tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post4988226011501342766..comments2024-03-28T23:03:57.917-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: Buffy Season Eight: Twilight, Part 3Billie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-54398656492688736272011-01-14T13:39:13.779-05:002011-01-14T13:39:13.779-05:00Hello Anonymous,
Regarding what I don't like ...Hello Anonymous,<br /><br />Regarding what I don't like about the other Whedon comics, I know Joss Whedon has a lot of fans here (and I count myself among them), so I'm going to try and keep my winging to a strict minimum:<br /><br />Simply put, Whedon seems to think comics are wild and zany, so everything goes no matter how goofy. He's not completely wrong, but there is such a thing as tonal consistency. Yes, the Fantastic Four may end up fighting Hamlet on a surf board in space, but they would never do it in the same issue that they're dealing with a more grounded problem. Mutant cures and aliens from Dimension X make for a pretty spectacular tonal clash. He's not so good with internal logic either, presumably because he doesn't care as much in the goofy medium of comic books. Again from Astonishing X-Men, how exactly does a paraplegic drive a truck in the middle of a perpetual EMP?<br /><br />Then there's the problem of lateness and pacing. It feels a lot like his comics are written as a kooky hobby in between his real job, which would explain his notoriously late scripts that held up the X-Men franchise as a whole for over four years. Even if his scripts were on time, not a lot happens in 22 pages of a Whedon comic. As a TV writer, he seems to forget that comics come out on a monthly basis, so waiting four to six issues to get the one complete story is the equivalent to watching a TV show with only 2 to 3 episodes per year. That's something you have to consider when writing for a new medium.<br /><br />Anyway, that's that. There's always a learning curve when tackling a new medium, so here's hoping he'll get better at it!Dimitri A.C. Lyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15261471534976480158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-7635409176967028922011-01-12T18:06:55.953-05:002011-01-12T18:06:55.953-05:00I think they're fun, they just lost the story ...I think they're fun, they just lost the story a bit after Time of Your Life. I consider them canon in the same way the Star Wars novels are -- sure, maybe that's what happens next, but I'm not going to let that influence my enjoyment of the 'real' thing.<br /><br />Billie's gonna freak at #39, I think.The Dark Shapenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-78466209239337145492011-01-12T00:45:44.063-05:002011-01-12T00:45:44.063-05:00I GUESS I'M THE ONLY FRICKIN' PERSON IN TH...I GUESS I'M THE ONLY FRICKIN' PERSON IN THE 'VERSE THAT LIKES THE SEASON EIGHT COMICS! GAH! It was a fun random read I thought. Please finish reviewing them! I know you won't do season Nine but please finish season eight!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-59793210801073481982011-01-11T20:35:32.490-05:002011-01-11T20:35:32.490-05:00"Dawn: 'Ben is Glory?'
Best line in t..."Dawn: 'Ben is Glory?'<br />Best line in the issue. It made me laugh out loud."<br /><br />Me too. By the way, there have been a few references of Dawn being the key, which makes me wonder if her keyness will be back eventually.<br /><br />The story gets a little (very little) better on the final arc, but it's still pretty pathetic. It's a shame.Tom Lnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-66301776410080563712011-01-11T20:24:53.841-05:002011-01-11T20:24:53.841-05:00Demitri, your comment was really interesting. What...Demitri, your comment was really interesting. What was it about Joss' other comics that you didn't like? Until Season 8 I thought he was pretty goodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-58592466943240298682011-01-11T13:53:07.033-05:002011-01-11T13:53:07.033-05:00I don’t think I need to say anything. Everyone els...I don’t think I need to say anything. Everyone else has said it all already. I can’t see what else I can add. <br /><br />Dimitri, from what I’ve read Buffy Season 8 is supposed to take place some time after Angel Season 6.Mark Greighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12984193299389764649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-22249015271695886842011-01-11T13:28:00.034-05:002011-01-11T13:28:00.034-05:00Agree about this issue..what a terrible thing it w...Agree about this issue..what a terrible thing it was. Just Buffy and Angel getting it on..and people's reactions to it. Complete waste of time. As a comics fan I'd somewhat predictably would like to recommend Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" even if it's umpteen volumes long. The Hernandez brothers works I also love. <br />AnnaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-4148974236744138602011-01-11T13:00:14.370-05:002011-01-11T13:00:14.370-05:00I haven't picked up any of the Buffy comics, b...I haven't picked up any of the Buffy comics, but, from your reviews, I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want to review any more, Billie.<br /><br />In fairness to the medium, though, Buffy Season 8 is hardly representative of the strengths and weaknesses of comics. One of the reasons I didn't pick it up is that I'd read some of Whedon's previous forays into the ninth art, and felt he had a profound misunderstanding of the medium. To make matters worse, comics actually seem to flag up some of his less endearing pre-existing writing ticks.<br /><br />Unless you've read other popular comics that you really hated, I wouldn't write out the medium just yet (hey, comics readers, now is the time to fill this page with recommendations for Billie--evil laughter). One thing is for sure, though, comics is just not *Joss Whedon's* medium.<br /><br />Too bad. I have a feeling Season 8 is only still selling because of the completist factor, and Dark Horse may see a sharp drop in sales when Season 9 begins.<br /><br />By the by, does anyone know whether Buffy Season 8 and Angel Season 5 are supposed to take place in the same universe? The events described here seem contradictory.Dimitri A.C. Lyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15261471534976480158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-22909016453394689982011-01-11T12:14:20.543-05:002011-01-11T12:14:20.543-05:00Thanks so much for the info, everyone. Stephen, I...Thanks so much for the info, everyone. Stephen, I'm not planning to review any other comic books of any kind, under any circumstances, after issue 40. It's just not my medium.Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-45387277764831443792011-01-11T12:02:04.287-05:002011-01-11T12:02:04.287-05:00Well done for getting through it Billie! It must h...Well done for getting through it Billie! It must have been so painful to type the synopsis, meaning you actually had to think abou this story again :( but there's only six more to go, you can do it :)<br /><br />I don't understand how seven years of utter greatness could possibly result in this season 8 awfulness, even the bad episodes of BtVS were amazing compared to other shows on TV!<br /><br />I've heard that Season 9 will be focused much more on the characters, and hopefully the writers will actually follow this and make it closer to the show, rather than all this sci-fi nonsense. I still have my hopes that Season 9 will be good and that the events of Season 8 can mostly be swept under the rug.<br /><br />I'm guessing that you won't be reviewing the issues of Season 9 separately, but will you be reviewing the arcs/trade paperbacks? I would love to hear at least some of the reaction from your Buffy-expert opinion :)Stephennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-52905167208709105052011-01-11T11:42:19.438-05:002011-01-11T11:42:19.438-05:00The Twilight arc is undoubtedly dreadful, but the ...The Twilight arc is undoubtedly dreadful, but the comics do pick up again in the last arc. If you google "stormwreath" his reviews are pretty good at explaining the plots. Lastly the three days ago was willow and oz in #31Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-14069608316778040762011-01-11T03:14:24.237-05:002011-01-11T03:14:24.237-05:00It's unfair to judge an arc from someone else&...It's unfair to judge an arc from someone else's description of it, for the record.<br /><br />As I recall, the panels were showing a number of events past and future. The panel with Spike and Buffy was marked "Soon."<br /><br />Last Gleaming has proven a better arc than Twilight, if only because there are less silly developments. Don't blame Metzler for this arc -- these are all big moments, which means they're Joss. I think the actual writing is still pretty good.<br /><br />Some wonderful dialogue coming up in Last Gleaming, even though I still don't know what's really going on.The Dark Shapenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-38445607317118527762011-01-10T23:04:29.245-05:002011-01-10T23:04:29.245-05:00I'm in until #40, and then season eight will b...I'm in until #40, and then season eight will be officially over. I'm planning to post a review every other day until the end.Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-24134975659025000802011-01-10T22:38:55.377-05:002011-01-10T22:38:55.377-05:00Yes. I haven't read them, but given what I'...Yes. I haven't read them, but given what I've heard about them I just pretend they don't exist.Greg Boydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367592228032874654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-71890820894562628912011-01-10T21:47:13.400-05:002011-01-10T21:47:13.400-05:00But you can't stop reviewing them! Otherwise, ...But you can't stop reviewing them! Otherwise, I'll have to read the last few issues myself.<br /><br />This sounds so awful, by the way. Just tragically bad. Are we allowed to pretend this is just fanfic and not canon?Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-83052532895656629972011-01-10T20:28:58.494-05:002011-01-10T20:28:58.494-05:00Morgan, I'm with you. :(
Topher Darling, th...Morgan, I'm with you. :( <br /><br />Topher Darling, this was #34. #40 is the last one. So there are six to go.Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-58572843821706350852011-01-10T20:27:24.928-05:002011-01-10T20:27:24.928-05:00Sigh, it sounds like it's a rough job (reviewi...Sigh, it sounds like it's a rough job (reviewing these comics) and here's a tip of the hat to you for doing it, Billie. <br /><br />I read them all until the Twilight volume. With the way it was going and with your reviews of these last few, I don't think I'll bother. Hang in there, just one more to go and then you can drop it.topher darlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03975242320282969525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-53433367801652551382011-01-10T20:18:18.809-05:002011-01-10T20:18:18.809-05:00I think I died just a little.I think I died just a little.morgan indiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07633124041567701073noreply@blogger.com