Aha, so we'll find out about the robo!pregnancy in issue #8.

anca | March 15, 08:59 CET

Oh!!! Issue #8 can't come soon enough. Good interview about the abortion issue as well. The story from #5 to #7 has been quite the roller coaster!

Uete | March 15, 10:20 CET

Scott confirms (it seems) that the fairy's insistence that Buffy was "not the Slayer" was due to her being a robot, so she has been for at least that long.... (as opposed to some speculation on the other thread)

aphasia | March 15, 10:40 CET

I think some major answers are coming next arc.

Buffyfantic | March 15, 11:30 CET

His comment that "Buffy’s body is the landscape of the story in this arc; her body and her mind" gives me the impression that her consciousness has indeed been transferred to this robotic body, as some had speculated. We already know that body-switch is possible in this 'verse, as in Who Are You.

Enisy | March 15, 11:31 CET

I thought he absolutely nailed it perfectly with the comments on the idea of Buffy talking to Robin to try to sway her decision. That just sold me even more on the idea that Buffy was making the right decision for her. As he says, the most mature thing you can do often is look at both sides of a situation. That's how you make a real, informed decision. I often disagree with the way Scott seems to be speaking to the fans, but that has to be one of the best comments I've read on the whole situation.

apollo11 | March 15, 12:26 CET

I am generally humorous these days when thinking or discussing Buffy's S9, but Allie's latest interview brought forth the darker side of my humor. LOL. I envision him confronted by a mob of angry fans all armed with 'Will stop reading' placards - an ultimate weapon of destitute audience - and I cannot stop giggling.

Abstracting from the story itself being too convoluted and contrived , S9 is hovering on the edge of becoming a dark dystopia, lacking in the department of lighter humor and empathic connection. True, the darker side of the moon can still be an object of art - but for how long one can survive without oxygen of positive emotions ? To put it blunt- so far the Season 9 in both books have failed to deliver a recognizable theme , concentrating instead on the hiding the actual plot from the audience. Which I suppose has to do with it being a comic book and thus favoring the shock value over coherent storytelling.

[ edited by dorotea on 2012-03-15 15:00 ]

dorotea | March 15, 14:59 CET

Is that true though? 19 out of 20 pages are usually full-on character beats. Season 8 pulled the rug out from under us a bit too much, something Joss has never done prior, but I think what it's doing this year is very different.

(I also think that the year will make a lot more thematic sense when it comes to the end).

Jaymii | March 15, 15:28 CET

I think we've been pretty clear about bashing the comics repeatedly not being ok here. And have warned you in particular about that multiple times dorotea. Please stop.

Sunfire | March 15, 15:29 CET

To be honest, dorotea, my experience is that season 9 is slowly but surely bringing fans back. I know of several people who swore off season 8 towards the end now telling me that they are really enjoying where season 9 is going. I don't think the comics were ever going to be as popular as the show, no matter how good they were, but I do think that season 9 is going to eventually prove to be more in line with what the tv show audience came to expect from Buffy.

As for the suggestion that Buffy being a comic automatically means shock value over coherent storytelling, all I can say to that is that if you don't think comic books can tell a coherent story, you've been reading the wrong comic books.

Five Horizons | March 15, 15:30 CET

I actually was not aiming to bash. As I said, the darker side of art is still art. I meant to say that IMHO the darker side so far is kind of dominating the story, and it feels wee bit overwhelming. But then again, many have pointed out at the uncanny similarity between S6 and ongoing S9. But there are many fans of S6 nonetheless. In the mean time Allie admitted to play a cat and mouse game with the audience RE: plot in this interview, which made me giggle. Because that is exactly what I said when the arm-less cover was first released.

dorotea | March 15, 15:44 CET

My warning stands. Seriously, knock it off, or you'll be banned.

Sunfire | March 15, 16:09 CET

I'm not a big fan of Season 6, it has it's moments but overall didn't compare to other seasons. However, so far I don't see Season 9 being anywhere near as dark as Season 6. There has been one cliff hanger after another, but Jaymii points out this last issue and I would say the issue before this has mainly character beats. These great character moments that I think is a big part of what makes Buffy great. Some of that was a bit lost mid-way in Season 8 so I'm glad to see a refocus with Season 9.

Matt_Fabb | March 15, 17:27 CET

Season 9 versus Season 8 is different because even something like a robotic Buffy can still have realism and metaphor, which is so much more relatable than Season 8. And aphasia, the fairy/Slayer warning could've been foreshadowing. I really really think it is Buffy inside a Buffybot's body.

lisatwingomez | March 15, 17:41 CET

It does seem like this is Real!Buffy's mind in Robot!Buffy's body. I initially thought the switch had happened sometime after the pregnancy ... but I guess it makes more sense that she was robotified while blacked out at the party. Also, Allie implies that she was already a robot during the fairy dream--so I guess she's been a robot all season?

But if that's the case ... how does a robot have a positive pregnancy test???

erendis | March 15, 19:07 CET

Hmm. Is the site down for anyone else?

sumogrip | March 15, 21:18 CET

lisatwingomez-- oh yes, I totally agree that it's Real!Buffy inside the robot, but I still think the fairy saying she's "not the Slayer" makes sense. Because she's a robot! Speaking of which, rereading #1 with the idea that she's waking up from the body switch puts a really different spin on things... and works. A lot. I was especially struck by Willow dropping by "just to see if you're alive", and of course the "my limbs feel like they're screwed on wrong" line.

I also think the shock and cliffhanger thing is getting to be a bit much, but it's so early in the season-- I wonder if maybe they're doing this now, but soon we'll have assimilated all this shocking information and can move on to the fallout and things will be a little less... not less dramatic, but calmer? Less shock for the sake of shock value, anyway. Or not-- I mean, it works. I'm shocked, and curious.

aphasia | March 15, 21:53 CET

Season 9 was slowly bringing me back, seemed more like the show. And I loved seeing Spike again. Not sure anymore.
The interview linked above made it worse. Allie basically saying the only reason Buffy went to Spike is because Willow was gone, and intimating that Spike is so pathetic and desperate to be with Buffy that he wants her to have the baby so she will need him. Sheesh.

Xane | March 16, 03:02 CET

The bigger question is where is the real Buffy, and why is this robot taking her place? It reminds me of the movie Bladerunner, when Sean Young's character discovers that she is not human but an Android.

[ edited by jettamesis on 2012-03-16 03:18 ]

jettamesis | March 16, 03:16 CET

Xane, I don't think he was really suggesting that Spike was so pathetic as to want Buffy to have the baby so she will be with him. I think he simply meant that Spike would not have minded and didn't want the option removed through something like Buffy losing the baby because of a fight. He wants what Buffy thinks is best but wouldn't mind it if she had the baby because then he might have a better chance of being with her. It's not like that's all he's thinking about, but it's there in the back of his mind. Which makes sense. I don't think he would ever try and stop Buffy from aborting the baby, but he doesn't want to have the choice taken out of her hands until that time that she makes that choice.

Giles_314 | March 16, 06:20 CET

Giles_314 I wish I agreed with you, but this is pretty blatant.
"One can imagine a certain self-interest for Spike in the idea of her going through with the pregnancy, should Buffy change her mind. Maybe she’ll go through with the idea of running away with him. This pregnancy showed a glimmer of her seeing him as more than just her dark place. If she starts fighting vampires, it might get harder for her to change her mind."

Xane | March 16, 07:11 CET

Right, I forgot how badly Scott Allie and Joss Whedon hate Spike... (/sarcasm)

Rowan Hawthorn | March 16, 16:37 CET

I didn't read patheticness (is that a word?) or desperation in anything Scott Allie said. Buffy treating Spike as emotional and demon-fighting backup while he tries to prove he can be more than that to her is not exactly new territory in their relationship. I think Spike hoping she might keep the baby and need his help with that is just honest.

That said, I don't really care for the tone this particular line of discussion is drifting into. I don't expect this is a topic people are going to agree on but keep it civil please.

Sunfire | March 16, 17:08 CET

Also it looks like we crashed their site yesterday?

Sunfire | March 16, 17:14 CET

Sure, why not? This is the Buffyverse we're talking about here, right?

[ edited by Rowan Hawthorn on 2012-03-16 17:57 ]

Rowan Hawthorn | March 16, 17:57 CET

I thought that quote from Scott was a little off too. I'm not saying he *hates* Spike, but I think throughout the comics interviews we've seen that Spike isn't Scott's favorite character. Andrew Chambliss, however, likes him fine, so I think whatever Scott might think, it balances out and everyone will get a fair shake.

aphasia | March 16, 20:46 CET