Well, this was an issue that was relatively disappointing but still very entertaining. It's too short, is the real problem. On paper, this idea is a great one for Buffy to relive part of her life at its most "normal" and "innocent". But in that idea was an implicit promise that Buffy would really get insight into herself and into her relationships with the people she's known for so long. We didn't get any of that, and it's a real shame. There wasn't anything relevatory about her interactions with any of the Season 1 versions of her friends, or Giles, or even Angel. Angel got the most "face time" with Buffy, but that was handled pretty superficially, Buffy just (dare I say it?) basking in how things were between them back then, tense but attracted.

Angel gets to at least provide her major insight for the story, in which Buffy realizes that you can't change the future with any certainty and you can't change the past at all. But really, that's not a huge insight, it's a fact of life. It reminds me of Anya's snark on the Beljoxa's Eye when it claims that it only sees "the truth of the now, and before" -- "yes, we all have that. It's called 'memory'!"

In the "too short" quality of this story is just a touch of self-indulgence, IMO. The Season 1 part of the story basically is just a retread of the Buffy Animated pilot that we saw the 4 minute trailer of a while back, complete with dragon. One thing I do like that this story does, and isn't all that subtle about, is saying "this is the Buffyverse. This is Buffy and her friends. They haven't gone anywhere." In other words, stop segregating Season 8 from the televised seasons.

The best parts of this issue are actually the current storyline. I love Buffy throwing herself back into patrolling. Complete with her very nice, practical outfit. It's hard to tell exactly where they are staying right now, the four panels of her fighting demons were in different locations -- the first and third could both still be in NYC, but the second suggests a swamp, which in turn suggests the American southeast. So they are out and about and time has been passing since 8.19, but it's unclear how much. A week? A month?

The place where they are staying appears to be some kind of swanky Tudor estate. Maybe that puts them back in the UK, or puts them in New England -- that would actually be a nice continuity touch, if they were staying at Kennedy's folks place.

Buffy fell asleep in Xander's bed :) That's so awesome. C'mon Joss, get 'em together!

This story gave most of us hopes that Buffy would learn, for good and all, how to readjust to love and trust and the things that made "death her gift" back in Season 5. The underlying reasons. If that's what she gets out of it, we won't know for a while. This story is like a NASCAR pit stop late in a race -- you would like, in a perfect world, to take all the time you need, get four tires, a full tank of gas, etc. But time doesn't permit. You take two tires and whatever fuel you can get and get back on the road. That's Buffy here.

In "Restless", Buffy was confronted by the putative source of her true power, the Slayer lineage, and rejected it. The "source" of her are her friends, the Animus, Spiritus, Sophus of her life. In "Get It Done", Buffy was given a chance at a pit stop to recharge, to gain more power. Again, she rejected the false source of her true strength by rejecting the shadowmen. In "After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back", Buffy is exposed to the undiluted power behind her -- her relationships with Willow, with Giles, with Xander, with her family, the ability to love that she was reminded of being around Angel. Like that shortened pitstop, she didn't have the luxury of refreshing their fully and she (and we) were robbed a bit. The question will be whether Buffy, now having realized that she still has all the things now that she did then, will draw the strength she needs and end the isolation she's created for a few years.

KingofCretins | December 17, 17:30 CET

Can't wait to read this later today.Especially in light of the new issue of Angel:ATF.I need some lightness to counter the darkness.Just like the old days where they would have a lighter episode of Buffy aired with a darker episode of Angel or vice versa.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2008-12-17 18:55 ]

Buffyfantic | December 17, 18:27 CET

I really enjoyed this. KingofCretins sums up much of what I liked about it, although my overall feeling about the book is one of gratification rather than King's disappointment. The little talk Buffy had with Angel about the past/future seems to have some meaning for the Fray arc we just went through. I'm not sure what yet. As usually happens with the comics, I don't like to comment in-depth until I've let the issue percolate a bit and then season it with another rereading or two.

It was such a pleasure to see them all together again in what looked like late S1. Snyder is already there but Cordelia is still being mean to Willow. And Angel is still being held at arm's length, sort of. Ahhh. So sweet.

A very minor quibble: Why did Joyce have brown hair and brown eyes? She was definitely blonde. Not of the platinum variety but still, blonde. Or blondeish.

[ edited by phlebotinin on 2008-12-17 19:01 ]

phlebotinin | December 17, 18:53 CET

I thought this would be terrible, based on the preview we got, but the issue wasn't bad at all.

Is it a considerable step from from Joss's fantastic work on #19? Yes.

Does Jeph Loeb have a feel for the characters' voices? Not really.

But still... it was entertaining on a very surface level. Seeing present Buffy interact with past Scoobies was cool, and Giles' "I wonder what Harmony will wear" scene was fantastic. Overall, I sort of liked it... I just wish the dialogue was better.

patxshand | December 17, 19:23 CET

It was a good line, but it was no "pink taffeta" line. It actually felt like a very deliberate "let's make sure there's a reference to Harmony before 8.21" type of thing.

KingofCretins | December 17, 19:35 CET

I definitely agree. I think it was Giles' expression in the following panel that really made the line work very well for me.

patxshand | December 17, 19:42 CET

Absolutely loved this issue! The only problem I had with it was length; like all Buffy comics, it was too darn short! Jeph Loeb nailed Buffy's inner-voice.

What happens next? How will Buffy use Angel's comment, about changing the future? Might she say, "Woe is me, I can't tell Willow because who knows what might happen." Or will she use logic instead, and follow that with "Willow might turn all veiny and stuff, and then I'd have to kill her! ... Oh wait, that happened. How can things get any worse? I gotta let her know."

Personally, I'm hoping for "Logic Buffy," but then I tend to be a thinker and not a feeler.

[ edited by quantumac on 2008-12-17 20:12 ]

quantumac | December 17, 20:11 CET

"One thing I do like that this story does, and isn't all that subtle about, is saying "this is the Buffyverse. This is Buffy and her friends. They haven't gone anywhere." In other words, stop segregating Season 8 from the televised seasons."

If'n ya gotta say it, I'm thinking it is not clear. And it seems a tad defensive.

Dana5140 | December 17, 20:21 CET

I wouldn't think they'd have to say it, but then, I've never understood why there are instructions on shampoo.

Quantumac, oh, she'll probably not say anything. Because nobody in the Buffyverse ever read "Romeo & Juliet" or played telephone as a kid. And these people have never run into any trouble by failing to communicate to each other before.

[ edited by KingofCretins on 2008-12-17 20:33 ]

KingofCretins | December 17, 20:32 CET

I had doubts about the issue from previews, but I ended up enjoying it. It felt like a trifle, but a good one. I like the linkage it creates between past and present, regardless of media. I do agree that it could have been much deeper and have more resonance, but I will take it for what it was.

One quibble, shouldn't the line have been "Sophomore year bod with a super slayer brain."? Buffy's freshman year was in LA at Hemery High.

EditorAl | December 17, 20:33 CET

EditorAl, you're right. Unless you take the line in a meta/metaphorical way - S1 was Buffy's freshman year (but in sophmore class) at Sunnydale High.

phlebotinin | December 17, 20:37 CET

Great introductory frame by Jeanty and Buffy's "can't say I didn't warn you" monotony that leads to her 4 seconds (wow, that girl is fast) dream world where she gets to literally live in the past. Which brings two important realizations: 1) The past isn't as glorified as she makes it out to be and 2) Attempting to change the future is risky business and sharing that knowledge doesn't guarantee the desired outcome - it still could end up being "who knows what?"

As for it being "memory" and self-evident, aren't all truths simple in nature but elusive to the conflicted psyche? Sometimes you need the truth smacked on the head for it to sink in.

Sadly, with the leak of the Buffy: the Animated Series pilot clip back in August and the 6 page preview released by Dark Horse last week, I felt like I'd read most of this issue before I bought it. The second the word Morgala came out of Giles' mouth I remembered the conversation from the pilot and knew we were heading towards dragon city. I greatly enjoyed the fight scene where Buffy takes out 3/5 of the vamp followers and the Buffy inner voice scene where she's arguing with her memory (and slashing at it with her hand - hee!) about the importance of what Angel said to her. Hilarious laugh-out-loud moment.

Buffy accidentally collapsing into Xander's bed was oh so very funny, but Xander didn't take advantage of that moment to make a dirty joke? And his "can you get out of my bed?" really wasn't spelling excitement at her being *in* his bed. Granted, she was covered in goop and smelly, but hey Angel said he still loved her when she was covered in slime. Apparently, Xander wasn't that into it at the time or the writing wasn't that into actually playing with the subtext of that situation from his end. Which is disappointing.

The panel where Buffy looks at Joyce after being told that she can always come home again is really heartbreaking as she looks sadly at her and thinks, 'Sigh.' And the final full-page panel of Buffy thinking of her past was a wonderfully pleasing end to counter the lackluster art of the previous page where faces seem blurred and Willow's likeness was just off.

I enjoyed the issue but I feel I can't rightly judge it without a re-read because I'm left with this slight distaste of being too spoiled about the plot to fully appreciate it.

ETA: I read the "freshman" line as referring to her being in a Noob slayer body rather than her sleekly trained body of Season 8. She got demoted to Freshman Slayer.

[ edited by Emmie on 2008-12-17 21:17 ]

Emmie | December 17, 21:15 CET

The "freshman bod" line clearly preferred the freshman bod, though. Think she was just doing the typical adult, stereotypically girly thing of wishing she had her old body regardless of how objectively satisfying her current one is. Plus, it was quite a few serious stab wounds ago.

I'm all for self-evident truths, as a big Jeffersonian guy, but this particular truth wasn't all that compelling. She can't change the past -- she knew that before she fell asleep, and there was little evidence she was wishing to do so. Now, if her dream was trying to work out the answer of what to do about the future she saw, then it only gave her bad insight.

I didn't get the idea at all that Xander was objecting to the core premise of "Buffy in his bed" -- the bankrobbing is sexy, after all -- but just that it was a little awkward and inconvenient that she chose that time and place to go to sleep. I mean, one assumes they're still getting settled in wherever they're staying. Now he has to change the sheets.

KingofCretins | December 17, 21:33 CET

Except she left Fray's future in #19 absolutely determined to change the past (which is her present that if it's still on the same timestream leads to Fray's future) and save her world ("save mine"). So it's telling us that after sitting uncomfortably on this future info, she's decided to save the world without revealing the future to Willow. It was simple and it told us where Buffy is at right now. She's not sharing. Which is really not shocking because nothing huge happened to constitute a dramatic shift in her modus operandi.

I really did get the feeling that Xander was objecting to it, though. The "it's mine" exclamation point and the "can you get out of my bed now" were all he said regarding her being there. All it portrayed for him was inconvenient and awkward. And it's Xander so there *has* to be something more going on there, but it simply wasn't written like that. We can read more into it (because we know his character) but it's just not there in the text.

Emmie | December 17, 21:41 CET

I had avoided spoilers/previews and I really loved the issue: it has the superficial light fun along with some subtle message goodness. It makes a fun break after the intensity of Buffy's battle w/Fray (and ancient Willow). I'm loving the series and looking forward to January 7th!

embers | December 17, 23:44 CET

I'm still reeling from the events of ATF #15 so I'll probably post more thoughts tomorrow but this issue was a lot of fun.This issue was just pure joy to me especially reading it after the latest issue of Angel.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2008-12-17 23:48 ]

Buffyfantic | December 17, 23:47 CET

I was actually disappointed. I felt Buffy's voice was almost painfully forced for uber-cuteness. The art was OK, but I guess that's the conceit. Mostly, I didn't get anything out of this. After being beaten over the head with "You can't change the past," the story felt empty.

Best line, however, was Buffy realizing Willow was still into Xander:
"Oh. That's right. You like... And you're probably not... Well, you probably ARE... But not..."

CowboyCliche | December 18, 00:37 CET

This was a really cute issue. It wasn't really necessary (and the "it was all a dream" framing sequence was somewhat irritating), but it was fun.

Invisible Green | December 18, 01:02 CET

I've gotta ge tthis soon, amybve make a special trip tomorrow to the comics shop, maybe splurge and have lunch at the hospital food court, just to see how on earth Giles ends up thinking about Harmony. {Partly for the sheer unbeleiveability of it, and partly because I had them as a tag team in my "Buffy MEets the Heroes of the Past" fic.)

DaddyCatALSO | December 18, 02:39 CET

This issue had its moments. But as a whole it is more what I feared deep down early on, before seeing previews, that Season 8 might be like and less what I've been enjoying about it so far.

It's about time Morgan Freeman got some evil minions.

Sunfire | December 18, 02:46 CET

Y'know, if they're gonna do silly one-shots, let them be like this one. I wouldn't put Loeb up there with the original series writers - the dialogue here is kind of on the nose - but those pages chock full o' panels made for a nice change of pace (literally), and took me back to the innocence of those early years. I liked it well enough. For whatever reason that seems sufficient, and I'm gonna chase that feeling. Sufficiency, I mean. :)

waxbanks | December 18, 03:09 CET

I'm surprised so many didn't really like this issue. I thought it was amazing! Once again makes it more painful the animated series never happened.

mossoholic | December 18, 03:13 CET

Add me to the "Loved it" team. I am so happy that Buffy told Giles about the future, even if it was pretty cryptic. Just in case it was more than a 4 second dream. Obviously it was more than a 4 second dream but what was it exactly?

Ending was sad. I wish Buffy could have stayed too.

cheryl | December 18, 03:39 CET

Not bad. Just too short.

RebelAt | December 18, 03:59 CET

I really liked it. It was a fun issue but I wish we could have visited back then for more than one issue.

maje | December 18, 05:21 CET

I totally dug this issue. I must say this, I like Jeph Loeb, I don't love him. He has the distinction of writing the only comic to ever make me cry ("Sam's Story". Backup for the incredible Superman/Batman #26). At the risk of saying something really unfortunately, brutally honest, I haven't liked a single thing he's written since Same died. Yuck, I hate saying that. He was really important in getting me to read comics in the first place, but he's... Not as good as he used to be. It makes me scared of going back and rereading some of his older stuff.

That said, I liked this. I thought it was cool (same basic story (well, dragon, anyway) as the 3 minute, very official looking BtAS youtube video.) And it wasn't bad. I didn't think he missed the characters as much as many of you do. Maybe wasn't spot on, but it wasn't too far off.

Mostly, I may be a little light on Jeph because I want so badly to love his work. Recently, he's been having inexplicable fights in everything. Daredevil and Wolverine meet in a dark alley and they... fight. Why? Cause they should be doing something, apparently. But, we didn't get any inexplicable fights. Some nice quiet moments and the dialogue wasn't too cliched or clunky.

Whatev. I'm rambling (in classic leaflown style). Thumbs up, regardless.

leafblown | December 18, 05:23 CET

Well, leafblown, random illogical superhero vs. superhero fights have been a staple of Marvel comics since the beginning. Perhaps he was simply homaging that?

In any case, a lot of the dialogue did feel forced, but then, it usually does when a character is put in an odd situation and is forced to accept it very quickly due to time constraints. Although the quick acceptance does make sense in this case, it still feels forced for some reason.

Also, I was put off by the art. I loved the style in the 3 minute promo, and I realize it was the same, but something was just weird about it. Especially Angel. I dunno. Glad Jeanty's coming back.

Giles_314 | December 18, 05:43 CET

If you liked the issue, it might be useful to sign the petition to support a return of the animated series.
Even if the animated series do not come back, we could still have a limited series of comics based on the thirteen scripts already written. The petition might draw DH attention on that.

Léo | December 18, 07:31 CET

I've linked to this on the side-bar so once this entry falls off the front page, you'll be able to access it without going into the archive.

Simon | December 18, 13:28 CET

Quick thoughts:
* I'm actually glad they did this one as a dream sequence and not a time-trip or AU thingy. Makes more sense that way, since the theme of Buffy's dream was "a simpler time." Notice, too, this isn't the first time she's thought of those early years that way.
From The Killer In Me:
Buffy: Remember when things used to be nice and boring?
Willow: (pretends to think about it for a second) No.

* Killing Future Dark Willow is weighing heavily on her mind, and part of that is trying to decide whether she should tell Willow what the (current) future holds. If she does, would it change that future, or somehow be the catalyst that causes it? (And if she keeps grabbing Willow like that, Will's gonna start wondering whether Buffy's completely lost her mind or just decided to add Willow to her "list"...)

* "Four seconds" is reasonable. There's a tremendous amount of time-compression in dream-time. Most dreams, no matter how long they may seem to be subjectively, last only a few seconds in real-time.

* I can see Xander being thrown by Buffy winding up in his bed. Not least because if she stays there, then the logical place for him to sleep is in her bed. Considering his reaction to Dawn's scanties and catching Buffy in bed with Satsu, it might be safer for his sanity to just sleep on the floor...

Rowan Hawthorn | December 18, 14:29 CET

* "Four seconds" is reasonable. There's a tremendous amount of time-compression in dream-time. Most dreams, no matter how long they may seem to be subjectively, last only a few seconds in real-time.

This is a true fact. I always have long dreams that usually seem to last days, but when I wake up I realize I only slept for a few minutes.

So everything was a dream? That makes sense, and I guess it'll be a relief to those who were too upset about Buffy's comment on Cordelia's death.

Sosa Lola | December 18, 16:35 CET

A dream but perchance a Slayer dream? In which case maybe there's something more prophetic to it than Buffy working out her "I killed future Willow but should I tell my Willow?" issues with Angel - an appropriate choice of stabbed through the heart confidant if ever there was one. It's probably random but wasn't the jewel in the dragon's head the same twilight shade of ruby as the shattered red egg thing in her Anywhere but Here vision. And did Angel ever wear red on the show?

[ edited by hayes62 on 2008-12-18 18:41 ]

hayes62 | December 18, 17:03 CET

Angel had a red velvet shirt that you see in some of the promos and in Lie to Me. He also wore several burgundy button down shirts in AtS.

NileQT87 | December 18, 17:32 CET

"We found the followers of Morgan Freeman!" may be the best line ever uttered in Buffy. Also Eric Wight's art was really good, loved the contrast with Jeanty's style.

Simon | December 18, 18:29 CET

That was... inconclusive. It felt like Mr Loeb looked up and realised he only had two pages left. Pretty and amusing, but the "four seconds" bit rang more true than it was perhaps meant to.

Craig Oxbrow | December 18, 20:39 CET

I absolutely ADORED this issue! Jeph really captured Buffy's voice..quite well! I loved the characterization...I loved the line about "Later that same night" and "Ooh..Angel.." I loved seeing everyone again, and I even think we got a Harmony cameo too!

As for the next issue, has Harmony outed herself as a vampire? I am sort of confused to some extent...the US government knows about slayers, but does the general public know that they exist? And what their purpose is? If so, did they find out from Harmony, or did Harmony "come out" because they already knew? Either I missed something or we'll find out next ish...!

Riker | December 18, 21:09 CET

Okay, I re-read the issue, and I liked it a lot better. I really wish this had become a show.

Although Buffy being so nonchalant about Cordy's death was off-putting. I know they weren't best friends, but still.

Overall, though, it's grown on me. I still think Angel looks odd, but everyone else looks great.

Giles_314 | December 19, 00:17 CET

I didn't think the general population knew what was going on, but the intro to this issue says, "Is Twilight to blame for humanity's distrust of the Slayers? The aggression of the US government?". That suggests the slayers are known to more than just the US government. More to come, I suspect.

And I loved this issue too - so much fun. Lots of dialogue and little references to enjoy (and nice to see Joyce again), but my favourite panel is Buffy's angry air quotes.

[ edited by NotaViking on 2008-12-19 00:20 ]

NotaViking | December 19, 00:19 CET

Although Buffy being so nonchalant about Cordy's death was off-putting. I know they weren't best friends, but still.


Since it was a dream, I don't see the point of discussing this anymore. We sat lots of weird stuff in dreams.

I reality the Scoobies always had a black humor thing going on, like when Willow said, "Or we could kill Anya?" in S7 after all the developments and sacrifices Anya had made and the Scoobies had witnessed. Buffy never liked Cordelia and never knew about the changes she went through. Only Willow seemed interested in what happens in LA with Angel's gang.

And the most important thing, Cordelia just insulted Willow. Buffy needed to make her friend feel better by telling her that she will outlive them and Cordelia will die soon like the rest of them.

Sosa Lola | December 19, 10:16 CET

Sigh, Buffy can be as gullible as Angel sometimes....

DaddyCatALSO | December 19, 16:30 CET

Just read this and gotta say, it was cute, but extremely disappointing. It was no different to a comic in the non-Season 8 Buffy Omnibus collection. So what was the point?

NuVanessa | December 20, 02:56 CET

This was my least favorite issue. If she just thinks this is a crazy dream, then I guess it doesn't matter to run off to a party. But she does seem to act as if her actions matter. So, I'd think she'd want to spend a little time with her dead mother. If any of you have lost a loved one, wouldn't you want a chance to spend more time with them? I would have expected the more adult Buffy to spend time talking to the people in her life, rather than wanting to run off and dance with teenagers.

Suzie | December 20, 03:06 CET

Assuming it was a dream (which even Buffy isn't sure of, like when she brings up Ethan Rayne and the influence he had on her dream(s?) in the first arc of Season 8), it's hard to tell how much control and focus she was capable of. Perhaps she sort of had to follow the "script" that the dream was following and, while she could react, puzzle over, and appreciate what she was going through briefly, she still had to follow the predetermined set course. Also, Buffy seemed somewhat childish at times in this issue, so maybe they used her altered dream-state self as an excuse to not go too heavy on the drama and burden the issue with a teary reunion with mom. We sort of already got that in Season 6's "Normal Again" anyway.

Heh, I really don't wanna open up a debate about canon, but I can't help wondering if we're now supposed to believe that the whole dragon/Cult of Morgala thing (albeit with monk-made, Dawn-including memories imposed) happened some time during Season 1. Buffy remembered everything else (the people, the settings), but she didn't automatically recall the event when Giles explained, when she was fighting the vamps, nor when the dragon popped up. She had to figure out how to defeat it as if it was all brand new to her. I think it was purely just a dream, not a glimpse of an actual past event from Season 1 that happened mid-season between episodes.

The Cordelia line was a bit of punch in the gut, not grimly funny as it may've been intended or evoking proud feelings over Buffy's protection of Willow (not from me anyway), but it makes sense for Buffy to say and yeah, she wasn't close with Cordelia. Buffy's sense of humor was morbid at times long before Season 8. It was a suitable line to place there.

I liked the art (all of it--I thought Jeanty's opening and closing pages were beautifully detailed too). I admit Wight's work is kind of a bizarre look for Buffy (it looked more fitting in animation), but I could get used to it and I would definitely watch a Buffy animated.

Buffy with foresight in the past, though played mostly for laughs with some poignancy thrown in, was fun and I really enjoyed the issue.

Kris | December 20, 08:48 CET

How, precisely, does a KNEE-HIGH boot just fall off?

Can't quite puzzle that one out.

qui_ca | December 20, 18:56 CET

Finally got my hands on this, and it was very enjoyable. Maybe a little slight and not all that I was expecting, but still a lot of fun.

On the first read-through, it did seem a little rushed, but having just read it again, I didn't have any problems with the pacing. It all seemed very dream-like and, more importantly, cartoonish. You know how when Angel was turned into a puppet he had the mentality and temperament of a puppet? Well, this issue got turned into a Saturday morning cartoon and had the mentality and temperament of a Saturday morning cartoon. The over-dramatic gestures (Giles doomsaying as lightning strikes behind him), the relentless punning, even the whole "Poof!" Wile E. Coyote moment. Very entertaining.

I also loved Eric Wight's artwork, and it's good to have Georges back. I was really surprised by how much I was impressed by his intro/outro stuff, but then I realized that we haven't had any Georges interiors at all since "Wolves at the Gate."

Good stuff. Glad we got to see the concept in action.

UnpluggedCrazy | December 21, 07:44 CET

I enjoyed this issue, and it showed how much Buffy misses the 'simple life' but it didn't do much to advance the plot. I would have loved it as an episode, but I was left wanting after the wait. Oh well, at least the next wait will be short.

Chris the Bloody | December 26, 03:22 CET

I loved the Cordelia´s death comment . Really, to Buffy Cordy has always been nothing but a brat . We saw Cordy´s rise on Angel . Buffy didn´t .

I really hate Willow , and for me , she´s nothing but a lucky geek with the right crowd . I hate Willow focused stories , so this one was simply great for me .

I loved the penciler . He´s a keeper .

brunooracle | December 26, 17:58 CET

Liked it enough as it was, but the ending left me very uncomfortable, whichw as probably the writer's intent, and also soemwhat disappointed that Buffy reached such a fairly simplistic conclusion from it, which may not have been intended.

DaddyCatALSO | December 26, 23:11 CET

OK, a bit late to the party, but:

Cute.

Fluffy.

Jeph Loeb is not as good a writer as the rest of the staff, but the slightly on-the-nose, off-kilter writing works well with the dream setting. Everything is heightened, simpler, sillier.

Some stuff here might actually be tying in to the story. The dragon type beast is recurring (reminds me of the large monsters when Buffy was under Amy's spell--"I wish I don't fall I wish I don't fall--NEW WISH!" as well as the ugly, smelly beast in "No Future For You" saying that the Queen is dead).

In real life, Buffy repeating the same slaying line ("Can't say I didn't warn you!") and just trying different variations thereof is funny, but also indicates that her heart isn't in this right now. Or at least she isn't working at full capacity.

The dream-flashbacks are a good way to deal with Buffy's learning what she did about Willow. When she asks Angel what he would do about warning people about their future, she's asking both about what to do about the cartoon Scoobies, which she knows on some level aren't real; and she's asking what to do about real Willow, and what she knows about her future. Smart.

I wasn't expecting much more than some fun and some cheese, and I think that's exactly what this delivered, and was meant to deliver. It's cool.

The Cordy death comment was out of line, but she was also dreaming. It took me less out of the story when I had the full context than the preview.

WilliamTheB | December 28, 06:39 CET

The final page was such a heartbreaker, truly pulling us (and Buffy) back into the reality of the season. It's not unlike the end of Tabula Rasa when the gang's memories were restored and Buffy had to face the pain of living, and Tara and Willow had to suffer the consequences of Willow's lies and abuse of magic. Painful as this transition back was, #20 as a whole was a welcome reminder of the origins of the Scoobies. It left me aching for Sunnydale and simpler times as badly as Buffy does.

FiveBy5 | December 28, 21:22 CET

so i have questions that need answers

who the twilight?
is willow a god?
why are buffy and giles on the outs?
seriosly whats up with dawn? its the whole key thing?
i wanna kno why another slayer wasnt called after buffys death?
i wanna kno more about buffys heavenly you kno expierence
whats up with those guadians? they forged a scthye to kill the last pure demon on the hellmouth in sunnydale and then hid

and in turn willow used the essence of that demon to create an army of slayer

so was that the demon heart that the shamans used when they created the primitive

or are we dealing with a whole nother beast??

is any of this making sense?

twilightisfallin | December 31, 18:31 CET

who the twilight? - we don't know, although it is someone buffy knows.

why are buffy and giles on the outs? - one word, Faith

seriosly whats up with dawn? its the whole key thing? - exboyfriend thing

i wanna kno why another slayer wasnt called after buffys death?
Only 1 slayer gets called after a slayer's death. even though she came back, someone had already been called in her place.

seermagicx | January 01, 23:56 CET

thats kinda what im saying when anya and giles went to see that big floaty eye thing it said that there was a disturbance caused in the chosen line by buffy.... but it wasnt because she was lives it was because she was alive once again

ive become entirely sure buffys resurection mucked things all up

it was the cataylist for willow to become strong enough to use the scythe to create an army of slayers

twilightisfallin | January 02, 03:33 CET

I realize I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late here, but I finally got the issue today (work has been keeping me pretty busy), and I have to say, I loved it! It was nice going back to old school Buffy and seeing such characters as Joyce, Cordelia, Angel, and even Principal Snyder.

I have to say, though, it makes me mourn for what could have been (referring to the animated TV series that never happened). Maybe we could have a comic book spinoff instead?

Gabriel | January 04, 05:21 CET

seermagicx and twilightisfallin, could you both use correct grammar and capitalisation in your posts. It makes them easier to read.

Simon | January 04, 10:27 CET