Hmm. TFAW still has their Pub. date listed as May 7, 2008. Oh well, it's coming soon no matter what!

Wyndam-Pryce | April 25, 22:42 CET

Still umming and ahhing about buying the first 3. Anyone bought all of them and if so, which ones are most worth having and which are the most skippable ?

Saje | April 25, 23:01 CET

Saje:

Volume Three is easily the most skippable. I still say it's essential for any Buffy fan, but if you're going to skip one of the books skip this one. Isn't that good. Only two or three stories are good. The rest is barely average, bad, borderline laughable.

Volume Two is probably most 'worth buying.' It has some great stuff but also some bad stuff. The first few stories suck, if I remember correctly, but the "Ring of Fire" story is as good as anything we've seen in Season Eight.

Volume One is okay. It is pretty much equal good and bad. It's definitely worth getting, though, because "The Origin" is canonical.

patxshand | April 25, 23:21 CET

I think Vol. 1 is better than Vol. 2, but they're both quite good. The format Dark Horse is using for the Buffy omnibuses is smaller than most other publishers' trade paperbacks, but I like it -- it's smaller, but thick, like a paperback book. Much more appropriate for reading outside the home.

jsnell | April 25, 23:23 CET

I think that they are all equally great. Very fun and exciting stories that contribute to the characters overall.

toontimer | April 25, 23:50 CET

I like Vol. 2 the best; Vol. 1 is decent, though there are some fun ones...it's a guilty pleasure for me, but I really like the one that has Buffy in the (asylum? clinic? rehab?) place...you know, like what "Normal Again" alluded to.

Vol. 1 does have The Origin, which is a faithful adaptation of the BtVS movie script. It's okay, but I honestly find it kind of choppy.

Vol. 3 is the most skippable, but again, I consider it worth the price I paid in terms of the few good stories there are.

I really enjoyed the stories about Spike. They were silly, but fun, mostly because I love the Spike-Drusilla relationship stuff.

I think that their main purpose is giving fans just one more thing to fill the void. As with anything, YMMV, but I find them perfectly readable and enjoyable.

BTW, if you want any of these, I highly recommend going through Amazon. It's only $16, instead of $25, and if you pre-order #4, you get 5% off. If you order all 3--or 4, I guess--you get free shipping so it's worth it.
I usually say to support your local comics shop, but this one is just too good a deal online.

ps...same thing on the pre-order for BtVS S8--if you pre-order "No Future For You," it's cheaper, plus the extra 5% off.

BandofBuggered | April 25, 23:56 CET

Thanks for the advice all, that works out nicely because the last one numerically (Vol. 3) is also the most skippable one. Think I may Amazon Vol. 1 to get a general feel.

(I do like the format, it's kind of like the "definitive" 'Queen and Country' reprints - which, despite already having the larger format trades i'm actually considering getting. This is because I am a maniac ;)

Saje | April 26, 00:13 CET

Hey, Saje, if you decide you want Vol. 2, let me know. I ordered it because Vol. 1 was out of stock. It's pretty good, and it gives you an idea of the Dracula-Xander-farce that people were concerned was recon.

Personally, I enjoyed it because Vol. 2 gives you the journey form LA to Sunnydale, which translates to me as more backstory of one of my favorite heroines.

[ edited by korkster on 2008-04-25 21:23 ]

korkster | April 26, 00:21 CET

Queen and Country? Is this something I need to read? I just Wikipedia-ed it and read that it was originally inspired by the Sandbaggers, which I really liked. But I know Roy Marsden's not in the comic...
Sorry, off-topic, I know [but just tell me real quick-like if it's great or if you're just a mad collector. :)]

jcs | April 26, 00:26 CET

Book Depository sells them cheaper and no need to spend £15 for free delivery.

ETA: I enjoyed the two Queen and Country volumes I have read except the artist should do more research regarding what our ambulances and plugs look like :-)

[ edited by moley75 on 2008-04-25 21:40 ]

moley75 | April 26, 00:37 CET

Previews (i.e. Diamond Shipping) doesn't have this listed for next week and the Dark Horse site say this is released on the 7th so I dunno if the entry info is 100% correct.

Simon | April 26, 00:41 CET

Is this something I need to read? I just Wikipedia-ed it and read that it was originally inspired by the Sandbaggers, which I really liked.

Well, that's tough to say jcs, horses for courses and all that, but I like it. 'Q&C' is very inspired by 'The Sandbaggers' to the extent that it sometimes "shares" plots and even the appearance of some of the characters is similar (as well as terminology, job roles like Minder or D-Ops, the CIA/SIS back and forth etc.). There's no Marsden playing Burnside but 'Paul Crocker' is very much his comic counterpart.

The art is a bit variable (and all black and white if that's an issue) and as moley75 says, sometimes the dialogue and look of things doesn't ring perfectly true (though i'd say it's usually pretty close, especially for a non-Brit writer/artist team) but when it's good i'd say it's very good (and the central character, Tara Chace, is almost Jossian in her strong female characterness ;) - she starts off seeming a bit like a female James Bond knock-off but you grow to realise there's more to her than that, IMO). Rucka's written some prose novels that also aren't bad as fairly straightforward espionage thrillers go and tie in directly with what happens in the comics (though they're summarised where necessary so you don't need to read them).

(i'll also plug 'Whiteout' and 'Whiteout: Melt' while i'm at it, by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber and also good, especially the sequel, 'Melt' IMO. Kind of Jack London meets Raymond Chandler. Ish ;)

ETA: And cheers korkster ;).

[ edited by Saje on 2008-04-25 23:44 ]

Saje | April 26, 01:38 CET

I really enjoyed vol. 1 because it was fun to see Joss' original script for the movie re-envisioned with SMG as Buffy (and without Donald Sutherland). I haven't considered getting the rest although I've been collecting various BtVS comics written by Jane Espenson and Amber Benson (I just got 'Wanna Blessed Be'! Yay!) via eBay.

embers | April 26, 01:49 CET

Oh, this place is always inspiring me to buy more comics. My comic shop guy should give whedonesque a cut.
(Thanks saje and moley75.)

jcs | April 26, 03:54 CET

I'd think I'd disagree with the majority opinion here: aside from "The Origin" and the story about the various demons manifesting as aspects of Buffy's family situation/psychosis (don't have the book at hand, sorry), most of these are pretty poor efforts, IMO. Generic situations, dialogue that captures the characters' tics but not their personality, stories that don't develop into anything (although that part, at least, is not the fault of the writers, who had to work independently, and not get in the way, of the TV show arcs), and uninspired art. I would only recommend for Buffy completists.

SoddingNancyTribe | April 27, 04:14 CET

I would have to agree with "Sodding", though some stories were not bad.
I purchased 1 & 2 at the same time with 40% off, glad I didn't pay full price. I skipped # 3 but may buy it and the rest in the future from the clearance section (like I did on "Angel Casefiles" books 1&2 for $4 each).

demon magnet | April 27, 21:06 CET

My local comics store and Amazon com. both have this slated for April 30. Dark Horse, in the past, has had a hit or miss attitude toward scheduling for it's graphic novels.

I've enjoyed these Omnibus editions.

ETA to remove too many commas!

[ edited by Capt. Logic on 2008-04-28 01:55 ]

[ edited by Capt. Logic on 2008-04-28 01:58 ]

[ edited by Capt. Logic on 2008-04-28 01:58 ]

Capt. Logic | April 28, 03:33 CET

Sodding, the demon manifestations from Buffy was in Vol. 2. I do agree with you, the art is lacking and they're basically fillers, but the Omnibus collection is a filler. But, for stories (like when Xander is Drac's butt-monkey for a year or something) that become background filler in the current comics, it is nice to know what the inside joke or shout-out is.

That's the only reason to buy them. That, and if there's a dry spell.

korkster | April 28, 23:16 CET