It takes a little long to get to the point, but it's a great article. In particular -- I watched Shrek rescue Princess Fiona from a castle the other day with a three-year-old of my acquaintance, and afterwards he said: "Mummy, why didn't the princess rescue herself?" Which is a good question, especially as Princess Fiona is later revealed to have ninja fighting skills..

gossi | April 02, 12:20 CET

The Grauniad's always been pro-Buffy, but it's good to see such a thoughtful article - not just Whedon hagiography, but giving the show its due.

And I really like the fact that "Whedonesque" is the automatic adjective the writer chooses to describe Jossness!

Gill | April 02, 12:54 CET

Congrats on your first post, I tidied up your headline for the benefit of our RSS feed subscribers.

I read this article at the train station this morning, it was very cool to see a two page Buffy spread in the G2 section.



The campaign to get that word into the Oxford English Dictionary begins now!

Simon | April 02, 13:05 CET

"For those who have never been there, the show didn't just have the great feminist fantasy, the demons and the jokes. It was multi-stranded, superbly written television with characters you cared about. And it evolved in interesting ways, growing darker, more adult with the years."

Yes! Hear, hear, etc. Good article.

(Congrats on your first story-post, silvius. I should be deep asleep, but I stayed up to read it, in your honor. And I've mucked up the RSS feed myself, as it happens.)

QuoterGal | April 02, 13:22 CET

Nice article, and yep, Gareth McLean (the Graunie TV editor) was always a big Buffy fan. I do, however, object to 'poor second best' to describe the comics. Second best I can live with (too short, no actors etc.) but poor ? Not so much.

I like this line though:
A lot ;). Nicely captures what the show's about.

Saje | April 02, 15:16 CET

"Poor second best" didn't sit too well with me either. I would also disagree that Jeanty's art has Buffy looking "generic". I don't think his illustrations have to look exactly like the actors in order to convey the characters.

Also the article is a bit spoilery about a particular character. Sould there be a tag?

batmarlowe | April 02, 17:54 CET

The first issue has been out for about 3 weeks now. So no need for a tag.

Simon | April 02, 17:58 CET

I didn't really like the article. It simplified things too much, especially in regards to the comic book negativity. Maybe it's just that being a devout comics fan my entire life has made me defensive of the medium as an art, but to hear someone call it a "poor second best"...well, I kinda got prickly.

And damn it, I wish people would stop bashing The Sopranos. It's just as brilliant as it's always been!

UnpluggedCrazy | April 02, 18:12 CET

Amen, UnpluggedCrazy! I for one am looking forward to April 8th!

batmarlowe | April 02, 20:32 CET

Yes, I too will celebrate issue 2 having been out for 4 days (OK, 3 in the UK - it's out on Wednesday 4th ;).

She's a mainstream print journalist, i'm not exactly amazed she's slightly snobbish about comics. Would less negativity have been good ? Definitely, but we know the drill by now, surely. 'Twas ever thus. And apart from that she's clearly a fan of Buffy (and what she stood for).

Saje | April 02, 20:55 CET

I don't know why my season 8 issue 1 took a full ten days to reach me, rather than the "2-4 business days" quoted by TFAW, but I'm very happy with it now that it's here. And the upside--less time to wait for issue #2--I hope! Because "optimism" is my middle name (not "Anne," as some have suggested).

Maeve | April 03, 03:01 CET

It's fairly down on the comic for not being a TV series or movie, and harsher to Georges Jeanty's art than I would be, but it was rather nice seeing a two-page article on Buffy's return in the culture section of a major British newspaper.

(Now, if someone would publish a British newsstand reprint of Season 8 for those who can't get to comics shops, that would be pretty darned nice too.)

Craig Oxbrow | April 03, 04:09 CET

Great article. I love it that Buffy is still getting ink.

Reddygirl | April 03, 06:04 CET

I liked the article for what it was, but ...



And then, she goes on to say this ...


Hypocrisy much?

I'm not really bashing the author so much that I'm continually amazed by some fans who are angry/confused when other people won't give Buffy a chance because it has vampires, or having a weird titles, when they themselves refuse to buy the new comics because of it's a "comic".

Huh.

NickSeng | April 03, 06:13 CET

In response to NickSeng


Some people like comics, others not so much. And I for one do consider a comic which takes minutes to read and can only tell a short snippet of the story per issue as a very poor second best to forty minutes of TV where the characters are brought to life by great writing and great acting.

I'm really glad that the comics are there, I'm really glad that the canon is continuing, I'm loving all of the press attention and the articles.

But as far as I'm concerned it's a comic and, though I bought it and enjoyed it as far as it went, comics just aren't my thing.

That's not hypocrisy, that's a preference for one art form over another.

If you gave me a choice between Season 8 on screen or season 8 in comics I'd take the screen version any day of the week and twice on Tuesdays. That's not going to happen so I'll take what I can get and be grateful for it but the rapture will, of necessity be limited :)

debw | April 03, 11:19 CET

While parts of that article were very well thought out, other chunks seemed a little off, like the writer needed to fill inches. She introduces the idea of Angel twice for example, or that critiquing of art (alternatively, when quoting from the issue she doesn't quite get the wording right and omits bits).

There's an interesting take I've never really seen before though. While she notes that people reject the series based on the title or the sci-fi/fantasy/high school trappings (pick one), in turn the highlight is still a bit of wish-fulfillment fantasy of having a tiny deeply girly young woman beat down monstrous threats. Without fail, every other time writers contrast fantasy with the use of monsters as metaphors for growing up.

orangewaxlion | April 03, 11:22 CET

Debw You've summoned up very well my attitude to the comics too. I think they're a great idea, and being a long standing Buffy/comics fan I'll read them, but they can't hold a candle to a live action version.

sueworld2003 | April 03, 14:25 CET

I think Buffy in this soemtimes looks more like Morgan Fairchild than like Smidge. Which is not, mind you, in and of itself a bad thing . . . .

DaddyCatALSO | April 03, 16:22 CET

Am I the only person who keeps affixing a Sam to the this thread title? "Slay it Again, Sam." - In my head, every single time I read it. I'm deeply disturbed.

Odysseus | April 03, 18:46 CET

...so what does that say about me when every time I read it my mind makes it it into an American football cheer:

Slay it again.
Slay it again.
Harder, harder.

(No, you don't have to answer that.)

newcj | April 03, 19:35 CET

Fair point, debw. :)

The quote wasn't really the best example to get my point across, but it was meant for those who refuse to buy the comics, despite never having read one. And then those same people going on to condemn people for not giving Buffy a chance because it has vampires. ;)

NickSeng | April 04, 05:16 CET