More than a decade ago, I declared Joss Whedon my personal god for creating “Buffy” Season 3, still arguably the greatest TV season ever. But one of the reasons I still admire him today is because he’s not perfect (he proved that quickly with “Buffy” Season 4).
Whedon has had hits and misses, but I admire that he’s willing to admit he’s human, unlike, for example, George Lucas, another creative person who has made both amazing and amazingly disappointing work.
“Buffy” Season 8, the first season to take place in comics rather than TV, is — if I’m being completely honest as a critic — a failure. But it’s an interesting, fascinating failure, and one where I’ve bought every comic along way even though I had no idea what was going on for the last year or so, after Buffy and Angel reunited and used their love to open a gateway to another dimension and somehow wipe out all magic on Earth — or something like that. Or not remotely like that.
Part of what makes me excited by the prospect of going back and reading these books again someday is that Whedon is so open with his fans; he’s not trying to pass Season 8 off as a rousing success. (Also, Season 8 ran from April 2007 through January 2011, and included 40 issues plus three one-shots — “Tales of the Vampires,” “Willow” and “Riley” — over the course of four years. It’ll probably be a better read in a few sittings, like how DVDs play better than the original airings of TV shows.)
As Whedon wrote in a note at the end of Issue No. 40:
We’ve learned what you like, what you don’t, how this TV show translated into the world of comics, and how it didn’t quite. … If you’ve read this issue, you’ve got a sense of where we’re heading for Season 9. Back, a bit, to the everyday trials that made Buffy more than a superhero. That made her us. I was so excited to finally have an unlimited budget that I wanted to make the book an epic, but I realized along the way that the things I loved the best were the things you loved the best: the peeps. The down-to-earth, recognizable people.
It’s so satisfying to know that the creator of one of my favorite franchises is on the same page as me heading into Season 9. I’m looking forward to it. But first, let’s take a look back at the talking points of the epic (for better or worse) rollercoaster ride that was Season 8:
Issue No. 1: George Jeanty does the artwork, as he would for much of Season 8. He’s a master at drawing these characters’ likenesses and giving them expressions.
No. 1: Dawn is a giant. I didn’t have a huge problem with this, because I knew that while Joss was indeed taking advantage of this new medium, the reason Dawn turned into a giant would ultimately be a metaphor for a real-world issue. It turned out she just picked the wrong demon to date. Meh. But at least that gave her common ground with Xander, who had a notorious knack for falling for evil demons on the show; more on the Dawn-Xander thing later.
No. 1: Amy is back. I always liked her from the TV show. Unfortunately, Season 8 never did anything really interesting with her.
No. 3: Buffy needs to be kissed by someone in love with her in order to wake from a nightmare. We don’t see who does it, fueling speculation for several issues. It eventually turns out to be fellow slayer Satsu, which fuels much online controversy.
No. 3: Warren is not dead, but he is still skinless. In “Buffy” parlance: Ew. Sometimes it’s OK to bring characters back from the dead. Sometimes I’d rather they didn’t.
No. 6: A four-issue Faith arc begins, with Giles serving as her Watcher. It didn’t leave much impression on me, but I can’t argue with the concept. Here, Faith takes on a Slayer who doesn’t get with Buffy’s program, a notion that was introduced in a Season 5 “Angel” episode and will be followed up on in many more issues of “Buffy” Season 8. And apparently it will be a major theme of Season 9.
No. 9: We’re introduced to Twilight, Season 9’s confusing and ineffectual Big Bad, who will turn out to be Angel for some bizarre reason.
No. 12: TV veteran Drew Goddard scripts the issue where Buffy sleeps with Satsu. Regardless of your views on whether or not it ruins Buffy’s character, the sequence, with random characters gradually wandering into the room to be shocked by what they see, is funny, and it shows that TV staging can be replicated quite effectively in comic panels.
No. 16: Fray and Buffy meet. Must’ve been a time-travel story; don’t remember the details.
No. 20: In an issue-long flashback/dream sequence, we get a sense of what the “Buffy” animated series would’ve looked like in a story written by Jeph Loeb, who would’ve been one of the writers on that show-that-never-was.
No. 26: Oz, now a Tibetan monk of sorts, returns. In the ensuing arc, Tibet becomes the site of an epic battle between Slayers and human soldiers that showcases not only what can be done outside the constraints of a TV budget, but also what maybe shouldn’t be done.
No. 28: TV veteran Jane Espenson scripts the best issue of Season 8. Not only do we see Dawn and Xander get together (it’s about time the unlucky-in-love Xand-man catches a break), but it’s also staged in a beautifully TV-esque way where Andrew is chronicling the whole thing on video and Buffy unexpectedly ends up heartbroken. (Continuing the thread, some good Xander and Buffy moments will follow in No. 31.)
No. 30: Buffy can fly, and 10 issues of similar over-the-top pseudo-epicness will unfortunately ensue.
No. 33: In an intended homage that plays like a rip-off, Twilight’s lair is straight out of “X-men” (ugh). And Twilight is Angel (huh?). I have always been a Buffy-Angel ‘shipper, but I’m not on board with the two of them boinking in space as the logical next chapter in the relationship arc. If that’s the best the writers could come up with, they probably shouldn’t have brought Angel back just yet.
No. 35: Spike returns in order to sell more newsstand copies of “Buffy” Season 8.
No. 39: They kill off Giles! Unfortunately, it’s kind of like when “Star Wars” kills off Chewbacca. It’s not the emotional moment it should be. The story had gotten so weird at this point that I barely even realized what I was reading.
No. 40: As evidence that Season 8 struggled to find a clear identity, the cover art calls to mind the end of Season 7 and Buffy’s final words, “Let’s go to work,” call to mind lines from “Angel’s” TV finale and “Serenity.” I don’t want “Buffy” to turn into “Star Wars,” where the writers think repeating classic lines is a form of poetry; I want the story to move forward. Still, the season redeems itself somewhat with a coda that sets up the key points of Season 9: Rogue Slayers, Willow angry at Buffy for taking the magic out of the world, and Giles favoring Faith in his will.
Like I said, Season 8 isn’t great, but it was certainly a valuable learning experience, and I’m excited for Season 9, especially when Joss is writing things like this in his note at the end of Issue No. 40:
No matter how interesting the world stage or mystical dimensions can be, Buffy’s best when she’s walking that alley, dusting vamps, and nursing a pouty heart.
What were your favorite and least favorite parts of Season 8? What do you hope to see in Season 9? Share your thoughts below.
Click here for an index of all of John’s “Buffy” and “Angel” reviews.
Comments
I just want to say you’ve nailed a lot of what I felt was underwhelming in Season 8 particularly Giles’ death. It has never hit me which is dreadful considering he was one of my favourite characters. The book had gotten too weird but for me the rot set in with “Harmonic Divergence”.# Posted By Emmet | 9/11/11 8:26 PM
Yeah, the season started off fine and had some strong individual issues, but the overall Big Bad arc just didn’t work at all. And that results in an overall sour feeling about the season. I agree that the comedic issues, such as the Harmony one, get off the track of what “Buffy” should be; IDW also had too many of these issues during its “Angel” run. The first issue of “Angel & Faith” (the Season 9 side title) just came out, and it is a step up from the end of Season 8, although it still has some problems. I’ll have a review after I also read the first issue of Season 9.# Posted By John Hansen | 9/11/11 10:01 PM