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reddjena's review
4.0
An interesting start to Season 9. I'm excited to see what else they come up with for Buffy.
witchy_woo_13's review
3.0
Not a big fan of the story line yet. Didn't really care for too much of the art work in this volume either. Hoping this season gets better as we go along.
wolverinefactor's review
3.0
Not what I expected at all. Not sure if I like this direction for my Buffyverse.
evanbernstein's review
4.0
Fun, and much better than Buffy Season 8. The series is back to smaller scale problems and focuses on the people and their interactions.
booksaremyjam's review
2.0
Why am I still reading these??
So if you're coming off of season 8 you know the following: magic is gone, and Buffy is going "back to basics." Apparently this means working in a coffee shop and having room mates.
She has this crazy housewarming party where she gets so drunk she can't remember if/with who she banged the night before. That's just ridiculous and stupid. The rest of this first installment blunders on with an unexplained bad guy (how did he get his powers if there is no magic? Apparently that's not worth explaining), more BTVS cliches to jog our memories of "hey! you liked this at one point!" and Spike in a space ship. Spike, by the way, is really the only consistent character - go figure.
So if you're coming off of season 8 you know the following: magic is gone, and Buffy is going "back to basics." Apparently this means working in a coffee shop and having room mates.
She has this crazy housewarming party where she gets so drunk she can't remember if/with who she banged the night before. That's just ridiculous and stupid. The rest of this first installment blunders on with an unexplained bad guy (how did he get his powers if there is no magic? Apparently that's not worth explaining), more BTVS cliches to jog our memories of "hey! you liked this at one point!" and Spike in a space ship. Spike, by the way, is really the only consistent character - go figure.
shanbear16's review
5.0
This is a great continuation after what felt like a final ending in the Season 8 graphic novels. I'm really happy with this first volume in the new series, and I'm thinking this story line will be excellent. Great art in this volume as well.
cristina_barba's review
4.0
Oh, this is a great start for Season Nine, I have great hopes for it! I really don't want it to disappoint by going a little bit overboard like in the last run...
dr_matthew_lloyd's review
4.0
Freefall, the first volume of Season 9, has something of a Season 6 feel, with the focus on personal drama rather than large-scale apocalypses; although there is also a feel of early Season 7, with Buffy, Dawn, and Xander the main Scoobies, Willow dealing with a magic fallout, Spike skulking around potentously, and Giles unavailable. The point is, unlike Season 8, from the off this feels like Buffy, albeit a Buffy where the game has changed. But the game is always changing; this time it doesn't seem quite so distant from core-Buffy as the beginning of Season 8.
Not unlike Angel Season 5, the new playing field was piloted at the end of the previous season and now we're just seeing it bedded in. Apologies for probably mixing several metaphors, there. Buffy is living in San Francisco, waitressing and slaying, along with the main Scoobies; Riley and Andrew are apparently within visiting distance, and Stalky the Clown remains in his usual disturbing proximity to Buffy. The focus of this volume is firmly on Buffy. We see her settling in to her new flat-share, with two new characters to enjoy; and we see her coping with what she's done and what she's lost. Or, if you listen to Willow, not coping. Refusing to accept that she has made things angry, disturbed the order of things, and should be preparing herself. But Buffy has more to deal with than just the consequences of destroying the world's source of magic - Stalky keeps on warning her that something is coming, while demons are out to get her for any number of reasons - some funny, others not. She has very little time togrieve for the loss of Giles - again, not unlike the beginning of Season 7 when much of the mourning for Tara appeared to have taken place off-screen; except that here there is the constant reminder of his sole bequeathment to her: the VAMPYR book . Riley and Stalky both give her pep talks about how she did the right thing, but Buffy is nothing if not self-effacing. All in all, it's a clear realization that these stories need to keep one thing in focus, and it isn't the apocalypse: it's Buffy, her character, and how she copes.
The others get perhaps less attention than they deserve, although there is some recompense for this in the fact that Willow has her own mini-series coming up. Xander and Dawn require less attention as they get on with their lives together - although not without some unclear turbulence. Stalky is pretty much as he was in much of the television show, just there being annoying and perving on Buffy, although her down-attitude makes it one of those times when she seems to enjoy it. Buffy's new housemates get very little attention; nor do the police officers who seem to be becoming major characters. The senior one doesn't even get a name. But we do get an exciting new character in Severin and a little clue as to whom the villain of the piece will be in the reappearance of Simone the bad slayer (more bad than Faith). Hopefully, these new characters will manage to not drown out the old ones while getting enough space to develop.
There is something slightly off about the art, although it's hard to pinpoint what. Especially in "Slayer, Interrupted" Karl Moline's art looks much more rushed than in previous volumes; there also seems to be an attempt to make Buffy look a little older than perhaps she has previously. The colours are bright, looking a lot more like a comic book than an adaptation of a television show - although arguably that's an improvement, as it does give the series a chance to grow beyond its original trappings. I don't, personally, find that the art is poor enough to detract from the story, although it's disappointing as I've enjoyed Moline's versions of these characters for so long (less so Jeanty's, admittedly). But it certainly gives Season 9 a new feel.
Not unlike Angel Season 5, the new playing field was piloted at the end of the previous season and now we're just seeing it bedded in. Apologies for probably mixing several metaphors, there. Buffy is living in San Francisco, waitressing and slaying, along with the main Scoobies; Riley and Andrew are apparently within visiting distance, and Stalky the Clown remains in his usual disturbing proximity to Buffy. The focus of this volume is firmly on Buffy. We see her settling in to her new flat-share, with two new characters to enjoy; and we see her coping with what she's done and what she's lost. Or, if you listen to Willow, not coping. Refusing to accept that she has made things angry, disturbed the order of things, and should be preparing herself. But Buffy has more to deal with than just the consequences of destroying the world's source of magic - Stalky keeps on warning her that something is coming, while demons are out to get her for any number of reasons - some funny, others not. She has very little time to
The others get perhaps less attention than they deserve, although there is some recompense for this in the fact that Willow has her own mini-series coming up. Xander and Dawn require less attention as they get on with their lives together - although not without some unclear turbulence. Stalky is pretty much as he was in much of the television show, just there being annoying and perving on Buffy, although her down-attitude makes it one of those times when she seems to enjoy it. Buffy's new housemates get very little attention; nor do the police officers who seem to be becoming major characters. The senior one doesn't even get a name. But we do get an exciting new character in Severin and a little clue as to whom the villain of the piece will be in the reappearance of Simone the bad slayer (more bad than Faith). Hopefully, these new characters will manage to not drown out the old ones while getting enough space to develop.
There is something slightly off about the art, although it's hard to pinpoint what. Especially in "Slayer, Interrupted" Karl Moline's art looks much more rushed than in previous volumes; there also seems to be an attempt to make Buffy look a little older than perhaps she has previously. The colours are bright, looking a lot more like a comic book than an adaptation of a television show - although arguably that's an improvement, as it does give the series a chance to grow beyond its original trappings. I don't, personally, find that the art is poor enough to detract from the story, although it's disappointing as I've enjoyed Moline's versions of these characters for so long (less so Jeanty's, admittedly). But it certainly gives Season 9 a new feel.
daisymoon's review
4.0
I don't know how they do it with those comics but they capture how depressing being an adult can be but also how fun it can be... They also are very good at imagining who our beloved characters would have become years after the show ended.
I kinda like the art eventhough you don't always recognize the actors behind the characters and the story is great.
I kinda like the art eventhough you don't always recognize the actors behind the characters and the story is great.