(Buffy Season 8 Omnibus 1)
Publication
Date: September 26, 2017
Paperback, 592 pages, Dark Horse
Genres:
Comic, Paranormal
Series creator Joss Whedon brought
Buffy the Vampire Slayer back to life with this comics-only follow-up to Season
7 of the television show. Aptly named Season 8, these comics are the official
sequel to Buffy and continue where the live-action series left off with the
Slayer, her friends, and their ongoing challenge to fight the forces of
darkness. After the destruction of the Hellmouth, the Slayers--newly
legion--have gotten organized, but it's not long before new and old enemies
begin popping up. Buffy, Xander, Willow, and a very different Dawn are
introduced to the season's big bad, Twilight, and begin to understand the
incredible reach of this mysterious threat. Meanwhile, rebel Slayer Faith teams
up with Giles to handle a menace on the other side of the Atlantic. It's a
dirty job, and Faith is just the girl to do it! Then, as Twilight's ominous
influence continues to expand Buffy and her Slayers travel to Tokyo to face a
new kind of vampire with powers they've only witnessed in Dracula . . . And,
when trouble with Buffy's scythe comes to light, Willow and Buffy head to New
York to investigate the secrets behind the ancient weapon; ever full of the
unexpected, Buffy is transported to a dystopian future where her first chance
meeting is with Fray, future Slayer!
This oversized omnibus edition is
one of two volumes that will contain the entirety of Season 8. It includes the
first four arcs of the series along with one-shots and short stories written by
Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, Drew Goddard, and Jeph Loeb, with art by the
acclaimed Georges Jeanty, as well as Karl Moline, Paul Lee, Cliff Richards, and
more.
My Review
I’m not very good with reviewing comics, so I thought I’d do
this a little differently than my normal reviews. Basically, I’m just going to
discuss the pros and cons of this volume as I saw them in no particular order.
Okay, so first off, I’m glad that I was able to have a piece
of the Buffy world back. I definitely
miss it (as my Hulu history can attest to). I was even glad to see two members
of the Trio return. Even though they weren’t my favorite villains, I still
enjoyed seeing that part of the show on the pages. And Willow got a big thumbs
up, except for the weird flying thing. That was a little too far…
Xander was fine. He didn’t make a strong positive or
negative impact either way. Faith is still cool. And Buffy is pretty much
Buffy. Now Dawn on the other hand, wth!?! I actually liked show Dawn for the
most part, but her storyline in this comic was just way too much. I hope it
gets resolved soon ‘cause it’s just weird. Oh, and there were some very minute
glimpses of Angel and Spike. Very nice. Very
nice.
Okay, so here’s the more negative comments. One, minor
characters like the extra slayers and villains were drawn super similar, so it
was hard to tell some characters apart. Two, just because the writers didn’t
have a budget in the show, doesn’t mean they should have gone crazy in the comics—it
lost a little of its Buffy
specialness with all the big action-y spy feels. Three, sometimes the jumps
between characters/storylines was too confusing. Four, Dracula. Boo. Five,
Buffy’s experimentation, while it could have been fine, just felt weird. I had
no idea who the character was, and I want to know who Buffy’s potential love
interests are. They should be worthy of her!
Oh, last but not least, is a mix of good and bad. The future
setting. I hated the language mess, but I somewhat enjoyed the plot development.
It’s an interesting concept.
All in all, the comic series isn’t for every Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show
fan. But, if you really miss the Scooby gang, then you’ll look past the comic’s
flaws just to get more time with the characters.
*Note: I purchased
a copy of this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
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