Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 5 - Predators and Prey

When the vapid vampire Harmony Kendall lands a popular reality TV show, the world’s slayers are inextricably cast as villains. With Buffy and her allies’ reputations smeared, they must find a way to continue protecting the very people who now fear and hate them. Buffy must also contend with a malicious renegade slayer contingent and finally deal with Dawn’s continued magical transformations.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 5: Predators and Prey collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #21-25, written by Jane Espenson, Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Z. Greenberg, Jim Krueger and Doug Petrie. Georges Jeanty and Cliff Richards provide the art.

Thus far, the eighth season has been structured with four issue arcs followed by self-contained one-off issues. Predators and Prey eschews this format in favour of a more episodic form of storytelling, enabling this collection’s writers to tell a series of stories that either build on or wrap up events from this season. These stories vary in quality, with the better ones being those that help progress the overall narrative of the season. Jane Espenson’s “Harmonic Divergence” casts Harmony as a Lauren Conrad-esque reality star whose stumbling efforts to achieve fame accidentally leads to the tarnishing of the slayers’ public perception. It’s an interesting turn of events, especially since the insipid Harmony accomplishes something on a global scale that legitimately hurts the slayers’ operations without even meaning to. It’s a complication that works well to ratchet up the tension and makes things more difficult for Buffy and her allies.

 

Steven S. DeKnight’s “Swell,” Drew Z. Greenberg’s “Predators and Prey” and Doug Petrie’s “Living Doll” provides a different function in that they’re responsible for tying up some of the loose ends introduced during season eight. “Swell” is a Japan-set adventure where Kendall and Satsu team up together in order to fight off the miniature demonic Vampy Cat dolls. Besides getting to see more of Kendall and being able to warm up to her character a little more, this story is notable for featuring Satsu moving on from her romantic pursuit of Buffy. “Predators and Prey” is both hilarious and touching, as we see Andrew and Buffy working together to dismantle the operations of a rogue slayer group. Greenberg more or less closes the book on the renegade slayer Simone, who functioned loosely as a season three Faith kind of a character earlier in the season. Beyond that, he pens a really funny scene in which Buffy and Andrew bond while en route to their assignment and he also adds a bit of genuine emotion as Andrew finally earns the trust and respect of Buffy and her allies. Then “Living Doll” serves the sole purpose of resolving the Dawn subplot, which means this Dawn-heavy issue focuses on Buffy having to save her little sister. It’s not the most interesting of stories, but at least we get a sense from its closing moments that Dawn is maturing as a character.

The weakest story collected is “Safe,” written by Jim Krueger. It’s a filler issue centered on Faith and Giles as they investigate a supposed slayer sanctuary in Eastern Europe. It has a lot of potential, but it progresses far too quickly due to its short length. It’s a treat getting to see Faith and Giles working alongside one another, but it’s done in a manner that feels far too much like skippable filler.

Predators and Prey is a mild step-up from the previous collection of season eight stories. The dialogue is stronger and there does seem to be a conscious effort being paid towards moving the narrative along. Its major flaw is in the stories’ rushed pace, particularly with “Predators and Prey” and “Safe.” With so many cooks in the kitchen, it’s actually remarkable that this collection feels fairly consistent. Of course, Georges Jeanty and Cliff Richards are to be praised for this as their art helps to unify all of the stories collected here.

RATING: B-

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 4 - Time of Your Life

When Buffy and Willow head to New York City to learn more about the Scythe, Buffy is unwittingly sucked into a portal and is taken to the far future. There she meets Melaka Fray, the only slayer left on Earth. Buffy learns that a mysterious madwoman is responsible for bringing her into the future and that Melaka’s vampiric brother is plotting their demise.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 4: Time of Your Life collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #16-20, written by Joss Whedon and Jeph Loeb with art by Karl Moline, Georges Jeanty and Eric Wright.

Despite being penned by Joss Whedon, Time of Your Life is the weakest of the story arcs from season eight thus far. It’s a four-part narrative that contributes very little to the overall direction of the season. Buffy gets plucked out of the present and spends some time in the far future with Whedon’s lead heroine from his comic book series Fray. It’s a diversion from the machinations of Twilight, but isn’t quite as fun or inventive as it should be. It’s fascinating to see Buffy in the role of a fish out of water by having her interact in an environment so different from what she’s used to. However, Whedon’s dialogue seems uncharacteristically immature at times. Buffy’s dialogue and overall behaviour throughout seems childish and vapid. At this point, she’s a woman well into her twenties who is the leader of hundreds of slayers. Whedon instead writes her as if she’s still in high school. She practically wets herself in excitement over being in New York City and then reacts like the dullest tool in the shed whenever she interacts with another person. Whedon seems far more capable of writing Willow and Kennedy as fully-formed characters here, as they are given more of an opportunity to be both humorous and serious (and act their age). In fact, I quite like Kennedy here and her dynamic with Buffy proves to be quite amusing following Buffy’s tryst with Satsu.

This collection concludes with a singular issue written by Jeph Loeb set in the style of the halted Buffy animated series. As a concept, it’s fascinating and the designs (drawn here by Eric Wright) provide really neat visual representations of the season one cast. Where Whedon explored the future with his four-part arc, Loeb examines the past. He gives both Buffy and the readers fuzzy nostalgic feelings by setting the issue during a simpler time in the titular slayer’s life. It’s filler, but it’s done in a way that’s far more creative than usual. It also works to show just how cool an animated series would have been for Buffy, though I’m sure we can all agree that it’d be better without Dawn lurking about.

Time of Your Life is the first real stumble the eighth season has had. Its inconsistent characterization and lack of progression is disappointing. By its final page, we’re no closer towards reaching the resolution of the Twilight storyline or knowing more about the Scythe. I wasn’t terribly impressed by Whedon’s dialogue for Buffy and his artist Karl Moline struggled to differentiate characters from one another (Buffy and Melaka’s sister Erin look like the same person). Loeb’s one-off issue was entertaining and held potential, making it the most enjoyable part of this trade.

RATING: C+

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 3 - Wolves at the Gate

When a clan of Japanese vampires with shapeshifting abilities invade Buffy’s Scotland stronghold, she and her allies fail miserably against these vamps’ unusual powers. In order to gain insight into her new enemies, she seeks out the aid of an unlikely ally in her one-time opponent Dracula. With Dracula and a bevy of slayers in tow, Buffy heads to Tokyo in order to stop a plot to de-power every slayer on the planet.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 3: Wolves at the Gate collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #11-15, written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard with art by Georges Jeanty.

Wolves at the Gate is a thoroughly entertaining read. It begins with a one-off issue penned by Joss Whedon titled “A Beautiful Sunset.” It functions largely as a prelude to the main events in this book, but it also ties up some loose ends and elaborates on the relationships between the characters. We learn that Satsu was the one who broke Buffy out of the spell Amy had placed on her, which subsequently leads into a rather surprising twist of Buffy and Satsu sleeping together.  It’s wholly unexpected and mildly out of character for Buffy, but it somehow works. I really like Satsu as a character and she seems more stable than the usual love interests written for Buffy. This issue also gives us a glimpse of the Big Bad Twilight, who admittedly looks like he could be a Batman villain. He’s not quite as menacing as I’d prefer, but it’s evident that he’s a real threat to Buffy seeing as he thrashes her pretty thoroughly in this issue.

The main story, “Wolves at the Gate,” is superb. Writer Drew Goddard plots a cohesive four part narrative that takes us from Scotland to the neon-coloured streets of Tokyo. He keeps the focus tight by concentrating on a smaller cast, but makes good use of guest star Dracula in that he injects plenty of hilarious homoerotic innuendo between the Xander and the iconic vampire. As a former writer of the television series, he already has the experience necessary for penning incredible dialogue with plenty of Buffyisms and punchiness. Beyond that, his ability to balance the interpersonal relationships with action is absolutely impressive. The primary conflict is Buffy’s struggle to prevent the Tokyo-based super vamps from taking away all of the slayers’ powers, but Goddard supplements this with Buffy’s somewhat awkward treatment of Satsu post-sex and with Xander’s blossoming relationship with the slayer Renee. It’s really engaging and it gives this storyline depth.

Wolves at the Gate is another strong offering from the season eight comics. Whedon and Goddard really put in the care to develop relationships that readers can relate to and root for, while also penning some incredibly funny dialogue. Goddard especially shines with the Xander/Dracula moments, as well as the hilarious and self-aware Dawn vs. Mechadawn battle. Georges Jeanty’s art remains perfectly suited to this title and helps maintain the high quality of this series.

RATING: A-

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 2 - No Future for You

When a rogue slayer plots to kill Buffy in order to claim leadership over the slayers, Giles dispatches Faith to assassinate her before her plan can come to fruition. In exchange, Faith will be given a new start in life. There’s just one problem – Buffy is blissfully unaware of Giles’ plan and she’s none too pleased when she and Faith cross paths again.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 2: No Future for You collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #6-10, written by Brian K. Vaughan and Joss Whedon with art by Georges Jeanty and Cliff Richards.

No Future for You is a four-part Faith-centric arc that catches up with everyone’s favourite bad girl slayer a year after the events of the series’ television finale. She’s still in America where she’s doing the occasional odd job when Giles contacts her and recruits her in his mission to assassinate the rogue slayer Lady Genevieve. Faith ventures to England where she poses as an aristocrat named Hope and cons her way into Genevieve’s inner circle. It is then that Faith learns of Genevieve’s plan to kill Buffy, which throws her for a loop considering their rocky past. This espionage-tinged narrative provides an interesting avenue for Faith to take, as we see her playing a role that is opposite of who she is. There’s a lot of humour to be had there as well as we’re meant to see Faith as the Eliza Doolittle to Giles’ Professor Higgins, which later transitions more into a rather badass Emma Peel and John Steed reference in the concluding moments of the arc. It’s clever and helps us to see these characters in a new light. For Giles especially, he seems freer and more himself when partnered with Faith rather than wedged into having to be a mentor or father figure. It’s also refreshing to see Faith being treated as an equal and with respect by someone other than Angel, although it seems that Buffy is still stuck in her narrow high school mentality when it comes to her edgier foil.

Brian K. Vaughan’s dialogue is superb throughout his four issue run. It’s evident that he has a firm grasp on Faith’s character and this knowledge shines through brilliantly. Faith’s distinctive tone as a character is in each line of her dialogue and you can almost hear Eliza Dushku’s husky voice while reading it. Beyond that, Vaughan also digs deeper into her character through flashbacks. We understand her psyche and sympathize with her through references to her abusive childhood to her relationship with Mayor Wilkins to her complicated rivalry with Buffy. Artist Georges Jeanty emphasizes Vaughan’s work in his expressiveness and in his ability to capture the visual likenesses of the actors who played these characters. He continues to turn in incredible work that makes this series so fantastic.

A one-off issue follows Vaughan and Jeanty’s No Future for You arc written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by Cliff Richards. In it, Willow and Buffy take a trip to gain insight into Twilight. In the process they learn secrets about one another, which is particularly emotional since we’re told they’ve been spending very little time together after the destruction of Sunnydale. It’s an interesting issue and I enjoy the way in which we see these characters interacting with one another. Friendship was a central theme to the television series so it’s nice to see that carried through. There are some weird sequences (Buffy and Willow play a game where they exchange fantasies), more Dawn interludes and an uncharacteristically poorly designed demon, all of these serving as low points to this singular issue. That said, bonus points must be awarded to Cliff Richards as he manages to closely mimic the familiar facial features of both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan.

Admittedly, I enjoyed this volume far more than its predecessor. Brian K. Vaughan’s four part story starring Faith was really fun and refreshing, as we rarely got this level of attention paid to her during the actual television series. She’s portrayed as a central figure and the narrative he builds around her is one I’d love to see more of. His dialogue is consistently on point and the talented Georges Jeanty is there to deliver more fantastic art. The Whedon-penned one-off is great too, but it's Faith that's the real star of this collection.

RATING: A-

Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 1 - The Long Way Home

A year after the destruction of Sunnydale, Buffy Summers has established a stronghold in Scotland where she leads a contingent of slayers against worldwide supernatural threats. With the help of her friends Xander and Willow, she must contend with the re-appearance of old foes and the mysterious new menace known only as Twilight.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 1: The Long Way Home collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight issues 1-5, written by Joss Whedon and illustrated by Georges Jeanty and Paul Lee.

Picking up after the conclusion of the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight presents itself as the official continuation of the beloved supernatural franchise. With this first arc, it’s clear that Joss Whedon was taking advantage of the comic book medium by writing in more visually striking demons and effects that would have been difficult on a modest television budget. He also transplants the series’ setting from the small town of Sunnydale to the sprawling green hills of Scotland. While all the characters sound like themselves, it’s clear from the get-go that this continuation feels like something different altogether. Everything feels bigger and like the stakes are higher. There’s a complete tonal shift, but Whedon is smart enough to include throwbacks that remind fans that this is still very much a story rooted in the Buffyverse.

The Long Way Home is a strong opening arc. Buffy and Xander are both leaders in an organization based out of a castle in Scotland, one which deploys teams of trained slayers to deal with a veritable smorgasbord of demonic nuisances. Xander has fashioned himself into a bit of a Nick Fury type while Buffy has settled comfortably into the role of den mother to hundreds of slayers. Dawn is skulking around the castle too and has been turned into a giant. It’s an odd choice and continues to beg the question ‘why did Dawn survive season seven and not Anya?’ These annoying Dawn interludes aside, Whedon handles the dialogue and pacing really well. It’s clear that he hadn’t lost the voices of these characters following the series finale. They’re still as funny as ever and we get plenty of punchy banter between Buffy and Xander. Whedon also deftly generates intrigue with the introduction of the enigmatic Twilight. Twilight’s purpose is unclear at this point, but the mystique alone is enough to create tension. He further deserves props for bringing back Amy and Warren as pseudo-henchmen to the bad guys. Amy poses a genuine threat when she re-appears, putting Buffy into a Sleeping Beauty-esque sleep and duking it out with Willow while she unleashes an army of zombies to keep the slayers busy. It’s really cool and proves just how badass Amy can be. It kind of makes you wonder why she wasn’t utilized as a primary baddy in season six instead of the eye roll worthy nerd troika.

Georges Jeanty’s art from the first four issues is impressive. He really knows how to capture the essence and appearance of the main cast – especially Buffy. He’s updated her wardrobe to look a little more tactical, but it’s still obvious that it’s her. Of course, it helps that he’s adept at capturing Sarah Michelle Gellar’s likeness. Jeanty understands the expressiveness necessary for pulling off the humour in Whedon’s dialogue, as well as how to render a compelling action scene. He also avoids posing female characters as props or models, which is a rarity in the comic book world. This helps to emphasize its nature as a spin-off of a TV series. The characters look, act and move the way we’d expect them to.

Overall, The Long Way Home is an effective and affecting opening arc for the eighth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The art is evocative and the dialogue is on point. The tonal shift works for the most part, particularly as it takes risks with the Buffyverse and allows it to grow in a way it never could when its titular heroine was stuck in Sunnydale. The changes that have happened since the season seven finale are organic and feel like a natural evolution of where we left off. Buffy, Xander and Willow are given defined roles within the book and each serve an important purpose. I also rather like how Andrew and Giles are utilized in their much smaller roles, as well as Amy’s presence as the arc’s primary villain. What The Long Way Home didn’t do was make Dawn any less annoying. The scenes she’s in feel wasted and the pacing would have been stronger had Whedon just written her off as being away at school. Similarly, the filler issue (#5) does nothing to really further the plot and feels more like a sharp diversion than an elaboration on the events that proceeded the destruction of Sunnydale. Even still, these are two minor problems in the minus column in comparison to a rather full plus column. The Long Way Home is enjoyable and brimming with potential. There’s a sense of direction here that is both promising and intriguing. As far as Buffy season openers go, this one ranks high.

RATING: B