Whedonesque : Comments on 13812 : (SPOILER) Preview for Buffy #5.

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July 24 2007

(SPOILER) Preview for Buffy #5. Six pages (plus all the covers) which will whet your appetite for the next issue of Buffy season 8.

Simon | BtVS | 19:21 CET | 43 comments total | tags: buffy season 8, dark horse, joss whedon, paul lee, jo chen, georges jeanty

Looks really interesting.Sounds like this is the underground decoy.

Buffyfantic | July 24, 20:28 CET

Nice use of the characters from "Tales of the Slayers" in that final page.

MichaelH | July 24, 20:58 CET

Can someone please explain the cover to me? No matter how many times I look at it, I still can't figure out what she's doing... pulling off a mask (would make sense, actually)? I feel dense, but there it is...

Kirochka | July 24, 20:59 CET

If it's that "personally important" to Joss then she probably gets killed...me, bitter? Nah!

DaddyCatALSO | July 24, 21:00 CET

Yes, I think she's pulling off a Buffy mask, Kirochka.

Oooo this issue looks very interesting. So is The Chain the chain of Slayer descent or something else?

Sunfire | July 24, 22:07 CET

A callback to the medieval slayer in white from "Righteous"!

Hers was not the happiest Tale of the Slayers, but IMHO the best.

[ edited by Pointy on 2007-07-24 19:14 ]

Pointy | July 24, 22:13 CET

SWEET. much as I've enjoyed the book so far, it's been in kind of nonstop epic widescreen mode. this takes us back a little closer to Sunnydale, as it were. and I frickin' love the fairy.

annagranfors | July 24, 22:24 CET

Is the slayer in the final panel Rona? Or the first slayer?

MadeToLoveJoss | July 24, 22:50 CET

Giles! The Faerie's cool, I had to read the egg line twice.The demon has the look of the demons from the show, only a bit more extreme.

I'd say it's Rona, could be neither though.

[ edited by feigenbaum7 on 2007-07-24 19:58 ]

feigenbaum7 | July 24, 22:56 CET

Hmmm. I'll read the egg line again--didn't get it.
And I agree with annagranfors. I like being in one person's perspective, the "close-up" view feeling.
Can't wait to get this!

jcs | July 25, 00:11 CET

Kirochka, the cover is related to the first issue when Buffy tells that there are three of her now. The girl taking away the mask should be one of the "three slayers" around the world wearing a Buffy's face.

rua1412 | July 25, 01:09 CET

Good stuff.

And just in case we all forget...remember, the ish is shipping tomorrow, a week early!

UnpluggedCrazy | July 25, 01:19 CET

Whoa...is that for sure, UnpluggedCrazy?!

Chris inVirginia | July 25, 01:41 CET

Wow, "Here's how it works" ... "You don't get a choice" ? Seems like this ish might be addressing some of the biggies about the empowerment spell, given the reversal of Buffy's big 'choice' speech from 'Chosen'. Hope so (and I already like her, and her definitely-non-egg-laying faerie).

Shame she's probably shortly for the shuffle but then it's all down to how you go. Not gentle i'm thinking in her case ;).

So is The Chain the chain of Slayer descent or something else?

Guess so but then it's also probably the 'chain' of obligation, of responsibility that comes with Slayerdom. And maybe the 'weak link' connotation comes into it too ? Given those that went before, you'd want to acquit yourself well I reckon (hey, no pressure but she did save the world. A lot ;).

Saje | July 25, 02:15 CET

I'm liking this Paul Lee guy's stuff a lot. Wouldn't mind at all if he took over for like, the rest of the series. No? Well okay...

RaisedByMongrels | July 25, 02:32 CET

I don't get the egg line either. I just read it again, thinking it'd make more sense after a second pass, but it doesn't.

Hrmm. Multiple meanings of chain. That does make sense. Or, it's a Fleetwood Mac reference. I vote for A.

Sunfire | July 25, 03:06 CET

Maybe the egg line will make more sense later on in the issue, when the fairy sidekick person is presumably explained.

RaisedByMongrels | July 25, 03:48 CET

This just made me hungrier. =(

Plight | July 25, 03:59 CET

I'm liking this Paul Lee guy's stuff a lot. Wouldn't mind at all if he took over for like, the rest of the series. No? Well okay...

You should check some of the work he did on the old run of the comics. Really great, especially as he worked with some fun writers. His covers were cool also, sometimes just as gorgeous as Joan Chen's ones.

Numfar PTB | July 25, 04:58 CET

Chris inVirginia, it certainly is. There's a thread about it here on Whedonesque but it got bumped off the front page.

I called my comics ship to corroborate, and indeed it is shipping tomorrow...

UnpluggedCrazy | July 25, 05:32 CET

I thought the egg line was pretty self explanatory. Does that mean I'm making it too simple and missing something I didn't realize I was missing?

newcj | July 25, 09:13 CET

me too, newcj--I mean, it may turn out to be a major story point, although unlikely in a one-off, but I just read it as a funny way of getting Buffy to do a take.

annagranfors | July 25, 09:53 CET

...and to undermine the image of sweet little fairies. Don't forget the undermining, annagranfors. ;-)

newcj | July 25, 10:14 CET

I'm thinking The Chain = the chain letter with all the negative effects that it can have.

I'm also wondering if this standalone issue will be seen as the comic book equivalent of The Body or Hush.

Simon | July 25, 10:22 CET

Hey, there're no negative effects if you DON'T BREAK THE CHAIN ! Otherwise, true, all manner of bad. But who's to blame, hmm ?

Or option two: don't be superstitious ;).

Also don't see the issue with the egg line. It's a gross thing the faerie did which upon seeing "Buffy"'s reaction she regrets mentioning and backpedals on in amusing fashion. Pretty standard sort of joke really (it's kind of like "Or so i've been told" after statements implying you do something really weird/gross/embarrassing). Course, maybe it is a big story point, doubt it though.

Saje | July 25, 12:16 CET

Is "The Chain," like "The Long Way Home," perhaps a reference to a pop song of Joss's youth? A Fleetwood Mac
quote? "Damn your lies . . . Down comes the night/Run in the shadows . . . Damn the dark/Damn the night . . . I can still hear you saying/You would never break the chain." ("Take the Long Way Home" was the title of a Supertramp song.)

Pointy | July 25, 17:19 CET

Thanks, Sunfire and rua1412 - it was as I was typing my message that I suddenly realized it was probably a mask. Every time up until then that I'd looked at the cover, I'd seen it as Buffy pulling back on a bowstring... without seeing the bow or string!

And ewwww... Supertramp. Them and Styx... two bands from my youth (I'm two years older than Joss) that I. Just. Can't. Stand.

Kirochka | July 25, 18:00 CET

The Slayer disguised as Buffy has broken a chain letter which was, because it is the Buffyverse, actually cursed? Oh no! Now she will die. :(

Sunfire | July 25, 18:10 CET

So has anyone got a hold of the issue yet?

Simon | July 25, 21:36 CET

Yup, I have procured and read this issue, and am dying to discuss it. Anyone else?

phlebotinin | July 25, 22:22 CET

I just finished it. It was sad.

karosurly | July 25, 22:22 CET

I thought it was pretty good.

hitnrun017 | July 25, 22:31 CET

Things:

1. The Vi/Andrew commercial was awesome.
2. Who are the women to the sides of Giles at the lectern? Rona and someone?
3. Who is Janie Kleinman?

karosurly | July 25, 22:37 CET

Isn't Janie Kleinman the winner of the essay contest? Edited to add: No, it isn't. Robin Balzer is the winner of the essay contest. I should have checked before posting. Interesting. I had thought that Balzer would be making some sort of an "appearance" in this issue. Either I missed it, or that will come later.

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2007-07-25 20:03 ]

phlebotinin | July 25, 22:46 CET

No, I checked -- that's Robin Balzer.

karosurly | July 25, 22:58 CET

I have the issue but won't be able to really read it in detail until tonight.I did flip though it and can't wait to really dig into it tonight.

The essay winner will be in issue 10 which is the next standalone story.

I did see in the letter column that the next month break will be between issue 9 and 10.The end of the next arc and the next standalone by Joss just like with The Long Way Home and this issue.The good news is that they don't plan to have another break between issues for the next year following that.

Also as suspected,the reason this issue was released a week early was because of comic con.Dark Horse wanted the issue out this week so people could take it to Comic Con to get it signed by Joss.

Buffyfantic | July 26, 00:08 CET

Well, maybe Janie Kleinman's the fake Buffy's name. Or someone Joss knows who labors (or labored) anonymously but heroically?

Joss nailed Andrew this time. I can hear his voice as I'm looking at the ad. Don't understand why the scoobs would actually use the ad, but I can totally see Andrew making it. And that's a great likeness of Vi, my favorite Potential.

It's hard to feel too strongly about the fate of someone you don't know, so I don't see this issue as all that powerful, emotionally. Then again, I don't want Joss killing somebody I love to get that emotional power, so a general mild sadness and admiration will have to do.

I haven't decided yet whether the messagy stuff overshadows the story, but there's some nice lines in there in any case. Better than the fourth, for me, but not as gripping as the first three, and probably not meant to be.

[ edited by shambleau on 2007-07-25 21:27 ]

shambleau | July 26, 00:25 CET

Alas, my calls to 1-800-CHOSEN-1 have been met with a busy signal. Has anyone else tried to get through?

MadeToLoveJoss | July 26, 01:04 CET

Edited to remove spoilers. I'll wait to discuss this issue until a thread for it has been launched.

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2007-07-25 22:33 ]

phlebotinin | July 26, 01:31 CET

I gotta say I prefer Paul Lee's art to Georges Jeanty's, and not just because I immediately recognized Vi. But that's just a matter of personal preference, of course.

shambleau, I think I may agree with you in the placement of the issue in term of favorites. And even though we have no history with the decoy slayer, it's hard not to feel the underlying pathos of someone buying into the cause so completely but remaining nameless throughout.

karosurly | July 26, 01:41 CET

I'll wait to discuss this issue until a thread for it has been launched.

Yeah, me too. Even though this a a spoiler thread, the discussion thread ususally goes to a review. So somebody find a review!

dreamlogic | July 26, 01:45 CET

Funny you should say that.

Simon | July 26, 01:59 CET

Must avoid spoilers! My copy is just now shipping from TFAW...

Kirochka | July 26, 17:35 CET

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