Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #18

September 12, 2008

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #18 (Dark Horse Comics)
By Joss Whedon, Karl Moline & Jo Chen

Trapped in the future, Buffy breaks the cardinal rule for time-travelers — she tries to look up info about her own future. What’s even more depressing, though, is when she discovers that she didn’t make the books. The legend of Buffy Summers was never written. Time to kill some vamps to make up for it. Gunther, meanwhile, gets a visit from Fray’s brother. Back in the present, Willow may have found a way to rescue Buffy, and Dawn and Xander continue their flight, with plenty more requisite innuendo. I can’t be the only one at this point who thinks Whedon is hinting at some sort of relationship between these two… after all, in this time frame she’s got to be 18 or 19, while he’s probably 25-ish. It’s not really that unthinkable. And if that’s not the plan, then Whedon is throwing a heck of a lot of red herrings out. But it’s not all sex — we’ve got some new monsters here, which Moline provides a great visual for, and the Willow story is getting more and more intense. This title continues to be a great continuation of the Buffy saga.
Rating: 8/10

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #17

August 9, 2008

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #17 (Dark Horse Comics)
By Joss Whedon, Karl Moline & Jo Chen

A disturbance in time has hurled Buffy forward to the distant future, where she counters the girl called Fray, the first slayer in centuries. As Buffy tries to acclimate herself to the strange world she’s emerged into, back home Willow tries to find her while Xander and Dawn come under attack. Whedon is doing something unexpected with Xander and Dawn here, and while I’m not 100 percent sure where he’s going, I’ve got my suspicions. The interaction between Buffy and Fray is fun, and while Whedon tries a little too hard to whip up some future jargon, he doesn’t go far enough that it becomes confusing. Karl Moline, artist of the original Fray miniseries, is right at home both in the future and the present. I’d be a little concerned that people who haven’t read Fray could get confused by this issue, but Whedon does a decent job of getting you up to speed on all the players. And the end of this issue, of course, is one of those gut-punch cliffhangers he just loves to pull on us. The further we go into this series, the more I love it.
Rating: 9/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #16

July 6, 2008

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #16 (Dark Horse Comics)
By Joss Whedon, Karl Moline & Jo Chen

Joss Whedon re-teams with Karl Moline, artist of the original Fray miniseries, for the character’s return. As Dawn’s transformation takes a new form, the Wiccan squad in Manhattan detects a strange temporal anomaly, a sort of “reverse-echo” bouncing back to the present day from some point in the future. As Buffy and the gang investigate, Buffy finds herself face-to-face with a warrior girl from a different time. The Fray miniseries (which featured a slayer from the distant future) was a fan favorite, and seeing her return here in such a way as to interact with the rest of Buffy’s world is a lot of fun. Dawn’s storyline continues to be intriguing, and there’s a strange bit of progression for Xander here as well. I must say, I’m not really certain where Whedon is planning to go with this character, but as the series approaches the halfway point, we can expect things to get a lot stranger before they calm down. This series continues to feel like a strong, natural way to progress these characters, even as Whedon and company take advantage of the comic book format. We probably never would have — or could have — seen this story on the TV show, but it certainly feels like it belongs to that universe.
Rating: 4/5

Runaways (2005 Series) #26

May 1, 2007

Quick Rating: Good, but…
Title: Dead-End Kids Part 2
Rating: T+

Things get worse when the Runaways run afoul of the Punisher.

Writer: Joss Whedon
Pencils: Michael Ryan
Inks: Rick Ketcham
Colors: Christina Strain
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Nick Lowe
Cover Art: Jo Chen
Publisher: Marvel Comics

As the Runaways hunt down the package the Kingpin wanted, they find themselves facing off not only against a bloodthirsty monster-man with wings, but against the Punisher himself. A lot of people seemed to dislike Joss Whedon’s first issue of Runaways. I was not one of them – I thought it was pretty good, although I had my reservations. I’ve still got reservations, but there’s also a lot to like about this issue.

First of all, Whedon’s gift for dialogue continues to impress. Say what you will about the credibility stretch concerning the kids working with the Kingpin, anytime you can include lines like “Why aren’t you awesomed by me?” without a bit of irony, you’ve started to win me over. He’s also got a good grasp on the characters, particularly little Molly, who seems to be becoming the star of this story arc. The ethical issues of the kids working for the Kingpin are addressed this issue as well, and I feel a bit better about it, and we go into a dandy cliffhanger that promises a storyline that I’m quite looking forward to. What’s coming up next isn’t exactly groundbreaking in a superhero comic book, but it’s at least something the Runaways haven’t done before.

That said, I’ve still got problems with aspects of the book. Like I said, the dialogue was good, but at times it seemed a little self-aware. Another came with the Punisher – I can buy him pointing a gun at Chase, at Victor… maybe even some of the girls, but crazy as he’s been painted lately, I somehow just can’t picture Frank Castle pointing a gun at a girl as young as Molly. (Okay, granted, I don’t think he ever points the gun at her directly, but the implied threat is about the same.) There are some other little quibbles that all seem to come together that put me ill at ease at parts – it isn’t enough to make me hate the book, but it’s like feeling an old pair of shoes that suddenly don’t fit quite right. Maybe it’s just growing pains, maybe once Whedon has worked on the characters more, that feeling will go away.

Michael Ryan’s artwork, fortunately, doesn’t have any of those problems. She’s got a great style that works really well with this book, and Christina Strain’s colors pop out all over – this is visually a very appealing package.

This book really is okay. I think Whedon just needs a little time to get his footing.

Rating: 7/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Vol. 1

January 26, 2008

Writer: Joss Whedon
Art: Georges Jeanty
Cover Art: Jo Chen
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Since Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended its run in 2003, there have been a lot of rumors about spin-offs and movies, but except for the already-running Angel spin-off, we hadn’t gotten anything. Until creator Joss Whedon brought back the slayer for “Season Eight,” a new series from Dark Horse comics that is the official, in-continuity continuation of Buffy’s tale.

This first volume acts, in essence, as the first “episode” of the season. Approximately a year and a half after the TV show ended, Buffy has taken all the girls whose powers were activated in that final battle and begun to construct a sort of global slayer network. Willow is missing, Dawn has befallen a rather unique misfortune, and Xander is slowly transforming into Nick Fury. Oh – and the government is getting antsy over what they perceive to be a sort of supernatural terrorist network, and as such, they’re willing to cut a deal with an old friend of Buffy’s.

Although I’m still, slowly getting into the Buffyverse, I didn’t feel lost at all reading this book. Whedon has established his characters well even for a new reader. His trademark wit and skill at dialogue are evident, and Georges Jeanty’s art is second-to-none. This was way to bring Buffy back, and I’ve got my fingers crossed for a nice, long run.

Rating: 8/10

Runaways (2005 Series) #25

April 1, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Dead-End Kids
Rating: T+

The Runaways run again – to New York!

Writer: Joss Whedon
Pencils: Michael Ryan
Inks: Rick Ketcham
Colors: Christina Strain
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Nick Lowe
Cover Art: Jo Chen
Publisher: Marvel Comics

It’s almost not even fair to try to review this issue. We’re just coming off a groundbreaking run by Brian K. Vaughan, and the incoming writer Joss Whedon has a strong reputation for telling solid stories himself (especially stories with young heroes), so in some respects, anything short of a home run will be viewed by some as a failure. Well, this issue isn’t a home run, but if you manage to filter out any biases or expectations, it’s at least a solid double – a good comic, but not a great one.

The Runaways have decided to head back to New York for a while, and in so doing, need a place to stay. The way they go about getting a place is rather suspect, however, and may put them in the sights of a surprise guest-star… and not in a good way.

The good first: Joss Whedon has a really strong grasp on these characters. They still feel like themselves, and he manages to drawn on both their own pasts and the history of the Marvel Universe to create his story. He also manages to break away from the too-slow pace he employs on Astonishing X-Men – there’s a lot that happens in this issue, and far from feeling rushed, it feels like a story should be paced.

On the other hand, the kids cut a deal with some unsavory characters here, and despite the justifications some of them use for it, I can’t help think that they simply wouldn’t do it, based on their history. It’s a nagging problem, but one that is difficult to escape.

Michael Ryan’s artwork is quite strong – a fine match for the characters – and Christina Strain’s colors are great. Fans of the series will be pretty satisfied about this issue – Whedon isn’t making any fundamental, unnecessary changes the way so many writers tend to do. He’s just running with the ball, and that’s as it should be.

Rating: 7/10

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #2

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #2 (Dark Horse)
By Joss Whedon, Georges Jeanty & Jo Chen

This is a really rare comic — it’s a TV show adaptation that actually has relevance to the parent property, tells a strong story, advances the characters, has input from the creator and manages to satisfy both long-time fans of the series and relative newcomers. That’s practically unheard of. Buffy continues training her legion of slayers this issue, we find out a bit more about the missing members of the cast and Amy’s plot against Buffy begins to take effect. The script is peppered with the traditional Joss Whedon wit and includes some fantastic art by Georges Jeanty. Everything leads up to a last-page reveal that should have everyone who loves the Buffyverse cheering. Joss Whedon has had two pretty high-profile launches lately — this book and taking over the helm of Runaways (also this week). Out of the two, this is definitely the stronger book. No fan of Buffy and the Scooby Gang can afford to pass this series up, and even people who didn’t follow the TV show religiously will find a lot of stuff to enjoy here.

Rating: 9/10