Actually, the completed Q&A is here on the first page. Just to give the quote it's proper context also -



The question is in regards to Marvel's Astonishing X-Men Animated Video Comic.

Emmie | December 20, 11:47 CET

That would be mightily awesome.

ShanshuBugaboo | December 20, 11:58 CET

I'm not convinced, I'm not sure how much the animated video of Astonishing X-Men added to the comic, and it took a lot away I felt (being able to linger on the page). Plus they got Wolverine's claws' sound wrong. The major problem with the Buffy comics though would be getting the correct voices for the characters. I can't see SMG or anyone else really signing up to voiceover a animated comic book online.

Sparticus | December 20, 13:58 CET

Well it's not as if it's a new concept.

Simon | December 20, 14:02 CET

I'd love to see a proper animated version of Season 8 happen (especially if they could get some of the original actors back to do the voice-work, as in he original animated series attempt) but given how unlikely that would be I'm not holding my breath.

Not really that fussed about seeing the comics 'animated', if I'm honest. I have to agree with Sparticus. Whenever I've seen a comic book given this kind of animation treatment it actually ended up making the story less enjoyable than simply reading the comic in it's normal form. For me, either animate the story properly or leave it in regular comic form.

Technopagan | December 20, 14:22 CET

I have to agree. The "animated Buffy" style works well enough for Buffy's dream sequence, but to do justice to the comic as a whole would require a major "realistic animation" effort. I think I'd prefer to just stick with the comics otherwise.

Rowan Hawthorn | December 20, 14:37 CET

It wouldn't have to be 'realistic' animation for me to enjoy it, as such. Just of a high enough quality. I used to love the animation of X-Men Evolution, for example. It was still cartoony, holding on to the comic nature of the characters, but done well enough that you didn't mind.

That said, I'd obviously prefer to see a Buffy animated series done in some sort of Akira style animation, but I'd settle for it just being done well and as close to the nature of the live-action series as possible.

Technopagan | December 20, 14:48 CET

"Scott Allie: The main reason Joss provided the outline for After the Fall was so Fox would give us unlimited permission to use any Angel character we wanted in Season Eight." (my emphasis)

That's . . . interesting.

NotaViking | December 20, 16:37 CET

Buffy meets... Beta George!

redeem147 | December 20, 18:20 CET

Can't see the examples for some reason. My Flash player on the fritz? Eh, I'll figure it out. If it's like what I'm picturing, it would be very cool.

Being able to download or just view (online) older comics is a great idea. Marvel had a subscription based model awhile back that was very reasonably priced, but the execution was horrible on the technical side. The viewer was a bloated POS that slowed my computer down to nothing. Marvel axed the service quickly.

That was a great Q&A as always.

Eric_Curtis | December 20, 19:02 CET

That is interesting, NotaViking.

The One True b!X | December 20, 19:14 CET

VERY interesting indeed!

Wait. What were we talking about again?

Actually, that did make me wonder why they haven't made more use of the Angel characters so far. Is it because they didn't want to reveal who survived After the Fall or just because they haven't had any use for them yet? I'd kinda like to see some Buffy/Illyria interaction or, better yet, finally get to see Buffy and Spike together again. One of the main issues I have with Season 8 not quite feeling like proper BtVS is the total lack of demonic Scoobies. No Spike or Anya makes for a less interesting team, as far as I'm concerned.

Technopagan | December 20, 19:58 CET

Seriously? ATF is...what?

I'm pretty sure this upsets me. I haven't fully worked it through yet. I have always wondered about the lack of Jossian involvement in ATF....

That animated video wasn't exactly impressive--the animation-from-still-pictures style seems very pointless. (And while this could be improved upon, the voice acting? Not so much--Emma doesn't even sound British.) Although it does remind me how Kitty was the point of entry into the arc, which makes me sad now....

WilliamTheB | December 20, 20:20 CET

I'm pretty sure Joss can use the characters from either show in either book as he sees fit. The only reason I think this is because it's been said a few times.

This could be wrong, I'm sure that Mr. Allie knows the ins and outs of this kinda thing better than me.

One thing I know about slightly more than him is ANGEL:AFTER THE FALL. I sat down with Joss and he told me the plans for ANGEL:ATF, and then I used them all and came up with stuff and outlined it and he gave notes and then we were off to the races. The fact that I have to say this NOW, a year later, that's just weird.

I went into more detail about it over on the IDW boards if you wanna read. Just wanted to clear this up. Again, the fact that I have to, with only two issues of my run left, is kinda depressing.

Hope everyone's having a great holiday weekend!

Brian Lynch | December 20, 20:29 CET

what a surprise, another inside scoop from the official Buffy forum Slayalive

The Alpha Gamer | December 20, 20:34 CET

Isn't it just. :(

But thanks for clearing that up Brian. I wonder why Mr Allie still feels the need to keep saying that?

Weird.....

[ edited by sueworld2003 on 2008-12-20 20:41 ]

sueworld2003 | December 20, 20:34 CET

Brian, don't let it get you down. Those of us paying attention already know the score and, regardless of anything else, your run on Angel was possibly my favourite "season" since the second of the live action series.

Now, if you would be so kind as to write a Spike television show for Showtime, that would be greatly appreciated.

Technopagan | December 20, 20:37 CET

Again, the fact that I have to, with only two issues of my run left, is kinda depressing.

It is, and kind of pointless, now (if it ever was). ATF has been a great comic that I've looked forward to every month. I know/understand some people are interested in it, but this inside baseball stuff just isn't my thing.

Eric_Curtis | December 20, 20:48 CET

I don't get it. I don't think Scott Allie said anything offensive about ATF. He just cleared up an issue and made it clear that Angel characters can definitely appear in Buffy (and vice versa, I suppose) whenever the story warrants it.

Riker | December 20, 21:16 CET

Wait, so ATF is canonical?


...


I'll get my coat.

Sparticus | December 20, 21:18 CET

Yeah, this is getting a bit confusing and I'm not really following some of the points, so I'm going to clarify what I find interesting about that quote.

I don't think Scott Allie is trying to say that Joss' only involvement in ATF was providing an outline. He's clearly saying that the main reason that Joss did provide an outline was to get Fox to allow the unlimited use of any Angel character in S8. So therefore any other reason you can think of for Joss' involvement was not the main reason. The main reason was to benefit the Buffy comic. I've certainly not heard that said before.

It also sounds like Scott Allie is saying that Fox were withholding the rights to the Angel characters unless Joss participated in an Angel comic. Is it really worth that much money to them to get involved like this?

To be clear, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone on the underlying facts because I don't know what they are. Just trying to understand what Scott Allie has said because if it's true, well, as I said, it's . . . interesting (not that we're going to conclusively find out if it is true or not).

NotaViking | December 20, 22:44 CET

No matter the reason, does it make the writing and story of AtF any less good? No. Of course Fox would want Joss' stamp of approval and direction on the Angel comic. Comics are about selling and making money, just like a show. People are more likely to buy something when the creator of a series is involved in it! Even casual fans may be more inclined to pick up an issue if Joss is attached to it.

In short, getting into a tizzy over this is pointless.

CowboyGuy | December 20, 23:03 CET

Fox was told about this comic after Joss suggested doing this comic. Joss can use the characters freely, he didn't have to do ANGEL:AFTER THE FALL.

Brian Lynch | December 20, 23:05 CET

Well the ins and outs of it are probably best left to the parties concerned but I will say that we've gotten two very good stories out of it. And at the end of the day, this has given the Buffyverse fandom a much needed shot in the arm. Cause god knows we were kinda drifting for the last few years and we were getting down to the hardcore fans posting online. Buffy season 8 and Angel: After The Fall has brought some really nice people into the fandom and I do like reading their posts.

Simon | December 20, 23:06 CET

Well said, man.

Brian Lynch | December 20, 23:07 CET

Exactly Simon. For many of us who want to know what happens after "Yeah Buffy, what are we going to do now?" and "Let's go to work", we are getting that answer. I think it's just fantastic, no matter the giant chickens, etc. This is what happens next. I love it all, and am forever grateful to those that play parts in getting this out there to us all. While some fans do not like the continuations, I too believe it was a much needed shot in the arm of this fandom.

CowboyGuy | December 21, 01:35 CET

Amen to that, brother/s.

After a few years of floundering in the wastelands, the fandom is back to hearing quality stories about the characters we love. I can't speak for others, but I'll take that via comics, animations, random scribbles on the back of a drink coaster, Joss yelling it over the toilet door cubicle, in fact, ANY way.

I like to think that as a fandom, we're too intelligent and mature than to degenerate into petty squabbles about fan wanking, canon, fanon, shipper wars, character ownership, and the whole 'he-said-she-said-on-this-other-board' malarkey.

The fact is- 'Buffy S8' and 'ATF' won't last forever. Enjoy these stories and perspectives while they last, and KNOW the naysayers will be harping on about their genius in a few years time and demanding a reprise!

missb | December 21, 01:37 CET

The Alpha Gamer, the reason we got new info is because we took the time to ask. More specifically, I took the time to correspond with Allie, organized fans interested in asking questions and then submitting them. So I put in hours of organizing this piece so that anyone interested would know about new info like the upcoming issue and arc titles and other behind the scenes info. I even went out of my way to give non-members the option of e-mailing me questions to include in the Q&A if they didn't want to register. I did this for the online fandom at large, not just Slayalive - that's why it's not exclusive to SA members. I hope you enjoyed reading the Q&A. I devoted quite a bit of time and energy to it in the past few days and I think Buffy S8 fans got some fun new tidbits out of it.

Sorry to the other members here if I'm taking this a bit too personally, but it just felt like an unnecessary jab at my work. Something I do out of my love of the fandom.

Otherwise I would have horded the answers on my email account. ;)

ETA: Thanks Brian Lynch for clarifying about the process. I actually said on another discussion where they were using that "main reason" to suggest Whedon didn't care about ANGEL characters anymore that I thought it might have been a poor wording choice. And clearly it's not accurate to how the process for AtF's inception went down. You're the authority on that, no doubt.

[ edited by Emmie on 2008-12-21 02:25 ]

Emmie | December 21, 02:22 CET

Sorry Brian, this isn't anything about the quality of the ATF line. I thought that Allie was suggesting that the only reason Joss decided to do approve/meet with Brian for the ATF line was because of some clausal commitment that he'd have to do this in order to use Angel and Spike (et al.) late in the Buffy comic--and not because of any actual interest in Angel's story. That just seemed weird to me, and not as high-minded a motivation as I expected. But probably that's not what he meant--Whedon probably did go forth because he wanted the story to be told, as he, you know, said.

WilliamTheB | December 21, 04:41 CET

I love both series, but Allie's comments, now and in the past, have been a bit on the passive aggressive side. What's up with that?

[ edited by patxshand on 2008-12-21 07:10 ]

patxshand | December 21, 07:04 CET

I've never seen Scott Allie denigrate "After the Fall". In fact, in the letters column of the most recent issue of Buffy, he answers one letter writer and within that answer points out that he didn't print a similar letter from another writer because it bashed the creative talent of "AtF". Not that that's a ringing endoresement for "AtF" on his part, but he obviously can't hate it or at least is being diplomatic in this instance.

I think what some people interpret as Scott Allie being passive aggressive about "AtF" is really Scott Allie still feeling sorry and saying sorry for letting the Angel license lapse, something he's been upfront about for quite some time. At the time it apparently made sense, the Dark Horse Angel comics didn't sell all that well and weren't nearly as popular as Buffy's apparently. Now that the comics are the only course of continuation (for the time being?), it would be gold for Dark Horse to have both titles.

I finished the second Angel:AtF hardcover last month, wrote some notes/questions/criticisms/praise. Where would be the best place to post about it ? On Whedonesque.org, or should I just wait for the next time a relevant, non-issue-based "After the Fall" thread comes up ? Unfortunately I missed the cut-off last month for the Angel Hardcover #3 Q&A online.

[ edited by Kris on 2008-12-21 07:21 ]

Kris | December 21, 07:20 CET

missb | December 21, 01:37 CET

Yes, then we will get Buffy S9 and ...

Anonymous1 | December 21, 07:28 CET

In the end, both books are very, very good. I couldn't be happier the two best shows in the history of television are now the two best comics being put out. I hope both continue for a long, long time.

patxshand | December 21, 07:33 CET

I missed this last night but if you make comments like this again, you're out. I really can't be bothered with people bashing other sites.

Simon | December 21, 08:31 CET

Anyway, just to say one last thing about the possible animation of the comics, it won't be really good unless most of the cast agrees to do the voices. If that could be achieved, Dark Horse could sell it on dvd without any problems and the huge sales could help revive other projects, like Btas.
On the whole BS8/A:ATF discussion, I consider without any doubt that both are equally canon, as Joss has been very cautious to avoid any contradictions between the two series. Without contradictions, there are no canonical issues.
And on the bashing of Slayalive, I think I can say we appreciate your support Simon, as anyone could do what the members of the forum are doing. Ask for a Q&A or an interview and most of the time you'll get it, at least with people as nice as Scott Allie or Eric Wight.

Léo | December 21, 10:57 CET

"I missed this last night but if you make comments like this again, you're out. I really can't be bothered with people bashing other sites."

Where is it bashing? I said they got an inside scoop =|

The Alpha Gamer | December 21, 15:26 CET

Emmie, just so you know, it's appreciated. I'm not a member of SlayAlive but from the little I've seen of the forum it's grown into a really popular and well run community. If it's not the "official" Buffy forum that's not through a lack of quality or hard work. I've been really impressed with the look and feel of the place, whenever I've had chance to check it out. Don't want you thinking that people aren't grateful for the effort you put in.

Technopagan | December 21, 15:50 CET

I love both season 8 and ATF equally.

Buffyfantic | December 21, 15:52 CET

notsayingawordnotsayingawordnotsayingaword

DaddyCatALSO | December 22, 18:48 CET

Thanks, Arcane. That's really nice to hear from you. :)

Emmie | December 23, 02:25 CET