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shadowkat[Note to Buffy fandom folks -- if you wish to link to my Buffy centric posts, you may. Just not the ones with personal content intermixed. A couple of caveats though, I'm not interested in fighting with shippers. No tolerance for it. The following is my perception of the comics. I'm sure others vary. I won't fight with fellow fans on it. No patience for it. If you hate the comics, think comics are beneath you, or hate any of the characters? Go away. Shoo. No patience for that either. Been feeling crappy lately. Please be respectful of my blood pressure. Thank you muchly. ;-)]
So I've been making my way through the Season 9, Buffy and Angel comics. Not reading all of them.
Skipped over a couple. But, the ones I read were surprisingly good. Exceeded expectations. After the disappointment of S8, I had left the comics far behind. But found a few panels online by accident a week or so ago, and got sucked back in.
The writing and art has improved.
1. Buffy S9 - Welcome to the Team - Vol. #4 focuses on Buffy being approached by Illyria and Koh along with the Magic Council guarding the Deeper Well, to fight Severin, and more importantly protect the Well from Severin.
But in the background, Dawn begins to fade. First it's a severe attack of the flu that lasts for days. Then she loses consciousness. Then she begins to fade from pictures, and people's memories. Finally the writer's have addressed what being the key actually means. Dawn is made of magic, she exists because of magic, as magic disappears, so does Dawn. Destroying the seed of all magic, may have saved the world from the monsters, but it also destroyed Dawn.
The series discusses the consequences of wielding power.
Meanwhile, we have Illyria struggling not to lose her remaining magic...and she does, it's stripped from her when Severin sucks it out...leaving her in some ways more humble and compassionate.
Xander meanwhile feeling helpless and enraged, decides to go along with Simone and Severin's plan to tap the Deeper Well for enough power to send Severin back in time, in order to change it, to ensure none of this happened. A retcon. He no longer trusts Buffy to save the day. He blames her for shagging Twilight, for giving into Twilight, which resulted in giving birth to a monster that would destroy their world, unless they destroyed the seed, and in Gile's death at Angel/Twilight's hand.
Buffy infatuation with Angel and reluctance to lead led her down that path. She catered to his whims. And Angel's desire to be important, to have a destiny to be the champion led him down it. What saved the world is she eventually snapped out of it and showed him what they were doing and the cost. Season 9 is addressing the consequences of that and how the characters redeem themselves and figure out how to wield power.
2. Buffy S9 - The Core -- focuses on Buffy and Willow trying to save Dawn, while Xander attempts it as well with Severin and Simone, resulting in a potential apocalypse. There are some interesting sight gags in here and metaphors. One in particular stood out for me and was rather clever, a little girl holding a red balloon. The red balloon is a demonic entity. The idea of how perception can be misleading, the seemingly innocent can very well be demonic. Also, in Simone and Severin, turns out Simone is the main villain, who cares about power and is filled with hate. She is an example of why it was a mistake to empower all the potential slayers rather they wanted it or not. A theme echoed in Angel, with Nadira, who is a bit more sympathetic. Both turn on their slayer mentors and hate them for pulling them and others like them into a live they didn't choose. They didn't want the power and the danger. Nor did their sisters.
And as a result of being given something without consent, it warps them. Simone now just lives to kill Buffy, as Nadira in the Angel comics lives to seek vengeance.
Simone, unlike Nadira, doesn't care if she destroys the world in the process. Just so she can kill Buffy. Nadira is more redeemable and actually turns the tide in the Angel Comics. The writers look at the same issue from two sides. The difference between the two women, is Simone cares for no one and uses people to achieve her own ends, while Nadira just feels betrayed and loves the women around her.
It's our connections to others that makes us strong -- this comic pushes. Illyria sacrifices herself to save the world. Buffy does everything possible to save Dawn. Willow goes out of her way to do the same. And Spike stays at Dawn's side throughout, no matter what.
What I liked about the S9 comics better than the S8 is all the characters are explored in depth. In particular Dawn and Xander, who I felt had less exploration in S7 and 8. Also Buffy is explored in another way.
I think one of the problems the series had in S7 and S8 is that the writers introduced too many new characters at the same time. In serials, it is important to introduce new characters in order to keep the story fresh. But you have to be careful about it. If you introduce too many, they lack development and often take time away from established characters. In Seasons 1-6, the writers did a good job of introducing new characters, by doing it one or two at time. Just a few here and there.
For example in S2 -- they removed existing bad guys and brought in new bad guys, building them slowly. Each season they introduced about two-three, bringing back previously introduced characters and building on them. In S4 -- they went a bit far and brought in almost too many at the same time.
Also they brought in the military which the writers never knew how to write -- mainly because the writers knowledge of the military is limited to science fiction, comics, and television shows and movies. Basically they know as much about the military as Xander does. And have romanticized it.
So we run into a lot of cliches. Riley is one big cliche after another...to the point that the character never quite worked. This happened in S7 as well, where they introduced about fifteen new characters at the same time -- the potentials and Robin Wood. What they should have done was introduce about two or three. Also if it's your last season of a series on television that last thing you want to do is introduce a lot of new characters -- the audience wants to spend their time with their favs. Kennedy, Wood, Andrew (who is admittedly a returning character) Rona, Violet, etc -- was too much. Same deal with S8 -- we had Renee, the girl who slept with Buffy, Simone, various slayers, etc. I got a bit lost. And it was hard to follow.
Move to S9 -- here they introduce Billy, a gay twenty-something who wants to be a slayer, Anaheed,
and Dowling, a cop who befriends Buffy and Spike. This actually works. The characters are likable and have personality, they also don't take over the story. And add something to the existing characters, showing us things about them we hadn't before. Same with Spike and his bug crew on the spaceship -- shows things about Spike we didn't know.
3. Angel and Faith Season 9, Vol. 4 and Vol 5 address the same ideas but in a different way. I actually liked these two stories better, the writing is more on target, as is the art. (Chris Gage and Rebekka Issacs. Note the actors get to approve their likenesses in the comics. Isaacs notes how she had to provide a sketch for Marsters approval. And in one of the Q&A's someone asked that and yes, they do, if they were contract players and it is a clause in the contract. They also get a percentage of the royalties on anything carrying their likeness. Which is why you got to be a bit careful about making money off of fanart.)
Anyhow, this story focuses on two things, similar in a way to the Buffy comics. It focuses on resurrecting Giles, as Buffy is trying to save Dawn, and in preventing someone from unleashing a magical plague using the magic they are trying to use to save Giles.
They almost lose, because they are so focused on resurrecting Giles.
Spike is brought into the mix and helps them save Giles. Then when Buffy calls asking for help with Dawn, who neither Faith nor Angel remember, Spike takes off admist Angel's protests.
"Spike, this is IMPORTANT, we are saving the world -- you're going off to save some girl we don't even know just to impress Buffy?"
"No. I'm not doing it for Buffy. I'm doing it for the Little Bit. And you don't need me to handle this -- I already saved your life. And what can I say, I'm a sucker for the Damsel in Distress bit, hell I came and saved your ass didn't I?"
It's an important message. Because later...at the very end it's the same thing Angel tells Whistler and discusses with Giles. "That sometimes the only thing we can do is help one person, save one person, not the big stuff, the little ones." And Giles says, "Yes, you keep saying that but somehow you keep getting involved in the big stuff? Why is that?"
There's a lot of character bits in the Angel series. We get a lot of back story on Rupert Giles, how he became Ripper, and how he let go of that, and how he ended up selling his soul to Eyghorn. Also apparently the photo of Ripper in the series is a doctored up photo of Sid Vicious. Someone in the writing department had a thing for Sid Vicious. They designed Spike and Dru after Sid and Nancy, except Marsters who knew the Sex Pistols and was into 70s punk and had seen them perform, preferred Johnny Rotten, so played Johnny Rotten. (Got that from a Q&A.)
Angel is some respects is tighter than Buffy is and the new characters are in some respects more interesting -- or have more resonance because they come from the existing one's pasts. True of the Angel the Series as well. ATS was always a tad better at adding new characters than Buffy mainly due to it's set up -- a private investigations business. Also Angel is a couple of centuries old and has a huge amount of past to mine. When Spike joined, then Faith, this was true of them as well. Plus these characters -- we don't know as much about their backstories as we do about Buffy, Xander and Willow.
In the Angel series, we're introduced to Giles' self-absorbed and vain great-aunts who basically ensured he had no childhood and feel really guilty about it. We are also introduced to his old friend Alasdair. And Giles early days of practicing magic. I always found the character of Giles interesting, I actually started watching the series for Giles. So this was like a gift.
We also have a bit more character development of Faith -- who is sort of the female version of Spike in some respects. Has a hard outer shell, but is warm and marshmellowly inside. Once she cares about you, she always cares, and is insanely loyal. To the point in which she will sacrifice herself for you. She's also a be self-deprecating and self-hating. Faith understands Spike -- and sees the backdoor broromance going down between Spike and Angel. As Faith puts it to Spike, you and Angel understand each other in a way no one can. You are the only two people in the world who are vampires with souls, killed a lot of people, now are trying to do right, hung up on Buffy, and struggling to deal with that too. Also, Angel in a way is a father-figure/older brother/mentor to Spike. Angelus created the vampire version of Spike or William the Bloody, which is the name Spike uses for his demon. Spike is more integrated than Angel, in part because they aren't motivated by the same things. Spike is motivated to be connected to others, to have love. His mother coddled him, taught him to dream for love above all things, and didn't prepare him for the crushing disappointments of the world outside. Angel is motivated by his ego, a need to prove himself as worthy as important. Love doesn't motivate Angel, any more than being connected to others does...he in a way is motivated by the same things Whistler was -- which was why Whistler could manipulate him and was such a heavy figure in his life post-soul. Angel hunts father figures. He wants patriarchial approval. His relationship with Giles speaks to that. Giles also has issues with father figures -- his father abandoned him to the Watcher Academy. He had no childhood. Angel's father thought him unworthy, horrible, a huge disappointment. So Angel keeps hunting a replacement. And needs to show his worth to that person, whether they be a Power that Be (GOD), the Devil, anyone more powerful than he is. He begins to figure this out in this comic -- how he keeps going for the big battles and wants the destiny -- and how that keeps destroying everyone who is around him.
Faith tells him as does Spike, that while it is important to achieve these ends, if you wreck everything you care about in the process -- what is the point? A statement, Angel finally, gets when he confronts Whistler and says the same thing. The ends do not justify the means. Wrecking the world to save it or obtain approval never works.
Hopefully, Angel has finally gotten that message after years of frakking up. Starting with S2, where he almost sent the world to hell, while Angelus was in control. But it doesn't matter who is control -- Angel goes there because he cares too much about his legacy, his ego. He is a poster child for the toxic masculainity that pollutes our world -- a partiarchial world order that is obsessed with it's own self-importance, power, privilege and legacy.
The over-arching them of the Angel series is the same as the Buffy one, it's our connections to each other that matter. It is also the them of the Spike Limited Series. The families we build, the friends we make, the people we care for and about, this matters.
A comforting sentiment in troubling times.
Anyhow as you can see from the above, I was pleasantly surprised by these books and devoured them in one or two sittings. Loved them to pieces. Highly recommend.
Although it does help if you like all the characters and like the Spuffy ship.
So I've been making my way through the Season 9, Buffy and Angel comics. Not reading all of them.
Skipped over a couple. But, the ones I read were surprisingly good. Exceeded expectations. After the disappointment of S8, I had left the comics far behind. But found a few panels online by accident a week or so ago, and got sucked back in.
The writing and art has improved.
1. Buffy S9 - Welcome to the Team - Vol. #4 focuses on Buffy being approached by Illyria and Koh along with the Magic Council guarding the Deeper Well, to fight Severin, and more importantly protect the Well from Severin.
But in the background, Dawn begins to fade. First it's a severe attack of the flu that lasts for days. Then she loses consciousness. Then she begins to fade from pictures, and people's memories. Finally the writer's have addressed what being the key actually means. Dawn is made of magic, she exists because of magic, as magic disappears, so does Dawn. Destroying the seed of all magic, may have saved the world from the monsters, but it also destroyed Dawn.
The series discusses the consequences of wielding power.
Meanwhile, we have Illyria struggling not to lose her remaining magic...and she does, it's stripped from her when Severin sucks it out...leaving her in some ways more humble and compassionate.
Xander meanwhile feeling helpless and enraged, decides to go along with Simone and Severin's plan to tap the Deeper Well for enough power to send Severin back in time, in order to change it, to ensure none of this happened. A retcon. He no longer trusts Buffy to save the day. He blames her for shagging Twilight, for giving into Twilight, which resulted in giving birth to a monster that would destroy their world, unless they destroyed the seed, and in Gile's death at Angel/Twilight's hand.
Buffy infatuation with Angel and reluctance to lead led her down that path. She catered to his whims. And Angel's desire to be important, to have a destiny to be the champion led him down it. What saved the world is she eventually snapped out of it and showed him what they were doing and the cost. Season 9 is addressing the consequences of that and how the characters redeem themselves and figure out how to wield power.
2. Buffy S9 - The Core -- focuses on Buffy and Willow trying to save Dawn, while Xander attempts it as well with Severin and Simone, resulting in a potential apocalypse. There are some interesting sight gags in here and metaphors. One in particular stood out for me and was rather clever, a little girl holding a red balloon. The red balloon is a demonic entity. The idea of how perception can be misleading, the seemingly innocent can very well be demonic. Also, in Simone and Severin, turns out Simone is the main villain, who cares about power and is filled with hate. She is an example of why it was a mistake to empower all the potential slayers rather they wanted it or not. A theme echoed in Angel, with Nadira, who is a bit more sympathetic. Both turn on their slayer mentors and hate them for pulling them and others like them into a live they didn't choose. They didn't want the power and the danger. Nor did their sisters.
And as a result of being given something without consent, it warps them. Simone now just lives to kill Buffy, as Nadira in the Angel comics lives to seek vengeance.
Simone, unlike Nadira, doesn't care if she destroys the world in the process. Just so she can kill Buffy. Nadira is more redeemable and actually turns the tide in the Angel Comics. The writers look at the same issue from two sides. The difference between the two women, is Simone cares for no one and uses people to achieve her own ends, while Nadira just feels betrayed and loves the women around her.
It's our connections to others that makes us strong -- this comic pushes. Illyria sacrifices herself to save the world. Buffy does everything possible to save Dawn. Willow goes out of her way to do the same. And Spike stays at Dawn's side throughout, no matter what.
What I liked about the S9 comics better than the S8 is all the characters are explored in depth. In particular Dawn and Xander, who I felt had less exploration in S7 and 8. Also Buffy is explored in another way.
I think one of the problems the series had in S7 and S8 is that the writers introduced too many new characters at the same time. In serials, it is important to introduce new characters in order to keep the story fresh. But you have to be careful about it. If you introduce too many, they lack development and often take time away from established characters. In Seasons 1-6, the writers did a good job of introducing new characters, by doing it one or two at time. Just a few here and there.
For example in S2 -- they removed existing bad guys and brought in new bad guys, building them slowly. Each season they introduced about two-three, bringing back previously introduced characters and building on them. In S4 -- they went a bit far and brought in almost too many at the same time.
Also they brought in the military which the writers never knew how to write -- mainly because the writers knowledge of the military is limited to science fiction, comics, and television shows and movies. Basically they know as much about the military as Xander does. And have romanticized it.
So we run into a lot of cliches. Riley is one big cliche after another...to the point that the character never quite worked. This happened in S7 as well, where they introduced about fifteen new characters at the same time -- the potentials and Robin Wood. What they should have done was introduce about two or three. Also if it's your last season of a series on television that last thing you want to do is introduce a lot of new characters -- the audience wants to spend their time with their favs. Kennedy, Wood, Andrew (who is admittedly a returning character) Rona, Violet, etc -- was too much. Same deal with S8 -- we had Renee, the girl who slept with Buffy, Simone, various slayers, etc. I got a bit lost. And it was hard to follow.
Move to S9 -- here they introduce Billy, a gay twenty-something who wants to be a slayer, Anaheed,
and Dowling, a cop who befriends Buffy and Spike. This actually works. The characters are likable and have personality, they also don't take over the story. And add something to the existing characters, showing us things about them we hadn't before. Same with Spike and his bug crew on the spaceship -- shows things about Spike we didn't know.
3. Angel and Faith Season 9, Vol. 4 and Vol 5 address the same ideas but in a different way. I actually liked these two stories better, the writing is more on target, as is the art. (Chris Gage and Rebekka Issacs. Note the actors get to approve their likenesses in the comics. Isaacs notes how she had to provide a sketch for Marsters approval. And in one of the Q&A's someone asked that and yes, they do, if they were contract players and it is a clause in the contract. They also get a percentage of the royalties on anything carrying their likeness. Which is why you got to be a bit careful about making money off of fanart.)
Anyhow, this story focuses on two things, similar in a way to the Buffy comics. It focuses on resurrecting Giles, as Buffy is trying to save Dawn, and in preventing someone from unleashing a magical plague using the magic they are trying to use to save Giles.
They almost lose, because they are so focused on resurrecting Giles.
Spike is brought into the mix and helps them save Giles. Then when Buffy calls asking for help with Dawn, who neither Faith nor Angel remember, Spike takes off admist Angel's protests.
"Spike, this is IMPORTANT, we are saving the world -- you're going off to save some girl we don't even know just to impress Buffy?"
"No. I'm not doing it for Buffy. I'm doing it for the Little Bit. And you don't need me to handle this -- I already saved your life. And what can I say, I'm a sucker for the Damsel in Distress bit, hell I came and saved your ass didn't I?"
It's an important message. Because later...at the very end it's the same thing Angel tells Whistler and discusses with Giles. "That sometimes the only thing we can do is help one person, save one person, not the big stuff, the little ones." And Giles says, "Yes, you keep saying that but somehow you keep getting involved in the big stuff? Why is that?"
There's a lot of character bits in the Angel series. We get a lot of back story on Rupert Giles, how he became Ripper, and how he let go of that, and how he ended up selling his soul to Eyghorn. Also apparently the photo of Ripper in the series is a doctored up photo of Sid Vicious. Someone in the writing department had a thing for Sid Vicious. They designed Spike and Dru after Sid and Nancy, except Marsters who knew the Sex Pistols and was into 70s punk and had seen them perform, preferred Johnny Rotten, so played Johnny Rotten. (Got that from a Q&A.)
Angel is some respects is tighter than Buffy is and the new characters are in some respects more interesting -- or have more resonance because they come from the existing one's pasts. True of the Angel the Series as well. ATS was always a tad better at adding new characters than Buffy mainly due to it's set up -- a private investigations business. Also Angel is a couple of centuries old and has a huge amount of past to mine. When Spike joined, then Faith, this was true of them as well. Plus these characters -- we don't know as much about their backstories as we do about Buffy, Xander and Willow.
In the Angel series, we're introduced to Giles' self-absorbed and vain great-aunts who basically ensured he had no childhood and feel really guilty about it. We are also introduced to his old friend Alasdair. And Giles early days of practicing magic. I always found the character of Giles interesting, I actually started watching the series for Giles. So this was like a gift.
We also have a bit more character development of Faith -- who is sort of the female version of Spike in some respects. Has a hard outer shell, but is warm and marshmellowly inside. Once she cares about you, she always cares, and is insanely loyal. To the point in which she will sacrifice herself for you. She's also a be self-deprecating and self-hating. Faith understands Spike -- and sees the backdoor broromance going down between Spike and Angel. As Faith puts it to Spike, you and Angel understand each other in a way no one can. You are the only two people in the world who are vampires with souls, killed a lot of people, now are trying to do right, hung up on Buffy, and struggling to deal with that too. Also, Angel in a way is a father-figure/older brother/mentor to Spike. Angelus created the vampire version of Spike or William the Bloody, which is the name Spike uses for his demon. Spike is more integrated than Angel, in part because they aren't motivated by the same things. Spike is motivated to be connected to others, to have love. His mother coddled him, taught him to dream for love above all things, and didn't prepare him for the crushing disappointments of the world outside. Angel is motivated by his ego, a need to prove himself as worthy as important. Love doesn't motivate Angel, any more than being connected to others does...he in a way is motivated by the same things Whistler was -- which was why Whistler could manipulate him and was such a heavy figure in his life post-soul. Angel hunts father figures. He wants patriarchial approval. His relationship with Giles speaks to that. Giles also has issues with father figures -- his father abandoned him to the Watcher Academy. He had no childhood. Angel's father thought him unworthy, horrible, a huge disappointment. So Angel keeps hunting a replacement. And needs to show his worth to that person, whether they be a Power that Be (GOD), the Devil, anyone more powerful than he is. He begins to figure this out in this comic -- how he keeps going for the big battles and wants the destiny -- and how that keeps destroying everyone who is around him.
Faith tells him as does Spike, that while it is important to achieve these ends, if you wreck everything you care about in the process -- what is the point? A statement, Angel finally, gets when he confronts Whistler and says the same thing. The ends do not justify the means. Wrecking the world to save it or obtain approval never works.
Hopefully, Angel has finally gotten that message after years of frakking up. Starting with S2, where he almost sent the world to hell, while Angelus was in control. But it doesn't matter who is control -- Angel goes there because he cares too much about his legacy, his ego. He is a poster child for the toxic masculainity that pollutes our world -- a partiarchial world order that is obsessed with it's own self-importance, power, privilege and legacy.
The over-arching them of the Angel series is the same as the Buffy one, it's our connections to each other that matter. It is also the them of the Spike Limited Series. The families we build, the friends we make, the people we care for and about, this matters.
A comforting sentiment in troubling times.
Anyhow as you can see from the above, I was pleasantly surprised by these books and devoured them in one or two sittings. Loved them to pieces. Highly recommend.
Although it does help if you like all the characters and like the Spuffy ship.
