Buffy Season 8 Comics Update

I know it's been several months since I've last reviewed them but from next week onwards, I will finally get off my backside and review the remaining four comics for Season 8 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I promise.

As for Season 9, I will be buying them/reading them but I'm not sure about reviewing them yet. It's likely that I will do, if not straightaway. Sorry for the delay, folks.

Buffy Movie Without Joss Whedon

Last summer it was announced that another movie version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer was to be made without creator Joss Whedon having any involvement. As the months passed, I began to assume that this was no longer going to happen but it's just been announced that Warner Brothers are going ahead with a movie version by newcomer Whit Anderson and sans the Joss man after all. To be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about this. On one hand, nothing literally is sacred anymore and an issue such as being creator of an iconic show doesn't seem to matter but given how Whedon's Season Eight comics have become rather disjointed, dare I actually suggest that perhaps someone else's vision of Buffy Summers may or may not be a good thing? I guess time will only tell on this one.

Guardian Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/nov/23/joss-whedon-buffy-vampire-slayer

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x36: "Last Gleaming Part 1"

Written by Joss Whedon
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Angel (re Spike): �It�s too convenient. Him showing up now? He�s got an agenda.�
Buffy: �Well, it�s likely to be a lot simpler than yours. And right now it�s useful.�

Ah, there�s the Buffy I love. One that�s happy to use Spike for her own end, rather than fawn over him for the sake of a few fanatics still obsessing over that particular relationship. And from here on it, I�ll keep most of my anti Buffy/Spike to a minimum.

Angel has a point though � it is too convenient that Spike has shown up but now we�re in a weird position of having four of Buffy�s former flames within proximity of her, even if this issue only chose to concentrate on two and to be honest, they�re not the most trustworthy of two either.

Angel�s whole shenanigans as Twilight have caused more damage than good and after Whistler warning Angel in the previous issue that he had to fight against Buffy to save the world, this issue offered nothing new on that concept either. A spirit from another realm voicing itself through a variety of hosts would be fun if we actually learned something else.

In this issue we learnt nothing from Angel � stay away from Buffy to save the universe and now, Angel�s mostly determined to try and get Buffy to stay away from Spike as much as he possibly can. Much as I don�t condone Buffy/Spike, it did make sense for Buffy to send Angel away so she could work on Spike.

Thankfully where Angel failed to offer something new, Spike was actually a bit better on the information front. I probably could�ve done without his usual Angel insults but it would�ve been out of character if Spike hadn�t gotten a few in there and for the most part of this issue, he�s actually rather enjoyable. It�s almost enough to make me forget about his moments in Angel�s comic book season, which are referenced in this issue, appropriately.

The biggest reveal were the consequences of Buffy and Angel ditching the reality/universe that they created. All the giant monsters gunning for slayers aside, the source of it � the seed being looked after by the Master was a surprising turn. I�m not sure if resurrecting another villain (without explanation) is a good idea but for the time being, I�ll bite and there�s also the return of Sunnydale as well to contend with. However there needs to be a decent pay-off coming our way soon.

Also in �Last Gleaming Part 1�

Spike is given a solo cover to himself but the alternative cover has him, Buffy and Angel going all Edward/Bella/Jacob on us from �New Moon�

Spirit Dog (to Angel): �Yeah, that�s a hot button for you, even now. That goofy little cheerleader really spun you right round, didn�t she? What are we gonna do about that?�

For no apparent reason, there�s a moment in this issue where Angel saves an Oceanic airplane from crashing.

Spike: �Glorious leader to bug one ... what happened to the wankers?�
Bug One: �We�ve lost the wankers, your majesty. However I think we may have lost much more.�

Protest Girl: �You are for vampire rights, aren�t you? I think it�s dreadful what they�ve endured. I do so wish I could get bit.�
Spike: �Just keep talking.�

I did laugh when Spike immediately recognised Twilight as Angel from the online footage. It actually makes sense that he would.

Buffy: �You gave me perfection and you gave it up. Jesus, Angel, that�s not just the love of my life. That�s the guy I would live with.�
Angel: �You�re going to tell me to go.�

Buffy: �Can everyone just agree not to trust anybody and you to get to the frikkin� point?�
Spike: �Been to any higher dimensions lately?�

Willow turned Angel into a frog briefly in this one, Dawn was grossed out by the bug minions in Spike�s spaceship and there�s a particularly horrid moment where Amy and Warren make out in front of everyone. Giles�s reaction pretty much captured mine during that one.

The Master: �Kids. They only visit when they need something.�

�Last Gleaming Part 2� was released on October 6th. I�ll review it soon, I promise.

Not a terrible start to the final arc but �Last Gleaming Part 1� still isn�t doing enough to amp up my excitement for this ending. Maybe the Master�s return will help, maybe the various plotlines will make eventual sense and maybe Joss Whedon will stop treating this comic series as sloppy fanfiction. I can only hope.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's: "Riley: Commitment Through Distance, Virtue Through Sin"

Written by Jane Espenson
Artwork by Karl Moline

Angel/Twilight (re Sam): �Do you need her permission to be parted?�
Riley: �No, it�s okay. We�re together even when we�re not. And I�m in.�
Angel/Twilight: �Good. I just need a token of your faith.�

Riley Finn, eh? Of all the characters to give a spotlight issue to, I bet there weren�t many people who were expecting or wanting it to be the least popular of Buffy�s ex-lovers but you know what? This issue is actually the first one I�ve enjoyed in a while and it�s easily a lot better than previous unconnected but connected to Season Eight spotlight issues we�ve had as well to be frank.

Basically this issue completes the task of showing us the moment where Riley decided that he would pretend to go along with Twilight�s hair-brained machinations whilst secretly working for Buffy at the same time and the interesting part was that Sam was doing everything to encourage Riley to help his slayer ex-lover.

In a way, this actually fits in nicely with the Sam we met back in �As You Were�. She wasn�t threatened by Buffy then and she doesn�t seem to be threatened by Buffy now (well, not that much anyways) and her confidence in Riley�s faithfulness towards their marriage is actually a rather endearing thing. Riley really did bag himself a great wife when he hooked up with Sam, didn�t he?

The other interesting thing was the notion of retirement. Riley seemed more eager than Sam to leave the military days behind him and look after his parents farm and Sam was more eager to get back into the field, which her enthusiasm for tending to an erratic missile with her husband seemed to display. Based on that alone, I can see why she has natural reservations at becoming a farm hand.

It�s also through this issue that Riley and Sam go through the motions of opting for a quieter life and helping Buffy. Throughout the issue, I was torn as to whom to side with because of them raised valid points but I�m going to side with Sam. I don�t think Riley really is ready to give up his soldier career despite spending much of this issue protesting that he would and Sam did point out the good he could help achieve by helping Buffy out.

In the end, I saw Riley actually accepting both Buffy and Twilight�s offers and felt a little bad for him when he was marked but overall, the one thing the comic didn�t show us was whether or not Riley had to do anything truly unforgiveable whilst pretending to be an acolyte of the duplicitous masked man.

And then there�s the issue of Twilight. We�ve long known that he�s Angel and while months have done little to actually improve or lessen the sheer disappointment of that particular revelation, this issue did try it�s damndest to satisfyingly write itself out of the hole that Angel being Twilight has put the comics in.

There was the rather unexpected return of Whistler advising Angel that donning a mask and pretending to be Buffy�s latest enemy was a good thing but no matter how much the doom card is thrown out there, it�s still rather hollow. The good thing should�ve been Angel coming to Buffy all those months and telling her about the latest danger to the world, rather than making her think that he was a part of it for the amount of time that he did.

Whistler might have raised a point about Angel having to choose a loyalty in the same that Twilight/Angel tried to do with Riley in regards to the world or Buffy Summers but it�s still not enough to disguise that this apocalypse doesn�t feel any more epic or disastrous as the ones we�ve all seen in the series.

Also in �Riley: Commitment Through Distance, Virtue Through Sin�

Love the look of Riley and Sam on the cover of this. Regardless of the way the comics are going, quality-wise, Jo Chen keeps excelling herself with these covers.

Riley: �And like, personally, Sam? Most wives � I mean, most wives -�
Sam: �-What � don�t push their husbands at their exes? That�s good, baby. I mean I�m secure. I know you�re mine.�

I laughed when I read the bit from Whistler about Angel flattening his hair, followed by the actual image itself.

Riley: �You�re scared of quitting. Quitting this, this excitement of being the operatives who get called when a missile acts up.�
Sam: �Oh, I thought you said something else.�
Riley: �What did you think I said?�
Sam: �I thought you said I was scared of quilting.�

Riley (re Twilight): �He�d want some kind of gesture � I�d have to shoot a witch in the head or something. I can�t do that.�
Sam: �For Buffy? Oh, you sell yourself short.�
Riley: �Don�t joke. You ready?�

There are some interesting pictures of some of the Buffy writers posing for the infamous NOH8 campaign in the letter section.

Whistler: �Is he gonna sign up?�
Angel: �Riley Finn? Maybe. He�s no fan of magic. Very �humans first�. I don�t get what she saw in him.�

Whistler (to Angel, re Buffy): �You have to decide where your loyalty lies ... with this girl or the world.�

Chronology: None is specified as to when Riley was recruited by Angel and �Last Gleaming Part 1� came out on September 1st.

Definitely an improvement on the previous bout of disappointing issues. A few missed moments with �Riley: Commitment Through Distance, Virtue Through Sin� but overall I liked this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Buffy Comics Update

First off a picture of the former Buffy writing staff - Drew Goddard, David Fury, Douglas Petrie, Jane Espenson, Steven DeKnight, Rebecca Sinclair (former Rand Kirshner) as well as Drew Z. Greenberg and Joss Whedon himself posing for NOH8, which I discovered in the Riley comic.

As for the update, well I have both Riley and Last Gleaming Part 1, so hopefully within the week, I will have both of them reviewed. Scanning through them, they're not great but there's an intriguing bunch of returns and one pretty gross scene I could've done without seeing to be perfectly honest.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x35: "Twilight Part 4"

Written by Brad Meltzer
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Angel: �No. You�re wrong, Buffy. The orcs aren�t coming.�
Buffy: �But � that�s not � the orcs always come.�
Angel: �Until the day they don�t.�

I could give you reasons as long as my arm as to why it�s taken two months on my part to actually get round to reviewing this issue but I�ll go with one � this comic is horrible. I�ve been one of the biggest defenders of this Season Eight comic story but even I�m now convinced that Joss Whedon and company are pulling this out of their arses.

This was one of the reasons why I ditched the Angel comics last year because it was blatantly clear that nothing was actually happening and it�s why I�ve been lax with these last few issues. I never used to believe that one issue alone would be enough to turn me off these comics but the second Angel was revealed as Twilight, I suddenly did.

The previous issue really didn�t help matters with Buffy and Angel astral-shagging all over the place and with the both of them seemingly birthing new reality; I�m still as confused and unsatisfied as I was beforehand. Also I find it hilarious and uncharacteristic of Angel to be so quickly accepting of their new utopia as such.

A part of me probably should�ve found Angel�s enthusiasm a tonic to Buffy�s increasing cynicism and �woe is me� of the world but it turns out that being a raincloud of doom (thank you, Nathan from BB11) can actually have some positive. Like knowing that your new world is way too good to be true.

The orcs that are constantly mentioned seem to be Buffy�s vocal way of conveying her doubts but it�s overanalysing the sex from the last issue and Angel picking up on the fact that their clothes kept changing that also provided a bad omen. Then again, if you had to read some of the cheesiest shit coming from Angel�s mouth, you�d know that you were basically up the creek without a paddle.

I find it interesting that this place reacted a lot to Buffy and Angel, suggesting that they had some control over their own destiny. That idea in of itself could�ve been used better to show a level of resistance for Buffy as well but I am actually proud of the fact that she decided to abandon this world to help out her friends.

It�s not much of a shocker that Angel too decided to abandon it as well but it was Buffy that motivated him into ditching utopia as such, even if his desire to be with Buffy seemed to be more intense (but not as engaging) than on the actual series itself.

However if you�re a Buffy/Angel lover and you were hoping that after so many years that this comic alone would seal them permanently as a couple, then you really should�ve anticipated the final moment. Does Joss Whedon and his writing staff like happy endings for couples? Not remotely!

Of course Spike would have to resurface at the end of this comic and a part of me groaned. His return was pretty inevitable and while he does/did work better in Buffy�s world than in Angel�s, I just have a feeling that we�re going to subjected to fan pandering of the worst kind in the remainder of this season.

Joss Whedon knows that fans are either Team Bangel or Team Spuffy and by trying to either appease to both ships or set them on each other; it could end up backfiring on him big time. Sales for the comics have dropped over the last year and this could easily be perceived as a desperate ploy in trying to generate more interest.

Normally that wouldn�t be a bad thing but it also smacks of laziness as well. I�m not big into either ships for different reasons and this season has also been rather crap in recent issues with handling already established couples such as Willow/Kennedy and Xander/Dawn. Plus more character development and growth for the Scoobies would be preferable to an ill advised love triangle that we don�t need.

As for the rest of the issue, meh, it just reeked of filler to be honest. Both Willow and Xander tried in different ways to take Giles to task over his knowledge of Buffy�s potential world creating destiny but neither could really get a constructive argument with the amount of times the comic kept chopping and changing back to Buffy and Angel.

It also didn�t help with the raincloud of monsters attacking the team, the horrid subtext of Warren showing something vaguely resembling decency (do not, I repeat, do not try to redeem that Tara killing scumbag) and Spike�s beyond silly entrance in the issue. If I could pick a positive with this issue, it�s probably down to the fact that out of every character, Amy is still the only one being consistently written along with her general mate.

Also in �Twilight Part 4�

Jo Chen continues to give us beautiful covers with Willow, Giles, Xander, Faith, Angel and Dawn all above Buffy�s head.

Buffy: �No, the moment you look away � the bad guy jumps out ... there�s a bomb under the car ... the apple�s been poisoned.�
Angel: �Apple, maybe. Poison no.�

There�s a subtitle for this issue: The Final Chapter: The Power Of Love. Jennifer Rush or Frankie Goes To Hollywood version?

Xander (to Giles): �So these demons pouring out all over us are some sort of afterbirth? What! Placenturians! That I�m gonna copyright.�

Andrew: �And F.Y.I. � the shield doesn�t boomerang back like you think.�
Warren: �Then why do you want it so bad?�
Andrew: �Why do you think?�

Why the hell did Spike arrive in a spaceship in this issue? I know Buffy/Angel shagged above the Earth in the previous one but come on.

Amy: �Warren does know we�re going to kill them after all this, doesn�t he?�
General: �Relax, Amy. Current problems first. Our erstwhile leader and his cooze are AWOL and if I were guessing, I�d bet that boy has no idea what he just ripped open.�

Angel: �The universe we�re going to make ... it�s not just that we get to be together, Buffy ... we finally get to be happy.�

At one point during the several costume changes between them, Buffy was wearing Angel�s Twilight jacket as well.

Angel: �You do understand that being here is what you�re meant for?�
Buffy: �Don�t you know me by now, Angel? I never do what I�m meant for.�

Spike: �Enough of this. You wanna put these demons down and end this �Twilight� crap once and for all? You talk to me.�

There�s a Riley one shot due out in August before the final arc, �Last Gleaming� starts in September.

As I said at the start of the review, I didn�t really enjoy this one a lot. I struggled with �Twilight Part 4� and I have serious reservations about Spike being added into the mix. Hopefully I�ll be proved wrong though.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x34: "Twilight Part 3"

Written by Brad Meltzer
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Willow (to Warren): �Angel�s the piece we were missing. Sure, Buffy shared her power, but when it comes to her place in the slayer history books � I�m pretty sure that�s not the only thing she was first to do.�

I won�t lie, I�m struggling with this one, I really am. The more I read it, the more convoluted and weird it sounded. Plus it didn�t help that the snarky little warning at the end of the previous issue actually came true � them fucking.

Remember back in the fourth season how watching Buffy and Riley spending all of �Where The Wilds Things Are� was tedious? Well, having her and Angel basically doing them same thing here certainly became even more tedious to flick through. I enjoy seeing my characters get it on as much as the next person but not throughout he entire story and that�s the main issue here.

The Buffy and Angel sexploits basically has them shagging virtually everywhere and anywhere, including at one point even in space. No, I am not kidding and gratuitous nudity aside, it basically added nothing to the story itself I�m afraid.

Fortunately that was where Giles had to come into proceedings. There was hints in the previous issue that Buffy�s been destined to be powered up and the like for quite a while now and it�s all to help her survive. But even here, we still don�t really know what Twilight is. Is it another apocalypse in the making? An actual planetary evolution or what? I�ve read this issue enough times already and I�m still confused about the general concept of it all.

And then what�s Angel�s part in that all. Is he genuinely being rewarded or did the fates need to bestow this onto one slayer and one ensouled vampire? Warren might be a snide prick but I�m glad he actually raised the question, one in which Willow could barely answer satisfyingly as well for my liking.

Still, the consequences of Buffy and Angel�s powered up super nookie did seem to be ecological with the amount of storms, hurricane and seaquakes going about the place. With six more issues left for this entire season, I still feel like naff all has actually happened and this issue has done less to provide solid answers, only more questions.

Also in �Twilight Part 3�

Buffy and Angel shippers must have loved the cover of them embracing for this one.

Amy: �Twilight is Angel? Of course he is!�
Dawn: �Of course he is? It doesn�t even make sense.�

Another promotional poster for The Guild appeared in this issue. Tempting as it looks, I�m gonna have pass on it.

Angel: �You have any idea how much I missed you?�
Buffy: �I do. I have lots of ideas.�
Angel: �Yeah. So do I.�

Xander: �We�ve got witches, werewolves and centaurs -�
Dawn: �Centaurettes.�
Xander: �The point is, even when it comes to the dark, scary ones ... how much more can you shock us with a fairytale?�

The Watchers Council killing themselves because of an empowered slayer is dumb even for them. Speaking of empowered, nice to see Faith getting her powers back in this issue.

Faith: �I got my powers back. I�m strong again.�
Giles: �It�s everything they warned. The universe ... the universe is answering.�

Angel: �They said it didn�t exist but it does, it always has. And now it�s ours. Here we are Buffy. Welcome to Twilight.�

There was a coming soon bit in this issue with Spike featured and the next issue is out on May 5th.

I�m sorry but I really didn�t like this issue as much as I tried to. �Twilight Part 3� just simply bored me and I really am confused about the whole thing. Hopefully more clarity will be shed in later issues.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x33: "Twilight Part 2"

Written by Brad Meltzer
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Buffy: �You listen to me, Twilight � my God is that really the name you picked? Twilight? Y�know I lived that idea first, right? And my vampire was so much better.�
Angel/Twilight: �Yeah ... I missed you.�

I thought with the identity of Twilight being released so early that enough time would�ve passed between the spoiler and the actual issue itself for me to get my head around the idea. Well that didn�t work and I call bullshit on this one.

I�m as much as of a Joss Whedon fan as the next person but what the hell possessed him to actually make the Big Bad of the season actually turn out to be Angel? He didn�t get enough out of that twice with Season Two and Angel�s fourth season? And doesn�t that sort of invalidate the Angel comics as well, come to think of it?

Giles, Faith and Andrew were the first three to realise the identity of their captor and they weren�t particularly impressed with it. Faith even went as far as to try and kill Angel, who reacted by pounding her skull into the ground with little effort. Twilight�s invulnerable and apparently, sunlight isn�t that much of a deterrent for him either. I mean Angel.

The moment where Buffy found out that her former honey was now her latest enemy, I thought she would lose it but she didn�t. I actually admired the fact that Buffy�s first instinct was to kill Angel even if he knew that a) she wouldn�t be able to and b) she thought that he might have been Angelus again.

According to Angel, he�s not Angelus but he�s also not evil. It seems that all season long we were lead to believe that Twilight was orchestrating the worst of the worst but it seemed that Angel was donning a disguise to keep the real villains distracted for as long as possible in a bid to push Buffy.

What is it with people pushing Buffy to be her best? You know what would�ve helped on Angel�s part? Actually contacting her over a year ago and telling her directly what he was planning instead of his usual bout of subterfuge. But Angel had to go about it the wrong way because he thought that it was the best method of helping Buffy out in the long run.

And there�s the invulnerability thing as well � it seems that Buffy and Angel have these newfound powers that have naff all to do with them being a vampire or a slayer. How? And what�s up with that cryptic about Giles supposedly knowing of Buffy�s eventual evolution and the potential hell that it might release?

I knew as soon as Angel managed to talk to Buffy, some of this stuff would make more sense but it did feel a lot like nonsense and the kiss between them on the page of this issue would�ve made me care a long time ago but not anymore. Guess my liking of Buffy and Angel as a couple days really are long gone. Unless the next two issues make more sense out of all the crap that�s gone down in this particular arc.

Also in �Twilight�

The cover showed Angel removing his Twilight mask to the horror of Buffy. Again, good work, Jo Chen.

Buffy (to Xander, re dead slayers): �But don�t you see what it does make me? If I�m sucking their power ... it makes me a vampire.�

Buffy only gets the slayer powers after the girls are dead but the pep talk with her and Xander � even them I�m getting a little sick of right now.

Angel/Twilight: �Do you not understand this isn�t a fair fight?�
Faith: �Who said I was fighting fair?�
Angel/Twilight: �And what makes you think �invulnerable� isn�t �all over�?�

Willow: �Still a rat.�
Amy: �Still a bitch.�

Dawn earned some points in this issue for alerting Xander to Warren and the general�s chatter. I did like Willow and Amy�s sniping as well.

Angel/Twilight: �Oh and Buff -,�
Buffy: �Stop talking! Your biggest asset was that you weren�t a talker!�

Xander: �What was that?�
Satsu: �I don�t hear anything.�
Willow: �I think they�re talking.�

There was a two page preview of Felicia Day�s comic series for The Guild in this issue as well as some pretty out of date letters in Slay The Critics section.

Angel/Twilight: �What if, just once, the right thing for us to do is also the most wonderful, Buffy ... don�t you want to be happy?�

The next issue is already out and I�ll post a review for it next week when I get through some other reviews first.

I tried giving �Twilight Part 2� the benefit of the doubt but the truth was that even with months of knowing, I just don�t like Angel as Twilight and I�m not sure if I like the evolution that him and Buffy has supposedly taken as well. There�s about seven more issues before this season actually ends so hopefully things will make better sense as the months progress.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 10

Last one, it's been fun and my number 1, I let slip last week. But here it is ...

1: The Gift (Season 5, Episode 22)

Had this show not moved to UPN, this could've very well been the series finale and that might not have been a bad thing. It's better than Chosen and Buffy's death/sacrifice is utterly brilliantly done, with arguably one of Sarah Michelle Gellar's best performances on the series. So, why the hell did this 100th episode not garner a commentary for the Season 5 DVD? Bad Joss!

2: Conversations With Dead People (Season 7, Episode 7)

I told you this list wasn't going to be an obvious and I hope my Top 5 has lived up to that one. What to say about this one? It's like a four-header with Buffy unloading emotional baggage to a vampire, Willow being manipulated by the First Evil in the disguise of Cassie. Likewise Dawn is fooled with Joyce and Andrew despite knowing he's being fooled still bumps off Jonathan. The little shit.

3: Seeing Red (Season 6, Episode 19)

For an episode that provokes a lot of reasons to make a viewer angry - Spike's attempted rape on Buffy, Tara being killed by Warren's stray bullet, I love this episode. It's brilliantly written, there are some exceptional performances and it's one of the most character driven and raw episodes of the series. Plus it sets up the cataclysmic events of the final three episodes wonderfully.

4: Hush (Season 4, Episode 10)

Name one show in recent times, other than this one to pull off a silent episode? Joss Whedon has a reputation for his dialogue, so an episode where there's a scant amount of it was a tricky one but it bloody well works on so many levels. You've got comic/touching/surreal moments in the silence, you have Buffy and Riley outing their identities and you debut Tara. What's not to like?

5: Once More With Feeling (Season 6, Episode 7)

Musical episodes, now there's an experiment that has been tried a good few times. Why did this one work so well? Let's see - original songs, character development, foreshadowing future events and the fact that the majority of the cast could hold a tune. All helping factors. And the songs are bloody catchy.

Now that was fun! Back to the comics.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x32: "Twilight Part 1"

Written by Brad Meltzer
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Xander (re bullet): �You beat it.�
Buffy: �Neat, huh?�

Yes, very neat, Buffy. Beating a speeding bullet. Up until now, only Superman and a few speedy superheroes could master that feat but as demonstrations go for showing us that Buffy is packing a lot more power nowadays, it served it�s purpose. Buffy�s got superpowers and there�s cause for celebration and concern with it.

Xander himself was pretty happy to try and explore the upside to Buffy�s newfound powers. I loved their little training session together whether it was him getting her to chase a speeding bullet or testing her strength with carrying a few broken down trains, there was some geeky fun to be had with things.

Xander even went to great lengths to try and find out exactly how powerful Buffy had become in such a short space of time. Speed, strength, flight and apparently the ability to see an older couple at it were seemingly more than enough to prove that Buffy wasn�t her regular self. So, that led to the bad side of the equation.

Buffy herself seemed to have some niggling little thoughts in regards to her friends asking how she was feeling about her new powers but it was Dawn who actually articulated concerns in a better manner. She was worried about Buffy�s newfound and damn it, you can�t begrudge her for it.

I know it did look like she was a little threatened with the amount of time that Xander and Buffy were spending together but Dawn raised the obvious pointer about nothing coming for free. All her abilities/transformations earlier on in the season came as a direct result of being cursed. What was to say that Buffy�s powers weren�t a curse either?

The annoying part was that I could almost understand Xander not really paying attention to Dawn�s concerns but Willow had no excuse. The woman might be happy that she�s got her magic back but it was very reckless of her to dismiss Dawn�s fears for Buffy as casually as she did in this issue.

Fortunately though, this comic did win out in actually showing that was just concern with Buffy�s powers from Dawn�s perspective. When Willow actually did do some investigating, she came across the horrid realisation that a lot of slayers died while Buffy was experiencing her enhancement.

Actually the main revelation was that Buffy was getting more and more powered up from each slayer who died. Needless to say, it made Dawn�s earlier statement about never getting anything without consequence true and also the horrified look on Buffy�s face after Willow told her confirmed a lot of angst material for the next issue.

Of course, Buffy doesn�t just have that to contend with as well. For some reason, we�re supposed to believe that Amy, Warren and some random general have been kicked out of Twilight�s little play house and are now happy to help the Scoobies out. I really hope to God that it�s actually a trick because the one thing I actually do want to happen by the end of this season is Warren to be properly dead. Not too sure about Amy.

And besides, why would the Scoobies trust them so easily? I know they don�t but it sort of looks like they might for the sake of moving the plot along. That�s been the problem with the villains this season � they haven�t featured enough in the issues to really move things along and now we�re on the cusp of learning Twilight�s master plan/

Having Twilight interact with Giles, Faith and Andrew had a better punch to it, even if he did appear just in the last panel. I already know who the bloke and even you�re one of the lucky few who missed that spoiled, it�d be obvious in this issue alone that the character was someone that the Scoobies were already familiar with. As for his �master� plan, don�t let it be six billion versions of himself because a certain series has already done that one in recent times.

The gang at least seem to have a realisation that Giles, Faith and Andrew are missing and this issue just had them snooping around Twilight. Every time I groan about Andrew making a geek reference, I should be rewarded with Faith smacking him one. That is why this issue is a lot of fun � Faith hitting Andrew.

Still with a machine as beastly looking as that Death Trap one that Andrew gushed about, I can�t imagine that Twilight has a more benevolent use for it. Also, wasn�t it stupid of Twilight to leave Andrew, Giles and Faith around that thing?

Also in �Twilight Part 1�

The cover for this issue has Buffy flying in the air. It�s not the best cover but it�s nice enough.

Buffy: �Whose gun is that?�
Xander: �You keep forgetting I carry a gun.�
Buffy: �I don�t like them. They keep killing my friends.�
Xander: �You ready for this or not?�

Buffy�s dressed rather GI Jane in this issue. Maybe she stole the clothing of one of Twilight�s soldiers. Probably not.

Dawn: �Where�d you get a train?�
Xander: �From the castle. In the garden.�
Dawn: �Put it back!�
Xander: �Don�t worry ... that�s exactly where we�re heading.�

Dawn (re Buffy�s powers): �Even Andrew would take it more serious than that.�
Willow: �Andrew�s not with them? Huh. Odd.�
Dawn: �No, what�s odd is when you ignore the fact that you don�t get power for free. Mine was a curse from a thricewise! With this ... who knows what they�ve unleashed.�

No Kennedy, Oz or Bayaarma appearances in this issue. How much longer are the Scoobies going to be in Tibet as well?

Xander: �Try reading my mind.�
Buffy: �I can. It says ... so much ... masturbation.�
Xander: �Sweet mother of Shirley Hemphill, is that the best you can do? Really?�

Warren (re Buffy): �She�s got powers?�
Amy: �Warren, are you blind? She�s faster than a speeding � oh. I just realised what they were doing. Nerd-a-trons.�

Xander asked Buffy if she could teleport, had super breath, shoot arrows, solve a mystery, spin webs or build a suit of armour. I�m surprised he didn�t ask her if she could regenerate while he was at.

Faith: �A, you got three seconds to stop speaking nerd, and I�m starting at two ...�
Andrew: �The psycho wave! 1982! X-Men/Teen Titans crossover!�
Faith (punches him): �You were warned.�

Buffy: �I can see ... it�s hard to turn off. In Greece ... in Mykonos ... there�s an older couple who � ew! Ew, like internet ew!�
Xander: �That�ll learn you. You can�t unsee what you see.�

Willow found all the dead slayers in Louisiana, which might be the closest to a True Blood reference these comics will dare to do.

Twilight (to Andrew/Giles/Faith): �You can call me Twilight. Now who wants to hear a really cool master plan?�

�Twilight Part 2� came out on March 3rd. I�ll get round to reviewing it.

�Twilight Part 1� is an enjoyable enough issue, fun in places but the ante doesn�t feel as upped as it should by now in the series. Hopefully with the reveal in the next issue and actually know what Twilight wants, things will improve.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 9

Penultimate list. Sorry for the delay, I've been sick last week and just about recovered so I'll be catching up properly on reviews and the like.

6: Becoming Part 2 (Season 2, Episode 22)

Devastating episode. How can this not be high on anyone's list? Buffy and Angel do the ultimate battle and the latter is sent to hell when he becomes good. Tough call, Buffy. Plus the use of a certain Sarah McLachlan song really does highlight the episode.

7: The Body (Season 5, Episode 16)

I've always found it laughable when certain critics have dismissed this series as a kids show because there have been plenty of episodes to dispel that theory. This one, which examined the death of Joyce Summers and the gang's truthful reactions to her passing is sublime television. And sadly more relateable now that I've lost my own mother.

8: Chosen (Season 7, Episode 22)

I know some fans are divided with this finale but compared Angel's nihilistic Not Fade Away, this to me was a far better way of ending Buffy's seven year run. Plus we got a whole new generation of slayers, the consequences of which are dominiating the current eighth season in comic book form.

9: Nightmares (Season 1, Episode 10)

Ah, nightmare episodes. The one where Giles couldn't read, Willow had to go on stage and Xander got chased by a clown. More seriously was Buffy being turned into a vampire by the Master and the episode's undercurrent of child abuse.

10: Innocence (Season 2, Episode 14)

The second part of the most defining story in the series history, I loved the big battles between between Buffy and Angelus as well David Boreanaz's easy as hell transition into the murderous vampire. He really does outdo himself here.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 8

Okay so, we're nearing the Top 10 now. Only two more blogs to go for this one.

11: The Wish (Season 3, Episode 9)

Alernative reality episodes are never going to go out of style and I always enjoy them immensely, especially this one. A Sunnydale without Buffy certainly became a rather bleaker place to live and of course, there's Xander and Willow as vampires. Gotta love that.

12: This Year's Girl (Season 4, Episode 15)

Another cliche episode is to do body swapping and when Faith realised that the cops weren't far behind, she had no problem with snatching Buffy's body. One of the wittiest episodes of the series and the Buffy/Faith scenes are bloody brilliant as always.

13: Becoming Part 1 (Season 2, Episode 21)

You probably would expect this episode to be higher (don't worry, Part 2 is) but at least it's inmy Top 20. Kendra's death was well executed but this episode is better when viewed with it's second part but it does make for an incredible penultimate episode.

14: Graduation Day Part 1 (Season 3, Episode 21)

I loved this part marginally more than the second. Build up is always important and this one set things up nicely. Again, a certain fight scene with Buffy and Faith was a highlight in this episode as was Angel and Buffy beginning to seperate.

15: Graduation Day Part 2 (Season 3, Episode 22)

Blowing up your high school - childhood dream or act of sociopathic behaviour. Let's not ask the blonde girl who goaded a snake like Mayor to his final resting place. This was a sensational way of ending the high school era of the series. And a last appearance for Cordy on this show. Good job she turned out to be amazing on Angel then.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 7

And here's Part 7 folks

16: Passion (Season 2, Episode 17)

If you're going to turn Angel into thr Big Bad for the second season, then at some point he was going to have to do something truly awful (and trying to end the world on this show doesn't count). Having him kill Jenny Calender was far the most shocking he's ever done as Angelus during Season 2.

17: Fool For Love (Season 5, Episode 7)

Crossed over with the Angel episode Darla, this was without a doubt the best crossover story the two series ever did and this one gave us a nice look into Spike's penchant for slayer slaying while he became more and more obsessed with Buffy.

18: Smashed (Season 6, Episode 9)

You know the drill - there's only so much teasing you can do and while I'm not a Buffy/Spike shipper, I will admit that Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters do have good chemistry together. And if that bored you, there's always Amy's bad influence on Willow as well.

19: Surprise (Season 2, Episode 13)

There are plenty of things you might want for your birthday but dreams of your boyfriend dying and Spike and Drusilla wrecking havoc ain't two of them. It also doesn't help that by the end of this episode, Angel's reverted to his original form.

20: Angel (Season 1, Episode 7)

When you spend half the season building Angel up as a mystery man, it is really shocking that he turned out to be a good vampire? In retrospect, not really but this doesn't lessen the reveal in any way and it was nice to have something on Darla before she got staked.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 6

And here's the sixth part of it ....

21: The Killer In Me (Season 7, Episode 13)

An underrated episode but arguably one of Season Seven's strongest. I'm not a big Willow/Kennedy shipper but I did like them more in the series than the current eighth season comics book and this was a nice episode for them. Plus the whole Amy making Willow subconsciously change into Warren was pure nastiness on her part.

22: What's My Line Part 2 (Season 2, Episode 10)

Not a particularly pleasant episode for Angel. He spent most of it bound, gagged and being tortured by Spike and Drusilla when they weren't using him to restore the latter to full health. There's also some great scenes between Buffy and Kendra as the two of them try to iron out their differences with varying success.

23: Consequences (Season 3, Episode 15)

It's probably not that much of a coincidence that outside of Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon often wrote some huge character shifting episodes. This one finally saw Faith embrace her dark side when she decided to pledge her allegiance to the Mayor after Wesley's failed attempt to ship her back to England.

24: Who Are You? (Season 4, Episode 16)

What a brilliant episode. First off all, the reverse roles that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Eliza Dushku had to play were excellent, both were good in them but as a Willow/Tara shipper, this was the most blatant episode to show that these two were more than just friends. Also it would take Joss Whedon to use magic as a sex metaphor.

25: Welcome To The Hellmouth (Season 1, Episode 1)

The very first episode of the series (unless you want to count The Movie but that had a different Buffy folks) and one of the best too. Granted it doesn't look good now and you can certainly critique the attire of the characters but it did give us all of the Scoobies and introduced both the Master and Darla perfectly. And Luke had such potential.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 5

Halfway point now.

26: Dirty Girls (Season 7, Episode 18)

After three years, it was the episode that would reintroduce Faith into Sunnydale and for the most part, Buffy managed to keep her resentment to a minimum. It's also the episode that debuted Nathan Fillion as the disturbingly misogynist preacher Caleb, the most effective acolyte of the First. And then there's what happened to poor Xander.

27: The Harvest (Season 1, Episode 2)

The show opened on a two-parter and while the opening segment is a little higher on this list, this is still a cracking continuation as the Scooby gang are basically formed in this one. Too bad that Luke and Jesse didn't last a little longer as characters though.

28: Into The Woods (Season 5, Episode 10)

Riley's never been one of my favourite characters and while him and Buffy were never going to last, a part of me did feel bad for him as well. He did love her and she didn't feel the same way. Xander's pep talks in these episodes had more substance than Spike's usual nuggets and the last few minutes are brilliant.

29: What's My Line Part 2 (Season 2, Episode 9)

I love this two parter a lot. It's a pretty underrated story but it did debut Marti Noxon as a writer (she co-wrote the first part with Howard Gordon) and it also debuted Kendra, which meant from now on that Buffy wasn't the only slayer in existence, despite the fact that she'd conveniently ignore that fact a good chunk of the time.

30: Bargaining Part 2 (Season 6, Episode 2)

Marginally better than the first part, Buffy's resurrections episodes were always going to be interesting. Like who would bury a 20 year old woman in a black dress as garish as the one Buffy was forced to wear. On a serious note, the tower scene between Buffy and Dawn is one of the best scenes from the season.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 4

And here's Part 4.

31: Bargaining Part 1 (Season 6, Episode 1)

Okay, this without doubt the darkest opening episode from the show (appropriate given the season in question) but Buffy's resurrection was never going to be easy. Willow had to dabble in magic that would corrupt her throughout the season and a gang of demon bikers certainly didn't help matter. At least Buffybot was a bright spark (pun actually intended).

32: Restless (Season 4, Episode 22)

And the award for the most innovative finale goes to ... this one of course. It served as a wonderful epilogue to a good fourth season, delved into the Scoobies subconscious and thre some neccessary foreshadowing moments to later seasons. And we met the first slayer as well, who was better than Adam.

33: Primeval (Season 4, Episode 21)

In a lot of ways, this was supposed to be the Season 4 finale. It brought the Initiative arc to a much welcomed end, got rid of Adam and finally saw the gang reconnect. It's also one of many episodes from this point onwards that would use similar slow-mo type effects from The Matrix too.

34: Bad Girls (Season 3, Episode 14)

Ever since her arrival in Sunnydale, Faith's hedonism harboured something potentially destructive. Nothing brought that more when she inadvertantly killed Allan Finch and refused to feel remorse for it. On the plus, the episode generated some comedy at the expense of Wesley, who pissed everyone off on contact.

35: Tabula Rasa (Season 6, Episode 8)

Amnesia type episodes are all the range and while Angel would tackle one similarly the year after, this show did it better. A memory wiped gang had some comic moments but this was also the episode Tara had to dump Willow and Giles went back to England, so not all laughs either. It's still a classic though.

My Top 50 Buffy Episodes Part 3

And we're onto the third part of this.

36: Doppelgangland (Season 3, Episode 16)

The sequel to the much loved The Wish and of course, Vampire Willow would have to make it into our world and wreck some havoc. There's a lot of good comic scenes in this episode and it was the start of Anya becoming a more pernament feature in the Scoobies lives as well.

37: Lessons (Season 7, Episode 1)

I liked this opening episode a lot. While Season 7 doesn't always succeed in trying to recapture everything from the show's earlier days, there was a lot to admire in this episode. Namely Dawnie trying to fight vampires, Willow rehabilitating herself and the First Evil using the guises of previous Big Bads to mess with Spike's head.

38: Buffy Vs. Dracula (Season 5, Episode 1)

The show's never been shy in accentuating the sexuality and allure of vampires and this episode went a little further with Dracula being talked about as rockstar by virtually all of the main characters. The fight scene with the most famous vampire and slayer had it's moment but I guess it's the WTF introduction for Dawn that served as the most memorable thing here.

39: Family (Season 5, Episode 6)

Up until this episode, we knew very little about Tara. There was the mystery of why she previously sabotaged one of Willow's spells and the gang liking her but not connecting with her. This episode was Tara's 20th birthday and a good showcase for bringing her closer to the gang and coming up with a better way of explaining her antics. Plus Amber Benson did bring her A-Game with this one.

40: Grave (Season 6, Episode 22)

Some issues I had with this finale - why didn't see a funeral for Tara and couldn't the writers have been more straightforward with Spike's mission in Africa as well? Other than that, it was another emotionally charged, action packed finale. We've had stronger and more creative ones but it's still good.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x31: "Turbulence"

Written by Joss Whedon
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Kennedy (re seeing Buffy fly): �That�s actually hot.�
Xander: �I ... don�t agree.�
Dawn: �Gape.�

After the deathly dull, �Willow: Goddesses And Monsters�, this one was a bloody improvement. I�m not sure if it�s enough to sate fans moods after the online reveal of Twilight that surfaced this month but it�s definitely one of the most enjoyable issues that we�ve had in a while.

First off all, let�s take power into the matter. �Retreat� ended on the clanger of Buffy being able to fly. It�s not much of a shock that she decided to conceal her newfound powers in this issue, in spite of the fact that you get a scene where it appeared to be that she was enjoying being so much more powerful than usual.

Of course with the way things have turned out with the goddesses, Buffy also had to reveal her abilities a lot quicker than she normally would�ve done. Maybe sometimes having dangerous goddesses on the loose can be a good thing if it means that Buffy�s hand is forced into a bout of honesty.

But it wasn�t just Buffy who got her powers back either. Willow was beginning to apologise to Oz when she was suddenly hit back with all her magic and the indication was that once the goddesses were put back in the Earth, everyone else would be restored as well. Except that Willow�s magic was no use against the goddesses but Buffy�s super strength was.

It�s a hilarious moment seeing Buffy using her strength to put the goddesses back into the ground when Willow�s attempts were virtually ineffective. But it also raised a serious question about Buffy as well. Willow was convinced that she was something else. Well, last time I checked slayers don�t usually fly so I�m intrigued as to finding out what exactly Buffy can be.

It was also worth noting that Willow herself was different too � more powerful but without going dark. Maybe this season is finally going to show us the good side of Willow having so much power. It would make a nice change to all the doom and gloom we�ve had to deal with when it comes to her magic but I doubt it.

In terms of their lost battle, I guess things are bad. Twilight didn�t exactly waste time in revealing that he had managed to capture Giles, Faith and Andrew but at the same time, Buffy also had one of his soldiers. That could�ve been a neat chance for her to get some decent intelligence on Twilight if the soldier in question hadn�t kicked the bucket almost too quickly into this issue.

Still at least there was some good news. The goddesses are back into the Earth which means the other slayers powers will hopefully return without any further delay and surprisingly enough, Bayaarma actually managed to survive in this issue as did Riley. What�s that � Joss Whedon managed not to kill off fairly important characters? Who�d thought it!

That being said as much as I�m happy with both of them being alive, Bayaarma doesn�t actually appear in this episode and Riley�s undercover stint with Twilight seems to have been all for nothing. You�d think he would�ve gathered something that Buffy could�ve put into use against Twilight but he didn�t.

On the plus side while this issue doesn�t give Buffy any information on Twilight, it is laced with some absolutely brilliant conversations worthy of the series itself. Willow and Oz�s lovely little moment before she got her powers back set the tone nicely for some of the other significant ones here.

For instance Riley didn�t exactly hold in telling Buffy that he was proud of her, which was sweet. People can hate Riley all they want but you can�t fault him in this issue, though it would be nice in the next arc to get some more back story on how he came to be Buffy�s man on the inside.

The best stuff from this issue (or the stuff guaranteed to be discussed the most on fan forums) was Buffy having it out with Xander over Dawn. I didn�t find her paedophile joke funny and I�m pretty glad that Xander didn�t take it lying down either. Because it definitely needs to be emphasised but Dawn is an adult in this comics and there�s only a five or six year age gap between her and Xander, which isn�t that bad when you think about it.

Also Xander was pretty open in admitting that there was some weirdness with the fact that he�s known Dawn since a young age but what I did love was that he didn�t ask for Buffy�s approval at all. He was also right to a certain degree when he refused to believe that Buffy had feelings for him.

That whole conversation did cover a lot for Xander. If this had happened in an early televised season of the series, then Buffy and Xander probably would�ve been a short lived couple. Xander�s a hell of a guy but I think he and Buffy are better off as mates and I�m not saying that in support of him and Dawn but it is a fair observation.

Also in �Turbulence�

Another gorgeous cover from Jo Chen with Willow trying to use magic against one of the Goddesses.

Buffy (to herself, re flying): �Doing it with Willow was scary. Doing it alone ... weird. And scary.�

This issue got delayed by a week as it came out on the 13th of January instead of the 6th.

Willow (to Oz): �You always know what to say, when you bother to talk. Any thoughts on how to get magic back real fast?�

Dawn: �Andrew has sisters?�
Xander: �Female trio. Destiny�s Child, Shonen Knife ... Dixie Chicks!�
Dawn: �You know, you can just say the thing you mean.�

Willow mentioned a cataclysmic event that hasn�t happened yet. Similarly Twilight also talked about the truth manifesting as well.

Riley: �I�m proud of you.�
Buffy: �Did they give you the most morphine?�
Riley: �Plus a few shots of Jack but I think I�m good to drive.�

Twilight (to himself): �Things will start to happen very quickly. The truth. At long last, the manifest truth. Buffy will finally see ... if she is able to see at all.�

Some of the coven seemed to have gotten their powers back as well given that they were trying to help Willow with the goddesses.

Buffy: �No, it�s fine. Dawn�s a grown woman and you�re a disgusting paedophile.�
Xander: �Whoa!�
Buffy: �Cradle-robber?�

Buffy: �And do I still get to make cradle-robber jokes?�
Xander: �Just used up your last.�

If you really desperate to learn Twilight�s identity, your best bet is to try the Slay Alive forums or Whedonesque, where the story originally broke. Be sure to also try and look for Joss Whedon�s comments on the leak as well.

Xander: �Please don�t tell me this doesn�t involve artillery.�
Buffy: �It does not. It involves something I don�t really understand. That, honestly, freaks me out, and I was hoping not to mention.�
Kennedy: �You�re a dyke.�
Xander: �It�s a nuke.�
Dawn: �You sacrifice a �key�.�
Buffy: �Thanks for the vote of no confidence and shut your mouths and look. Up in the sky.�

Buffy: �Xander and Dawn are in love.�
Willow: �Gah! I thought they�d never figure that out.�

The next issue (assuming there are no further delays) is �Twilight Part 1� and it�s released on February 3rd.

�Turbulence� is definitely one of the better issues we�ve had in the last few months but now that we�ve got two arcs left and a reveal that�s angered many a fan, here�s hoping that this can actually end in a way that makes sense.

Rating: 8 out of 10.