Nice article.The comics do feel like a continuation of the show to me.

Buffyfantic | November 07, 14:30 CET

Love this guy's writing style. And it's really nice to read some good old unabashed praise praise for the work of Joss and co again.

Contrary to the writer I'm reading Buffy in the trades and not too big a fan of the art work. Right now I'm dying for my TPB 5, which still has to arrive after some mix-ups by the comic store with my order.

the Groosalugg | November 07, 15:08 CET

Consistently good story-telling and dialog that sounds just like it should, and I think the art is generally good, capturing the body language and facial expressions you'd expect. I did think that the massive military action sequences in #30 might have been stretching George's range, and I found the last, cliff-hanger full-page panel hard to interpret. (This is probably something I should be discussing in the Slayalive forum.)

I totally love the work of the colorist (Michelle Madsen) and the work of Jo Chen, who does almost all of the painted covers, is always at least great and often magnificent. I don't buy many comics but always try to pick this one up on the day it is released.

Too bad no Jo Chen work on the Dr. Horrible titles. Maybe on The Guild? Probably not. I think she's working only on proven titles, she's just too good.

Do all the covers get reproduced in the Buffy TPBs? Both Jo's and Georges Jeanty's are worth having.

tonewaugh | November 07, 18:48 CET

I'm also reading the TPBs, mostly because there are no comic book stores within an hour of where I live, so I buy them from a local bookstore whose owner is a huge fan, and also because I'm OCD about my bookshelf and they look very pretty on there. I do love them, though, and the art has really grown on me, even if I'm still not as big a fan as the writer of this column. It really does feel like a continuation of the show, but I would disagree with his statement that it's becoming the best season of them all. It's wonderful, but it's not quite there.

iluvmusicals | November 07, 18:50 CET

And yes, tonewaugh, all of the covers are in the TPBs.

iluvmusicals | November 07, 18:52 CET

Thank you for a blissfully positive Season 8 article!

Emmie | November 08, 01:25 CET

I am loving season 8, but as a newbie to comics before Buffy, had a bit of a time with inconsistencies in the portrayals, issue to issue. I (and please excuse the new to comics person) felt like I was "watching" a season 1 again sometimes. Maybe it was the cross over into a new realm, maybe it is my unfamiliarity with the genre, but some issues (and I'm getting them all as they come out and then buying the TPBs too)felt like they were filler/episodes that felt like if they did advance the story, it was only ever so slightly. For a once a week series, I can handle it. For a once a month comic, not so much. Again, apologies to comics people. Just my 2 cents.

hopitopia | November 08, 12:51 CET

@hopitopia, part of that is being new to comics, but mostly I think that's Whedon and the other writers being new to comics (and Buffy in comics in particular). Various people have said they'd do stuff differently if they did it again, stuff like shrink the cast, explain some of the vampire's are cool stuff, not screw up Warren being dead but not. But that's how comics go. Very enjoyable stuff season 8, I forget how good it is till I pick it up every month.

Sparticus | November 08, 15:07 CET

Completely agree with this article. He pretty much took the words right out of my mouth. :)

Jossfan_21 | November 08, 19:35 CET

While the guy does a great job selling the comic to new people I am kind of waiting for the season to get somewhere. I mean, I was just as excited as the next Whedonite-that-is-also-a-comic-fan that the show was going to continue on in comic form. I think Georges style works in capturing the juvenile atmo of the original series and I love Jo Chen’s covers. The writing has been pretty solid, dialog and rapport are just as with the witty and the banter as the show ever was. And this is where I show my “but face”, but for the reader that has been along since the very beginning the pacing is really starting to meander. Half thought out stories and unfinished business looms at the end of each arc leaving you with more questions than you can shake a stake at. I’m hoping those days have come to a middle and the strings all start to make pretty pretty bows. I love Whedon, his staff, but I’m finding myself asking, “Okay, what are we doing here?”

[ edited by The Goose on 2009-11-08 22:15 ]

The Goose | November 08, 22:14 CET

I read Volume 5 last week and I really love where Season 8 has gone. I was a bit miffed with Volume 1, it read and looked great, IMO, but parts confused me. The Buffy comics click with me much more than the Angel: ATF comics have. I now own all of the ATF ones, but not sure if I can be bothered to continue to the next arc. I have like a volume and a half to read and that never happens with Buffy.

I guess, it might just be that I like Buffy better than Angel. ;o I've certainly rewatched it more than Angel.

Jayme | November 09, 00:35 CET