Whedonesque : Comments on 20060 : (SPOILER) Preview for Buffy #25 "Living Doll".

Thats odd to say the least.

I'm guessing it's a mislead.

"That knife won't work on this bread at all! It's too hard!"

I like it, though. Very horror-comic-esque. Looking forward to this one.

Jobo | April 27, 20:25 CET

Well that explains everything!

Sunfire | April 27, 20:26 CET

Most useless preview ever. Heh.

The One True b!X | April 27, 20:28 CET

Boy, my excitement just increased tenfold! I'm going to buy at least two extra copies of the variant covers! Woo!

Riker | April 27, 21:00 CET

I was so sure he was going for the screw driver.

korkster | April 27, 21:05 CET

Did anyone notice the yellow thing that disappeared from under the brown thing on the bottom of the last panel? The amount of intrigue and emotional complexity is already killing me.

wiesengrund | April 27, 21:07 CET

I just wasn't ready for this kind of suspenseful arc in a preview. And I have to wait over a week to see what happened to the yellow thing!

I'm not gonna make it.

[ edited by Sunfire on 2009-04-27 21:12 ]

Sunfire | April 27, 21:12 CET

At a glance, the only thing that can change the pointlessness of that preview, if not the entire scene, is if that's a (revealed) Twilight either giving or receiving the knife business.

[ edited by KingofCretins on 2009-04-27 21:19 ]

KingofCretins | April 27, 21:14 CET

Okay, just took a look at that and as they say in the funny pages: "?!?"

Rowan Hawthorn | April 27, 21:22 CET

Xander: Dammit! I thought we agreed to keep the surgical instruments out of my tool box!

Emelye | April 27, 21:22 CET

Almost exciting as my rock watching hobby.

Simon | April 27, 21:26 CET

Okay, so after the initial WTF reaction for that preview I was really struck by the dialogue here. "Not the knife. Not again." from the person down below. And then "Yes." from the guy grabbing the scalpel. I do hope this is connected to the (SPOILER) Twilight development promised in this issue a few months ago.

That was a weird preview. It certainly sparked my curiosity though. As in - huh?

Emmie | April 27, 21:29 CET

Any knife-stories we can fall back on? I kind of got an Willow/Warren feel from "The Long Way Home".

[ edited by wiesengrund on 2009-04-27 21:35 ]

wiesengrund | April 27, 21:34 CET

I always think of Faith when it comes to knives.

Emmie | April 27, 21:37 CET

Maybe it's a flashback to Twilight's essential beginnings -- indeed, it just gave me an idea. Maybe he is a "living doll" (I've been casting about for double meaning in that title), a golem of sorts. Or, heh -- and I say this in the same tone Angelus used to bitch about killing the Beast bringing back the sun -- you mean someone really *did* dig up Adam and turn him back into more or less normal human-shape?

KingofCretins | April 27, 21:39 CET

Preview:

Laaaaaaaaaame.

Although I do look forward to the actual issue.

didifallasleep | April 27, 21:50 CET

I for one am outraged and shocked at the way Germany is shown in this preview. Didn't the artists do any research for this isse? Don't they even care? Outrageous! How can this be a German city, if there isn't even --

Oh wait, wrong issue. Darn.

Actually, this is kind of fun, for once not knowing even what the beginning means or where it is going. Frustrating, but fun. Oh, and is anybody going to point out that one of the two, uh, beings on the cover might be the "living doll"? We had robot girls, after all ...

[ edited by scotws on 2009-04-27 21:59 ]

scotws | April 27, 21:57 CET

Cliff Richards should have been the penciller for this issue, it would have been perfectly wonderful if that had happened.

Simon | April 27, 22:01 CET

Will anyone outside the UK get that joke Simon? *g*

sueworld2003 | April 27, 22:05 CET

Doug Petrie's name in the credits makes me smile. I have faith that this issue won't disappoint.

Consequently, the cover art of Dawnie macking on what I can only assume to be the Thricewise is pretty much just freaking me out.

CrazyKidBen | April 27, 22:09 CET

That's it? Ah come on!

The cover still gives me the creeps. Ick!

Shep | April 27, 22:17 CET

creepy indeed. I am liking KingofCretins's theory about it being the beginnings of Twilight....it's so nice to say that and not be referring to the YA books.

luv4whedon | April 27, 22:29 CET

We already know that one of the two on the cover is a "living doll" -- look at the variant, and the third form is revealed. Apparently, and hopefully, only within the scope of just one issue.

KingofCretins | April 27, 22:29 CET

Wasn't Twilight (at least not modern day Twilight), he wasn't in his or her magical spooky voice of doom. At least, that's how I read it.

Sparticus | April 27, 23:19 CET

Well, if what we're seeing is a flashback, he might not have it *yet*.

I've always imagined that as a rather deep and authoritative voice, somewhere between Jeremy Irons and James Earl Jones.

KingofCretins | April 27, 23:28 CET

My immediate reaction was "Huh? That's it?"

My second was "I bet the wrinkly hand belongs to someone called Gepetto, and the person saying "Not the knife" is a wooden boy.
Or possibly a statue of a nymph called Galatea.

Or maybe just an observer, watching the craftsman at work on a perfectly normal doll.

stormwreath | April 28, 00:18 CET

Preview doesn't show much but nice to get something anyway.

Buffyfantic | April 28, 01:08 CET

I gotta admit, it's actually kinda nice to get a preview that doesn't spoil the issue but still manages to tweak my curiosity.

Emmie | April 28, 01:58 CET

Such a tease!

Jossfan_21 | April 28, 03:18 CET

That thricewise thingy is giving me the heebiest of jeebies. I know they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but come on!

I think it's because he's just got too many eyes.

And maybe a little bit of a thyroid problem.

[ edited by whedon is GOD on 2009-04-28 03:20 ]

[ edited by whedon is GOD on 2009-04-28 03:21 ]

whedon is GOD | April 28, 03:19 CET

Uh oh, tongue action...blech!

magnus carnage | April 28, 05:13 CET

I am dying for this issue...I need a little Buffy in my life :(

marvelknight616 | April 28, 07:29 CET

So best bets?

It's Twilight getting his face carved up.. or pieced back together...

... or it's Dawn, as a doll, being carved by a demon. It'll be a whole Issue #16 thing, starting off at one point then backtracking and revealing how we got there.

vampmogs | April 28, 07:53 CET

whenever my brother sees the cover for this issue he goes "Buffy! Rhea, Buffy!!"

then I have to go no Dylan thats Dawn and hes like "Oh, whos that"

RheaM | April 28, 07:58 CET

Those are woodcarving tools.

toast | April 28, 08:29 CET

Newsarama has more pages so I changed the link. Should satisfy everyone's curiosity . Very Fables it must be said.

Simon | April 28, 12:01 CET

My second was "I bet the wrinkly hand belongs to someone called Gepetto, and the person saying "Not the knife" is a wooden boy.

Turns out that stormwreath called it... almost, anyway.

The Highlander | April 28, 12:19 CET

Was just coming over to mention the new pages.

Buffyfantic | April 28, 12:28 CET

Haha, this thread made absolutely no sense to me until the last few posts since I saw it with the extra pages.

The Veronica Mars and Rescue Dawn references feel clunky and shoehorned in.

UnpluggedCrazy | April 28, 12:39 CET

Yeah, I kinda felt the same way about the Veronica Mars reference. Just seemed like a very random comment about a random show that, although was pretty good back when it was on, has been out of the spotlight for a while now. The same comment about a more recent series might have worked a little better. Maybe Gossip Girl, given the Michelle Trachtenberg connection.

The Highlander | April 28, 12:48 CET

Xander would watch Gossip Girl?... It's unlikely, although he did have a secret thing for the Backstreet Boys so perhaps his tastes vary. I've never sat down and watched VM properly but Joss loves it which might have something to do with the reference.

Nice extra pages. I checked the name Judas Cradle (the name of the vamp leader) and he's named after a torture device used throughout the Spanish Inquisition... which can only be a bad thing lol.

I wonder what "Gepetto" means by "until you're safe?" Intriguing...

And the slayer digs... nice :D

vampmogs | April 28, 13:19 CET

Yay me! :-)
So... Dawn's transformations may have been to protect her, rather than the result of a curse? Interesting...

Buffy's Veronica Mars reference didn't bother me. The fact that she's bought the complete series on DVD shows that it's fairly old in her timeline - and the fact that she's apparently been trying to play Region 1 disks on a Region 2 DVD player seems to prove that she's had the box set a long time - since before she moved to the UK, in fact. (Unless she bought them in Tokyo or New York during one of the previous arcs.)

stormwreath | April 28, 14:15 CET

I took Buffy's Veronica Mars reference as just a fun nod at the fact Joss was a fan of that show.

Buffyfantic | April 28, 15:27 CET

Dawn's third transformation is into ...a voodooo doll? Or into a Twilight Zone esque ventriloquist's dummy? "Varelli! Varelli!"

DaddyCatALSO | April 28, 15:34 CET

Somehow I don't think this guy is actually keeping Dawn safe at all.

Buffy has got to grow out of her big annoyed sis routine soonish. Xander's been trying but clearly that's not working. Sometimes I think Buffy's character development requires punching.

Sunfire | April 28, 16:30 CET

I can't remember the exact timeline for season eight, but I know x number of months have passed. And while we are in 2009, the comic is probably set somewhere between 2005 and 2007. Anyone care to correct me on this?

I do think it would make the Veronica Mars reference a bit more logical. Even though it fudges my continuity-addled mind since Alyson and Charisma were both on the show. As well as Joss himself.

CrazyKidBen | April 28, 16:30 CET

To be honest, vampmogs, I know a good number of guys that watch Gossip Girl. I'm not one of them (largely because the characters absolutely do my head in just watching the trailers on ITV2) but it does seem to me that GG has a certain amount of male viewers. Xander could well be one of them, I suppose.

And, yeah, the Veronica Mars mention was almost certainly down to Joss being a fan so I got the reason behind the reference. It still just seemed a little off to me. Like it had been forced into the dialogue for the sake of it. The way that obvious product placement can pull you out of a television show, y'know? Nothing I'm gonna lose any sleep over though.

The Highlander | April 28, 16:33 CET

To me, the most mind blowing continuity issue were Buffy's Firefly shirt and the slayer reading Fray.

Brasilian Chaos Man | April 28, 17:05 CET

CrazyKidBen: General consensus ehre seems that the comic is in spring '05 now. And who's to say Aly and Charisma and Joss don't exist in the B'verse? Just didn't work together on the same show is all.

DaddyCatALSO | April 28, 17:59 CET

Buffy being a Veronica Mars fan just completely makes my day. =)

MattManic7325 | April 28, 18:46 CET

General consensus by whom? In this brief preview alone, we have them referencing a 2007 movie and a DVD set that came out in 2006, and that's among the older pop culture references they've used.

beergood | April 28, 18:50 CET

General consensus of the answers we have gotten specifically about the timeline. Scott Allie and I think Joss himself have both said that pop culture reference should be ignored vis a vis the timeline, that they aren't being that exacting about the references. The timeline has never budged off the "8.01 is about a year and a half after 'Chosen'" that it's been all along. The only importance of the timeline for the people writing inside it clearly seems to be the emotional context of the characters -- that they are only that long removed from those events. The pop culture references are spurious, just there for the comedic value. Whether one likes that approach or not, it's not exactly hard to compartmentalize it.

[ edited by KingofCretins on 2009-04-28 19:00 ]

KingofCretins | April 28, 19:00 CET

Worrying too much about the specifics of when a given movie or boxset came out in comparison to what year the comic is meant to be set in is only gonna give you a headache anyway. Does it matter? Isn't it just easier to assume that in the Buffyverse the Veronica Mars boxset came out a little earlier than it did in reality? Same with anything else that doesn't quite add up?

It's like all the Lost fans that worry when you see some random object in a flashback or, more recently, in the 1977 era episodes that shouldn't exist at that time. Makes it so much easier if you just assume that in the Lostverse they happened to be around earlier. On a show where you can happily accept all the weird and wonderful happenings that you see on that island, you're really gonna worry about a pinball machine existing a few years before it actually should have? Let it go! ;)

The Highlander | April 28, 19:14 CET

Yeah, "Lost" has played it both ways -- for a while, they were pretty scrupulous about 2004 references, but they've long since given up.

KingofCretins | April 28, 19:25 CET

Sometimes they use that against you, though (which I like). Like when Jack used a Razor phone in the season 3 finale. I thought, "Man, that doesn't make sense. Shame on you, propguys."

And then it turned out to be a great hint.

Jobo | April 28, 20:26 CET

Ah, you changed the link? No fair! I was *gung ho* to continue with the knife/rocks/hands thread! :(

Well, since those comments are no longer *canon*, let's take a look at the new pages...

Well, that was cool. I like Buffy's glove (reminds me of Season 3 & Faith's fake watcher). I'm not sure on how to read Xander's dialogue, though. Is he seriously wanting to rescue Dawn, or is he saying that so he can kill the vampire army?

korkster | April 28, 20:59 CET

"Will anyone outside the UK get that joke Simon?"

I'm in the UK and i don't get it. Does Cliff Richards have a song called Living Doll or something?

and does anyone else think the cover with Dawn snogging Illyria's long lost cousin hints at her turning into a lesbian?

DawnLover90 | April 29, 01:36 CET

DawnLover90, I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be Kenny the Thricewise, so...no.

UnpluggedCrazy | April 29, 18:16 CET

Does Cliff Richards have a song called Living Doll or something?

Ah so young :P.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGOU0o9K89g

Simon | April 29, 18:21 CET

does anyone else think the cover with Dawn snogging Illyria's long lost cousin hints at her turning into a lesbian?

I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be Kenny the Thricewise

The idea of that thing being the guy Dawn's been snogging is enough to turn me into a lesbian. If, y'know, I wasn't a guy, and therefore something of a lesbian by default...

Rowan Hawthorn | April 29, 18:36 CET

April 27 2009