Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #4-16 (Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Drew Goddard, Georges Jeanty, Paul Lee, Cliff Richards, Karl Moline)
I blogged about the first three issues and then stopped. I’m not clear why. Ahem, several issues later, I’m not actually convinced that I really like them though I wouldn’t for a minute consider stopping reading them. Buffy’s relationship with Satsu felt off to me. I know I am negatively influenced by the media coverage that Dark Horse encouraged and this definitely makes me sway towards thinking it was a cheap and sleazy gimmick except I love how they broke up which was nicely done.
The Renee thing? I’m bored now of this sort of thing, really bored. And please do something with Dawn, she is not a joke.
Jo Chen’s covers continue to amaze.
Runaways #25-30 – Dead End Kids (Joss Whedon, Michael Ryan)
I have at long last read Joss Whedon’s run on Runaways. I say at long last as if it’s my fault that it dragged over many months but I suppose it is true that in years to come no one will care what delays there were unless it is poor stuff anyway. Which this isn’t. By the end it was pretty darn good.
Xavin’s constant appearances as a man really bugged me so I was delighted when JW dealt with the issue across two superb pages. I am pissed off we didn’t see them kiss particularly since we saw Victor and Lillie (the one I think of as Caitlin from Heroes) kiss at least twice. I must say that Xavin as a woman drawn by Michael Ryan was gorgeous.
However, the run was messy and abrupt in parts but much better than I ever thought it was going to be when the delays hit.
Serenity: Better Days (Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, Will Conrad)
The least said about Adam Hughes’ covers the better though I give you the “Once More, With Feeling” soundtrack cover and rest my case. This was messy (again) and confused and frankly not very good. Shame.
Agreed on the Buffy comics. I’ve been a little underwhelmed so far. I liked the Faith/Giles arc and have at least appreciated the sparse appearances of stupid Kennedy, but I’m still not convinced that this is anything other than a weak replacement. Too gimmicky and concentrated on trying to be “edgy,” so much so that all of the things that are supposed to be unique and interesting manage to come across as cliches. A problem that (as you’ve noted) has really been a serious issue with a lot of stuff Joss has done lately. It’s better than season 7, though that’s not saying all that much.
I am almost done with the BTVS Omnibus (vols 1-7) by Dark Horse. I can give it a 90% recommendation. It starts out strong with some great Buffy Origin/Early career stories and slows down for a couple of volumes. Then the quality and fun pick right back up. I hope that some of you folks give it a try, since it was released as a warm-up for the seemingly lukewarm BTVS Season 8.
Plus! Jane Espenson, Amber Benson and Doug Petrie stories here and there!
I have been avidly buying the omnibuses as they have been released and I have read the first two. Some stories are indifferent, some are okay but some are really good like “Viva Las Buffy!”.
I am looking forward to the later S4/5 ones.
Yup. The stories and art get weak in the 3rd/4th Omnibus, put pick up around the 5th/6th. Its all worth reading to get a BTVS fix.
You’ll particularly enjoy the handful of stories with Tara appearnaces.