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A review by bookdingo
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Library Edition, Volume 3 by Georges Jeanty, Doug Petrie, Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Z. Greenberg, Karl Moline, Jane Espenson, Joss Whedon, Cliff Richards, Jim Krueger
3.0
I breezed through Volumes 3 and 4 quickly last night, so points for the overall Buffy v. Twilight story arc for keeping me up at night. I expressed the basic plot points to my husband and honestly if you tell a fellow Buffy fan what's going on in the comics, there's a good chance they're going to say either "Buh?" or make a snorting noise, because it sounds goofy as hell.
Volumes 1 and 2 indicate that Buffy funds her Slayer army of fierce warrior women by robbing European banks, which is no longer touched upon and there are no consequences whatsoever. TV Buffy's ideals and morals don't mesh with Season 8 comic Buffy, but I guess if there's no Watcher's Council and no govt aid, how else is she going to fund the armories and all the Slayer group breakfasts? I guess Joss really wanted dramatic European and Asian backdrops and there's NO way you can do that without crime. Means to an end, I guess.
Anyway! I was glad to see Oz again, and I like that Willow has conflicting-weird-jealous feelings regarding the fact that he's got a family and lives peacefully in Tibet. One big issue throughout the show and the comics is bisexual erasure. Every character is either gay or they're not. There are no transgender folks, gender fluid, asexual, aromatic, nope nada peeps. I know that imagination doesn't run out, so if you can imagine that Buffy's sister, Dawn, was changed into a giant, a centaur, and a wee doll because of a curse from a demonic college boyfriend, then I bet you could also imagine that a few characters are bisexual. One minor romantic subplot that ends quickly in Volumes 1 and 2 is Buffy's brief tryst with another slayer, Satsu. Satsu awakens Buffy from a magical coma with true love's kiss, and that ought to have some weight to it, right? Eh, not so much. They have sex twice, then it's business as usual with everyone telling Satsu, "You're gay and Buffy's not. Stop this." Um...K. Is that how sexuality works in the Whedon universe? Going back to Willow, she explains she's jealous because Oz has a family and he's "normal" and acts like he betrayed her for leaving. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that there's one last lingering mushy feeling for Oz, even though she's devoted to Kennedy, the bratty Slayer everyone loved to despise on the TV show. And I think it's lovely that Willow discovered who she loves romantically and sexually, but everything doesn't have to be gay/not gay. It's so silly!
Every once in a while, you will get confused as to whether you're looking at Andrew, Oz, or sometimes even Giles, but good grief these library edition covers with the hyper realistic likenesses are fabulous! Returning back to romantic pairings and mixing in some art style, I think the real reason I'm uncomfortable with the eventual pairing of Xander and Dawn is 1) they're relationship felt very older brother/kid sister or cool uncle/annoying niece throughout the show and the comics, plus the art style doesn't help because Michelle Trachtenberg has a beautifully youthful face so her Dawn comic representation looks even younger despite a small age difference between Xander and Dawn (what is it, 5 years difference?). So the age difference isn't a bad thing and the pairing isn't super out of the question, but it does feel like a pairing of convenience. Dawn has made nice with her demon ex, Xander's previous love interest was killed by a vampire (typical), and Buffy's about to get sexy with Angel again, so they HAVE to be with each other! I guess?
This was fun.
Volumes 1 and 2 indicate that Buffy funds her Slayer army of fierce warrior women by robbing European banks, which is no longer touched upon and there are no consequences whatsoever. TV Buffy's ideals and morals don't mesh with Season 8 comic Buffy, but I guess if there's no Watcher's Council and no govt aid, how else is she going to fund the armories and all the Slayer group breakfasts? I guess Joss really wanted dramatic European and Asian backdrops and there's NO way you can do that without crime. Means to an end, I guess.
Anyway! I was glad to see Oz again, and I like that Willow has conflicting-weird-jealous feelings regarding the fact that he's got a family and lives peacefully in Tibet. One big issue throughout the show and the comics is bisexual erasure. Every character is either gay or they're not. There are no transgender folks, gender fluid, asexual, aromatic, nope nada peeps. I know that imagination doesn't run out, so if you can imagine that Buffy's sister, Dawn, was changed into a giant, a centaur, and a wee doll because of a curse from a demonic college boyfriend, then I bet you could also imagine that a few characters are bisexual. One minor romantic subplot that ends quickly in Volumes 1 and 2 is Buffy's brief tryst with another slayer, Satsu. Satsu awakens Buffy from a magical coma with true love's kiss, and that ought to have some weight to it, right? Eh, not so much. They have sex twice, then it's business as usual with everyone telling Satsu, "You're gay and Buffy's not. Stop this." Um...K. Is that how sexuality works in the Whedon universe? Going back to Willow, she explains she's jealous because Oz has a family and he's "normal" and acts like he betrayed her for leaving. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that there's one last lingering mushy feeling for Oz, even though she's devoted to Kennedy, the bratty Slayer everyone loved to despise on the TV show. And I think it's lovely that Willow discovered who she loves romantically and sexually, but everything doesn't have to be gay/not gay. It's so silly!
Every once in a while, you will get confused as to whether you're looking at Andrew, Oz, or sometimes even Giles, but good grief these library edition covers with the hyper realistic likenesses are fabulous! Returning back to romantic pairings and mixing in some art style, I think the real reason I'm uncomfortable with the eventual pairing of Xander and Dawn is 1) they're relationship felt very older brother/kid sister or cool uncle/annoying niece throughout the show and the comics, plus the art style doesn't help because Michelle Trachtenberg has a beautifully youthful face so her Dawn comic representation looks even younger despite a small age difference between Xander and Dawn (what is it, 5 years difference?). So the age difference isn't a bad thing and the pairing isn't super out of the question, but it does feel like a pairing of convenience. Dawn has made nice with her demon ex, Xander's previous love interest was killed by a vampire (typical), and Buffy's about to get sexy with Angel again, so they HAVE to be with each other! I guess?
This was fun.