| Title | : | Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Twilight |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1595825584 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781595825582 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 168 |
| Publication | : | First published October 6, 2010 |
In this penultimate volume of Season Eight, "New York Times" best-selling novelist and comics writer Brad Meltzer ("The Book of Lies," "Identity Crisis") joins series artist Georges Jeanty in beginning the buildup to the season finale in the story line that finally reveals the identity of Twilight! In the aftermath of the battle with Twilight's army, Buffy has developed a host of new powers, but when will the other shoe drop, and will it be a cute shoe, or an ugly one? Still reeling from the losses of war, Willow goes looking for missing allies, and discovers a horrifying truth about several of the Slayer army's recent ordeals. Adding to the mayhem is the unexpected return of Angel, in his Season Eight debut!
This volume also features two stories from series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon!
* Collects "Buffy" Season Eight #31 -- #35, and the "Willow" one-shot.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Twilight Reviews
-
As someone who may or may not own every single season of Buffy and Angel on DVD (spoiler alert, I totally do), I was so excited to see the Buffyverse was finally going to continue! But while Season 8 started out strong, by the end I was just shaking my head sadly. The Twilight revelation was especially disappointing. If you're going to stretch a mystery out over the course of three years, there are two things you must do when it's time for the big reveal:
1. Make sure the solution doesn't contradict the clues that were given before so it doesn't feel like a cheat.
2. Make sure the solution makes at least some sense!
But the Twilight reveal didn't do either of those things. Especially not #2! It's like Joss and Co. decided shocking people was much more important than telling a cohesive story. This volume was an utter disappointment for me.
But I gave it an extra star because I really liked Twilight's "Who wants to hear a really cool master plan" line! Even if the master plan turned out to be anything but cool! -
Actual rating 3.7 stars.
This is what Season Eight has been leading up to! The war between the government and the Slayers, the Twilight cult and Giles’ secret mission.
I was actually really excited about this story line. I mean, I knew who Twilight was before reading the comics (because I look up things and spoil myself all the time). But that just made me want to know how they would reveal his identity more!
The unveiling part was cool. Everything after that was weird...and awkward. The illustrations were way too close up and showing us things I’m not sure we really needed to see. Sure, it showed an intensity between them but Buffy and have always had that.
Going back a little, Xander enters into a new relationship with .
It doesn’t say how long they’ve been together on the DL but he’s already saying he’s in love with her and it’s not weird. Um, YES Xander, it actually IS weird and gross and I don’t approve.
...Anyway, after the guy in the mask was unmasked, explanations were made. And yet to call them explanations wouldn’t entirely be accurate. It was more like hints of what was to come. Really annoying, vague hints that didn’t give us a lot of information.
I can see some people liking the amount of info we got but for me, it didn’t satisfy my curiosity.
I know I have a lot of complaints about this volume but overall, it wasn’t bad. When a panel was a close up (on a FACE), the illustration was well done. I suppose the mystery aspect was good too. It did leave me intrigued to know what happens next.
Especially with that final page and who shows up! -
I know Joss Whedon is busy working on The Avengers movie. (Just the sheer idea of it is giving most of geekdom multiple nerdgasms.) However, since he’s the one who likes to claim that this run of Buffy comics are the actual continuation of the story after the TV series ended, you’d think the Joss-man would have cleared his calendar enough to write a critical piece to this so-called ‘Season 8’ arc of Buffy.
Instead, he handed over the reins to Brad Metzler, who does an OK job, but the story probably would have been better served if The Man himself would have taken the time to do it himself, just as he usually wrote and directed the big episodes of his various TV shows.
Following the monumentally stupid decision Buffy and her gang made in the last volume Retreat to try and magically hide all the Slayers by voluntarily giving up their powers, the ensuing battle has left Buffy’s little army in bad shape. However, Buffy suddenly starts becoming more powerful and displays a Superman-like array of abilities. As Willow tries to track down the friends who have gone missing following the latest attack, the final showdown with the mysterious figure called Twilight (hee) occurs and his identity is revealed.
Oh, and in a trivial note, Whedon finally got the comic rights for Angel back and the brooding vampire and Buffy are reunited. I doubt any of the Buffy fans will care about that….
I’ve had mixed feelings about these Buffy comics. While I love the idea of Whedon continuing the official story, since he’s no longer constrained by the budget provided by a minor TV network, he and the other writers have gone a bit overboard with the big sci-fi concepts. The comic has been at it’s best when it’s focused on the characters and the smaller scale stories. When they do trippy stuff like time-travel or alternate dimensions, it hasn’t been particularly well-explained and has been confusing at times. This volume has a lot of that kind of stuff, so I just didn’t enjoy it all that much. Even the return of Angel got wrapped up in a bunch of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that left me scratching my head and wondering what he hell just happened. Whatever happened to the old Buffy-fights-vampire-Buffy-stakes-vampire-while-dealing-with-her-responsibilities-and-fear stories?
Plus, the artwork seems a little on the cartoony side for what should be a more serious and scary story featuring vampires and demons.
Still nice to read the continuing adventures of Buffy and her friends, but I’d like it more if they’d return to the basics and use the ‘real world’ as a setting more than they have been. -
I thought this was an improvement over the last mess they gave us. It's still strange, but I was entertained and I enjoyed most of it.
I must confess I am team Spike and Buffy. When a man is willing to change as much as Spike was for Buffy, that's powerful. So, seeing Angel coming back for sex with Buffy did not make me happy. They are not meant to be together - no. I am no Angel fan.
Buffy has gained immense power and we find out how and why. Giles seems to know more than he's letting on. People seem to come back from previous seasons for no other reason that to have characters we already know. It's getting old. Bring on some new characters. Let's move forward.
I do hope it continues to get better, but things are moving so fast and changing so much that they rush through story after story without filling it in and giving us that great character development. I see this one volume as being one episode really so there are only 8 seasons for this season 8. I do liek where they went with the story and I won't spoil it. I feel like they have a direction they are going in again. -
What?
No, seriously.
What?
Aside from the fact that I have almost no idea what actually happened, plot-wise, this was probably the worst "episode" of Buffy Season Eight yet (and I remember when I thought Season Seven was lame). But by all means, it you want to enjoy 11 pages of Buffy and Angel having sex in space, be my guest.
Yes, I said in space. And without a spaceship.
God. -
Why?! WHY?! Why do I keep doing this to myself? This series has become like going back to a bad boyfriend, I know it will only end in disappointment and pain but I can't seem to stop myself. There as not been anything good to go under the name of Buffy since the finale of Season 6. That's it. End of story.
This is, quite simply, nonsense. It doesn't make sense in terms of theme, plot or character. It doesn't make sense consistent within this arc, with the rest of this series, or with the overall history of Buffy. It's gibberish.
Finally we discover Twilight's secret identity DUM DUM DUUUUHHH! As if we care. As if we've been given any reason to care. His a masked non-character who consistently fucks with Buffy for no reason and there is nothing to him other than this. We don't know what he wants, what's his goals, or how he has come to have all these people at his command. No reason to engage with him or care.
So, it's Angel. Bet that knocked you off your chair. Or maybe, like me, you yawned and just turned the page. One more thing that doesn't make sense in a plot that has ceased to even hang by a thread and simply swirls like sick in a drain.
Things that don't make sense: A list (by no means exhaustive)
1. Season 8 of Buffy would effectively run concurrently with Season 5 of Angel. So all the time Angel is running Wolfram and Hart, day by day checking in at the office, he was also leading an enormous global secret conspiracy, complete with armies of humans and demons, to drive the Slayer to the brink. Great, good luck with that Chuck, nice to be in two places at once.
2. Angel has vague relationship with other women in Season 5, dates and such, so how does that work, if this journey he's on is to ultimately hump the Slayer? It's so inconsistent with the character, even the supposed same time period.
3. Does Angel lose is soul if he experiences pure happiness? Wouldn't ascending to a heavenly plane of existence qualify as that? As well as shagging Buffy?
4. Angel has supposedly been doing all the random shit of the series to help Buffy become better or whatever. He's killed her pals. Minor characters have died throughout this shitstorm. Doesn't that count for anything?
5. Buffy has just undergone a terrible battle which has resulted in walking through rows of dead and dying Slayers and humans. When she finally gets the chance to knock seven shades of shite out the person responsible for bringing about this tragedy, she takes a nano-second to chat, then shags him. WHAT?
6. Buffy shags Angel, like, 5 minutes after telling Xander she thinks she has feelings for him. Wait, what?
7. The answer to everything is "magic". It's like a bad joke. Buffy can fly now - magic. Willow gets her powers back - magic. The three goddesses are defeated - magic. Buffy and Angel ascend to a higher plane - magic.
8. Warren and Amy want to kill them. No, help them. No, kill them. Wait, what?
9. So the climax of all this bullshit is essentially, Buffy and Angel ascend because they're just that fucking awesome. And this climax last for about five minutes and then they decide to go back to the world and do more fighting. Am I the only one that doesn't see the point in that? "Ah, my plans have come to fruition, the past year of fucking with you has finally encourage you to be megastrong and shag me, which kinda were ready to do already. Now we can ascend" [5 mins later} "This is a bit shite, wanna go back?" What the actual fuck?!
10. Is it entirely necessary to have the most cringe-worthy, explicit, ludicrous, comical sex scene of all time? Yes boys and girls, they shag so hard they go into outer space. And no I'm not kidding. Awful.
Jesus, I can't believe I wasted money on this book. I can't believe I've wasted my life on this series post-6. I miss Buffy! Someone write good Buffy, please! -
So, more superpower for Buffy? Is that a good idea? And how much longer can we suffer through this Angel bullshit? One true love? Give me a break, even Andrew (not the authority on the metter but still) agreed that Spike is way cooler.
Bottom line #teamSpike -
I just don't know. I think that maybe the Buffy team bit off more than they can chew, with the huge concepts and giant demons and creating a new pocket universe or something. It's too much, and it honestly isn't done very well. Angel is back, of course, but his role is only barely believable. Why does he do what he does in this book? I'm not sure I entirely get it. Maybe the Angel comics would have cleared that up. But even with this almost Grant Morrison level WTFery, the characters themselves are still (mostly- poor Angel) written very well, very in character, and with the dialogue that we're used to seeing in the Buffyverse. So yes, I did still enjoy it, to an extent, but seriously, why?
-
Spoilers below.
Okay, yes the art is beautiful (er, and graphic. Very, very graphic sex scenes. Wasn't expecting that) and for the most part the story is lovely, everyone is in character and...
Twilight is Angel?! That.Makes.No.Sense. He's teamed up with Warren, who is/was the most heinous villain in the Buffyverse to....to push Buffy into developing new super powers so he can create a universe with her...and then walk away from that universe at the drop of a hat?! No.Sense.What.So.Ever. And knowing this, she has sex with him, rather than pummeling his ass?! No.Sense.What.So.Ever. Someone phoned this one in. -
Surprise, surprise, surprise. I actually ended up enjoying this. Sorta.
The Good:
* The dialogue was a big improvement over the last few installments and some of it actually made me laugh, which hasn't happened with this season lately.
* While the artwork still isn't terrific, I could differentiate between the characters better than the last volume.
* The villain, Twilight, is finally revealed. Finally.
* The dig at the Twilight series. I got a chuckle out of it. [Buffy: "You listen to me, Twilight -- My God, is that really the name you picked? Twilight? Y'know I lived that idea first, right? (And my vampire was so much better.) - pg. 69]
* As seen by the cover for this volume, Angel's back. Always a good thing.
The Bad:
* There's still ridiculousness, although it was a little tamer here therefore easier to deal with.
* Some relationship developments I'm iffy about, one of which I'm not sure I buy and definitely don't like, but I'll attempt an open mind.
The Ugly:
* Amy and Warren aren't dead yet. Boo, hiss.
The Verdict:
The stories were mostly interesting, though also could be quite weird, and I am curious to how it will develop in the future. Just when I thought this series wouldn't get better, this happened and now I genuinely want to know what happens next instead of the can't-turn-away-from-the-trainwreck state of mind I've been employing for the last several issues. -
***Buddyread! Criteria: Super late indie titles where girls go crazy having vampire sex. Right?***
Fair warning on a lot of levels:
1. I am a little more than drunk.
2. Here's hoping I can still type.
And the most important:
SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!! SPOILERS!!!
This was a great drunk read because the sex literally lasted for over ten pages. And while I'm not an Angel fan, I can deal. Bring on the sexual heat.
So we're reeling from the battle in Retreat. A lot of things have happened due to this (and other things that come to play later). A small tidbit is that Xander of all people can't remember his pop culture references, which is super out of the norm. The bigger picture: Everyone is under a sort of mind numbing spell. They can remember things, but only certain things. Was Andrew just painting a picture or have I not seen him for two days? That's the biggest deal in that arena. But bigger than that? BUFFY POWERS! It's super crazy and confusing at first. But all is explained later on. Just know that Buffy can now fly at top speeds, lift insanely heavy objects, and she has telescopic vision. The fun part? Xander goes all nerdy on her and tests her for every supr power in the book. Yay for Xander!
But the real problem? Giles, Faith and Andrew have been captured by Twilight, and they're the ones who cast the memory charm on the Slayers.
Now for an intermission for the Buffy fangirl in me.
Thank god Buffy and Xander talked it out. Am I happy that Dawn and Xander are apparently in love? FUCK NO. But am I happy that Xander is finally telling Buffy that he won't be a last resort and thus puts an end to this madness? THANK THE LORD! I am fucking happy about this. Because it was nonsense.
And speaking of fangirling. DID YOU SEE RILEY FINN DRAWN ON THOSE PAGES? Because bandages and all.... yum.
But in other news. Who is Twilight? Who has this entire (thus far) six volume series been about? Who the fuck is this madman?
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Angel? What the fuck are you doing under that weirdo mask?
I was not happy to see Angel. Angelus would have been lightyears better. BUT. Buffy having hardcore sex with a past lover? Whatever. I'll take it. (And I do mean hardcore.) Enter weird almost graphic scenes where Angel clearly gets some boob action and goes down to visit her Buffy-lady-parts. Good for him! Not sure he got the chance the first few times, what with his humanity at stake and all. Personally I haven't read or watched the Angel parts of the story, but apparently he's a good vamp with no soul to lose now. Buffy even talks a little dirty to him. Super weird, super fun.
On with the story. Twilight isn't Angel, like we thought. It's a PLACE. Wah wah. Bummer. But Buffy does make a killer jab to the Twilight franchise where she says "My vampire was SO much better". Thankyouthankyouthankyou. Anywho, Buffy decides to be a better person and save her friends/family instead of living in nirvana. Because she's fucking Buffy.
BUT UH OH SPIKE IS BACK! And thank the lord, because Spike is my numero dos. Angel is faaaaaaar down the list. Only before her skeezy first college sex buddy. So I'm excited about that.
More news on the drunken fangirl front:
Andrew is in awesome super hero get up! God bless his sweet geek soul. Bats. Cap. Iron Man. Punisher. Someone give him an award. That is all. -
What a odd volume. First off, the cover spoils the twist. SO we find out who Twlight is...guess who? OH He's ON THE COVER!!! Then we have Buffy and Angel with super saiyan like powers. That's right. They've basically become Superman and Wonder Woman. So what do they do? They fight and then they fuck. A lot. I mean banging all around the world creating near earthquakes. Oh and a surprise return, but not really surprise, of another character. Really, besides some funny jokes here and there and cool fight moments, this isn't a very good volume. Trying TOO big and TOO much. Twilight fails to capture what made Buffy special. Season 8 started off strong but damn...it's gone downhill. A 2 out of 5.
-
Eh.
The only thing this volume really has going for it is the dialogue. Not even the dialogue. A few snappy lines, and a couple of funny set-ups. A Twilight joke, and a running riff on superheroes. I still don't buy the actions of the characters. I can't tell any of the brunettes apart. Is that Amy? Kennedy? Dawn? Faith? The action is disjointed and I can never tell where anybody is or how they got there. And why use swear words if you're going to promptly censor them with Peanuts style symbols? Part of what made the TV series so clever was the wordplay.
Big spoiler ahead: -
Umm.... okay.
So, we find out who (or what) Twilight is. That's cool. I actually kinda liked the whole concept of Buffy being chosen to create the new universe. And here we have Angel being Angel, still out for himself while Buffy wants to help her friends. Duh, stupid. I always hated that guy, and I still do. But, in a twisted way, it all kinda made sense. The fallout will be devastating, I'm almost sure of it.
And OMG Spike is back. FINALLY!!! -
This was probably the shitties fucking outcome the Twilight storyline could have possibly had, and I'm not exaggerating here, this shit was AWFUL. The stupidest thing I've read or seen in Buffy-associated media, bar none. They've jumped the shark so far they're in fucking space now. There's no coming back from something this fucking dumb. If I'm not being clear enough: this was not clever, it wasn't enjoyably silly, it wasn't so-bad-it's-good, or whatever the writers were going for, this was jump plain and simply STUPID.
Basically:
In conclusion don't waste your goddamn time this season is shit, just close your eyes and be thankful the series ended the way it did in season 7. -
This issue was not PG.
Do you remember that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where the frat house is attacking the students and there is a giant plant growing in and around the building and it is feeding off the energy of Buffy and Riley’s sexual energy?
This whole flippin’ season is basically that but on steroids. And different people. And not a frat house. And... ugh, just be aware if you are a little shy or young with this. I mean, the whole series isn’t really PG, and the comics aren’t any different.
We see some familiar faces.
We find out who “Twilight” is.
And Willow goes on a soul-finding journey.
-
Come on! Please! This series is a semi-truck with no brakes rolling down a six percent grade with only one more collection that can provide the runaway truck ramp. I didn't buy it at all. I didn't buy the Twilight reveal---spoiler alert:
The last effing person it should have been was Angel. Please. The whole evolution of the species because a slayer loved a vampire and Willow cast a spell that made more slayers and now humans will be superfluous? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Angel and Buffy flying around smashing into things having sex? Far dumber than the season six house-shaker with Spike. Stupid!
I hate this. -
So I really want to write a review of this, but I don't even know where to begin to describe the unfathomable stupidity.
This review contains major spoilers, but you should probably just read it anyway to save yourself the trouble of reading the actual comics.
First of all let me say I am a huge Buffy fan. I only discovered the series a few years ago and promptly wasted weeks at a time watching through the entire thing on Netflix/Hulu. Then I watched all of Angel, and then I started rewatching Buffy. I endure constant teasing from my boyfriend about how much Buffy I watch and how into it I get.
But that in the fuck was this?
A lot of people have complained that they didn't like the over-the-top ridiculous absurd plotlines because it loses sight of the small moments that made Buffy great. And that may be true, but it doesn't need a caveat. It doesn't matter if the best thing about Buffy is the down-to-earth human touch: this would be the most idiotic, illogical, nonsensical, beyond-belief fantasmagorical piece of bullshit on LOST.
Here's what happens. Twilight is Angel. (First of all, I see what you did there, and I am NOT AMUSED.) Why? Because we have to drag back EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. from the TV series for a reunion. That's really the only reason, because by all other accounts it makes no sense.
Then they have cosmic, mountain-exploding sex. No. LITERALLY. When they come, the mountain they are standing on EXPLODES, shooting them into SPACE, where they continue to hump each other. I don't know if I'm up to 1000 words yet, but if I could have just taken a picture of the look on my face when THAT happened, that would have been the best review possible. So after they (finally) finish...they end up in Eden. Because all of the cosmic sex created a new universe.
Why? Because Buffy is the most awesomest bestest slayer ever. Really, that's pretty much the most concrete explanation given. That and something about how the universe needs to balance itself out. The other characters ramble on about it for awhile, but after reading it 3 times I can confirm that it just doesn't make any sense at all.
I still have no idea why Angel became Twilight, or why they even had sex. Well, I mean, I get THAT in the physical sense, but haven't they been able to abstain for years because it'll turn Angel into Angelus? Speaking of which, why doesn't Angel turn into Angelus? Why does it seem like he set out to create this universe with Buffy in the first place? Why do they both get absurd super powers? Why can everyone FLY all of a sudden?
Anyway, the creation of a new universe causes millions of demons to pour into the old one (obvi) while Angel rambles a bunch more about this magical universe and tries to convince her to stay in it with him (which was his plan all along? maybe?) until Buffy decides to not abandon her friends to a horrible death and Angel agrees to come with her.
So, good thing we went through all this trouble, yeah?
Basically, this was the stupidest story I've ever read.
But it is sort of fun to read all the reviews that are like "Wait, what? This was stupid and absolutely nothing makes any sense and the drawings were awful and the dialog was dry OMG I LOVE BUFFY/JOSS FIVE STARS." Keep up the perspective, kids. -
I've been a fan of "Buffy" since middle school. I have seen every episode at least five times and know much of the show's dialogue by heart (and have a school girl's crush on Spike). So, to say I am a huge fan is kind of a major understatement. I figured that since I have watched the show religiously I might read the comics and branch out a bit.
The first "Buffy" comic I read a few weeks ago was nothing short of disappointing. It lacked any kind of general plot and character development. Sadly, this comic is the same camp.
The story is difficult to follow which really shouldn't be a problem in comic books. Willow, Xander and Dawn act like a bunch of incompetent fools who don't know what they're doing and have no clue on how to deal with demons and the supernatural (well, I always thought Xander was kind of a moron on the show but the show makes him an Einstein in comparison to the way he is portrayed in the comics). Buffy as usual becomes the reluctant leader and does get some kind of plan of action going to keep the world from descending into hell.
Slight spoiler: however, Buffy abandons her friends and meets Angel halfway through the story and they have out of this world (literally) sex for about 1/3 of the book. What I didn't appreciate was the graphic way it was depicted that went on for several pages (and no, I am not a prude I just believe there should be some basic decency especially if this is being marketed toward a younger audience). I really feel that the writers should have found a more creative way to advance the story. Writers: this is the continuation of the story of one of the most badass female characters of all time not some cheap Hollywood film that uses sex as a way to distract us from the screenwriters' lack of creativity so treat it as such! I am very surprised that a screenwriting genius/legend such as Joss Whedon would not only approve of this but actually proudly put his name on it. Now will I never read a Buffy comic again based on this? Well that I'm not so sure. But what I am sure of is that they need to find better writers if they want to preserve the good name of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
So to conclude: no coherent plot/story-lines, no decent character development and writing so poor that it makes all of the characters seem like they only have a second grade education and the use of graphic sex scenes that in no way advance the story I would give this a pass and shake your head in disbelief that something so legendary has really fallen from grace. -
Crap. Is this about Joss losing the Wonder Woman gig or what? This is what a trainwreck looks like. I hate, hate, hate this volume. I'm a major Buffy fan--really I am. I adored the television show, and up to now I'd have said the last third of Season Six was the low point--and that the comic books had at least skimmed a bit above that line, while having a lot of the worst of its elements (Magical addiction, Dark Willow, Warren as Villain). And man, I've never much liked Jeanty's illustrations, and I think this is his worst to date.
Here's the thing. I'm a Buffy fan, not a comic fan, and I haven't been happy from the beginning with this format. And for me, one of the worse aspects of comic books are superheroes. Yeah, I know, and what was Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Well strong--just strong enough to fight vampires--which she did on patrol every night, and as Spike once said, all a vampire needed to take her down was one good day. And she lost her life more than once. She was vulnerable. There's a reason I prefer Batman over Superman and Kirk over Spock. I find it hard to see superheroes as really heroic. I thought part of the reason Hamilton's Anita Blake jumped the shark is she became too powerful. Buffy was so young when she started--and the television show was always about a lot more than fighting vampires--it was a metaphor for life, and Buffy on the show always stayed human. So, not in love with the whole superhero theme from the start. Although there's a moment where I thought they did a cool thing with it, one commensurate with the idea that with great power comes a great price--and then... Well, it goes off the rails. Into eye roll territory. Into cheesy soft porn. Into laugh out loud not because of intentional humor, but because it's ridiculous. I'm glad I didn't start to read these until I had gotten all of Season Eight. I can't imagine investing in this Season 8, following it for years and then hitting this. I'm going to start the next and last volume more in dread than anticipation.
I will say though this volume featured my favorite line in all of Season 8 when Buffy finally confronts Twilight. "My God, is that really the name you picked? Twilight? Y'know, I lived that idea first, right? (And my vampire was so much better.)"
He was Buffy, he really was. -
Wow. This was...interesting. To say the least. I don't think too many people can say they honestly F&%^$# their way into creating another universe. But you know, Buffy has always been special that way.
So, let me see if I can sum this up, because I think I have the story outlined thus far:
*Zander is now with Dawn. Buffy has came to terms with it. Willow had an "thank goddess they finally realized they were in love with each other" moment
*Twilight had launched an all-out military war against the Slayers, who had given up all their magics to stop the same from following them. The war was not going well. Then they called up three very large primordial goddess up to kick ass. They didn't really stop to think if the said goddess would listen to anyone.
*Riley was serving as a double agent in Twilight to help the slayers.
*Oh, by the way, this was all happening in Nepal. With Oz and his wife and baby. Cuz Oz rocks it.
*Powers came back to everyone. Somehow. Buffy ended up with superpowers. Well, super super strength and speed and...she can fly. Dude. And so, her and Willow kicked the goddesses back underground.
*Eventually, Buffy figured out that she was not gaining superpowers as much as she was gaining the powers of all the dead Slayers. Minor freakout.
*Then she got in a fight with the major player of Twilight. Who was....
**drumroll*
*Angel
*Who was doing this all - starting a worldwide war against all the slayers so that Buffy could gain superpowers because if she reached supernovaSlayer level then somehow the two of them could create a Twilight/new world era of their own. (See Twilight is a heaven type place!)
*Which they proceeded to do. By having sex. By flying. Through a mountain. And causing major weather pattern disruptions. And earthquakes.
*But when they created their twilight, they created hell in their reality by allowing *all* the demons to come through.
*Buffy was a little pissed Angel left that part out. So she went back to kick demon ass. Angel went with her.
*In the middle of the battle, Spike showed up to save the day.
And so, vol 7 ended. You bastards! Right when Spike showed up! -
The next-to-the-last volume of "Buffy: Season 8" was better than the preceding one, with the return of many familiar faces, including (as the cover reveals), Buffy's old flame, Angel, as well as the revelation of who the Season 8 Big Bad, "Twilight," really is. (And Buffy finally gets in a "Twilight" joke -- I was waiting for that all this time.)
Here, once again the writers are going for great big earth-shaking plots that the TV show's special effects budget would never have permitted, and it seems they are also trying to outdo the game-changing end of Season 7, when the world was left full of Slayers. In this volume, Buffy becomes even more powerful than she ever was before, and we learn that this is not necessarily a good thing. Also, Giles once again has a deep dark Watcher secret about the possible end of the world.
What made this volume good was the jokes. There was lots of Buffyesque humor and one-liners. Andrew and Warren "teaming up" with their mad scientist Iron Man & Captain America gadgets was particularly entertaining. The dialog between Xander and Buffy was also good.
What made it not so good: I found the plot a little confusing, Twilight's "Master Plan" stupid, and the whole "The universe itself has engineered this outcome; Mother Nature cannot be thwarted even by vampires and Slayers" was just a lot of gimme-a-break. Also, multi-page sex scenes are no less cringe-inducing in graphic novel format (with panels full of strategically-placed shadows and tree branches) than they are in fantasy/sci-fi novels, so just give us one panel to let us know they had awesome, earthshaking sex and leave it at that. This was fan service taken to absurd extremes, and it took itself too seriously to even enjoy the cheese/beefcake. -
I’m pinning my reading to a mood and to a place:
The best:
1. Xander.
2. Andrew.
3. The humor, in general.
4. The ending (last comic vignette)
The worst:
1. I need to chew on the plot for a while. I think the problem is that there’s too much going on and instead of that being exciting it looks...rushed. Rushed for me, at least. Because I need to savor it. I want to sit down, drink it and spend an hour tasting the whole thing, the whole Buffy-is-fucking-back thing, and I don’t know if I’m doing it. Enjoying the series? Hell yes, but my constant thought while reading is: “whaaaaat? Wait, WHAT???” Don’t misunderstand me, I’m a huge fan and still on board (I already bought the next five volumes so...) but I was expecting... I don’t know what I was expecting.
Best things win worst things 4 to 1 so: Next, please!
(Season 8 finale, here I go)
👉🏻
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The quality of Buffy Season 8 has veered upwards and downwards so often that I've never been quite sure how I felt about it. Well, the big Twilight review was probably the strongest in the series since Joss started and has ensured that the season will be considered, by me at least, as an overall success. As in all good Buffy seasons, there are big surprises and big moments where everything comes together and this was no exception. Twilight's reveal was everything that I wanted from it and the twist on the final page truly whet my appetite for the final - Whedon penned - volume.
Elsewhere, Meltzer was an excellent choice to write Buffy. He has great pacing and understands both the humourous and serious elements of Buffy perfectly. I laughed as much as I should laugh when reading a Buffy comic. he made an interesting decision to up the graphicness of the language and the sexual content this time around and I think it was appropriate, since later seasons of Buffy certainly veered towards the adult. Still, the sex scene here tops anything in Buffy S6 even in its effort to be maybe the most epic sex scene ever scripted...
..well, Hitchcock would have been proud. -
I'll be honest -- Season 8 started out pretty good and then took a swift downward spiral into wtf-am-I-even-reading territory.
Light at the end of the tunnel? There are other seasons and the other seasons improve.
A lot.
This was the worst of the season 8 bunch imo. -
awesomeness...no one but Buffy could actually #$%@ their way into creating another universe...talk about feeling the Earth move :)
loved the cliffhanger too! -
WELL, DAMN.
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3.5 but I can't bring myself to round up. 😬
If you had told me when I started watching "Buffy" that, in her future, this cheerleader from California would be flying through outer space with a vampire-turned-supervillain as they're having space sex and the world is literally falling apart beneath them BECAUSE they're having space sex and creating a portal to a new world, I would have assumed you were mixed up and were actually talking about the CW show "Riverdale". You know, the show that writes in insane plot twists with no long-lasting value and gives characters random superpowers and generally makes no sense.
But here we are. One veryyyy long world-destroying space sex story later, and nearing the end of "Buffy" Season 8. What a ride it's been. One very long space ride, if you will.
To be honest, I'm lowkey delighted with how bizarre this story arc has become. It started out one way: Buffy and the Slayers holed up in Scotland, facing a new masked Big Bad. I had guesses for how it might go but none of them came close to this. The writing has just been bonkers, and while it might not be true to character, I have to admit it's FUN.
It's fun to watch Andrew and skinless Warren fight over Captain America's shield as demons try to take over the world.
It's fun to watch a bunch of potential Slayers bury a submarine by hand in the hills of Tibet.
It's fun to see Buffy and Xander test out Buffy's magical new superpowers and see if she really is faster than a speeding bullet (spoiler: she is), all while Dawn screams "MONKEYS PAW!!" in the background.
So no, while I feel like so much of this arc has devolved into characters making choices that either aren't in character or just simply don't make sense, it was at least fun(ny), so I'll give it that.
The not-fun parts were, like I said, characters doing things that don't make sense, like Twilight being so adamant about his plan and what he's trying to accomplish, only to suddenly do a 180 and be chill with Buffy not wanting it to happen. So what the hell were the last six volumes for?! Nothing was accomplished other than a lot of death and turmoil and Buffy getting Spidey powers. It was deeply frustrating to read.
I also think Giles' secret mission could have been a cooler subplot if they had hinted at it better in previous stories. It feels like it came out of nowhere, like the writers needed someone to stand around and explain what was happening to the reader, so they were like "Oh yeah btw Giles has been investigating this! For a while! Duh!". It would have been way cooler to see even one or two previous issues where Faith and Giles were looking for information about this scenario while having their own adventures instead of shoehorning it in at the eleventh hour.
I really have no guesses for how this is going to wrap up, especially with that last page reveal, but I am deeply interested to see how it's all pulled off... -
Maybe rounding up but maybe rounding down.
This one... was interesting. I actually really enjoy the Buffy super-superpowers bit cos it's just fun and I love a Flying Buffy. Also I like the Willow one-off at the end. I've actually read it a few times online before but didn't know it was in this specific volume so that was fun.
Majority of this comic is us getting the Big Reveal of who Twilight is (which I already knew cos I read these a billion years later and thus already read who he was), and then seeing his plans? Then Buffy rebuking those plans? And a new reality? I think I liked it more than the previous Volume but I still think it's a bit middle-of-the-road because it's ridiculous, confusing, and rushed. Aside from the sex scene (which, for them.. is sort of their thing), I was just along for the ride and trying to just vibe.
I like the next volume more lol
