working on our format now. In fact, you just gave me am idea for an announcement I can make at Dragon Con. Wayne had me listed as making an announcement, and I had no idea what that was, but I think this'll work. But no, don't expect our Buffy hardcovers to be companions to the Angel books. We're starting from scratch, working with Joss on the presentation, and we just want to come up with the best design we can. But should I infer from your question that you liked that they modeled their omnibus program after the Buffy books? That you like the sets matching up?


20. bamph: At the end of the issue,Andrew says,"the only one left with a secret is me."Was that secret revealed in the next panel with him confessing to the group that he thought Willow was working for Twilight or has Andrew's secret not yet been revealed and is coming in a future issue?

Scott Allie: That is what he was referring to.



21: bishopcruz: The idea of the mole was originally brought up at the end of No Future for You, when one of Twilight's agents mentioned "our man on the inside", I assume that is a different mole than the Amycat. Is that going to be explained soon? Or are we already supposed to know, and I just never noticed?

Scott Allie: No spoilers.



22. AndrewCrossett: Why did Amycat choose to disappear so dramatically in front of everyone instead of being more discreet? She not only confirmed to the Slayers that they'd been infiltrated, but tipped them off to the fact they're about to be attacked. Is this just more of Amy's horrible sense of strategic timing, like with the catacomb attack?

Scott Allie: Yeah. At that point it just didn't matter; the bad guys figured they had it locked down. We'll see.




23. NotaViking: In "Harmony Comes To The Nation", Harmony actually admits on TV that vampires are evil and that they kill people. How can the public still believe that vampires are the good guys?

Scott Allie: Watch the news, man, the public will let anything pass if there's a cute skinny blond involved.




24. buffystar: Just reread "Long Way Home, P. 1" and something just popped up. Did Joss decide from the very beginning of Season 8 to have the Slayer in "The Girl in Question" be a decoy and real Buffy be in Scotland. Or did he want to have it follow the episode with real Buffy in Rome, but decided to change it later on?

Scott Allie: Not sure I follow the question, but yes, from the beginning of Season 8, that girl referenced in Angel wasn't really her. Does that answer the question? Sorry if I'm being dense.



25. sosa lola: Will there be at least someone or a group of people who aren't fooled by the whole "Vampires are good. Slayers are bad"? Because the whole world believeing that is not really realistic.

Scott Allie: I'm sure there are people who don't buy it, but I don't think we'll ever deal with them in the series.




26. slayerette: You said Joss knew Xander and Dawn were going to get together pretty early on, he just wasn't sure when it would happen. In the last few issues they've been attached at the hip, so was their kiss in this issue the first instance of them actually taking it to the physical level? Or have they been at it for a while off the page? If that's the case when did they start being couple-y?

Scott Allie: We generally won't answer questions like this, because it ties our hands storywise down the road. I know that frustrates fans, but the story is a live, moving thing, and anything that hasn't been specifically said in the story should be left fluid as we watch the story develop. I'm genuinely curious what that sounds like to you guys. The creative process wants to leave room for as much flexibility and adaptability as possible. But it think fandom works the opposite way. Maybe next time I have to interview you guys.




27. Jay: Since Season Two (except for Season Seven), there's always been an episode that celebrates Buffy's birthday. So to follow tradition, is there an issue like that planned? Buffy's birthday is on January 19th, and for next year, her birthday falls on a Tuesday. HOWEVER, the 20th will fall on a Wednesday. Maybe Joss can reference her birthday in #31 and if it's released on Jan 20th 2010, it'd be PERFECT! Her birthday doesn't even have to be central to the plot!
(....Just throwing it out there...)
But please consider it.

Scott Allie: Okay.

28. Emmie: Sorry, Scott, but this is going to be a long one. Season 8 is full of storylines that the fandom is hungry to have explored more - When will Spike appear? And Angel? What about the Decoy? And the Immortal? What happened between Chosen and The Long Way Home? What led to Buffy becoming a bank robber (her mindset, motivation)? Most of these are treated as unimportant and pushed to the side. That they're not relevant to the main thrust of the storyline and space is tight in telling that story and doing it justice.

Which brings me to the choice to have 'humanity discovers vampires and likes them' as a secondary storyline. The storyline in itself is so complex and carries so much potential to be explored, that many fans find it odd that it's pushed to the shadows. And because of its complexity, it's been hard for fans to breeze by it with assumptions and just accept it as what's happening without further exploration. Fans wonder why humanity is accepting vampires across the globe when they're obviously evil and killing people, why everyone is so easily accepting. The story of humans discovering vampires and Slayers is complex, yet it's been boiled down to its most basic function to tell the main story.

What's your take on this balance of maintaining a focused story (keeping it close to Buffy) versus not filling out the secondary storylines of Season 8? Where do you draw the line between keeping the story tight and perhaps losing the audience's suspension of disbelief when storylines meant to be taken for granted and accepted simply aren't? It's interesting in a meta way that the storyline is that humanity is so easily accepting, yet the "fandom humanity" of the Buffyverse is not...

Scott Allie: Oh, Emmie. Hard to answer. Joss and the writers and all of us are following the storylines he wants to follow. I think in the end you'll find that the 40 issues are pretty damn full. Running off on the side stories you're suggesting would require something else. I'll give you the vampire thing—there's potential stuff there that we could deal with. But Where's Spike, Angel, the Immortal, the Decoy, those things don't matter at all, in the context of this story. There could be stories in the bank robbing and the time between Chosen and The Long Way Home. But it's not what we're doing. Joss wasn't interested in puttying in the space between the stories; he was interested in getting to the place where things would be new and fresh, and run from there. And I think that's the right choice for this book. There are books where the point becomes to putty in the spaces between the important events. I often find those books tedious. I prefer what Joss's doing.


29. Ben Marston: Hey Scott, I asked question #19 about the Deluxe editions (I'm glad I inspired you to make an announcement!) I do particularly like the Angel After the Fall HC and do believe that if Buffy could live up to that, well, I will be a proud and overjoyed Buffy fan!!!

Anyway to the question, well kind of an opinion really. I hope that Amy isn't the mole mentioned at the end of No Future For You because surely she would have known the whereabouts of the slayer army all along and so why would they have ended up in Mongolia? (Okay kind of a question!)

Scott Allie: I guess that's kind of a question.



30. girlinquestion: So Xander and Dawn are now together. This has been developing for awhile, but at the beginning of Season 8, Xander and Renee had a romantic thing going on there. She was my favorite new character, so I was rather upset when she was killed off so early, Now that I see Xander with Dawn so quickly after he lost Renee, I wonder: What was the point of Renee's existence in the series? What was she supposed to add to the story?

Scott Allie: Characters don't move along straight lines. Xander's relationship with Renee meant that he didn't move straight from Anya to Dawn. It was a relatively ideal, conflict free relationship, and it had him growing in one direction. He had to get through that to get where he was going with Dawn, just as Buffy had to go through the thing with Satsu—not to say that that door is totally closed—before she could come to the conclusions she came to in the recent issue.



31. bamph: This might be a tough question to answer since it might delve into spoilerish territory. How much of Buffy's interest in Xander in this issue is because of genuine interest in him and how much of her interest is because she might be feeling needy and he's the only viable and available guy she has in front of her right now,or so she thought before seeing him and Dawn? No offense to Giles or Andrew by the way. If Angel and/or Spike were there with her by her side throughout season 8,would she be looking at Xander with this type of interest now? Or is this sort of question going to be dealt with some later on such as in Joss's one-off in #31 or Brad Meltzer's arc?

Scott Allie: I don't know that this question will be dealt with, but it's not for me to say. Good thing for you guys to discuss.



32. lmblack21: I don't usually ask questions too often since I am happy enough to just read the comics and read the questions and answers others provide but this Q&A has prompted me to ask one of my own. I hope it's not too spoilery or asking for too much, it's mainly revolving around a concern I have regarding the idea of Dawn/Xander and Buffy/Xander, leading into the possibility of a triangle with Xander and two sisters.

I find the idea horribly icky, to be honest. The idea that Xander - if anything comes of Buffy's feelings for Xander - would have been with every major female character besides Joyce and Tara is bad enough. Stud Xander of Buffy90210. (Count them, Xander/Cordy, Xander/Willow, Xander/Faith, Xander/Anya, now Xander/Dawn and possibly Xander/Buffy?) But the idea that there might be a triangle involving Buffy and her own sister over Xander is really bothering me.

It's not something I even truly considered until you told someone in this Q&A that, yes, Buffy does have feelings for Xander.

So my question is, has this been a concern raised with anyone? I know the idea of Buffy/Satsu raised concerns with some of the writers because it's been mentioned before. But has there been a discussion about the implications and squick factor involved in potentially having a triangle situation with 2 sisters, and with Xander's romantic history with every other female?

I am trying to just let the story unfold and trust in it, and Buffy has always had an element of soap opera to it, but this seems very likely to damage a lot of relationships and characters and that concerns me.

And this is probably too far into spoilery territory, but how far do you see a triangle being played out like this?

Scott Allie: We've definitely discussed the ramifications of the situation, what you refer to as a love triangle. We haven't talked about the fact that it would mean Xander's been involved with almost every female in the immediate crew. I personally don't find that hard to swallow. I think it's more unlikely that these characters would stick together all these years, than in all these years that there would be various pairings; and if Xander's the only male of an appropriate age who's been around through it all, so it makes sense to me. I look back on high school, and the crew of friends I had from sophomore to senior year, and I eventually hooked up with most of the girls in the crew—and I was far from the only guy who stuck around over that time. So I don't think it's unlikely, but I can see it as a bit icky.


33. CowboyGuy: Scott, thanks for being so good to us! My question is, can you tell us the title of Issue 31?

Scott Allie: I can't! We don't have a finished script yet.



34. AndrewCrossett: Now that they've been discovered, the Slayers have no reason to suppress their power anymore. Is their continuing "power"lessness just due to the fact that they don't have time to refocus and get it back before Twilight attacks, or have they permanently sacrificed their Slayer magic?

Scott Allie: You gotta keep reading.



35. Witchy: My question is about International release of the books, I'm not sure if this new season has been release in other countries. Do you have anything to do about it? or is completely different area in Dark Horse? Any plans about a spanish translation for Latin America?

Scott Allie: We are working on deals all over the world. I'll try to get info on which countries we're working on.


36. thomas: Are there any significant things happening with Faith between now and the end of the season?

Scott Allie: No spoilers.



37. Maggie: I have to admit I'm disappointed by your answer to Emmie, which leaves me to wonder whether it wasn't misleading to call this season 8, which implies that it is a sequel to season 7, when the intent was instead to jump to a "new and fresh" story. But leaving that aside and taking the story as is, I want to try again with a variation of what I think Emmie was trying to ask about the balance between tightness and our ability to follow the story. How are we to judge what Buffy is up to if we have no idea why she thought an organized army was necessary in the first place, or what sort of justifications she gave herself when she crossed the line into bank robbing. This is a story about Twilight trying to undermine Buffy's sense of moral certainty and yet you tell us that it is irrelevant to the story to know enough about Buffy's choices to be able to judge the extent to which they are morally dubious. Back to Emmie's version of the question, it's hard to make sense of the slayers' situation when it's hard to believe that the world could just decide that vampires are cool. Are you confident that at the end of the run we'll have enough of the background to understand the story that is being told here on its own terms?

Scott Allie: Last part first: yes. When you say you're gonna try again, it makes me think you know what you want me to say, so if so, tell me what it is and I'll see if I can oblige. I was just on a panel where a fan said starting an army was the logical step after Season 7, which is what I thought. I agree that more could be said about her decision to rob banks; my reading is that she was desperate to support her massive family, and that when she's desperate, she can justify anything. And that she feels she's at war with the demons, on a larger scale than before.



38. AndrewCrossett: I'll now fulfill my monthly duty and ask: is there a title yet for Brad Meltzer's arc that you can share?

Scott Allie: Crapola, I do, but I don't have it handy.



39. slayerette: When you are doing these Q&A's or interviews, how do you decide what's okay to spell out and what should just be left alone?

Scott Allie: Just my judgment. I've been doing this a long time.



40. Jay: Probably too late for this season, but has there been talk of doing a Halloween-themed issue in the future?

Scott Allie: Nope. Holiday eps are great on TV, less good for comics.



41. Smashed: Do you know the name of the font that is used for the TPBs? Not the officiall buffy font, but the one that says the title of the arcs (The Long Way Home, Predators and Prey, etc.)?

Scott Allie: I'll get back to you on this.



42. NotaViking: Willow has a dramatic reversal of viewpoint upon being handed Oz's baby and then reacts very calmly to the news that Buffy killed her in the future. Is it the creative team's intention that the reader view both of these points as very strange behaviour or not?

Scott Allie: Not.

[ashleyt]

I love Scott's answer to the question about Buffy's birthday being mention

Sosa you had two great questions. And there was a lot of speculation about Buffy/Xander and Dawn/Xander.

[comic fan]

Covers and Solicitation for Buffy Season 8:Willow One-shot out in December.

Comics Continuum: Dark Horse Comics for December

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: WILLOW

Written by Joss Whedon, penciled by Karl Moline, inked by Andy Owens, colored by Michelle Madsen, covers by Moline and Jo Chen.

Willow Rosenberg has worn many faces‹a shy computer geek, a loyal friend, a passionate lover, a fierce Wiccan, and a dark Willow. Now in Season Eight of the Buffy comics series, Willow's powers have grown exponentially. She can fly. Teleport. And may or may not be immortal.

All we know is that Willow went on a walkabout following the demise of Sunnydale, and she met a very sultry, extremely powerful serpent lady who seems to be the key to unraveling the mysteries of what Willow is, and will become.

40 pages, $3.50, in stores on Dec. 23.








BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SUPERNATURAL DEFENSE KIT

Back by popular demand! Die-hard Buffy fans just kept asking for this long-out-of-print book and keepsake package. Well, it is returning from the grave.

This slipcased package combines a great Buffy adventure with a dazzling trio of specially crafted items that are featured in the story. The book is a deluxe hardcover, about 80 percent of comic-book size, thread sewn, utilizing a fine matte art paper stock. The story is an expansion of "The Final Cut," part of which originally appeared in Buffy #8. New pages have been added by the creative team.

Actual elements from the story have been created, and are visible through die-cut windows in the slipcase: Buffy's trademark gold-colored cross, the traditional "Claddagh" ring, and a glass vial of holy water with silver flakes suspended in the fluid.

9.72" x 8.2" x 1.25", $24.95, in stores on Feb. 17.

[ashleyt]

^ I love that!

[comic fan]

Originally Posted by ashleyt (View Post) ^ I love that!

Here's more info on the Buffy Supernatural Defense kit.

The Comic Book Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Vol. 1 #8: The Final Cut (1999) was expanded in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Supernatural Defense Kit with new pages by the original creative team including: Buffy fighting more vampires, dining with Angel in a graveyard where he gives her a vial of holy water, discussing said date with Willow, and an expanded fight with Fair Quinn where she uses the holy water Angel gave her. Actual elements from the story were visible through die-cut windows of the custom-crafted photo cover slipcase: Buffy's trademark gold-colored cross, the "Claddagh" ring, and a glass vial of "holy" water with flakes of silver suspended in the fluid.



Nick Runge's Angel #27 cover.

RyallTime: Covering ANGEL 27

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Covering ANGEL 27

ANGEL 27 is easily the funniest issue of ANGEL I've ever worked on. It's also a fitting kind-of end to Brian Lynch's run on ANGEL (kind of, I say, because there's still the ANGEL ANNUAL to come, and then a SPIKE series) because it includes so many of the things he did so well on his entire ANGEL run, only in much more amusing fashion than many of the grim tidings he had to deal with during AFTER THE FALL.

Because I don't often show finished, logo'd covers here, I thought I'd show these, since the images haven't been seen online much in any fashion. First here is Nick Runge's variant
cover:



And then interior artist Stephen Mooney's cover. The issue itself should be in stores just before Halloween.



Posted by Chris Ryall at 5:48 PM

[comic fan]

Angel:Only Human #2 and Fallen Angel: Reborn #3
are out today.

[comic fan]

I have my copy of Angel:Only Human #2 now.Thought it was pretty good.I always wondered why they didn't do more with The Scourge as a reoccuring thread on the show.

I also think it's an interesting idea introducing another Old One.Nice cliffhanger.

[comic fan]

Preview Pages For Next Week's Angel #25,The Conclusion Of The Dru Two Parter.

Comics Continuum: IDW Publishing First Looks

FIRST LOOK: ANGEL #25










Angel #25 will arrive in stores on Sept. 16 from IDW Publishing. The issue is written by Juliet Landau and Brian Lynch, with art by Franco Urru and covers by Urru and Nick Runge.

Here's how IDW describes the issue:

"Juliet Landau continues her two-part Angel adventure that returns Drusilla to the fold in a bloody big way! Concluding Dru's adventure inside a special asylum, where she either just presided over an insane rampage, or imagined the entire thing..."

Angel #25 will be 32 pages and will cost $3.99.

[ashleyt]

^ Creepy

Thanks comic fan

[comic fan]

Georges Jeanty's Full Slayalive Q/A For Buffy Season 8 #28.

SlayAlive: A Buffy Forum - *COMPLETE* Q&A with Georges Jeanty session 6

Q&A with Georges Jeanty session 6

Hey all!

New issue, new Q&A with Jeanty.

Anyway, rules are simple: Maximum of three (3) questions per member until your previous questions are answered. This is to account for the possibility that there may be a delay (with Jeanty being busy at DragonCon this weekend). Keep it clean, keep it civil. Simple right? Entries are welcome until I post a closing post.

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

Alright... GO!

*NOTE: Before you ask your question(s), you may wanna check back here to make sure that that they haven't been asked before.


1. bamph: Which do you enjoy more, doing the action heavy issues like next issue or #30 seems to sound like they will be or more character driven conversation pieces that this month's issue (#28) is?

Georges: I love character stuff. Not that I don't love the action, but with Buffy it's the character stuff that really resonates. There is a whole mess of action coming up in the next few issues, just you wait. I've never drawn so many slayers in all my life! But then, issue 32 is all character stuff, so it's a nice balance!



2. bamph: The hook up for Xander that you've been teasing for a while now. Was Xander/Dawn kissing and Buffy walking in on them in #28 it?

Georges: Yes, it was. I thought that was a nice little surprise that when you think about it, you wouldn't be that surprised about. Of course there is a whole bout of drama after the fact, but you'll see what I mean. And the hits just keep on coming! Once we 'round the stretch to the end of Season 8 it'll seem like every issue is going to be a nail biter!



3. bamph: This might not be a question you can answer for spoilerish reasons but I'll ask. After reading issue 28 and the end with Xander/Dawn and Buffy seeing it. Is it safe to assume, and a lot of people are, now after reading this issue that Joss is setting up a romantic triangle between Buffy/Xander/Dawn with Buffy realizing she's interested in Xander right when her little sister hooks up with him or is that assumption too obvious and not unexpected enough from Joss?

Georges: You seemed to answer that non question yourself. All of what you said.



4. Skytteflickan88: International shipping for two sketchbooks?

Georges: This is a random question. I should have something on my site about this, but international shipping for 2 sketch books would be the same, $8.00. Just remind me when you do the PayPal part about which characters you want on which book.



5. Skytteflickan88: Your original art for sale: How much do you have left/are you planning on selling? Before I start looking through the comics for pages to buy, can you tell me which issues have nothing or very little to choose from?

Georges: There are still some pages from every issue. Not so much from the first few, but there are still some. Pages start at $100 and go up from there depending on the page. The best way to do this is to get a wish list going and the e-mail it to my site and someone will get back to you in a couple of days with availability and prices.



6. Skytteflickan88: Any covers left(and what are your charging for them?)?

Georges: Some covers, and they start at $1500 depending on the cover. The ones without Buffy on the cover might be a little less. Again, get a wish list together and mail it over.



7. bishopcruz: My question is kinda random but in your alternate cover for issue 17 (ages ago I know) I just noticed that the throne that Harth was sitting on was the same throne that Akira and Tetsuo used in the Akira manga? Was that intentional or just a coincidence?

Georges: Finally someone noticed! Yes, you are right! When I got the description for that issue which I knew I wasn't drawing I got the image of Akira sitting on his throne and I thought wouldn't that be cool if I did that for this cover. I waited forever for someone to say something. Some of the references are obvious... and others are obscure as hell. Gold star for Bishopcruz!



8. slayerette: Because this issue was mainly from Andrew's POV behind the lens, I noticed you added static(?) lines going though the images, frames in the panels, and the red dot to contrast between the "real world" and what was being taped. I think it worked really well. Was that called for in the script?

Georges: Yes, we wanted to do an issue like the Storyteller episode and it became quite the conversation as to how we would treat the video and the real scenes. I can get very specific in these matters so I reasoned that every scene that was seen through the camcorder would be the first couple of panels and then shift to real time. And since the TV episode was written by Jane Espenson it was only right that she redo it here. I think it turned out well.



9. slayerette: As purely a fan of show and the characters, (and I hope I don't get you in trouble with this), but what was your reaction when you read Jane's script with Buffy having an epiphany about her feelings for Xander only to walk in on him kissing Dawn?

BTW: Loved Buffy's Count shirt in this issue.

Georges: I thought it was a very natural progression. Buffy has always had a weakness for the 'bad boys', Riley notwithstanding, all this time on the run and seeing how mature Xander has become I think Buffy is just coming to her senses about how good Xander is. Mind you, I don't think it could ever work out between the two of them, but I'm not surprised Xander's turn is coming around, and oh, the irony...
The Count shirt was a little nod to a friend of mine Syndi who I met at the New York comic show earlier this year. She works for Sesame Street and sent me this incredibly creative drawing of the Snufflopagous(?) trying to stake the Count and the caption reads 'Snuffy the Vampire Slayer'. It's really cute.



10. slayerette: If you could draw any big bad from the TV series (minus Angel) which one would you choose and why?

Georges: Hmmm, I really thought Glory had a lot of potential. I liked her Goddess fury and her Valley Girl mentality. She wold have been a fun character to draw because she was so animated. She was just the right amount of controled chaos. I thought she was a great foil for Buffy, ultimately outmatched, I mean how do you fight a God? But Claire Kramer played her so well, I just think the show lost her edge toward the end of Season 5. Buffy is all about the girls, let's be real. Glory fit in to the Buffyverse so well.. I'd love to see her come back.



11. Emmie: In #28, Buffy's wearing a Count from Sesame Street (?) t-shirt and Kennedy was wearing an Oscar shirt a while back. Intentional shout-outs to Sesame Street, I assume. Did you have a particular logic for having Buffy and Kennedy wear those specific t-shirts?

Georges: I just answered this question in a way a few questions back. I can't remember why I did the Oscar the Grouch for Kennedy, I think it might have been that every time I talk to someone about Kennedy they think she's Bitchy, when in fact they're just mad because they think Kennedy is taking Tara's place. I like Kennedy, but then again I like Dawn also, I seem to be in the minority in this.



12. Emmie: Faith's tattoo disappeared in this issue, also. Just a missed couple of lines perhaps?

Georges: That was totally me! I so forgot to put her tat in there. I will say that's where an Editor's job becomes very important. They are there to catch those sort of things, so you might say it was shoddy editorialism, but really, I just forgot. I forgot a few times in 'No Future For You'.



13. Emmie: For #28, were there any scenes you paid particular attention to or any that you were most proud of? It was, all in all, stellar work on both yours and Espenson's doing.

Georges: I liked this issue a lot. There were so many scenes with key characters that it was a joy to draw every page. I like the way the book looks overall, which is rare for me. I loved getting to do direct scenes from one of the episodes, 'Storyteller'. I really like Andrew as a character so it's a lot of fun to draw him. I think I'm really getting his facial ticks down.



14. Mr Savath Bunny: This may be a silly question for others, but this is an area I certainly pay attention to with any series I'm devoted to - fashion and hair.
I’ll start out saying I love the way you draw clothing for the BtVS cast – superb and uber chic!
So, I was curious, since now it's totally revealed that a Season 9 of BtVS is in our distant future, are you going to be changing up the hairstyles a bit? In previous seasons the Scoobies hair has evolved with the times and has (for the most part – minus some bad bangs) been fabulous. Willow chopping her hair in S4, Buffy's array of "blondes", Xander and his cute short hair in S6, and Dawn... well, she got highlights once.
So the root of my question is how would you like to style Buffy or Willow’s hair differently for S9?
(This question also implies my hope for you being the main artist for S9 since I loved you work in S8)

Georges: Well, thank you for paying attention to the fashion and the hair, lord knows I do! While there has been no conformation that I'll be doing Season 9 I would love to be involved in some way. As far as hair styles go, I don't know what else I could dress Buffy in. The tried and true will always be her pulling her hair back, which seems practical. I would love to play with the girl's hairs if I were to continue. I wanted to cut Satsu's hair when we see her again after Buffy broke it off, I had a girl friend do that once and she cut her long beautiful hair when we broke up, and Satsu's just funky enough to do something like that, but the powers that be were afraid that people wouldn't recognize Satsu after the fact, so I chucked it. The season's not over yet and the girls will be wearing various things. Buffy in particular will be paying homage to a certain British Time traveling show in a future issue. Gold star to anyone who can point it out to me and what the reference means!

15. Jay: The last time you heard from me, I begged you to pencil in a Domo doll in a future issue. However, you said you didn't know what they were... (makes a sad face)
Well, Domo is pretty much the mascot for a Japanese TV station, but in the U.S., it's been popular as a plushy toy. It's kinda like SpongeBob, but brown, no pants, has monster teeth, beady black eyes, and an affinity for eating. A picture of it is real easy to find online.

Georges: Since your last question I went and checked out what this Domo thing was, and you're right! It's everywhere. I never took note before but when I started to see it I started seeing it all over the place. It is a cool image and bares reprinting. I'll see where I can put it in. Just please try to hold requests like these to a minimum, I don't want the art of putting neat stuff in here and there to become a chore that you are obligated to look for each issue! That and I don't want to seem like a jerk when I can't find a place to put a request down the line and be labeled as an ass on this site!



16. Jay: Are there some issues that you get more time to work on than others, or are they all pretty much on the same schedule?

Georges: Pretty much same schedule. The only time I would get less time to work on an issue is when it's more than the allotted pages (22). I'm a big believer that if you have to tell your story and it's good but you might go over a few pages that's fine with me. I'd rather keep the goodness intact than hack it up over a few pages! I did a book before Buffy called the American Way and as it was being done the writer John Ridley, found that it was going to be tight to have to tell his story in 8 issues. He lobbied for 2 more issues to really get the whole thing out satisfactorily, but the powers that be said we were budgeted for 8 issues and that had to stand. We even offered to do pages for free if it meant getting more space.. Alas...



17. Jay: To date, what are your favorite Season Eight covers? (Including Jo Chen, Jon Foster, and others)

Georges: Wow, that's a loaded question. I love Jo's covers and how she gets the right balance of Buffy and the other characters. I would love to collaborate with her on a future cover just to see how well our styles meshed.. As far as which ones I like more than others, I think I'll keep that to myself, and say (with a fair amount of honesty) that I have really liked most of the covers that have graced Buffy Season 8. Good art is good art and Jo and Jon are really good at what they do.



18. buffystar: Whose idea was it to draw Andrew's look from the Buffy series instead of the look from Angel Season 5?

Georges: In all honesty that was mine, but not because I had some master plan to bring Andrew back to his beginnings. When I got the assignment to draw Season 8 I was not hip on all things Buffy. I had never watched an episode and in getting this job Dark Horse was nice enough to send me seasons 6 and 7 to get me started. I had no idea that Angel had his own show and as a result never knew that Andrew was on it so I would have never have thought to make him look like he did in season 5 of Angel 'the Girl in Question'. Had I known about his appearance in this episode I would have tailored his look to fit that. So that was my bad.

The official answer is; Andrew cut his hair!



19. buffystar: Which Buffy novel would you most like to pencil?

Georges: Have to say I'm not up on any of the novels of Buffy. I've gotten all the episodes as well as Angel and read some of the older comics. I even heard an audio version of one of the books on tape read by Charisma Carpenter, but I as yet have not read any of the novels. Are they any good? Are they canon?



20. buffystar: Aside from the characters that appear in the tv series and Bay. Did you base anyone elses look from the real world onto the comics?

Georges: Hmm, that's a good question. I know I've tried to include some girls who are friends of mine as slayers, but besides that most everyone is based on a real person. I'm not against doing that, I guess I just haven't come across anyone that I thought looked like a character. I have thrown Joss in there a couple of times.



21. buffycomic: At this point, having drawn Buffy for thirty issues, do you reference photos of the actual people anymore when drawing Buffy, Xander, Dawn, Willow, etc. or have you found that you can draw them from memory since you've bene drawing them for over two years now?

Georges: You would think I could draw these characters from memory at this point and I probably can to some degree, but I still use reference. It's almost like performing with a net. I don't really need it but it's comforting to know it's there should I slip. I still feel like I'm learning to draw some of these characters for the first time. Some of them never get easier. I will say Dawn used to be a big problem and she's gotten quite easy to draw of late.



22. buffycomic: If the answer is memory over photos, do you worry that you may gloss over a certain character's facial features that you may not have if you were using a photograph in front of you while drawing them?

Georges: That's why i have the photos with me. I'm always drawing these characters from different angles with different expressions so at times it's not as easy to just draw it for me



23. buffycomic: Scott Allie mentioned that you will be taking a quick break between the story arcs for a month or so. What do you do with this vacation time? I know in the past you did some work on Batman: Streets of Gotham, but now? Or do you just give your fingers a much deserved break?

Georges: There is no vacation time. I will probably be catching up on the Season 8 schedule, that's all. I will be doing no other substantial work other than Buffy until the end.



24. AndrewCrossett: Scott Allie seems to think a lot of fans are going to be angry over how this current arc ends. Do you agree with him?

Georges: I don't know if you'll be angry as much as left hanging. It will be a WTF moment! I can't say too much more for fear of giving anything away, but as you all know Joss has a nice way of tying things together.



25. wenxina: Just heard that S8 may go on to #41 (instead of the previously disclosed #40), and that you may be taking another short break after Brad Meltzer's arc (or at least that's how I interpreted the statement). Can you comment on which issues you'll be doing, and which ones you won't be? We know that Karl Moline is slated to do the Willow one-shot after #30 comes out.

Georges: It has been hard to determine just when Season 8 should end. Joss has enjoyed this run so much some people think he doesn't want it to end at all, but yes, I think it will all come together by issue 41 as apposed to issue 40 as was previously suggested. There's a a lot of road to cover between then and now, you won't be disappointed!

[comic fan]

Preview pages for Buffy Season 8 #29.Retreat Part IV of V.

Newsarama | Exclusive Preview: BUFFY SEASON 8 #29 - "We have no magic"

Exclusive Preview: BUFFY SEASON 8 #29 - "We have no magic"

14 September 2009



Writer: Jane Espenson
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Cover Artist: Massimo Carnevale

Oz’s temple in the Tibetan mountains is no longer a safe retreat for Buffy and her troops. Discovered by Twilight’s magical agent, Amy, and bereft of their own magic, the army is preparing for a human war with guns, grenades, missiles . . . and MANPADS -- it’s not a laughing matter. People are about to die.

But even without her own magic, Buffy is still a Slayer --the Slayer -- and she has to lead the way to victory. Or at least . . . live to fight another day.












Man.is Willow having a freakout or what.And it seems Buffy is still against using guns.

[Ace Of Hearts]

Loved the cover art. Thanks for the info, comic fan.