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beer_good_foamyI just can't believe all the things people say -- Controversy
Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? -- Controversy
Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me? – Controversy
- Prince, ”Controversy”
Two comics on the same day? Are you trying to kill us, Joss? We can only wank so much, you know!
Anyway, let's rescue the prince, shall we?
Anyway, first of all ”Season 8” #13: Wolves At The Gate Pt 2.
This is tricky to review. Because the thing is, I can’t for the life of me figure out if we’re supposed to take this remotely seriously or not. There are two stories here, one of which is rather shocking and the other so completely off the wall that if it had been called “fanfiction”, it would have been universally slammed on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fanficrants. Now, I loved it when the show went cracky, as it did on occasion. Remember “Pangs” with the funny syphilis, or “Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered”? Funny, light-hearted, fast-paced stories where one stupid mistake could have dire but hilarious consequences for a few hours. But... where to start...
Come here, baby
You sexy motherfucker
OK, let’s start with the Xander/Dracula story. I think it’s interesting that HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No, seriously, it’s an excellent representation of HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. I can’t do it, not with a straight face. This is crack on a whole new level, asking us to suspend disbelief for how the characters could act so stupidly and out of character not just for a moment, but for several years (and in a story stretched out over at least three months). Taken as such, it is pretty hilarious; the supremely slashy* dinner conversation, the idea of Dracula losing his powers for a motorcycle, Andrew’s exposition scene which makes even the one on Faith in “Dirty Girls” – Vulcans and all – look credible. I’m still not crazy about the idea that Dracula can just get drunk and give away his powers – I much preferred the fanwank that he had those powers simply by virtue of being Dracula – but hey, it’s hardly the most ridiculous thing here.
* If I took this seriously, I might make a comment along the lines of “so this is the second plan of Warren’s to be ‘subverted’ in the comics; after Buffy becoming a supervillain, we now find out that mind control with sexy overtones is not rape but funny.” But that, would, of course, require thinking deeper about it, which I really don’t think we’re supposed to do.
At least, for once we get some backstory on what people have been up to since "Chosen", and HAHA- sorry. If we’re supposed to believe Andrew’s exposition (which in itself is a pretty cracky concept, but if not, then the whole thing is once again completely unexplained – and puts Buffy's leadership skills in even more question) the story is that in his grief for Anya (and it’s nice to finally get confirmation that she existed in the comic!verse too, even if Andrew’s the only one who remembers her), Xander was so distraught that he... um... first learned to ride a motorcycle, and then... really?... went to live with... Dracula. Yeah. For “a few months.” Voluntarily. And nobody seemed to think this was a bad idea. Well, at least it’s been retconned down from the year in the even more ridiculous Antique.
We’re talking about the Xander who hates vampires.
We’re talking about the Xander who hated being the buttmonkey and spent 3 seasons getting away from that after his experiences in “Buffy vs Dracula.”
We’re talking about the Buffy who, arguably, felt closest to Dawn and Xander at the end of s7 (though how mutual those feelings were can be debated) and who now, supposedly, feels Dawn turning into a giant with no apparent cure and Xander being Dracula’s “manservant” *cough* isn’t "a big deal."
I dare someone to fic this and have it make sense - Xander’s grief leading to a decision to become pals with Dracula, and Buffy agreeing that it’s a good idea. Hell, I dare someone to write the conversation in the last issue in which they decide to send that Xander to face Dracula, even if it is just to ask his help (which is another issue) in a very serious situation.
And yet at the same time, Goddard seems to think it makes sense. For one thing, he makes an effort to make Dracula even more unlikable (unless we’re simply supposed to think racism, hunting humans for sport, and mind control are funny now) while simultaneously making him pretty ridiculous (“Balls!” and the whole motorcycle thing). And I’m not even going to touch the issue of Dracula’s “soul.” If Dracula’s supposed to be a joke, why all the nastiness? The racism bit is so overdone even Xander says it’s out of character, ffs. Are we somehow to believe that he wouldn’t really slit Renee’s throat? (If I were Renee, I’d dump Xander like a ton of bricks after this...) Who would seriously believe having DRACULA on your side would be a GOOD thing? Is there a point to be made of Xander’s willingly re-acquired buttmonkeydom, which seems to want to undo pretty much everything he did in s5-s7? Have they finally given up all notions of Xander being anything but a clown, or is this a twist that just looks like crack at first? If Xander has ties to Twilight, it would make sense to set him up as harmless and helpless...
...GNAAAAAH. Stop thinking. It’s stupid, it makes no sense, let’s just point at it and laugh until it proves itself worthy of something else.
Honey, I know, I know, I know the times are changing
It’s time we all reached out 4 something new
That means U 2
U say U want a leader
But U can’t seem to make up your mind...
On the other hand, we have the Slayer-centric half of the issue. Which is not only very serious in tone (for the most part) but also pretty damn brutal. I’m not just talking about poor Aiko, either, though that’s easily the most disturbing death scene in the comics so far (assuming she doesn’t get brought back to life again, but she seems to be a standard redshirt. Tough luck there, Aiko.) I’m reminded of the potential killings at the beginning of s7; it’s harsh, it’s unfair, and it’s the absolute antithesis of Buffy. She's set up as a very competent if slightly overeager Slayer ("I think one actually scratched me"), so good that even her enemies give her props for it. And she gets killed in an alley.
JOSS WHEDON: The first thing I ever thought of when I thought of Buffy… was the little blonde girl who goes into the dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie. The idea of Buffy was to subvert that idea… and create someone who was a hero where she had always been a victim. That element of surprise… of genre busting, is very much the heart of … the series.
It’s a scene that screams out: “Sit up and take notice. This is a serious threat. This is the entire concept of the series in peril.” The Slayer is easily stripped of her powers, maimed with one vicious punch, and summarily executed. That’s not funny. It’s nasty, violent, and rather excellent as a set-up - even more so since Buffy makes sure to bring the whole Slayer gang to a fight where the opponents have the ability to strip Slayers of their power... if they were to lose this fight, they would lose BIG. Not that I think for a second that Joss will undo the “Chosen” spell this early in the comics (and yes, that’s the exact phrase I used about Buffy/Satsu too) but at least the Japanese vampires have proven themselves to be an actual threat rather than just an annoying bunch of The Crow re-enacters.
Women, not girls, rule my world
I said they rule my world
Act your age, mama, not your shoe size
Buffy’s decision brings us to another brutal awakening here: namely, the return of General "Respect my authoritah!" Buffy and a pretty devastating blow to the notion that the Slayer organisation (I like to call it the New Power Generation, as opposed to the smaller and more interesting back-up band The Revolution)... anyway, the notion that the NPG is an informal, democratic organisation where Buffy’s “the first among equals” has been debated a lot since the last couple of issues, but this one should put that to rest.
UNNAMED SLAYER: My point, Ma'am, is that he sounds like our guy.
AIKO: Wow... it's really you.
BUFFY: This isn't up for discussion, Satsu. I gave you an order. Get moving.
SATSU: Yes, Ma'am.
WILLOW: She's not like us. She's the general. We're the army. And that's never going to change.
Whether Buffy would use that title herself remains to be seen, but it should be pretty obvious that a) that’s how others see her, and b) she’s not afraid to use that when the chips are down. And more isolationist Slayer crap... Our girl’s always been a bit of a control freak, but at least in the TV series it was usually outweighed by her genuinely wanting to protect the people she loved – rather than sending them off to mind-controlling Big Bads and leaving them to sleep in barns. In s7, everything was on her shoulders, and until her heart-to-heart with Faith, she was the only one who knew what it was like. What’s her excuse now? Wasn’t this exactly the sort of thing the “Chosen” spell was supposed to get rid of? It's supposedly been 18 months since "Chosen". 18 months after being called, Buffy was already a very resourceful and independent Slayer, but apparently the thousands of girls she "shared her power" with still need to be told what to do. Yes, I know, people don't change that easily, but we've DONE this storyline. We know where it leads.
My name is Prince
And I am funkee
My name is Prince
The one and only... hurt me!
And Buffy/Satsu is on the rocks pretty much straight away. Which, paradoxically, adds some some levity to this half of the storyline; Willow’s conversation with Satsu, which is fun if slightly jarring. Do I believe Willow would be interested in finding out what Buffy’s like in bed? Heck yeah. Does it make sense to have her – the big scary witch and Buffy’s best friend – press Satsu for details like they were BFFs, seconds after giving her the big speech on misuse of power? ...OK, I suppose. This is still Willow we’re talking about, she tends to babble. And who knows, maybe Willow and Satsuboned bonded before the comics started. They're certainly doing so now, anyway, Satsu seems to be coping, and it's actually pretty sweet. Witsu, anyone?
Anyway, in the next issue Dawn will stomp Tokyoand have sex with Godzilla which I suppose means the crack will leak over into the Cloverfield Slayer storyline as well.
Random notes:
- The unnamed black Slayer who briefs Buffy on the Japanese gang is on Jeanty’s cover for #14 too. Redshirt?
- "Romantic undertones (Technically not a power)" Hey, Andrew is fun in the right doses.
- So where's Dawn? Did they pack her into that transport plane, or are she and Andrew still in Scotland?
- I'm sure someone who speaks Japanese will be able to figure something out from the street signs, but I'm mostly interested in what Kumiko says when she uses the scythe.
So, on to Angel After the Fall #6: First Night Pt 1.
My opinion of the Buffy and Angel comics have differed from the start. Basically, it’s this: the Buffy ones have an interesting story told badly – the Angel ones have a pretty predictable (and slightly unnecessary) story told well. The Buffy ones are largely refusing to deal with what happened in the series, the Angel ones do nothing but. Reading Wolves at the Gate and First Night back-to-back really makes this even more apparent.
Since AtF so far has been very good at dropping hints at what happened in the months leading up to it – especially given the great opening of #5 – I really don’t see, so far, what First Night is going to tell us that we haven’t already figured out. Spike gets to pretend he doesn’t care and then grudgingly accept that he does, Connor tries to get into the fight, and Lorne makes a haven in Silverlake. Of course, this is all nice character study, but we sort of knew it all already, and the cliffhangers aren't nearly as effective when we already know where they're going to end up.
In fact, the two things here that are most interesting are the seconds surrounding the transport to hell, and Illyria. Apparently, Angel wasn't the only one to be transported away mid-battle; they all get teleported to different places in LA, which considering that the place they arrive at is already demonified might suggest that this isn't the LA at all but just its hellish counterpart... Is it possible that Illyria had something to do with that? Exactly what did she do? Exactly what can she do? And who is she/are they – did the hellride semi-heal her and restore Fred, like Spike thinks? Six issues in, the only character who had a major story left to tell at the close of “Not Fade Away” (and it will still take a LOT more for me to not see that as one of the biggest, fattest THE END scenes in the history of television) is still largely a mystery.
But still, like I said, it’s a good character study. Betta George makes for a fun narrator, Connor wanting to slay the dragon gleefully undermines all his confusion about who his real father is, Lorne's story is cute enough... and Spike’s “Screw you, dawn! Hope that's not taken outta context.” makes me giggle inappropriately.
Random notes:
- Spike in the elevator. Hee. I knew elevator muzak was a hellish concept.
- Illyria as Hamlet. Alas, poor Fred.
- Is there any significance to Spike fighting spiders?
- "Maybe Universal Studios? Could be a backlot." Heee.
- More Connor/Cordy. Gee, thanks.
A tale told by a good writer and signifying, so far... not a whole lot. But I gather Wesley will be in the next issue, so bring it on.
R we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no lets go!
Lets go crazy!
Lets go nuts!
Lets look 4 the purple banana till they put us in the truck!
Lets go!
Am I black or white? Am I straight or gay? -- Controversy
Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me? – Controversy
- Prince, ”Controversy”
Two comics on the same day? Are you trying to kill us, Joss? We can only wank so much, you know!
Anyway, let's rescue the prince, shall we?
Anyway, first of all ”Season 8” #13: Wolves At The Gate Pt 2.
This is tricky to review. Because the thing is, I can’t for the life of me figure out if we’re supposed to take this remotely seriously or not. There are two stories here, one of which is rather shocking and the other so completely off the wall that if it had been called “fanfiction”, it would have been universally slammed on
fanficrants. Now, I loved it when the show went cracky, as it did on occasion. Remember “Pangs” with the funny syphilis, or “Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered”? Funny, light-hearted, fast-paced stories where one stupid mistake could have dire but hilarious consequences for a few hours. But... where to start...Come here, baby
You sexy motherfucker
OK, let’s start with the Xander/Dracula story. I think it’s interesting that HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No, seriously, it’s an excellent representation of HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. I can’t do it, not with a straight face. This is crack on a whole new level, asking us to suspend disbelief for how the characters could act so stupidly and out of character not just for a moment, but for several years (and in a story stretched out over at least three months). Taken as such, it is pretty hilarious; the supremely slashy* dinner conversation, the idea of Dracula losing his powers for a motorcycle, Andrew’s exposition scene which makes even the one on Faith in “Dirty Girls” – Vulcans and all – look credible. I’m still not crazy about the idea that Dracula can just get drunk and give away his powers – I much preferred the fanwank that he had those powers simply by virtue of being Dracula – but hey, it’s hardly the most ridiculous thing here.
* If I took this seriously, I might make a comment along the lines of “so this is the second plan of Warren’s to be ‘subverted’ in the comics; after Buffy becoming a supervillain, we now find out that mind control with sexy overtones is not rape but funny.” But that, would, of course, require thinking deeper about it, which I really don’t think we’re supposed to do.
At least, for once we get some backstory on what people have been up to since "Chosen", and HAHA- sorry. If we’re supposed to believe Andrew’s exposition (which in itself is a pretty cracky concept, but if not, then the whole thing is once again completely unexplained – and puts Buffy's leadership skills in even more question) the story is that in his grief for Anya (and it’s nice to finally get confirmation that she existed in the comic!verse too, even if Andrew’s the only one who remembers her), Xander was so distraught that he... um... first learned to ride a motorcycle, and then... really?... went to live with... Dracula. Yeah. For “a few months.” Voluntarily. And nobody seemed to think this was a bad idea. Well, at least it’s been retconned down from the year in the even more ridiculous Antique.
We’re talking about the Xander who hates vampires.
We’re talking about the Xander who hated being the buttmonkey and spent 3 seasons getting away from that after his experiences in “Buffy vs Dracula.”
We’re talking about the Buffy who, arguably, felt closest to Dawn and Xander at the end of s7 (though how mutual those feelings were can be debated) and who now, supposedly, feels Dawn turning into a giant with no apparent cure and Xander being Dracula’s “manservant” *cough* isn’t "a big deal."
I dare someone to fic this and have it make sense - Xander’s grief leading to a decision to become pals with Dracula, and Buffy agreeing that it’s a good idea. Hell, I dare someone to write the conversation in the last issue in which they decide to send that Xander to face Dracula, even if it is just to ask his help (which is another issue) in a very serious situation.
And yet at the same time, Goddard seems to think it makes sense. For one thing, he makes an effort to make Dracula even more unlikable (unless we’re simply supposed to think racism, hunting humans for sport, and mind control are funny now) while simultaneously making him pretty ridiculous (“Balls!” and the whole motorcycle thing). And I’m not even going to touch the issue of Dracula’s “soul.” If Dracula’s supposed to be a joke, why all the nastiness? The racism bit is so overdone even Xander says it’s out of character, ffs. Are we somehow to believe that he wouldn’t really slit Renee’s throat? (If I were Renee, I’d dump Xander like a ton of bricks after this...) Who would seriously believe having DRACULA on your side would be a GOOD thing? Is there a point to be made of Xander’s willingly re-acquired buttmonkeydom, which seems to want to undo pretty much everything he did in s5-s7? Have they finally given up all notions of Xander being anything but a clown, or is this a twist that just looks like crack at first? If Xander has ties to Twilight, it would make sense to set him up as harmless and helpless...
...GNAAAAAH. Stop thinking. It’s stupid, it makes no sense, let’s just point at it and laugh until it proves itself worthy of something else.
Honey, I know, I know, I know the times are changing
It’s time we all reached out 4 something new
That means U 2
U say U want a leader
But U can’t seem to make up your mind...
On the other hand, we have the Slayer-centric half of the issue. Which is not only very serious in tone (for the most part) but also pretty damn brutal. I’m not just talking about poor Aiko, either, though that’s easily the most disturbing death scene in the comics so far (assuming she doesn’t get brought back to life again, but she seems to be a standard redshirt. Tough luck there, Aiko.) I’m reminded of the potential killings at the beginning of s7; it’s harsh, it’s unfair, and it’s the absolute antithesis of Buffy. She's set up as a very competent if slightly overeager Slayer ("I think one actually scratched me"), so good that even her enemies give her props for it. And she gets killed in an alley.
JOSS WHEDON: The first thing I ever thought of when I thought of Buffy… was the little blonde girl who goes into the dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie. The idea of Buffy was to subvert that idea… and create someone who was a hero where she had always been a victim. That element of surprise… of genre busting, is very much the heart of … the series.
It’s a scene that screams out: “Sit up and take notice. This is a serious threat. This is the entire concept of the series in peril.” The Slayer is easily stripped of her powers, maimed with one vicious punch, and summarily executed. That’s not funny. It’s nasty, violent, and rather excellent as a set-up - even more so since Buffy makes sure to bring the whole Slayer gang to a fight where the opponents have the ability to strip Slayers of their power... if they were to lose this fight, they would lose BIG. Not that I think for a second that Joss will undo the “Chosen” spell this early in the comics (and yes, that’s the exact phrase I used about Buffy/Satsu too) but at least the Japanese vampires have proven themselves to be an actual threat rather than just an annoying bunch of The Crow re-enacters.
Women, not girls, rule my world
I said they rule my world
Act your age, mama, not your shoe size
Buffy’s decision brings us to another brutal awakening here: namely, the return of General "Respect my authoritah!" Buffy and a pretty devastating blow to the notion that the Slayer organisation (I like to call it the New Power Generation, as opposed to the smaller and more interesting back-up band The Revolution)... anyway, the notion that the NPG is an informal, democratic organisation where Buffy’s “the first among equals” has been debated a lot since the last couple of issues, but this one should put that to rest.
UNNAMED SLAYER: My point, Ma'am, is that he sounds like our guy.
AIKO: Wow... it's really you.
BUFFY: This isn't up for discussion, Satsu. I gave you an order. Get moving.
SATSU: Yes, Ma'am.
WILLOW: She's not like us. She's the general. We're the army. And that's never going to change.
Whether Buffy would use that title herself remains to be seen, but it should be pretty obvious that a) that’s how others see her, and b) she’s not afraid to use that when the chips are down. And more isolationist Slayer crap... Our girl’s always been a bit of a control freak, but at least in the TV series it was usually outweighed by her genuinely wanting to protect the people she loved – rather than sending them off to mind-controlling Big Bads and leaving them to sleep in barns. In s7, everything was on her shoulders, and until her heart-to-heart with Faith, she was the only one who knew what it was like. What’s her excuse now? Wasn’t this exactly the sort of thing the “Chosen” spell was supposed to get rid of? It's supposedly been 18 months since "Chosen". 18 months after being called, Buffy was already a very resourceful and independent Slayer, but apparently the thousands of girls she "shared her power" with still need to be told what to do. Yes, I know, people don't change that easily, but we've DONE this storyline. We know where it leads.
My name is Prince
And I am funkee
My name is Prince
The one and only... hurt me!
And Buffy/Satsu is on the rocks pretty much straight away. Which, paradoxically, adds some some levity to this half of the storyline; Willow’s conversation with Satsu, which is fun if slightly jarring. Do I believe Willow would be interested in finding out what Buffy’s like in bed? Heck yeah. Does it make sense to have her – the big scary witch and Buffy’s best friend – press Satsu for details like they were BFFs, seconds after giving her the big speech on misuse of power? ...OK, I suppose. This is still Willow we’re talking about, she tends to babble. And who knows, maybe Willow and Satsu
Anyway, in the next issue Dawn will stomp Tokyo
Random notes:
- The unnamed black Slayer who briefs Buffy on the Japanese gang is on Jeanty’s cover for #14 too. Redshirt?
- "Romantic undertones (Technically not a power)" Hey, Andrew is fun in the right doses.
- So where's Dawn? Did they pack her into that transport plane, or are she and Andrew still in Scotland?
- I'm sure someone who speaks Japanese will be able to figure something out from the street signs, but I'm mostly interested in what Kumiko says when she uses the scythe.
So, on to Angel After the Fall #6: First Night Pt 1.
My opinion of the Buffy and Angel comics have differed from the start. Basically, it’s this: the Buffy ones have an interesting story told badly – the Angel ones have a pretty predictable (and slightly unnecessary) story told well. The Buffy ones are largely refusing to deal with what happened in the series, the Angel ones do nothing but. Reading Wolves at the Gate and First Night back-to-back really makes this even more apparent.
Since AtF so far has been very good at dropping hints at what happened in the months leading up to it – especially given the great opening of #5 – I really don’t see, so far, what First Night is going to tell us that we haven’t already figured out. Spike gets to pretend he doesn’t care and then grudgingly accept that he does, Connor tries to get into the fight, and Lorne makes a haven in Silverlake. Of course, this is all nice character study, but we sort of knew it all already, and the cliffhangers aren't nearly as effective when we already know where they're going to end up.
In fact, the two things here that are most interesting are the seconds surrounding the transport to hell, and Illyria. Apparently, Angel wasn't the only one to be transported away mid-battle; they all get teleported to different places in LA, which considering that the place they arrive at is already demonified might suggest that this isn't the LA at all but just its hellish counterpart... Is it possible that Illyria had something to do with that? Exactly what did she do? Exactly what can she do? And who is she/are they – did the hellride semi-heal her and restore Fred, like Spike thinks? Six issues in, the only character who had a major story left to tell at the close of “Not Fade Away” (and it will still take a LOT more for me to not see that as one of the biggest, fattest THE END scenes in the history of television) is still largely a mystery.
But still, like I said, it’s a good character study. Betta George makes for a fun narrator, Connor wanting to slay the dragon gleefully undermines all his confusion about who his real father is, Lorne's story is cute enough... and Spike’s “Screw you, dawn! Hope that's not taken outta context.” makes me giggle inappropriately.
Random notes:
- Spike in the elevator. Hee. I knew elevator muzak was a hellish concept.
- Illyria as Hamlet. Alas, poor Fred.
- Is there any significance to Spike fighting spiders?
- "Maybe Universal Studios? Could be a backlot." Heee.
- More Connor/Cordy. Gee, thanks.
A tale told by a good writer and signifying, so far... not a whole lot. But I gather Wesley will be in the next issue, so bring it on.
R we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no lets go!
Lets go crazy!
Lets go nuts!
Lets look 4 the purple banana till they put us in the truck!
Lets go!
