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Author
Topic:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
darth-sinister
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
Date Posted:
12/25/06 11:38pm
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
I knew that Loeb would be involved. He worked on a couple Buffy and Angel comics, did the introduction for Fray and was a writer for the developmental hell animated Buffy series.
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came up with the formula for great Star Wars dialouge."
Palpatine: "Something, something, something. Dark side.
Something, something, something complete."
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darth-sinister
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
Date Posted:
12/31/06 10:48am
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
"Portal Through Time" by Alice Henderson. Our story is set during season two. It begins with a shocking beginning. Buffy Summers is dead. In 1995 and then further back in 1984. The vampire Lucien was once a favored member of the Master's clan. But when Lucien learned of his death, he decided to find a way to prevent that. To that end, he found two artifacts that when combined will allow him to travel back and forth through time. Though the object has to be left in the present, to serve as a marker to bring him back. His first attempt to stop the Master's death, failed. Teaming with the vampires Victor and Jason, the trio attempt to change history by killing Buffy Summers. Unfortunately, this doesn't work well. The Master is still killed, but by two different Slayers. Neither of which are Kendra or Faith. Consulting a demon that specializes in prophecies, they learn that they must first stop the death of Buffy and then travel further in time. There they must kill four different Slayers. In doing so, Buffy will not be called and thus the Master will not die when he escapes the Hellmouth. But in resurrecting Buffy, they unknowingly make her aware of what's going on. Now she, Xander, Giles and Willow must travel the ages to keep history in check.
This is an interesting story. The first few chapters focus on Victor, Jason and Lucien as they attempt to change history. But the story picks up once Buffy and the Scoobies get involved. Things really get interesting once the gang makes it to the French Revolution. I won't give it away, but I hadn't expected a twist to the story. Overall, I'd give it a good rating.
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came up with the formula for great Star Wars dialouge."
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darth-sinister
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
Date Posted:
1/15/07 11:48am
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
Solicitation for issue two of Joss Whedon's Buffy Season 8 comic.
The destruction of Buffy's hometown, plus covert and powerful slayer "cells" around the world, add up to a new label for the Scoobies: Terrorist threat.
Speaking of Sunnydale, the crater formerly known as, has opened to reveal the witch Amy, and boy is she pissed. Now: Giles, smoochies, a knife to the heart, and a big sleep.
Season Eight continues.
32 pages, $2.99, in stores on April 4.
-----signature-----
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came up with the formula for great Star Wars dialouge."
Palpatine: "Something, something, something. Dark side.
Something, something, something complete."
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Healer_Leona
Registered:
Jul '00
Date Posted:
1/17/07 1:58pm
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
I don't think I've ever bought a comic, at least not for me, but it's high time I change that. This sounds too good to pass up.
Thanks for the exciting info
Sinister
.
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PrincessKenobi
Registered:
Aug '00
Date Posted:
1/23/07 9:34pm
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
If I have to find a place open at Midnight to get my hands on the new Buffy comic series, I'm getting it, that day.
~PK~
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darth-sinister
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
Date Posted:
2/5/07 10:36pm
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
Solicitation for issue three.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #3
Writer: Joss Whedon
Cover Artist: Jo Chen
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Genre: Horror, Action/Adventure
With Buffy incapacitated, Amy the witch has taken the opportunity to-get this-lay siege with an army of the undead. Willow takes her on in a witches’ battle royal as hundreds of Slayers defend their Scottish citadel, but without the kiss of true love, Buffy will be out of commission indefinitely-with an unwelcome familiar face, and an image you won’t soon forget.
Buffy creator Joss Whedon brings Buffy back to Dark Horse in this direct follow-up to Season Seven of the smash-hit TV series.
Publication Date: May 02, 2007
Format: Full color, 32 pages
Price: $2.99
Also, an advance review from Newsarama.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 (Season 8) Street Date: March 7, from Dark Horse Comics Writer: Joss Whedon Art: Georges Jeanty and Andy Owens (Cover Art: Jo Chen) Colors: Dave Stewart Review by Troy Brownfield
Some disclaimer-type language: Yes, Buffy fan. Rather than setting me up to give this an automatic “A”, that fact actually makes me enter with some degree of temerity. Consider: if you have something that you really enjoyed, any extension, derivation, adaptation or deviation from same is going to be met with at least some form of heightened expectation. In this case, Buffy as a TV series had an appropriate ending in terms of timing, story, and scale. To revisit it and extend it (in continuity, no less), even with creator Joss Whedon at the helm, you’re going to have do something that a) reads well, b) looks great, and c) does things in a new way for it to even remotely work.
That said: welcome to A, B, and C. To say that Whedon and company knock it out of the park is a disservice to baseball metaphors. The narration on the first page clicks right into that classic Buffy dialogue rhythm, while the second page allows Jeanty and Owens to draw a sign that might as well say “Our stamp, here.” Not only is this a good read, it’s a fun read, and the import of that in the overall Buffy context can not be understated.
Pull back a second to place an appropriate time frame. You must remember that as this is a functional Buffy “Season 8”, the events and actions occur at a timeline that is roughly parallel to the events of brother-series Angel’s Season 5. That point is driven home with a righteously terrific punchline on page 4 that adds some brilliant depth to one of that Angel season’s funniest episodes.
However, just because there are long-time fan moments, don’t believe that it’s not accessible. Whedon plays the narration and development in such a way that you could come in blind and pick things up. Granted, you probably should be somewhat of a fan, and I recommend checking on the show if you’ve never done so. Still, first timers will find plenty to like. Such as:
The art of Jeanty and Owens. They do a great job with likenesses, but more importantly, they convey the motion and body language of the characters well. With roughly 145 hours of television out there chronicling their adventures, you know that it would be a massive disconnect if the renderings weren’t good. In fact, they’re spot on. Honestly, I always thought that Buffy herself was a hard character to get right in the comic form, but the team here manages to get it. Similar kudos should be extended for their work on Xander and Dawn (whose appearance herein fuels a funny subplot).
As to Whedon’s work . . . well, this is his baby, isn’t it? Fans have missed these characters, and you can tell from the script that Whedon has too. The sisterly interplay between Buffy and Dawn is solid, underscoring Dawn’s propensity for getting in trouble (“It must be Tuesday,” you can almost hear Buffy say) and the fractious relationship that they’ve always had. One brief conversation with Buffy and Xander reminds us that he’s always been smarter and more insightful than anyone else ever noticed. Whedon also takes the opportunity to show us that yes, the outside world did realize what happened to Sunnydale. And that last page? Extremely smart choice.
Frankly, I thought this was just great. It’s a treat for fans and it’s a strong comic besides. I’m now also doubly curious about a few things; based on conversations from Angel episodes, we know that the characters were, for a time, on different continents. One wonders if we’ll see Willow and Kennedy in South America, or if this was more disinformation directed by Wolfram & Hart by a, in retrospect, very clever Andrew. Granted, we’re reviewing this about a month before the release, so if you have any curiosity at all, get it on your pull list. The faithful will feel rewarded, and some new converts might be found. And really, we’re just getting started. Welcome back, Scoobies.
-----signature-----
Stewie: "Oh, this is an even bigger jackpot than when the Emperor
came up with the formula for great Star Wars dialouge."
Palpatine: "Something, something, something. Dark side.
Something, something, something complete."
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Healer_Leona
Registered:
Jul '00
Date Posted:
2/6/07 3:58am
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
Great reviews, I'm very much looking forward to these.
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You turn every head but you don't see me.
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darth-sinister
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
Date Posted:
2/17/07 9:58am
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
From Comicbookresources.com.
SLAYING ALIVE: WHEDON TALKS “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”
by Dave Richards, Staff Writer
Posted: February 15, 2007 — More From This Author
When "Chosen" - the final episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - ended, many fans were left wondering what's next for Buffy Summers and friends? On March 7th , they can stop wondering because Buffy creator Joss Whedon returns with the eighth season of their favorite show, but the action won't be happening on the small screen; instead it will be unfolding in the pages of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" #1, the first issue of a new comic series written by Whedon, drawn by artist Georges Jeanty and published by Dark Horse Comics. CBR News spoke with Whedon about the book.
For Whedon, the new Buffy series isn't about making cash; it's a chance for him to have some fun with some of his signature creations. "I expect it to sell dozens and dozens of copies. I don't make sales expectations," Whedon told CBR News. "I think it will do well out there. I think they would be wise to push it and they [Dark Horse] were caught unawares with 'Serenity.' This is getting more heat than anything I've done in a while. But for me it's, 'Is the comic good? Did they get it on the stands?' And then somebody tells me the numbers later on. It's not like I'm going to make a fortune. It's a comic book."
One of the appealing aspects of doing Season Eight of Buffy as a comic book instead of a television show is that it allows Whedon a whole new range of creative freedom. "The network left us alone and the actors did what they were told, not because we were mean, but because they liked what they were given to do," Whedon said. "It's not like I was ever harangued while I was making it. But there were definitely budgetary limitations and the limitations of having to deal with the daily life of Buffy, which is sort of what made the show work, but there were a lot of things you couldn't do just in terms of scope. We've broadened it a little bit, which is fun. People are jumping from helicopters and there are giants. There are no limits and certainly that is fun."
Another television limit that Whedon will be doing away with on the "Buffy" comic is length. Fans shouldn't expect "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to end around issue #22, like a TV series would. "It will be more, because I have so many good writers jumping into the mix," Whedon explained. "I'm just going to keep going until I run out of writers and then I'll wrap it up. I'll be doing some stories in between other people. I originally had sort of thought of it as about 25 issues, but this is not like a season in the sense of you know a season always begins three months after the last one, and through the school year, then ends in May. We were pretty religious about that. We didn't do that on 'Angel' one year. We wrapped it up every year as though it was never coming back. I do have an arc for the season that will come to an end, and then it could be a new season if people were still into it or we would walk away wiping our hands saying we're just so awesome. [Laughs] I'm keeping it open lengthwise. It may become even bigger than I'm imagining it, or you know, I might decide it needs to tighten up and finish."
Like Whedon mentioned, some of comics' biggest names will be writing future story arcs of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." These writers will occasionally co-ordinate story details with Whedon but will pretty much have free reign to tell their stories. "It's not like I'm gonna tell Brian [K. Vaughan] how to write," Whedon stated. "The man is one of the gods of comics. We did the story breaking together and I'm going to be sort of overseeing everything. I'm not going to get in his soup; I'm not going to tell him how to do his job. But every now and then I go 'Well, this character feels like they should be in this space.' Sort of what I like to refer to as executive producing a comic book. Some people I'll be working with closely, some I'll just be checking in. It depends how they work.
"I wrote a manifesto of what the plan was, the mood in the arc and some of the issues within that, and by issues I mean ideas not, 'issues,'" Whedon continued. "And then you know, you sit down with every person and they say, well, I'm really interested in this character. Okay, well, let's talk about what we need to know about this character, how has this character changed, what have we learned, just like how we'd do with the show. And then is there a part of the arc we can fold that into? For instance, is there a part of the arc we can service with that?
"Some of the comics will be straight up arc, moving ahead, and some will be side pieces. Where you see the arc is going on and you see something about it while you learn something about this character for a while. It's like a late season of any show, where the ancillary characters are getting a lot of screen time."
"Buffy" #1 picks up about a year after the events of Season Seven and addresses how the U.S. government explained away the destruction of Sunnydale, California and hints that those in power and in the know about the supernatural might not be too pleased with the fact that there's now thousands of Slayers wandering around. "I'll just go ahead and say they might not be totally thrilled," Whedon said. "Strong women make some people nervous, don't ask me why."
In future issues readers can also expect to see the demon and vampire communities' reaction to the dramatic increase in the number of Slayers. "That isn't something that I've dealt with that much upfront," Whedon explained. "They're still going about their business, but it becomes an issue later on. They're not pleased."
With the number of Slayers now in the thousands, Buffy and her friends find themselves in a new situation when issue #1 begins. Instead of being able to rely on only a few trusted confidants, Buffy and the Scoobies now have the might of an entire organization backing them up in their fight against supernatural evil. "They're divided into units, all of which are pretty big," Whedon explained. "They're still trying to figure out how to run this thing. They had all these girls from college and gradually we get to see more of how they built their organizations and the ways in which they're working and the ways in which they're really not. They're a ragtag team of misfits. It always sounds good when you say it. They're a bit like the A-Team. They do pity fools. [Laughs]"
When readers are re-introduced to Buffy and her allies in issue #1, their immediate goals are fairly simple. "They're just fighting demons and trying to, you know, make sure all the Slayers are accounted for," Whedon said. "Then right away they start seeing things that mean something funky is going on. Some old friends show up, not necessarily in the friend way.
"The first story really sets up the world, where Buffy's at and what they're going to be facing over this storyarc," Whedon continued. "It kind of puts the pieces in place and allows me to have a tremendous amount of fun with my guys again. The first four are just like a straight up comic where, you know, I'm playing with the world and seeing our characters and riffing on it and having an intense adventure.
The second story in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which is penned by writer Brian K Vaughan, puts the spotlight on a character who began as an ally of Buffy and the Scoobies, then fought against them, and by the TV series end was fighting along side them again - Faith the Vampire Slayer. "When Brian and I sat down, it was more like doing the show in terms of 'what do we learn about faith?" Whedon said. "Why is she different at the end of this than she was at the beginning? What are we saying about her? What are we saying about Buffy?' It was like breaking the show."
As "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" progresses, readers will get reacquainted with more of the Scoobies. "Those are characters that we roll out," Whedon stated. "We see a few of them in the upcoming issues. We see most of the hard scoobies, but there are plenty of people we need to find out about. But everybody's still themselves. Nobody's gone really loopy. They're not all around each other, and there are some questions about where some of them have been. But when they are around each other, it's like old times."
It's not just Buffy's regular supporting cast that Whedon has plans for in "Buffy." He also hopes to check in with loads of other characters like Buffy's ex-boyfriend, government monster slayer, Riley Finn. "I have plans for everybody," Whedon said. "I cannot tell you if these plans will come to fruition because somebody might have a better idea. Or we might run out of steam. Or people might reject the comic wholesale. Although I'm hoping they don't - I'm hoping they reject it retail. [Laughs] But I've thought about how everybody could fit in."
Later on in the book's run, Whedon says there's a possibility readers will see a few of the characters from the Buffy spin-off show, "Angel." "IDW has the 'Angel' license and although I can use those characters in 'Buffy,' it makes sense to keep the two separate and let them be their own separate worlds. That's not to say that Angel and Spike aren't on Buffy's mind, that's not to say that they won't show up, but it'll be sparingly and in no way interfere with what they're doing at IDW."
Buffy's organization has grown quite large in the "Buffy" comic, but Whedon currently has no plans for them to confront another large villainous organization, the law firm of Wolfram and Hart, which was a reoccurring menace on "Angel." "Anything that's truly an 'Angel' thing, unless I was doing some big crossover, I would keep on 'Angel,'" Whedon stated.
As readers of the five page preview of "Buffy" #1 might have noticed, Whedon does touch on a plot thread introduced in one of the episodes from the final season of "Angel," Buffy's alleged romance with a being known as the Immortal. "When I started writing the comic I had Buffy dating the Immortal," Whedon said. "I liked it, but I didn't love it. I realized, 'No, I think we need to start with classic Buffy and classic Buffy is alone.' And then I thought, 'Well everybody said how obvious it was that that wasn't Sara Michelle Gellar in the episode, wouldn't it be hilarious [laughs] especially since Andrew sort of said, 'Oh gentlemen, yes she's dating the Immortal, it's so wonderful.' If Andrew had just been messing with the guys, I found that to be such a delight and perfectly in character. So, it was a retcon, but it was kind of a beautiful one. I don't think retcons are necessarily pejorative. It's not Gwen Stacy bones the Green Goblin, okay?"
Some people who may not have seen any episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and perhaps became acquainted with Whedon through his later work on things like "Firefly" or "Serenity" might be wondering how new reader friendly the new "Buffy" comic is. "That's a good question. Believe it or not it's not one that I've ever been asked really or thought about that much," Whedon stated. "I do sort of explain people as they show up, but there is nothing that lays out the full history of, say, 'Well, Xander is blah blah.' It does assume a certain amount of knowledge. It's sort of like when I started reading 'The Authority.' That came from books I had never read and that had an assumption of a past, but I didn't really need to know it. I was just like, 'what are their powers? Who likes who? And who are they fighting?' And it worked just like gangbusters. Hopefully people who haven't sent the show will be able to jump on and just enjoy the fact that it's pretty good fun."
After the "Buffy" and "Angel" TV shows wrapped, Whedon floated a number of ideas to tell more stories in the world that he created. Some of those ideas will be explored in the new "Buffy" series. "We never intended there to be an 8 th season of 'Buffy,'" Whedon said. "We did talk briefly of something about a group of slayers, so that dynamic might show up a little bit. Obviously we wanted to do a Faith series, but that never got off the ground. This is pretty much uncharted territory. I had not planned to revisit these characters. I'm not entirely sure why I am except that I love these characters."
Whedon is a very busy man these days. He's making movies, writing other comics like Marvel's "Astonishing X-Men" and "Runaways" and handling a number of other projects. Some fans might be wondering how his busy schedule will affect the new "Buffy" comic. "I have not been late with a single issue of 'Astonishing' since the first arc," Whedon explained. "Marvel decided to go bi-monthly, this was not because my scripts were late. I say all this with absolute integrity because now I'm late with one. [laughs] I just wanted a stop because of 'Buffy' [pants]. I'm actually so far ahead on scripts on 'Buffy,' and now Brian's working on his, so I'm not going to have to write a script for the better part of a year, well, more than a year before it's time for me to even write another one."
If the new "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" comic does well, Whedon has no problem telling stories beyond the ones he currently has planned. "If there's juice, fire up the machine," he said. "If you're starting to make them because people are buying them, then stop. If you stop having stories to tell, walk away. Don't let it be that thing. But there are so many stories I'd be surprised if that happened any time soon."
From Whedon.info an interview with Christopher Golden.
Christopher Golden - "Dark Congress" Novel - Slayerlit.us Interview
Buffy
Chris Golden is a man who needs to introduction to Buffy readers. He’s also exceptionally busy, writing best selling novel after best selling novel (with some comic book work thrown in there for good measure), so we’re very grateful that he made the time to participate in this, his second full interview for SlayerLit.
When it was announced several months back that Chris would be returning to the Buffy novels after an absence of several years, we knew we just had to ask him for the details. And, after clearing things with his editor first, he’s more than generous with some of those details.
So now, in a SlayerLit exclusive, here is Christopher Golden and his impending DARK CONGRESS...
SL: Chris, I’d like to welcome you back to SlayerLit. We’re here to talk about your upcoming Buffy novel, DARK CONGRESS, so let’s get right to it. So, in DARK CONGRESS, the vampires have given up lurking about in dark alleyways, they’ve taken up politics, and they’re running for high office, correct?
CG: Not quite. Here’s the gist. Once upon a time, all of the demonic and monstrous races, and the old gods, would choose ambassadors to send to the Dark Congress, which would take place under a general truce once every hundred years. The world is populated by demons from dark dimensions and many other supernatural beings and breeds, and they all have different attitudes toward humanity and the world. Some want to leave to return to their home dimensions, some to conquer this one; some want to live in peace with human beings, and others want to eat them. For the most part, they live and let live, out for their own agenda, but once every century, they would get together and try to come up with a consensus about their relationship to the world and to humans. It never worked out. The one time it came closest, about 1500 years ago, was because of the influence of an African river demon named Kandida and a desert demon named Trajabo. Think of them as Romeo and Juliet. Their kin hated one another and, in spite of the potential peace (or perhaps because of it), a conspiracy was hatched to destroy Kandida. Unable to kill her, they trapped her, half-dead, in a tomb in the bank of the river. As the story opens, Kandida is freed. Trajabo never knew she wasn’t really dead. With them reunited, the Dark Congress is called for the first time in all those centuries and hundreds of supernatural creatures of all varieties descend—in secret, in peace, and under agreement not to take a human life—to Providence, Rhode Island, whose supernatural history makes it a perfect meeting place. There’s just one thing the Congress needs, and that’s an objective Arbiter, someone to settle disputes who has no loyalty to any group, but one who is also supernatural. That, of course, is Buffy Summers. Set a couple of months after season seven’s wrap-up, DARK CONGRESS also features the return of a lot of familiar faces, including Oz, Faith, and at least one character who is the last person you’d expect to see in this story, but who is vital to the theme. Honestly, that’s just scratching the surface of the plot, which eventually becomes a murder mystery.
SL: Is this a story you’ve had rattling around in your brain for a while, or did it come to you when you needed to sit down and come up with an original Buffy adventure yet again?
CG: At a certain point, a number of years ago (four and a half or so), I became too busy with other things to continue doing Buffy novels. It seemed a very neat and appropriate time to end things because Lisa Clancy, who’d been my editor on every single one of my Buffy projects at Simon & Schuster—as well as a number of other things—was taking her leave. The end of an era, really. At that time, there were three or four Buffy novel concepts and outlines still sitting in my idea file, but I just figured they would stay there forever, and that would be that. One of those was a FAITH story, which I’d still be interested in telling someday, if the opportunity presented itself. The one that had been the most fleshed out was DARK CONGRESS. Strangely enough, I think it’s a much more interesting book, with more interesting themes, having written it now than it would have been if I had written it then.
SL: Just how did DARK CONGRESS come about? The last time we spoke, you mentioned you had gotten a bit “Buffy’d out.” Did you contact the publisher about doing a new book, or did they call you?
CG: I had done about thirteen Buffy novels, two video games, a bunch of comics, and various non-fiction projects and the truth is, I *was* Buffy’d out. Still, I had these few things niggling at the back of my brain that I wondered if I’d ever do. But, again, Lisa’s departure seemed to coincide so well with my getting extremely busy that it was a natural stopping point. Then, a couple of things happened. Well, first, four years went by. I had a rest from the Buffyverse, and that was nice. Then my two sons became interested in the show and the video games I’d written with Tom Sniegoski, and through their eyes, I started to see all over again how much there was to love there. Not that I had lost any of that love, but I’d gotten kind of burned out. Around the same time, I realized that I had an upcoming hole in my schedule and that if I really wanted to, I would have time to do something. I sent an e-mail to Patrick Price, who runs the program now, and that led to a phone call, and pretty soon we were off and running—me, and Patrick, and my editor on the book, Emily Westlake.
SL: Is the book set during a period of time in Buffy’s history that you particularly enjoy working in, or were you asked to set it at this point in time?
CG: It just felt right, for a number of reasons, to set it post season seven. I think I felt that *I* had moved on, and if I was going to go back and write these characters, it made sense to write them after *they* had also moved on. I haven’t actually read any of the work that’s been written by others in post season seven. And with Joss bringing the comics back with his own season eight, all I could do was try to go by the few glimpses we’ve had of that storyline. But the novels have always had their own continuity which is not the same as, but is parallel to and as similar as possible to the official continuity.
SL: Is there any specific character in this story you really enjoyed writing for? For instance, in many of your past books, I always had a sense that you got a real kick writing Giles.
CG: It was sheer pleasure writing Xander again, oddly enough. Especially an older, scarred Xander, still wanting to be the guy he always was, but with the weight of all he’s experienced hanging over him. In a way, he reminded me a lot of the future Xander I wrote in THE LOST SLAYER. Then there’s one other character who, again, I’m not going to name. At least, not yet.
SL: You’ve said this will most likely be your swan song with the Vampire Slayer. As such, do you plan to go out with a slam-bang Viking funeral? And do you really think you may never write another Buffy story again?
CG: Well, never say never. I’ve always said the door is not closed. It’s all about having the heart for it, and having the time for it, and then having people actually want you to do it. That Faith story is still kicking around in my head. But as anyone will notice, the novels have been fewer and farther between lately. I certainly hope that they continue on, that I haven’t come in for a last bow as the curtain draws closed, but whether or not there will still be Buffy novels at some point down the line, if I ever find myself with the time and the desire to do another, only the Oracles know for sure.
SL: You told us in your last SlayerLit interview that one thing you always wanted to do, but couldn’t, was give us Faith in love. Do you plan to include in DARK CONGRESS some other things that you would have liked to have done with Buffy in the past, but for whatever reason, you never had?
CG: Ah, well, Faith in love. Wouldn’t that be something? The novel I wanted to write about her focused a lot on her time in prison. None of that Faith stuff is in DARK CONGRESS. There are a few things in here that I always wanted to do, however. Send the Scoobies to Providence, for one. Xander visiting Lovecraft’s grave is fun stuff. Really, it’s mostly a visit with old friends for me. Micaela Tomasi, who Nancy Holder and I created and Sniegoski and I used in the comics, appears. Having Oz and Faith was a blast. I had wanted to use Spike, but with the Angel/Buffy license situation, it was a bit confusing, so he’s left out. I managed to sneak in a scene with the Gentlemen, believe it or not. And then there’s that other character I keep mentioning...something I wanted to do for a long time, and I feel a real contentment about getting the chance.
SL: One of my favorite recurring characters in many of your Buffy books is Lucy Hannover, the ghost of a Slayer from the 19th Century. Is there a chance she’ll be popping up in this story...and if so, can we hope she might bring Admiral Nelson, Lord Byron, and Boadicea along for a quick cameo?
CG: Nope. No Lucy Hanover this time around, unfortunately, though I love that character. And no Ghosts of Albion, either. After all, if I wrote them into the book, Fox would own them.
SL: 2006 was a very busy year for you. What more will we see from Christopher Golden in 2007?
CG: In March, Bantam will release THE BORDERKIND, book two of my trilogy THE VEIL. It’s a huge, dark fantasy piece that starts very small and grows larger and larger until, in the final volume, it turns into full blown war, crumbling kingdoms, secret destinies, and all kinds of other stuff. It has my love of mythology mixed with a passion for monsters. Then, around Labor Day, you can check out BALTIMORE, OR THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE, a collaborative project I’ve done with Mike Mignola. Mike and I wrote it together and he has done 150 illustrations for the book, plus the cover. It’ll be out in hardcover from Bantam and the reaction we’re getting so far from those who’ve read it is incredibly gratifying. It’s a gothic novel. At the New York Comic-Con at the end of this month, I’m told there will be some limited edition promotional items for the book, and then at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July, Bantam plans to give away a sampler book containing a significant preview. Also, 2007 should see my short story collection, THE SECRET BACKS OF THINGS, but I can’t talk any more about that at the moment.
SL: And I have to ask...I know it’s kind of like asking which one of your children do you love the most, but of the many Buffy books you’ve written, is there one in particular you take special pride in?
CG: I like them all for different reasons. THE LOST SLAYER was the most ambitious, and I think it came out very well. PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW is the most unique, and probably the most pleasure to write. But DARK CONGRESS means a great deal to me too. You’ll have to read it to find out why.
SL: Chris, I sincerely hope that DARK CONGRESS won’t be your last visit to the Buffyverse, but if it is, I’m glad you’ve been given the opportunity to come back one last time and tell your story. Thanks for talking with us today!
CG: My pleasure, and thank you.
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darth-sinister
Title:
Manager Emeritus
Registered:
Jun '01
Date Posted:
3/3/07 10:29am
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RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
More Buffy goodness.
IGN article.
The modern master of nerds across the world is Joss Whedon. Starting with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then moving to Angel, Firefly and Serenity, Whedon has created some of the most memorable and brilliant original properties in recent memory. They’re also cult hits. While Buffy and Angel were very successful, they still only reached a limited audience on small networks. Firefly/Serenity had an even smaller lifespan as the series only lasted 11 episodes and the movie wasn’t exactly successful (though the DVD sales of both are doing very well).
Whedon’s series and their spin-offs are deceptive. Buffy appears to be a mere story about a girl fighting vampires. Firefly/Serenity appears to be some sort of space/western crossover. To try and label these franchises in such a manner does them a great injustice. Buffy does feature a girl and vampires, but it’s about love, friendship, life, laughter, death, happiness, hope, inner strength, sadness, courage and struggle. The same applies to Firefly/Serenity. These are stories about people and not simply concepts.
In comics, Whedon has accomplished much. Working on a futuristic take on Buffy, Whedon created Fray for Dark Horse, which was highly praised. The Buffy-verse has also seen multiple series, many in continuity and many not. Recently Whedon has been doing work for Marvel comics. Though his name is most associated with Astonishing X-Men, in April will will take over Runaways for six issues. Serenity has also found a small niche in comics with one mini-series published and another on the way some time towards the end of the year.
Recently Whedon has been working on two films. He was set to helm the Wonder Woman movie, a collaboration that was recently ended. He’s also working on the mysterious Goners.
So why do a Season Eight for Buffy? Whedon has simply stated that there are more stories to tell. He initially toyed around with concepts and realized there was enough to really dive into. Being that Buffy is a very important (probably more than words can describe) concept to him, he decided to return.
The season will be broken into arcs, each with a different writer. Though he initially thought the series would run for 20 issues, Whedon has since revised his estimate to be well over 30. He’s writing the first four issue arc as well as a one-shot in the fifth issue. Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Runaways) will be taking over after that. Whedon will return for various stories and arcs throughout the season, particularly to end the entire storyline.
As far as the popular characters go, Whedon has plans for all of them. Spike and Angel will definitely be returning, though will be used sparingly and when the storyline makes sense. Whedon has also said that characters that moved or "lived" within Angel will stay there unless it’s absolutely necessary. The rest of the cast will be slowly introduced as it makes sense.
The series ships on March 7, 2007. IGN spoke with Whedon about his work on Buffy, Runaways, Serenity, Wonder Woman and the end of Civil War.
IGN Comics: The new status quo for Buffy and her companions removes them from every day situations and scenarios. They’re in castles with decoys and whatnot. Did you intend to set that up or was it merely the direction of the story?
Joss Whedon: Um, both. I did start with that basic idea that they had left Sunnydale, but it was a very mundane storyline. I then had to shake myself loose from the show and say, "No, wait a minute. Not only are they in distant lands, but they are having an epic life." They are in a comic book. It’s not a show and we can’t recreate the day-to-day metaphor, but we can recreate the characters, concepts and emotions, and just put that on a grander scale.
IGN Comics: Do you think doing that will move the franchise too far from what made the show a hit in the first place?
Whedon: You know, I was talking to Brian Vaughan about his arc. Halfway through the conversation, because we were like, "This could be cool, that could be cool," and we said, "Wait. Let’s just stop. What are we saying here? What do we need to say about Faith that we’ve never said before?" And these are the exact questions I’m asking when I’m running the show. So, I really don’t think so... I think you need a certain amount of distance. You need to blow it up... well, most of all you need Giant Dawn, but you also need Willow’s magic. You need access to the kind of world that she lives in that you could never have on TV. You need things to have a giant scope. People need to swing from the rooftops, and do the hero stuff, to keep a level of visual excitement that you have to achieve without the actors - without the actual people in front of you.
George Jeantys is just doing a wonderful job. What he’s doing an amazing job of is capturing the actors without slavishly trying to trace photographs. I can’t say enough about what he’s brought to this party. That’s really the mission statement - yes, these are the people you love, but they’re going to be interpreted, and George isn’t going to be the only artist working on them.
So we’re going to remove them a little bit from the actors. That’s why we didn’t do photo covers this time around. We need to take one step away. The opportunities are enormous, but the strict adherence and dictates of the show, where each episode had to be a certain moment in the life of an emerging adult, that we don’t adhere to. We didn’t hold to that in Angel either but that still had the same kind of ethos and people still responded to it.
IGN Comics: Will this season be as dark and moody as Seasons Six or Seven?
Whedon: No, you gotta bring the goofy on... a little bit. The goofy is where an enormous amount of the fun lies. Like the show itself, the series will ping pong. It will go from Greek Tragedy to French Farce between issues and sometimes between panels. Having the characters just talk, just yak and each other, is just so glorious for me. I love their voices and that’s always really fun. But Brian is doing the Faith arc and that’s not without the darkness. Drew Goddard is coming in and he’s not without the silly. It doesn’t mean that each won’t have some of the other, but yeah not a Season Six kind of comic. That would be pretty much all blacks with word balloons.
IGN Comics: Are we looking at a similar season structure to the show? Will there be smaller threats in each arc with one big bad guy readying for the big conclusion?
Whedon: Pretty much... possibly even more so than the show. I have certain dictates about what needs to happen, but I don’t have dictates about when. So when a writer comes on, I’m interested in what they’re obsessed with. What makes it exciting is that it’s not just me, it’s a bunch of people. In that I might say, "Well that feeds into our main story if we add a B-plot here or we do this," or I might just say, "You know what, just do your thing and I’ll come in after with a few issues to keep the momentum going." Generally everybody is pretty responsive as to what I’ve set out as our mission statement.
IGN Comics: We’ve seen Buffy battle vampires, former lovers, demons, slayers, the government, a god, a sorceress and even evil incarnate. It seems like the only thing left is... well, bunnies. What’s Buffy going to be up against this season?
Whedon: Well thanks for the bunny spoiler! Way to ruin it... yes, bunnies and midgets. Needless to say it’s all about Anya, which is weird because she’s dead. You know, what’s going to be new... again, that’s still something we’re feeling our way around for. Obviously we’ve got much cooler looking demons... well, not cooler than Skip... nobody will ever look cooler than Skip. -chuckles- So obviously certain budgetary restrictions have been lifted.
Creating a resonate character in the comic book that isn’t somebody people know from the show is something that’s going to take some time doing. I’ve got some new characters in there just to broaden the scope a little bit, but to create somebody whose got the kind of juice that anybody who’s been on the TV show has... that’s not going to happen right away. I think that’s going to happen when people are more comfortable with the comic book, when they live in that world. There are some people I’m introducing, some particular characters I’m developing, that are yet to come. You have to earn it.
IGN Comics: How are you managing the development of this as a season? Did you get all of the writers together at once and break down the whole book like you might with the television series?
Whedon: Well, that would have been fun, ’cause it would have involved beer. The fact of the matter is that it’s hard enough to get one of them free. They’re all really busy guys. What I did was write a manifesto for the basic arc points and sent it to everyone on the E-Web. I used the E-Web because I’m very, very hip and now. I will probably send updates to that. I’ve had a lot of different ideas. Stuff I’ve written has opened up different doors. Questions have gone unanswered. Other guys’ arcs are coming in and people need to be informed that this is being done or that is being done. Then, as I come to each writer in turn, they can know what their playing field is.
IGN Comics: I’m curious about the writing staff. We’ve heard about Brian K. Vaughan, Jeph Loeb and Brad Meltzer. We’ve also heard Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard, Doug Petrie, Drew Greenberg and Steven DeKnight. Is there anyone else writing with you or anyone else you’re seeking?
Whedon: I think Jim Krueger (Justice, Earth X) is possibly going to join us which is cool because I’m also a fan of his. If you put most of those guys, some of them will get too busy, for four issues, you’ve already got a hell of a long season, especially since I’m definitely going to be doing not just a four issue arc to cap the season, but a couple of arcs inside. I mean I already did a one-shot after I finished the first four. I just shot off a one-shot because I had something that inspired me. That could happen at any moment. It’s like a hiccup; these things just come out.
IGN Comics: Have any of the actors affiliated with the Buffyverse expressed an interest in contributing in any way?
Whedon: So far no, they haven’t... it’s almost as if they’re busy acting, and what’s that all about? I would totally be open to it but most of them probably don’t even know it is going on. In fact, if I were to tell them something like, "Oh! Your character is doing this or that!" They’d probably look at me like, "Yeah... you know that was a part of my life that was over five years ago, right?" Then you feel small, so very small.
IGN Comics: So Brian K. Vaughan’s arc is dealing with Faith. Drew Goddard is doing something in Japan. Can you share any more details on either arc?
Whedon: Um, not a lot, because I don’t love to go into details and this is pretty far down the line. Brian and I came at Faith from a very psychological standpoint. We sort of found the story inside of that. It is a little darker, but I’ve read his first script and it’s also hilarious. His Faith voice is, for a guy who’s never written the show, he just swung and hit the lights. It was surprising, but exciting.
With Drew, he and I sit around and giggle about the things we’d like to do that are as silly as possible, and then our conversation calms down and becomes, well, if we took all of these elements, what does it actually mean? What are we actually talking about? Ultimately we get to, for us, as emotional a place as what Brian and I started out with. We work sort of from the outside in. Drew’s will be more specifically centered around the continuity of the arc. Brian’s is more of a side bar because people really do want to know about Faith. She’s one they care about a lot.
Wizard.com
Joss Whedon assembles a squad of all-star slayers to stake his claim on Buffy’s ’Season 8’ comic series
When the modern Godfather of genre TV sinks his teeth into you, you’d better believe you’re in his thrall.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” creator Joss Whedon put together a dream team of comic book A-listers and handpicked a horde of his former show writers to help him craft the massive undertaking of Dark Horse Comics’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8, an ongoing series of 20-plus issues that launches March 7 and picks up after the conclusion of the TV series. After a seven-year run on the air from 1997-2003, BTVS Season 8, as the creators and publisher Dark Horse have dubbed it, stands as official canon in the Buffy Universe and will follow the continuing adventures of Buffy, Xander, Giles, Willow, Dawn and the rest of the “Scooby gang.”
Whedon himself writes the first arc. And he’s brought with him Wizard’s 2006 Writer of the Year and Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, “Lost”), New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer (Justice League of America) and Hollywood hotshot Jeph Loeb (Wolverine, “Heroes”), as well as former show writers Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard, Drew Greenberg and Steven DeKnight. Artists Georges Jeanty (American Way) and Jo Chen (Runaways) handle interiors and covers, respectively.
So sharpen your stake as we take an in-depth look at how Whedon, Vaughan and Loeb plan to buff up Buffy’s continuing adventures.
JOSS WHEDON
WHAT’S YOUR STORY ABOUT? My story kind of gets us up to speed in terms of what happens to the world when thousands of girls from around the world are all suddenly empowered [with Slayer abilities], [and] what happens to Buffy and how her life has changed after [the destruction of her hometown,] Sunnydale. Not where everybody is, because we’re still keeping some secrets, but where some of our key members are and how they’re doing and how people are reacting to this sudden surge of strangely powerful women who seem to gather together. It’s bigger than the show in its scope, but it’s the same kind of intimacy. The biggest fun is always just the gang getting together and yakking. My arc serves as more bringing people into this new world, because it is a new world, both for old fans, for new readers and for Buffy herself.
FAVORITE BUFFY STORY I’m kicking it old school with the arrival of [Angel’s evil persona] Angelus [in Season 2’s two-part “Surprise” and “Innocent”]. That never got old for me. That was where it all came together.
LEAST FAVORITE BUFFY STORY I mean, I had some bad experiences. You always do. But I’m here not to rag on people. So I’m gonna say that when I think about mythic storytelling, I think the fact that [Principal] Robin Wood in Season 7 revealed he was the son of a Slayer over dinner was probably the least mythic idea I ever had, and I still kinda cringe when I think of that. I still look at that and go “Now that is just bad storytelling, bro. There’s so many better ways to reveal that.”
FAVORITE BIG BAD I’m gonna give it up to the Mayor [from Season 3]. I just loved that character. I loved writing him and the dichotomy between his “Father Knows Best” sweetness and his complete evil, and [actor] Harry Groener was just such a prince.
LEAST FAVORITE BIG BAD You know, I look back at what we did with Adam [Season 4’s patchwork Frankenstein-like monster], and I think we had all the elements, and we never put it together. Why did we light Adam like that? Why didn’t we light him differently? I don’t know why I was thinking about it. It’s an interesting creature. What made him and what he was and what he wanted were fascinating to me. And that fault was sadly mine.
MOST UNDERDEVELOPED CHARACTER I think [Buffy’s sister] Dawn. Everybody knows Dawn complains. I kept having her be sad because her reality was so crushingly horrible. She kept losing parental figures over and over and over. I’ve got her in the comic book, and she and Buffy are bickering. But for a different reason. A very good reason.
IF I HAD TO WRITE THE FINAL BUFFY STORY, I WOULD... Spend years agonizing over it and ultimately disappoint probably 50 percent of the people who read it. A lot of guys would go out disappointing 70 percent, but I’m gonna make half the people really happy. The other half are gonna be pissed. ’Cause Buffy clearly is gonna end up with... [Simulating static] I’m sorry, you’re breaking up. [Simulating static]
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
WHAT’S YOUR STORY ABOUT? [Fellow Slayer] Faith is going to be the star of my four-issue arc, which is totally thrilling to me, because I love her. I’m going to be writing issues #6-#9. I believe that turnabout is fair play; since Joss is following me on [Marvel’s] Runaways, I owed it to him to jump in after he took off.
FAVORITE BUFFY STORY It’s sort of a downer, but I’d have to say “The Body” [the Season 5 episode that dealt with the unexpected death of Buffy’s mom]; it’s not just my favorite episode of the series, but maybe my favorite hour of television anywhere. I’d never really seen anything like that. That episode just haunts me with how good it is.
FAVORITE SEASON That’s f---ing tough. [Pause] Season 2. The show really hit its stride then, perfectly blending humor, action, horror and drama. The Buffy/Angel relationship was fascinating, and I always liked [Buffy’s teacher] Jenny Calendar. Some of the best cliffhangers in the history of TV, too.
FAVORITE BIG BAD Gotta go with Angelus [from Season 2]. That’s a pretty great moment following Buffy sleeping with Angel the first time [in the two-part “Surprise” and “Innocent”] because that resonates so well with the real world of that fear of a girl sleeping with a guy and he becomes somebody else-and that literally happened on the show. It’s just so brilliant.
LEAST FAVORITE BIG BAD I never warmed up to Adam, but I recently did one of those dumb online polls that tell you what Buffy character you most resemble, and I’m Adam apparently. And it turns out the only guy I didn’t completely love in the Buffy Universe is me. [Laughs]
BEST LAUGH-OUT-LOUD ‘BUFFY’ MOMENT There was just one silent shot of [Buffy’s mentor] Giles wearing a wizard’s costume [in Season 5’s “No Place Like Home”] that they held on for an uncomfortably long time, and there’s no dialogue. That was cripplingly funny.
WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU WOULD NOT DO FOR JOSS WHEDON? I’ve done everything for him! F---ing ask him, man! [Laughs] I’m writing 19 comics books, two movie screenplays and I’m full time on a TV show [“Lost”], and he asked if I would write this comic book and I was like, “In a heartbeat.” Hell, if he wants, he can have my first born.
IF I HAD TO WRITE THE FINAL BUFFY STORY, I WOULD... I’m f---ing ready to write it tomorrow, are you kidding? I always thought it would be kind of poignant to just have Buffy and [her friend] Xander be the last two people left, and have them reminisce about high school. The point being that, while you’re going through high school, it seems like hell, but once you’re old you begin looking at high school like it used to be paradise. So maybe that’s a Buffy reveal: When Xander asks Buffy what heaven was like, she says, “Like high school, just with you and my friends.” That’s lovely, right? Like all of my stories, it’s two old people talking. [Laughs]
JEPH LOEB
WHAT’S YOUR STORY ABOUT? It’s way too early [to say]. I spent almost two years of my life trying to get the “Buffy” animated series off the ground, so I spent a lot of time with the show and the writers-the best thing that came out of that is my friendship with Joss [Whedon]. He called and asked me to do [this comic] and I said yes.
FAVORITE BUFFY STORY You gotta go with the easy one: the end of Season 2 and Angel’s death [in the two-part “Becoming” episode]. There’s nothing like a little “Romeo & Juliet” to really make your afternoon.
LEAST FAVORITE BUFFY STORY When they were still trying to find their way, the praying mantis teacher and Xander getting wrapped up in a cocoon [in Season 1’s episode “Teacher’s Pet”] is one of my favorite highlights of stupidity.
FAVORITE SEASON I’m a big fan of the first two-not to say I didn’t love the rest, but when it was new and fresh, there were just so many surprises. By the time the show went on and you fell in love with the characters, it was really a different show.
LEAST FAVORITE SEASON Joss knows I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Initiative [in Season 4]. Season 6 when Buffy came back to life-boy, that was depressing for a long time. [Laughs] It’s only depressing because you care, though.
FAVORITE BIG BAD I’ll always go to [vampires] Spike and Darla and the gang. I guess that really just means Angelus.
BEST LAUGH-OUT-LOUD ‘BUFFY’ MOMENT During “Hush” [in Season 4] when [Buffy’s friend] Willow came out and wrote on the blackboard around her neck, “Hi Giles!” That was the most brilliant thing I’d ever seen in my life. [Laughs]
CHARACTER YOU’D LIKE TO DATE It will surprise you-Joss always used to look at me like, “Huh?”-but [actress] Julie Benz as Darla was just the hottest thing to hit the Earth, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
YOUR TAKE ON “ANGEL” AS A SPINOFF SHOW There were times I enjoyed “Angel” more than I enjoyed “Buffy.” That may just be a male thing; sometimes Joss’ feminist manifesto would get to me, whereas “Angel” was just a big rollicking detective show with great characters.
AS A GUY WHO’S WORKED IN TELEVISION AND MOVIES FOR A LONG TIME, WERE YOU EVER SURPRISED THAT A FAILED MOVIE TURNED OUT TO BE SUCH A HIT ON TV? Are you kidding me? It’s one of the biggest jokes in the world! The only one which is even more surprising is the failed television show that went on to become a movie with “Firefly” and “Serenity”-Joss is all about breaking the rules. But boy is that [original “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”] movie bad. I love that Joss said, “No, it’s not a failed concept, just a poorly executed one.”
Artist Georges Jantry
Season Eight #1 is off to the printer, on sale in a matter of weeks, and we’re doing everything we can to get the word out there beyond the comics market, to bring in all the Buffy fans who were left wanting more at the end of Season Seven. I’m writing this quick update from a New York City hotel room the weekend before the big New York convention, where we’re going to be doing one last-ditch effort to get the word out before the book hits the street.
Meanwhile, though, Joss and the team are working way ahead. He’s already turned in the first five issues’ worth of scripts, which puts him off the hook until his next arc—which we’ll be announcing in a few months—and that story should make hardcore Joss fans lose their minds. Georges has his hands full, wrapping up some final corrections on issue #3, working on the variant covers for #2 and #3, and starting up issue #4 with Joss now.
We’ve just committed Paul Lee to draw issue #5, giving Georges an issue off before his arc with Brian K. Vaughan. Paul’s throwing pages back and forth via email with Joss, working out some subtleties in this stand-alone issue, which Joss says is very personally important to him. Paul’s also working on a variant cover for that, while Jo Chen just this minute showed me pencils for her #5 cover, which she’ll be wrapping up around the convention this weekend. Last I heard from Brian Vaughan, he was deep into his first issue (that’d be #6, for those without a scorecard), and pushing up against the page count of twenty-two—this Faith story he’s working on promises to be packed tight. Working with Joss on Buffy is pretty damn exciting, but getting to work with Brian for the first time smells like napalm in the morning. Like victory.
After Brian’s four-issue arc, we’re gearing up to bring in one of the most popular show writers, Drew Goddard. His story involves one of the most popular villains from the TV show, with a focus on Xander, and ... wait for it ... him and the other Scoobies stomping around Tokyo! Dawn should feel right at home.
We’ve got a letters column in Buffy, so make damn sure to write in to let us know what you think when, in just a couple weeks, you get your greedy little hands on Buffy: The Long Way Home Part 1.
-----signature-----
Stewie: "Oh, this is an even bigger jackpot than when the Emperor
came up with the formula for great Star Wars dialouge."
Palpatine: "Something, something, something. Dark side.
Something, something, something complete."
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Healer_Leona
Registered:
Jul '00
Date Posted:
3/4/07 2:09am
Subject:
RE: Buffy The Vampire Slayer & Angel book/comic book discussion
Love reading all this
Sinister
. Just a couple days left for the comic. Goody!!