Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Trade paperback cover of Buffy: The Long Way Home. Art by Jo Chen.
Publication information
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Publication date	March 14 2007
No. of issues	18 (40 planned)
Main character(s)	Scooby Gang
Creative team
Created by	Joss Whedon
Written by	Joss Whedon Brian K. Vaughan Drew Goddard and others
Penciller(s)	Georges Jeanty
Inker(s)	Andy Owens
Colorist(s)	Dave Stewart
Collected editions
The Long Way Home	ISBN 1593078226
No Future for You	ISBN 159307963X
Wolves at the Gate	ISBN 1595821651

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the first arc, "The Long Way Home". The first issue was released on March 14, 2007.

The series was originally supposed to consist of about 25 issues, but series editor Scott Allie stated that they were already "up to about 50, could go a little higher", before it was finally decided that the series would have a 40-issue run. At present, some plans for a spin-off limited series are in discussion where side-stories too far outside of Season Eight's narrative would be played out. The success of the series prompted IDW Publishing and Joss Whedon to announce a concurring continuation of the Angel television series, entitled Angel: After the Fall.

Premise

The story takes place "at least a year and a half" after the events of "Chosen", placing it at its earliest in the latter half of 2004 and after the events of "Not Fade Away". Buffy and Xander now lead command-central, which is situated at a citadel in Scotland. At their disposal are a wide array of psychics, seers, witches, and Slayers, along with a vast amount of technology. There are 1,800 Slayers worldwide according to Buffy, almost 500 of whom are working with the Scoobies, separated into 10 squads. Squads include Andrew's in Southern Italy, Giles' in England, Vi's in New York, Robin's in Cleveland, Ohio and another led by Rona in another U.S. state. For Buffy's protection and because her name is feared worldwide, two decoys are put in place: one partying in Rome and one on a mission in demonic underground caverns.

In the wake of Sunnydale's destruction, elements within the U.S. government view them as an army akin to terrorist cells and characterize Buffy as a "charismatic, uncompromising and completely destructive" leader. General Voll, a member of a mystically aware Initiative-like government project, describes fear of their resources, power, and ideology. The government has teamed with Sunnydale survivor/powerful witch Amy Madison and Season 6 villain Warren Mears. Simultaneously, an evil British socialite Slayer called Lady Genevieve Savidge plots to usurp Buffy's place in the Slayer hierarchy, and a shrewd cabal of Japanese vampires scheme to reverse the global activation of Potential Slayers in "Chosen". The appearances of these villains so far appear connected to "Twilight", the enigmatic Big Bad of the season, a masked person who plans to destroy all of the Slayers and bring an end to the era of magic.

A subplot involves the repercussions of Dawn's college relationship with a boy named Kenny (described as a "thricewise"), whom she cheated on, losing her virginity to his roommate. Consequently, Dawn has been cursed with mystical transformations: first into a giant and later a centaur; her friends are unable to reverse them. Among the core group, Buffy is for a time romantically drawn to a female Slayer named Satsu, and Xander to Slayer Renée; Willow's relationship with the core group is more estranged, while she protectively withholds Kennedy from her friends. Giles and Buffy, at odds, have momentarily fallen from speaking terms with one another. Giles now works with Faith, in trying to prevent more Slayers from going rogue.

Announced writers and story arcs

Joss Whedon serves as "executive producer" for the series across every issue, giving his other writers notes on characterization, continuity and his overall concept in mind as he would when overseeing Buffy as a television series. Joss wrote the first story arc, "The Long Way Home" (#1–4) as well as several one-shot stories (#5, #10, and #11), and is set to write the series' fourth (#16–19) and final (#36–40) story arcs himself as well.

Comic and television writer Brian K. Vaughan became the first guest writer on the series, writing the second story arc "No Future for You" (#6–9). While Vaughan was not a "Buffyverse" staff member, he was a fan of both series (particularly the character of Faith) and Joss Whedon himself was a fan of Vaughan's Marvel Comics series Runaways, on which he served as writer during the period Vaughan wrote "No Future for You."

Former Buffy and Angel writer Drew Goddard wrote the series' third arc, "Wolves at the Gate." Goddard first became a Buffy writer in its final season, starting with the episode "Selfless" and finishing with the Angel episode "The Girl in Question", which itself obliquely hints at the life of Buffy post-Season Seven. Goddard went on to become a writer for the movie Cloverfield and acclaimed American dramas Lost and Alias (all working alongside producer J. J. Abrams) whilst also penning the story "Antique" for canonical Buffy comic book Tales of the Vampires, which he goes onto reference in "Wolves at the Gate".

Film, comics and television writer-producer Jeph Loeb is set to write issue #20 of the series. Loeb had previously been involved with Joss in the conception of Buffy the Animated Series, which never came to be. Following Loeb are Buffyverse alumni Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, Drew Greenberg, Jim Krueger and Steven S. DeKnight who between them are set to tell the story between issues #21 and #25, which will be a single arc told from a number of different perspectives. Some of these one-shots follow the perspectives of Harmony (#21, Espenson), Buffy/Andrew, Xander/Dawn and Giles/Faith. Jane Espenson then returns for a five-issue arc involving the character of Oz for issues #26-30. Brad Meltzer, author of several New York Times best-selling books and later both Identity Crisis and Justice League of America for DC Comics is set to write the penultimate story arc of Season Eight, issues #31–35. Whedon himself resumes authorship for the final five issues of the series, bringing Season Eight to an end.

Publication

Issues

Title	Issue #	Release Date
"The Long Way Home, Part I"	1	March 14, 2007
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Buffy Summers leads a squad of Slayers in Scotland with the help of her friend Xander Harris and her giant sister Dawn. Meanwhile, a government installation investigates the demolished town of Sunnydale.
"The Long Way Home, Part II"	2	April 4, 2007
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
The government recruits Amy Madison as their operative to dispatch Buffy. She travels to Scotland, unleashes an army of zombies on the castle, and binds Buffy in a sleep that can only be broken by a true love's kiss.
"The Long Way Home, Part III"	3	May 2, 2007
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Still bound in a sleep, Buffy explores her dreamspace with Ethan Rayne. Willow Rosenberg comes to the Slayers' aid in a battle against Amy and her army of zombies.
"The Long Way Home, Part IV"	4	June 6, 2007
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Amy kidnaps Willow and presents her to a skinless Warren Mears. Xander and some practicing witches attempt to create a portal to send Buffy and Satsu to Willow's rescue. A U.S. government general warns Buffy of "Twilight": the end of magic.
"The Chain"	5	July 25, 2007
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Paul Lee
A young woman reveals how she went from being a high school student to being Buffy’s decoy.
"No Future for You, Part I"	6	September 5, 2007
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
In Cleveland, Rupert Giles recruits Faith to assassinate Lady Genevieve Savidge: a rogue Slayer who threatens to destroy the world. Meanwhile in Scotland, Buffy admits to Xander her worry of "Twilight".
"No Future for You, Part II"	7	October 3, 2007
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Faith infiltrates Lady Genevieve Savidge's estate only to discover an amicable connection with her. Willow questions Dawn on her newly giant stature.
"No Future for You, Part III"	8	November 7, 2007
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Faith finds herself torn when Lady Genevieve reveals her plan to kill Buffy. Matters get worse, when Genevieve's mentor Roden kidnaps Buffy and brings her face to face with Faith.
"No Future for You, Part IV"	9	December 5, 2007
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Faith and Lady Genevieve engage in battle to the death. Buffy and Giles' relationship is further strained when she questions him about Faith's mission. Meanwhile, a mysterious character named Twilight meets with a U.S. government agent to discuss the events with Faith and Genevieve.
"Anywhere but Here"	10	January 2, 2008
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Cliff Richards
A Minder named Robin welcomes Buffy and Willow to Tichajt who presents to them the past, present and future, revealing kept secrets between the best friends. Dawn embarrassingly reveals to Xander that she did not sleep with her boyfriend like most suspect: she slept with his college roommate.
"A Beautiful Sunset"	11	February 6, 2008
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Buffy invites Satsu to dust a group of vampires at a graveyard. There, Buffy declares to her that she knows Satsu planted the true love's kiss on her when she was bound in sleep. Suddenly, Twilight attacks both of the girls and introduces to Buffy his malicious plan to destroy all of the Slayers.
"Wolves at the Gate, Part I"	12	March 5, 2008
Writer: Drew Goddard		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Just when Xander, Renée , Andrew, Willow and Dawn all walk in on Buffy and Satsu naked in bed, a group of Japanese vampires breach the castle walls and successfully steal the Scythe. In need for assistance to defeat the vampires, Xander seeks an old friend: Dracula.
"Wolves at the Gate, Part II"	13	April 2, 2008
Writer: Drew Goddard		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
When confronted by Xander about the Japanese vampires, Dracula realizes the group has stolen his unique powers, and commits to help out of pride. Meanwhile, Buffy is preparing an all-out assault against the vampires, who have been spotted in Tokyo by the slayer Aiko. The vampires spot Aiko's surveillance and set an ambush: the female vampire Kumiko uses the Scythe to magically revert Aiko into a regular, helpless girl, and the vampire leader Toru then kills her.
"Wolves at the Gate, Part III"	14	May 7, 2008
Writer: Drew Goddard		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Buffy and her team arrive in Japan to find Aiko's corpse strung up with a welcome message written in her blood. They meet up with Xander, Renée, and Dracula, who teaches Willow a spell to contain the desolidifying vampires. With Giant Dawn as a distraction, the team assaults the vampires' lair, only to discover that it's a trap as Toru appears behind them and impales Renée on the scythe.
"Wolves at the Gate, Part IV"	15	June 4, 2008
Writer: Drew Goddard		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Dracula sends Willow to perform the spell to destroy the vampires' special powers. No longer invincible, the Slayers charge and attack all of the vampires. Dawn is confronted by a mecha version of herself.
"Time of Your Life, Part I"	16	July 2, 2008
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Karl Moline
Fray crossover. On a hot tip, Buffy and Willow head to Manhattan and reunite with Kennedy and Vi, hoping to unlock the secrets of The Scythe. But something goes terribly awry when Buffy suddenly finds herself transported to an unknown world, and into the path of future Slayer Melaka Fray.
"Time of Your Life, Part II"	17	August 6, 2008
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Karl Moline
After a shaky introduction, Buffy and Fray must join forces in order to discover the purpose of their meeting, and its impact on the world at large. Meanwhile, Fray's twin brother vampire Harth has teamed up with a former enemy to affect the present.
"Time of Your Life, Part III"	18	September 3, 2008
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Karl Moline
A powerful enemy from Buffy's past confronts the Slayer and Fray in the future, having allied with Fray's greatest foe. Meanwhile, Dawn's gone through another bizarre change."
"Time of Your Life, Part IV"	19	November 12, 2008
Writer: Joss Whedon		Penciller: Karl Moline
Buffy and Fray take on a powerful foe, who has lasted hundreds of years just so she can bring down the last two Slayers.
"After These Messages ... We'll Be Right Back!"	20	December 03, 2008
Writer: Jeph Loeb		Penciller: Georges Jeanty, Eric Wight
Scott Allie spoke out about this issue at Comic-Con: The Fray arc will be followed by an issue by Jeph Loeb, who will revisit the Buffy animated series that never happened. "It's Buffy sort of revisiting her high school life, but drawn in the style of the animated series that never happened." Jeph Loeb and Eric Wight take the reins on Buffy Season Eight with this very special one-shot joining series artist Georges Jeanty, in a twisted tale picking up from the time-travelling Buffy/Fray crossover.
"Harmonic Divergence"	21	December 17, 2008
Writer: Jane Espenson		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Television writer Jane Espenson returns to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Season Eight. Espenson is the first of five acclaimed writers that tackle this groundbreaking story arc – where Buffy fans are introduced to a new world where vampires are in and Slayers are out. Cue Harmony, the bubblegum cheerleader from Sunnydale High whose ambitions include blood sucking and stardom.
"Swell"	22	January 14, 2009
Writer: Steven S. DeKnight		Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Vampires are the hottest thing around -- forget hipsters; being a bloodsucking fiend is where's it's at! Slayers must take the good fight underground if they're to avoid any bad press from the general public. When Kennedy is sent to Japan to evaluate Satsu's efforts as team leader, they are taken by surprise by some fierce furry creatures who want to do nothing more than destroy Buffy (surprise!), while Twilight remains the captain of the anti-Slayer ship.

Collected editions

The issues are being collected together into trade paperbacks:

#	Title	Publisher	Year	ISBN	Reprints
1	The Long Way Home	Dark Horse Comics	2007	ISBN 1593078226	Collects The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #1–5
	Credits and full notes Writer(s) Joss Whedon Penciller(s) Georges Jeanty • Paul Lee A hardcover edition was also published at the same time.
2	No Future for You	Dark Horse Comics	2008	ISBN 159307963X	Collects The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #6–10
	Credits and full notes Writer(s) Brian K. Vaughan • Joss Whedon Penciller(s) Georges Jeanty • Cliff Richards
3	Wolves at the Gate	Dark Horse Comics	2008	ISBN 1595821651	Collects The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #11–15
	Credits and full notes Writer(s) Drew Goddard • Joss Whedon Penciller(s) Georges Jeanty This volume has yet to be published.

Note: The full title of all volumes listed here start with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight: ".

Reception

Initial reaction to Season Eight was generally positive, despite the switch in medium leading to comparison between the television series and the comic. Mathew Springer of The Comicbloc described the series as "very good … and slightly strange." He praised Whedon's writing in the opening issue, claiming "The humor, pop culture references and spot-on quirky characterizations are all on vibrant display", and looked forward to the direction the book was going in. However, he admitted that it was hard for him to accept the comic as canon, claiming "there’s something subtly undermining this effort simply because it’s a comic book and not on television". Mark Stoddard of Comix Nexus also approached the series "with some trepidation, unsure of whether there would be more great stories that really needed to be told, and wondering whether the magic of TV could be replicated in the medium of comics". TV Squad's Keith McDuffee felt that reading Buffy as a comic book after seeing it on television for seven years was strange, but the new format was a good thing because "You don't have ugly casting problems and the special effects budget isn't a concern at all". In a later review, he reaffirmed this opinion, stating "Thank God for a medium that lets creativity go completely wild without budget worries".

Georges Jeanty's artwork received praise for being dynamic and true to the characters, rather than trying to appear photo-realistic. According to Mathew Springer, "He brings these people to life not as drawings of actors and actresses, but as fully-realized comic book characters in their own right." Mark Stoddard understood why Whedon chose Jeanty for the book, claiming "his layouts and storytelling are clear, he handles the action sequences pretty well, and the character likenesses are excellent, retaining a sense of artistic individuality, rather than simply generating portraits or rehashing television stills". However, Keith McDuffee criticized Jeanty's work, feeling "The cover images...are amazingly detailed and truly capture what we remember of the characters, but the inside pages have a bit to be desired". Richard George of IGN described Jeanty's work as bringing "a mixture of real life practicality and zany cartoons", but warned readers not to compare it to the "immaculate" covers by Jo Chen, explaining, "Do not expect the art inside to be what it is on the outside, and don't hold one against the other. Both styles have their place".

Reaction from original cast

Multiple cast members have commented on the appearances of the characters they originated for the TV series in the Season 8 comics:

• Nicholas Brendon (who portrayed Xander) mentioned the events of issue #12 in the Paley Center for Media Buffy cast reunion held March 20 2008, to the obvious surprise of James Marsters (Spike) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy).
• Brendon later commented more extensively on Xander's depiction in Season 8: "He's looking good, rocking the eye patch in charge of 500 chicks. That is the one thing that Xander would be completely blown away about — being in charge of 500 slayers. Xander wasn't in charge of himself in the show!"
• Anthony Stewart Head, who played Rupert Giles in the television series is quoted as saying: "I've seen bits of it and I'd love to see more because it's so cool. It's Joss — and I love Joss's writing. I haven’t had a lot of time but I must get the whole season and check it out."
• Elizabeth Anne Allen, who portrayed Amy in the television series commented favourably on the first story arc, describing it as "awesome" and commenting that "[Season Six/Seven] was fun.... but I really would have loved to play Amy in Season 8. She is much darker."

Awards

• 2007:
  • Won Diamond's Gem Award for "Comic Book of the Year, under $3.00."
  • Won Diamond's Gem Award for "Licensed Comic of the Year."

• 2008:
  • Nominated for "Best Continuing Series" Eisner Award.
  • Won "Best New Series" Eisner Award.
  • Nominated for best book in Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards.

References

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight at the Grand Comics Database
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

External links

• Buffy homepage at Dark Horse Comics
• 5 page Season 8 issue #1 preview
• News on second printing, March 15 2007
• TVGuide.com Q&A with Joss Whedon about Season 8, December 6, 2006
• Interview with Joss Whedon, March 23, 2007
• Slay it again, from The Guardian, April 2, 2007
• The Comic Book Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer