Ahhh, Season 10. Best Spike/Buffy interactions since Joss-penned 8.40? Best Spike/Buffy interactions since Joss-penned 8.40.

Also, Rebecca's lovely art gives Dowling more personality than any writer has managed so far.

Also also, I want that Buffy/Faith cover framed and on my wall.

Enisy | April 09, 10:51 CET

I totally thought that was Angel in the first panel, imagine my surprise!

Other then that I'm glad they closed Dowling so quickly, he was a flat character in S9 nowhere close the earning a place in the Scoobies so even if Buffy didn't have these issues with Spike and Angel he'd still be the new Scott Hope. And his fate in S9 was just one of the things the book forgot about/couldn't execute properly.

And I agree best Buffy/Spike comic interaction since the end of S8.

Dusk | April 09, 10:56 CET

Gage may have the dialogue down better than any non-Joss writer in the comics so far.

Poor Dowling. Buffy comes to his apartment -- wearing an outfit like that -- to put him in the Friend Zone. Dude is gonna need that beer.

AndrewCrossett | April 09, 11:45 CET

Wow, everything's spot on. I mean, I never felt the comics have ever been so close to the show.

Plus, I really hope we'll see Dowling more.

Stelian | April 09, 14:32 CET

Dude seems to have already sussed out that somewhere between the metaphors of "maintenance costs too high" and "too much car for you", there is Buffy. He was probably a "you go first" away from stealing her thunder there anyway.

They pretty much have wasted every possible storytelling opportunity with Dowling so far (unless they still have some post-drastic-reassurance-that-he's-not-there-to-obstruct-the-nyan purpose to him this season), culminating in him being put on the bus here.

KingofCretins | April 09, 14:36 CET

Ha, I loved Dowling's nonchalant reaction to Buffy putting the breaks on their relationship. The writing and character voices continue to be spot on, I'm so excited about this season.

dualistic | April 09, 18:06 CET

Ha! That was a great read.

Buffy's emotional maturity is shining through on these pages. It's good that she learned from her relationship with Riley. I always thought her time spent with him was underrated; she needed to be with someone who loved her in a healthier way than Angel or Spike.

Still, she doesn't know exactly what she wants and that makes it more interesting. She hasn't truly found a partner since her epiphany in "I Was Made to Love You," when she decided she just needed to be single and work on herself.

Charlie | April 09, 18:30 CET

@Kingofcretins Dowling actually tells her they're going to work together often, I'm pretty sure we'll see more of him.

Stelian | April 09, 23:32 CET

I don't think we've seen the end of Dowling/Buffy concept either. I'm not saying there's going to be a relationship but if he's on the periphery fairly regularly then the writers have that option. OMG, is that Bowling?

I am curious about this focus on Buffy's relationship status so early in the season. This tease REALLY has me interested.

I hope Spike is ok and just doesn't mope around. I'm glad he's off to grab a brew at Pub. Sometimes I miss his fish friend from his Brian Lynch years.

hann23 | April 10, 06:01 CET

Mmmmmm. Dowling is yummy in Rebekah's world.

Mr.Savath_Bunny | April 10, 06:52 CET

I wish they hadn't killed off Dowling's original partner. They would have made a nice Mulder-and-Scully team as Buffy's contacts inside law enforcement, with Dowling enthusiastically pro-Buffy and Cheung more skeptical of her.

AndrewCrossett | April 10, 07:36 CET

I loathe that characterization of the Buffy/Riley break up. She didn't tell him she needed him when she thought her mother was dying, therefore it's her fault he cheated on her with vampire prostitutes? Um, no. If the writers are going to keep bringing Riley up, I wish they'd acknowledge--just once--that he was responsible for his own actions. Maybe she wasn't emotionally available or whatever, but that does *not* make his actions her fault.

And I was actually a fan of Buffy and Riley up until the break-up storyline, which I still think was very poorly executed.

Anyway: liked the pages a lot, aside from that one thing. (My most-hated episode of all time is a toss-up between the Riley-leaving episode and the Riley's-back-with-a-wife episode. So. Strong feelings about this. :-P)

erendis | April 10, 20:25 CET