Buffy's Coming Back ... As A Motion Comic? - BtVS

Hunh. I'm not a big fan of the more staticky 'motion comics'.

Edited for typo and then edited for typo of the edited for.

[ edited by cabri on 2009-06-18 07:40 ]

cabri | June 18, 07:39 CET

Oh frak yeah! I'm very excited about this! I hope someone confirms it to be true. Scott Allie said how they had considered doing this for season 8 so I hope that's what this is about.

vampmogs | June 18, 07:39 CET

Oh don't do that to me. I thought this was about a surprise return of the Buffy animated show. If it had been I would have sceptical but excited. This, on the other hand, is plausible but boring.

Let Down | June 18, 07:43 CET

How much rolling of the eyes can I attribute to this? The article is saying nothing.

IrrationaliTV | June 18, 07:43 CET

Yep. I'm somewhat skeptical. But as I always say, even a lame version of Buffy is orders of magnitude more entertaining than the best American Idol episode.

Mort | June 18, 07:45 CET

Changed the link title, 'cos that was a little too excited - and a touch misleading, perhaps.

SoddingNancyTribe | June 18, 07:51 CET

It's probably too much to hope for, but I'd buy this in a heart-beat if they got the original cast back together to do it, or at least some of them.

I just hope it's better than the Watchmen motion comic. The voice-actor on that ... shudder ...

Jor | June 18, 08:12 CET

yeah the voice acting can kill it. i think it's possible though for them to get everyone except SMG. Just need the chick that voiced the games.

seermagicx | June 18, 08:17 CET

I think Scott Allie hinted as much in of his Q&As for SlayAlive.

ETA: Yes he did. We had a thread about it in December of last year.

23. Iloveromy: Do you know if Dark Horse will ever make their back issues available for download? Also as far as using the Buffy license in unique ways, have you guys thought about animating your issues the way Marvel did with Astonishing X-Men #1?

Scott Allie: Yes, we no doubt will make the comics available as downloads, but there's not a way of doing it that we're happy with yet. And there is talk of doing some animations of the comics, but I'll leave that for a later Q&A.

Simon | June 18, 08:17 CET

I reckon this is pretty cool, actually, especially if it's based on season 8. Mainly because it means they'll probably edit it a bit tighter, give the season a bit more of a consistent feel.

The main thing is, Joss is involved!

ThorpeWithoutShrimp | June 18, 08:25 CET

I'll go out on a limb and say this will be announced at Comic Con with a Buffy actor doing all the voices.

Simon | June 18, 08:27 CET

You mean one actor doing all of them? How would that work though? I mean.. I can't picture Anthony Steward Head voicing Buffy haha.

vampmogs | June 18, 08:31 CET

Well there is precedent for a Buffy actor narrating.

Link:

Also they do for a lot of that sort of thing for audio dramas here in the UK. Eve Myles narrates a Torchwood adventure on CD etc.

Simon | June 18, 08:36 CET

Oh cool I never knew about that, go Charisma!

But isn't a novel a little different to a comic? IMO it works ok to have one person narrating a novel because there's lots of material that isn't a character speaking. They have to read all the lines describing the landscape, a character's appearance ect. With a Motion Comic we can see it all for ourselves, we just need the voices of the characters to come alive. It’d be quite jarring to have a female doing Xander’s voice or for a male to be doing Buffy and Dawn.

vampmogs | June 18, 08:40 CET

Well I imagine the major factor is who Dark Horse can afford. I would doubt they have the budget of Vivendi who got most of the Buffy cast to do the voiceovers for the Chaos Bleeds video game.

Simon | June 18, 08:43 CET

Fresh ideas, new minds. I'm willing to lend an ear. Remember, that's how you discover new talent. Think I read that in a book somewhere.

Madhatter | June 18, 08:47 CET

I really they do it in a way that will show them how profitable a direct-to-dvd Btas release would be. The voiceovers are quite important, and I really hope some of the cast members will be a part of it.

Léo | June 18, 08:50 CET

I'm excited. The Buffy comics have really impressed me, so comics that move? Gotta be even better!

Ildeth | June 18, 09:13 CET

With a Motion Comic we can see it all for ourselves, we just need the voices of the characters to come alive. It’d be quite jarring to have a female doing Xander’s voice or for a male to be doing Buffy and Dawn.

That's what happened with Watchmen, and I think it hurt the motion comics a fair amount. For the first ten minutes or so, I was pretty impressed with the whole thing. Then Laurie came in, and I just couldn't take the thing seriously anymore.

They don't need to be Buffy actors (though that'd be preferable) but it'd be nice if they could at least have a male and female actor/actress, and they can do all the voices for their respective sex.

sumogrip | June 18, 09:18 CET

Certainly better than nothing. At least if some of the original cast does the voiceovers.

mossoholic | June 18, 10:56 CET

Im not really a big fan of motion comics because it annoys me that they dont move and lip sync with what their saying...i'd prefer if they did this in a better way like a normal cartoon.

One of Many | June 18, 11:29 CET

I started watching the Watchmen motion comics the other night, then realized it was redundant because I can read it myself and turned it off.

redeem147 | June 18, 12:34 CET

I've also seen the first chapter of the Watchmen Motion Comic and I nearly got seasick from the pans and zooms. Very weird medium, and the voice thing is crazy too. Not my cup of tea.

wiesengrund | June 18, 12:52 CET

Never been much of a fan of this idea. Marvel tried something similar (or maybe still are doing something similar, I'm not sure) and it never really worked for me. It's pretty much like a poor hybrid of two storytelling styles that doesn't really work as well as either one.

Personally I'd love to see an animated version of season 8 but it would have to be properly animated and done well. Preferably along the animation style of the likes of Akira or at the very least the current Wolverine and the X-Men series. I'd hate to see it end up looking a little too cartoony and spoil the feel of the story.

Highlander | June 18, 13:06 CET

Call me stupid if you want but how do we get motion comics?
Do they put them on TV as cartoons? On the web as webcartoons? Buy them from DH's website and download them?

DawnLover90 | June 18, 13:31 CET

Space is running the Watchmen ones in Canada. You can buy them on DVD.

redeem147 | June 18, 13:34 CET

Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic, for those interested.

JMaloney | June 18, 14:48 CET

I'd be very excited about this if it had the original actors voicing it (yep, not asking much...). Otherwise, I'd rather just read it myself (assuming it's previously published comics they're going with). I could get over the voices if it were a "proper" animated series. S8 TAS... that would be cool. Still, I'd miss the actors.

nyrk | June 18, 15:02 CET

Unlike (apparently) everyone else, I actually enjoyed the Watchmen motion comic. I'm used to listening to audiobooks with single narrators, so it didn't bother me that a man was reading all the voices--although it always takes me awhile to get used to a new narrator. I also liked the way the animations looked. For me it was a fun way to revisit the comic on my ipod before the movie came out.
I'd certainly check this out--but first I have to catch up on the comics (I'm waaaay behind).

jcs | June 18, 16:19 CET

So "motion comics" are still shots of comic art, with some camera work panning and zooming, and voiceover?

hmmphh...not interested.

KMInfinity | June 18, 16:23 CET

So my late night post made it sound like I am skeptical about a motion comic. I'm not. The motion comic is likely and even probable. I was rolling my eyes at the lack of info in the linked article.

IrrationaliTV | June 18, 17:30 CET

The original actors would be nice... but that's about the only thing that would elevate this above being nothing but a slideshow.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | June 18, 17:31 CET

Cool, I guess. These are always strange and I'd rather read the comics, but still, cool...

Jaymii | June 18, 17:50 CET

Hopefully they are talking about season 8. I don't see this having an audience if it was based off of some comic book written by a random person that made up a bunch of events that supposedly happened in the period of the show. No thank you.

Anyways, assuming that it is season 8, if they can animate it that would be a huge step up. The comics continue the story, but given the limitations that that medium provides they can only do so much to add emotion. I just hope that they either get the original actors or ones who sound close enough to pull it off. Otherwise the distraction would comepletely hinder enjoyment.

mysteryshadesman | June 18, 18:19 CET

Honestly, I'd much rather see the Buffy Animated Series artwork used to make an actual animated version of the comics if they were even going to go out of their way to do this. Otherwise, why not just read the comics? I mean, this wouldn't even be an interpretation. Like others have said, it'd just be a slide show. Which would be annoying.

didifallasleep | June 18, 18:46 CET

So "motion comics" are still shots of comic art, with some camera work panning and zooming, and voiceover?

The Watchmen one, at least, had the characters moving about somewhat, it didn't just take scans of the pages and go past them with voiceover or anything. Minimal animation, but definitely some animation. Visually I thought it worked really well.

sumogrip | June 18, 18:55 CET

I think this is a very good way to reach the fans who (for some reason) don't care for their story in comic books. Some people would rather watch Buffy on the screen.

IrrationaliTV | June 18, 19:14 CET

The Watchman one was horrible in the way that there were still text boxes on the screen, covering parts of the artwork -- even though there was a narrator reading the words, making those boxes redundant!

If this is a motion comic, I hope they make it like a radio play, with a full cast.

will.bueche | June 18, 20:05 CET

If this is true, it seems pointless, and motion comics are pretty lame. Plus they wouldn't get the cast to do it, especially Gellar. I want a real cartoon series.

GhostsWatcher | June 19, 00:26 CET

This kinda stuff makes me think, "or maybe he could just do a movie..."

azzers | June 19, 01:52 CET

...Or a radio series!

will.bueche | June 19, 02:06 CET

Who was the girl who did SMG's voice on the leaked Buffy animated trailer? She was pretty good.

@azzers - small difference between the $5,000-$10,000 needed to do a motion comic and the $50 - $200 million needed to do a movie.

Aidan W. | June 19, 02:09 CET

I think this has the potential to be a good idea if they can get the original cast to sign on (with the exception of SMG of course, because I am doubtful she would take part. But they could get Giselle Loren who voiced Buffy in the video games, etc. I always thought she did an acceptable job as Buffy). I am skeptical though as to the truth of this due to the lack of info. I will remain so until we hear something directly from Joss. I do think this could be cool though. In my eyes, any Buffy is better than none at all! And it would be great to take the already wonderful season 8 comics up a notch. :)

Jossfan_21 | June 19, 03:54 CET

Ohhh, maybe if it sells well. And do voice actors get some change for each DVD?

Anonymous1 | June 19, 05:15 CET

Who was the girl who did SMG's voice on the leaked Buffy animated trailer? She was pretty good.

does anyone have a link to this trailer?

mortimer | June 19, 07:02 CET

Here you go!

sumogrip | June 19, 07:04 CET

cheers Jobo! I love whedonesque

mortimer | June 19, 07:05 CET

....or for a male to be doing Buffy and Dawn.

Heh-heh...Yeah.

Sorry about that. Sometimes, I'm twelve. :)

Who was the girl who did SMG's voice on the leaked Buffy animated trailer? She was pretty good.

Her name is Giselle Loren, and I agree. Also, as stated above, she voiced Buffy for the two previous video games.

kungfubear | June 19, 10:20 CET

There is already, some funny animations of season 8 in youtube, with comics scans plus narration and with The Sims characters.

Brasilian Chaos Man | June 19, 17:07 CET

The link to that news article is no longer working... did somebody over that TVOvermind realize that they cant post false information?

notabarcode | June 23, 06:42 CET

June 18 2009