Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 6: Retreat

Season 8 is still going strong. This series is just amazing. I don't want to say anything story specific because I don't want to give away any spoilers but if you're a Buffy fan you've got to read these. If you're a graphic novel fan but not a Buffy fan, you should give them a shot. The writing and story are top notch. Hope this helps.

Season 8 keeps getting more and more disconnected from itself, as the storyline moves from the lamentable Buffy meets Fray arc, into the rise of Harmony in "Predators and Prey," and now this, possibly the most depressing storyline since Buffy first went to college. I thought the Scottish slayer castle was dire, but having Buffy and the slayers hit the Himalayas for a crash course in Tibetan Buddhism, under the tutelage of Seth Green, reaches a new high of just plain weird. The slayers must give up their magick powers in order to avoid the all-seeing gaze of Amy, Warren and Twilight. But the gambit never seems to work, despite the mole Buffy has placed within the ranks of the Twilight gang. I never understood what they had done wrong, but the story just sweeps on without regard to logic, sense or even taste. And what happened to Jeanty? I know Faith was in the story, but after comic #1, he has completely lost his knack for drawing her. Every couple of panels I stopped, wondering, who was *that* girl, maybe she was Faith. But I could never be sure. I think Jane E. was also fumbling a little bit at the level of script, so that there really wasn't much for Faith to do anyway. Maybe Faith should have gone Buddhist, taught Oz how not to be a werewolf, married him, and had his adorable baby in a sack, because Oz's wife got most of the big storyline here. Constantly hissing and whispering to Oz, "I do not like it, Ozito, those white girls from your past will bring a tsunami of trouble down on our heads and baby." Worst thing of all, she's right every time.

Ahh Buffy! A story i never get tired of reading, this latest volume is just yet another entertaining piece from the ever so talented Jane Espenson. This story sees the pretty gals teaming up in Tibet with Oz only to find themselves without much power and having to heavily rely on available resources. which are few. the Artistry, story and the skits at the end of the book are much worth buying and i highly recommend this to anyone who's been a fan of the Buffy story and it's characters. These comics are just as good as the tv show. I cannot wait until the next set in the series comes out!

Joss and Jane are show their usual storytelling acumen in this cliffhanger. I hope the next volume comes out soon.

Retreat, the sixth collected volume of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight, finds Buffy and her crew of scoobies and Slayers on the run, as the mysterious Twilight begins to set sights on them all for what may be a final killing blow. Seeking sanctuary with Oz, who has since found peace and happiness, it soon becomes clear that the worst is indeed yet to come. One thing that I've noticed since Buffy Season Eight came to fruition is that Joss and his revolving team of writers take advantage of the Buffy-verse being comic book based, with enough wild antics and action to satisfy comic readers of any and every age, regardless of being a Buffy fan or not. However, while veteran series writer Jane Espenson manages to inject enough crackling energy into this storyarc, by the time it reaches its conclusion it feels like it's just too much, and comes close to feeling like it isn't Buffy at all. Not to mention the fact that Georges Jeanty's artwork appears to be waning a bit in terms of how much his renderings of the show's cast reflect their real life counterparts. Still though, Retreat offers up enough goodies for Buffy addicts to dig, and with that in mind, here's hoping that Season Eight keeps going on strong.