Comic Info
Comic Name: Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Season 8
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan/Joss Whedon
Artist: Georges Jeanty/Cliff Richards
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Season 8 #6
Reprints Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Season 8 #6-10 (September 2007—January 2008). Faith is back and Giles has her working for him. With a promise of a clear record, Faith goes undercover in England to stop a rogue Slayer. Faith finds her mission takes a turn when she learns she and Gigi are a lot alike and that Gigi is targeting Buffy. Twilight continues work against Buffy and Buffy and Willow face a threat that manifests their dreams.
The second collection of Buffy—Season 8, has writing split between Y: The Last Man’s writer Brian K. Vaughan writing the first four issue story involving Faith, and Buffy creator Joss Whedon finishing out the collection with a stand-alone issue. Artist duties were handled by Georges Jeanty for “No Future for You” and Cliff Richards penciling “Anywhere but Here”.
It was fun to see Faith back in action and a Faith centered story arc in “No Future for You”. I kind of wished it had remained “all Faith” and didn’t even involve Buffy because that portion of the story didn’t flow as well as the Faith/Gigi idea. It was also good to see Giles in a more active role after his character’s downplay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Season 8: The Long Way Home. The Twilight threat continues to remain underdeveloped, but that is also kind of the purpose of the organization.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Season 8 #8
The second single issue #10 (“Anywhere but Here”) has a lot about Buffy and Willows dreams and regrets. It taps into Willow’s fears and her loss of Tara, plus also reveals information about Dawn’s surprise growth spurt and what might have caused it. It is kind of a boring story and doesn’t have as much thrust as the other issues in the collection.
Art wise, Buffy still suffers from the idea that it is showing real actors. The artists have to try to capture real people, and it doesn’t always work. I actually like the some of the scaled back art in the No Future for You story arc where it is a bit simplified and cartoony. The photo real-art doesn’t seem that interesting or unique.
The Season Eight idea of Buffy continues to be an interesting concept to fans, but probably is a loss for non-fans. Real fans might object to the lack of Buffy in this series, but that makes it interesting to me. Faith was always a fun character and there was lots of talk about a spin off series for her when the series ended. I do feel that would be a mistake, but this gives a taste of what Faith the Vampire Slayer might have been. Buffy the Vampire Slayer–Season Eight 2: No Future for You is followed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer–Season 8: Wolves at the Gate.
Related Links:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer—Season Eight 1: The Long Way Home
