 2008-10-21 - Awesomeness made even more awesome
That's pretty much the size of it. If you enjoyed the TV series, you'll enjoy this book. If you didn't enjoy the TV series, you should go out and purchase it, enjoy it, and then enjoy this book. And then get Firefly.
2008-10-20 - Welcome back Buffy!
There is no doubt Buffy is back in this comicbook sequel. A change of medium from tv to comicbook is a big change for any series. I was then relived to discover that Buffy, Xander and Willow and all the other characters we love from the tv series are back are as we remember them, they haven't undergone any major personality changes that sadly happen in other cartoon adaptions. Much of this thanks to Buffy's (as you know) creator Josh Whedon himself did the script. This is no third party version with "fanfic"-quality script... it's the real and original story... it could be called Buffy - Season 8 - Volume 1. Actually it IS called Buffy - Season 8 - Volume 1 :) .So is it all good? Here's a quick rundown of the proos and cons:
Positive:
* Buffy and the scooby gang are all back as we remember them thanks to Joss Whedon
* Cartoon medium let's the series "fly" with no tight budgets. It's big scale this time, and it's good for a change. Buffy organizes almost five hundred slayers this time, and Xander leads the military-like control center with large tv screens monitoring it all.
* Great art! The characters are highly recognizable, including some almost photo real covers for each of the 4 episodes.
* Original covers from the smaller issues are included.
* Good plot (no spoilers sorry)!
Negative:
* Cartoon Buffy can't be real Buffy.
* The cartoon medium and can be a bit confusing to follow, and you've got to focus not to miss some points. If you don't like cartoons you could subtract one star for this.
* The use of magic has become all-present. Portals, protection and even Dawn has been enchanted into a giant - fun or not. A bit overdone, especially since Buffy can't use magic she seems pretty dependent on others, but hey... we all love Willow anyway.
* It's big, but is it too big? The tvseries is about the slayer in an ordinary world where the supernatural have been kept hidden. It's now apparently all present. This might not appeal to everyone. As there is no school/university Buffy anymore.
Summary:
If you don't like cartoons you could subtract one star.
If you like small-town-down-to-earth-Buffy much better than world-scale-super-hero-Buffy and don't like too much magic you might subtract another star.
If you're not a Buffy fan yet, start with the tv-series.
For the rest of us I say: Welcome back Buffy! You deserve all five stars!
 2008-10-07 - Missing Buffy
I ordered the comic, because I was dying to find out what happened after the last episode. Though I am glad to know which characters are doing what,... I was thoroughly dissapointed in the comics. I have never been a comic book reader, and will remain that way. I am a huge Buffy fan and will always hope that the series will come back to TV, or go on in actual books.
 2008-08-08 - BTVS The Long Way Home
I'm kind of disappointed--the comic version was hard to follow and it seemed like much more of an emphasis was placed on 'ooh, how much skin can we show' than how much character development & plot we can have. There's no development, the plot is very fuzzy and short, and we're just given more questions and no answers. I want to know what happened to Willow and Dawn and Xander and what the gang's been up to, instead of more bloody battles and what the heck, FAIRIES? I mean...there's demons and that kind of supernatural, but I really really didn't see fairies coming into this thing. Still, I have to say it's awesome, cause it's BUFFY, of course, and Joss is an incredibly sweet writer to actually want to continue the series, I just wish it was still televised or at least a movie, not a comic book, regular book would be great, too! Comic book is just too many pictures, not enough plot for me, but I'll still be following, of course, and I'm off to order Volume 2, now.
2008-06-20 - A void filled
Being a buffy and angel fan, I was hestitant to actually start reading these. I read the other reviews, and noticed that the comics were written by the man himself. I also read the astonishing X-Men, written by Whedon, and knew he had a voice for comics. The only problem with this is it's too short. I was hoping for both volumes 1 & 2, to be combined into one for this. The stories are good and the quick quips that Whedon is known for continue. The line about Sergant Fury just made me put the book down and laugh. It's those little moments that make his work good.
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