"THERE USED TO BE ONE SLAYER IN THE WORLD. EIGHT HUNDRED NOW, THAT WE'VE COUNTED...THERE'S EVEN THREE OF ME. THE GUYS FIGURED I WAS A TARGET, SET UP TWO OTHER SLAYERS TO BE ME."
(WHEDON 5)
(WHEDON 5)
BUFFY RETURNS!
Ecstatic... fancrazy... is there even a word to describe my experience. I was originally going to do this post on the first issue and my experience with it, but I was so intrigued with the series I finished the first mini-arc in one sit down without even the slightest motivation to stop. I may have a small bias because I was an avid fan of the show, but Whedon has once again managed to make me stomp the wooden floors with my jaw.
In this 'season', we return to Buffy Summers who has just managed to change up the game in slayer history; she has used her best friend, Willow (a witch), to cast a spell on an ancient slayer weapon that gives all the 'potential' women to be the power of the slayer, who used to be alone in the battle against evil. In doing so, she tipped the scales and managed to defeat the big bad. Now, we catch up with her a couple of years later and she is now the leader of a giant army of superhuman women.
Buffy Summers, moreso even in the comic, has super hero traits that we have seen in class: she has (moderately) super strength, speed, and reflexes, passed down to her from a line of power created in the old days to be given to random girls to fight against vampires and other evils. She hides her identity. However, in the show, she wasn't too crazy about it. Now, in the comic, she must conceal her identity because not only is the darkness trying to get revenge on her, but the government has decided she a threat and a fascist by taking charge and is leading an army of super-humans that "does not jibe with American interests... Worst of all, they got a leader. Charismatic, uncompromising, and completely destructive", as said by one of the story's mini villains, a Governor for the US military. This reminded me of our class discussions about Superman and Batman, and that, at times, they would face extreme criticism by government parties.
Buffy concealing her identity, having not only villainous enemies but political enemies, and having super strength all put her in a super hero category. She has a backstory, a huge, spiritual history that explains the retrieval of her powers. Her support group: Xander, the loyal best friend, and Willow, the witch, are now extreme versions of their former TV series selves that fit well with the comic-verse. Xander now has one eye, as a result of a episode in the 7th season, and takes the role of a Sargent Fury type 'leader of the base'. Willow is the powerful witch that, now, can fly and do crazy magic attacking spells. Her army of slayers stand beside her like a Justice League, and Buffy is the leader of the pack.
The drawing is amazing and I love Georges Jeanty already for capturing character likeness. He doesn't simply just try to make the characters look like the actors, but he captures emotion so well and everything is fitting. I am so pleased with this series. So, so pleased. They even have the cliff-hangers that comics often do! At the end of each comic, something happens that makes me read the next one. For example, the first one ends with us finding out a villain is being introduced from the show again to mess up Buffy's plans-- Amy, the crazy witch from season 1. Then, at the end of comic 2, Willow returns. Then, at the end of comic 3, Warren, the villain from season 6, is reintroduced as working with Amy. My eyes practically popped out of my head! It prepared me for the epic battle in issue 4 between Willow and Amy, and the crazy Warren who teamed up with her. It's amazing!
Whedon is doing a lot of comic-friendly things that doesn't make it feel like a TV show gone comic. I commend him for this. I am realizing more and more than I am not just a fan of Buffy, but a huge fan of its God and creator, Joss Whedon.
Ecstatic... fancrazy... is there even a word to describe my experience. I was originally going to do this post on the first issue and my experience with it, but I was so intrigued with the series I finished the first mini-arc in one sit down without even the slightest motivation to stop. I may have a small bias because I was an avid fan of the show, but Whedon has once again managed to make me stomp the wooden floors with my jaw.
In this 'season', we return to Buffy Summers who has just managed to change up the game in slayer history; she has used her best friend, Willow (a witch), to cast a spell on an ancient slayer weapon that gives all the 'potential' women to be the power of the slayer, who used to be alone in the battle against evil. In doing so, she tipped the scales and managed to defeat the big bad. Now, we catch up with her a couple of years later and she is now the leader of a giant army of superhuman women.
Buffy Summers, moreso even in the comic, has super hero traits that we have seen in class: she has (moderately) super strength, speed, and reflexes, passed down to her from a line of power created in the old days to be given to random girls to fight against vampires and other evils. She hides her identity. However, in the show, she wasn't too crazy about it. Now, in the comic, she must conceal her identity because not only is the darkness trying to get revenge on her, but the government has decided she a threat and a fascist by taking charge and is leading an army of super-humans that "does not jibe with American interests... Worst of all, they got a leader. Charismatic, uncompromising, and completely destructive", as said by one of the story's mini villains, a Governor for the US military. This reminded me of our class discussions about Superman and Batman, and that, at times, they would face extreme criticism by government parties.
Buffy concealing her identity, having not only villainous enemies but political enemies, and having super strength all put her in a super hero category. She has a backstory, a huge, spiritual history that explains the retrieval of her powers. Her support group: Xander, the loyal best friend, and Willow, the witch, are now extreme versions of their former TV series selves that fit well with the comic-verse. Xander now has one eye, as a result of a episode in the 7th season, and takes the role of a Sargent Fury type 'leader of the base'. Willow is the powerful witch that, now, can fly and do crazy magic attacking spells. Her army of slayers stand beside her like a Justice League, and Buffy is the leader of the pack.
The drawing is amazing and I love Georges Jeanty already for capturing character likeness. He doesn't simply just try to make the characters look like the actors, but he captures emotion so well and everything is fitting. I am so pleased with this series. So, so pleased. They even have the cliff-hangers that comics often do! At the end of each comic, something happens that makes me read the next one. For example, the first one ends with us finding out a villain is being introduced from the show again to mess up Buffy's plans-- Amy, the crazy witch from season 1. Then, at the end of comic 2, Willow returns. Then, at the end of comic 3, Warren, the villain from season 6, is reintroduced as working with Amy. My eyes practically popped out of my head! It prepared me for the epic battle in issue 4 between Willow and Amy, and the crazy Warren who teamed up with her. It's amazing!
Whedon is doing a lot of comic-friendly things that doesn't make it feel like a TV show gone comic. I commend him for this. I am realizing more and more than I am not just a fan of Buffy, but a huge fan of its God and creator, Joss Whedon.