The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)

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!

Have you wondered what Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles have been up to since Sunnydale imploded? Joss Whedon has the answers. Have you pondered the effect on the world of the sudden existence of countless powerful young women with Slayer powers? Joss knows, and he's willing to share. Has it occurred to you that someone -- or something -- might have survived in the rubble of Sunnydale? You might be surprised by that one. Did you think it was kind of lame when we learned in "Angel" that Buffy was off bopping in Italy with the powerful Immortal? She wasn't. Whedon handily explains that away -- without messing up the continuity even a bit. "The Long Way Home" is the first story arc of the new series, and it takes us to the Scottish castle where Buffy hangs her hat as leader of a Slayer commando unit, where Xander acts as a new Watcher and ops coordinator, where Willow takes care of both mystical and technical affairs, and where Dawn -- still kind of whiny, damn it -- parks her very, very, very large sneakers. Without giving too much away, I'll say that Buffy is hit with a magical assassination attempt and the American military takes an unfriendly view of the Slayer army, which strikes where and when it sees fit without respect to international boundaries. And, to round out the book, there's the very touching and well-imagined stand-alone tale about a very special Slayer with a very unique assignment. I was pretty sure that nothing would fill the large Buffy-shaped hole in my heart. I'm not sure a new comic series is as good as a new TV series or a string of big-budget films (hint, hint), but it does a far better job than I could have expected. With Joss at the helm, you know the story is good and the specific voices of his beloved characters sound exactly as they should. The art, by Georges Jeanty, falls just short of photorealism; it's beautiful stuff, well drawn and fluid, and the characters are instantly recognizable as the actors who portrayed them. Buffy the Comic Book has been hit-or-miss over the years. This new incarnation is a bullseye. I can only hope the creative team, led by Whedon, can maintain this outstanding level of quality. by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(net) editor

Nobody loves his fans more than Joss Whedon. This is a man who once said he'd rather make something that 100 people NEED to see then something 1000 people WANT to see and the man works tirelessly and continuously to bring us the very best in sci-fi/horror/fantasy entertainment. So yeah, I'm a fan. "Buffy: Season 8" shoved off in spite of worthless television politics and Sarah Michelle Gellar's refusal to play the character (until her bank account bottoms out, anyway) by switching mediums entirely and making the official leap to the printed page. The transistion has been exemplary. "The Long Way Home" picks up some time after the end of the 7th season. Buffy Summers is leading an army of awakened slayers in surgical strikes against demons worldwide. Instantly, the reader is greeted with a feeling of complete comfort in the old "Buffyverse"; the dialogue is so spot on you will hear the original actor's voices in your head as you read. Sly references to past events abound: Xander, still sporting his eyepatch, fancys himself a Nick Fury-type commander and fills the pages with geeky references, Dawn is suffering some very literal growing pains, Andrew makes us question his sexuality and continues pontificating at length about "Star Wars", etc; hardcore fans will not be let down. Villains with scores to settle return, including at least one you seriously never expected to see again. Each returning character is given the coolest possible introduction to the comic medium and if it possible to cheer while reading a book, you will. The art is more than a little bit endearing, stylish, and cool. And the covers! Good God, the covers! Each month I spend what seems like minutes on end admiring the jaw-dropping artwork that greets me before I can even turn a single page. I will boldly declare the cover art of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8" to be the best of any comic I've ever seen. Long may it continue. The story is something much more epic than anyting that could realistically be portrayed on a television budget. The settings are varied and as cool as they come, the battles are large in scale, and the cast is expanded leading the series to become more of an ensemble than ever. Misleads (usually romantic) that make you gasp are dangled in front of your eyes and then expertly diverted in a way that will make you smile about being had. Well done, Mr. Whedon. The creatures are no longer limited to men in costumes and low-budget CG, the demons are large in size, and others are just odd, such as an underground colony of slug monsters and fairies. This adds yet more depth and possiblities to the story. Issues #1-4 chronicle the actual "Long Way Home" arc, while #5 is an excellent self-contained story about a slayer chosen to serve as one of Buffy's several doubles. It is arguably the strongest issue in spite of the fact that Buffy isn't even in it and the supporting cast only make token appearances. It's a real testament to Joss Wheson

I must admit that as a Buffy fan who hasn't read a comic since age 7 I was a skeptic...but a skeptic in serious withdrawal willing to slurp down just about any Buffy chum Joss flung my way (sorry fan-fictors but there's Payless and then there's Prada). This volume seriously delivers. I read it twice in 24 hours, once quickly to get the major points (who's back, who's bad, who's bedding who), and then again slowly to savor the dialogue and story line. It comes off as basically a two-hour, two-dimensional Buffy movie in what would naturally be a trilogy of films (ahh, only in my and James Marster's dreams I'm afraid). Artwork really pops, transitions are smooth and cinematic, and the trademark Buffy-speech humor is dead-on. Sure there are a few small holes in the storyline (like where a certain character mysteriously recovers from grotesque disfiguring brain surgery w/out a single panel's explanation). Ok, that's a big hole. And yes there are baby slayers with bad Euro trash accents to ignore. But let's chock it up to suspension of disbelief and ooh! look at Buffy she still has her shiny red axe thingy! This volume probably would be meaningless to anyone who had not watched all 7 seasons and memorized the lyrics to Once More with Feeling when they couldn't get a date to the prom, but who cares about them! Losers!

It's no secret that every Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan on the planet has been missing the snappy brilliance of Joss Whedon's critically acclaimed series, but fear not. Whedon, who has crafted the best X-Men stories in quite some time for Marvel with Astonishing X-Men, returns to his most popular creation with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight; a canon comic continuation of the series that picks up where the show left off. Buffy is in Scotland training and leading groups of newly cristened Slayers in the battle against evil demons and vamps, but soon finds that a sinister plot is at hand which involves a cult and the government. Soon enough, some surprising old foes re-appear to wreak havoc on Buffy, Xander, Willow, and the rest of the old crew. What makes Long Way Home so good is that Whedon is relishing in crafting a Buffy flavored comic, while he also ties up some loose ends and adds a nice deal of in-jokes to boot. The dialogue is poppy and snappy, the action is fierce, the twists and surprises are great, and by the book's end, you'll be begging for more. The TPB concludes with a stand alone segment entitled "The Chain" (featuring guest art from Paul Lee), in which a newly powered Slayer is given a very special mission. The rest of the artwork by Georges Jeanty and Whedon's Fray inker Andy Owens is great as well, and rounds out this excellent package. Needless to say, The Long Way Home is a must own for any and every Buffy afficiondo, regardless of whether or not you're into comics in the least.