Thanks Simon. I enjoyed these, and I hadn't seen any of them. I pretty much thought all these reviewers made a lot of sense. Except one reviewer described Buffy as being thirty. We aren't supposed to think she is thirty are we? Anyone?

Xane | September 18, 20:03 CET

If time had passed in, uhm, real time then she'd be 30, right? However, I think in 'season time' she's mid-20s I do believe.

gossi | September 18, 20:13 CET

I hope so. Honestly, ideally I'll be enjoying Buffy's story when I am 90. I don't want her to be an old lady slayer. Or maybe I do. Might be interesting.

[ edited by Xane on 2011-09-18 20:24 ]

Xane | September 18, 20:23 CET

She's definitely supposed to be in her 20s.

The One True b!X | September 18, 21:36 CET

Obviously some time (time for bank robbery and getting a Scottish castle fitted out with high tech military/magical gear) went by after the TV show ended at the end of Season 7 and before the comic book began at the beginning of Season 8, but surely not even a whole year... right? Did Joss ever spell it out? We know that Dawn had time to get into Berkeley and giant-sized, but how long does that take? LOL

I guess my deal is: I don't mind if SMG and the other actors get to be a lot older than the characters they used to play, because I don't really envision them playing those characters again. OTOH if Firefly could return (or Serenity 2 was made) then I would have no problem with jumping forward a number of years so that the characters were being joined at the same age the actors are now. I would rather see Nathan Fillion playing a 50 year old Mal than to see the part recast!

[ edited by embers on 2011-09-18 21:49 ]

embers | September 18, 21:45 CET

Can't wait for these to be available in a digital format! I'll buy them as soon as they are. Impatiently waiting until then.

IrrationaliTV | September 18, 21:59 CET

embers, it's specifically said in Season Eight #1 that it's been 18 months since Sunnydale's destruction.

Break_Atmo | September 19, 01:31 CET

I just went back and finished reading Season 8 so season 9 would make more sense. I can't believe Giles is dead. And no one seems to care.

Squishy | September 19, 04:36 CET

Geeks of Doom have a nice review
http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2011/09/14/comic-review-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-9-1/

Buffy feels again like Buffy
http://insidepulse.com/2011/09/18/review-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-nine-1-by-joss-whedon-and-georges-jeanty/

And Ifanboy selected Freefall #1 for their best of the week in panels
http://ifanboy.com/articles/the-best-of-the-week-in-panels-09-14-2011/

[ edited by anca on 2011-09-19 07:48 ]

anca | September 19, 04:56 CET

Squishy, are you not reading Angel & Faith? That's all the Season Eight fallout. Nine is starting anew, but I think there's definitely some deeper stuff there concerning Buffy's loss of Giles, so hopefully it'll be depressing all round.

Jaymii | September 19, 16:19 CET

Thanks, Jaymii, I have not yet read A & F, and I probably should. But I still feel that killing off Giles was sort of a cheap move, from a narrative perspective. Maybe I just think that S8 was not strong enough to justify killing off a character who is arguably the most important character that they have ever killed (except Buffy, of course). It's sort of the same way I felt when they killed off Anya in S7. Her death really didn't have much narrative significance, so it was really a disservice to the character. In Giles's case, it almost felt like they realized S8 wasn't really working, so they just killed him as a way of generating some dramatic impact in a story that was dragging and unfocused, even though there was no significant narrative justification for the killing. (Contrast, Giles's death, for example, with Angel's in S2 or Buffy's in S5.) In any event, while I thought S8 was disappointing, I'm trying to remain optimistic for S9, and I've heard good things about A & F.

Squishy | September 19, 17:30 CET

I agree. It's hard to think of season 8 as the characters we know. It's this little, experimental and kinda interesting blip (for lack of a better word) in the canon where I find it really strange to think that the things actually happened. I liked lots of moments in 8, but I don't think you're wrong in your analysis. (Though the reasons for his death, the lack of needing an major exposition-y character in a comic, I agree with.) That said, I don't have a problem with the Anya loss. I found that terrific in show, and it's the one death that pains me the most still because of the (probably intentional) lack of grief the story has given us.

But, yeah - read A&F as soon as possible. It's sublime. :)

Jaymii | September 19, 17:48 CET

Squishy: I think Giels's detah might be far enough back by now that they're all back in "normal mode."

A disappointing and dreary season ending moves on to a disappointing and dreary new beginning. About what I expected.

DaddyCatALSO | September 24, 18:36 CET