The Buffyverse is over. Everyone has moved on. The chance to return faded a long time ago. Even Dark Horse Comics gave up on the series. To quote The Smiths: "I know it's over, still I cling."
I loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I never went to conventions or really talked all that much about it. I never even wrote fan fiction. I think I bought one novel. But I was in the National Post reviewing the final episode, for reasons which still elude me. So there was a connection, and I guess there still is.
Read this issue of the Dark Horse series this week, dating back to 2008. This was part of the Season 8 arc of the series, where the excitement was palpable: Joss Whedon was writing! There was no budget constraints! This was going to be the Buffy we had always wanted. Look out! Batten the hatches, boys! Here we go!
Aaaand it wasn't as good as we wanted it to be. Apparently, budget constraints worked for Buffy. This issue shows some of the problems with Season 8, and shows how some of the best elements of the show did continue on.
First, the Big Bad: Dawn was turned into a giant. This was because she slept with someone she shouldn't have. They couldn't have done this on the show without it looking cheesy. But here? It just looked kind of stupid.
The Second Big Bag: The Slayer Army. Instead of having a few Slayers, Buffy would lead an army of these stake wielding hellions. They would rob banks to fund their Slayering. The story was going global! There was no budget! Look out!
But like with Giant Dawn, it broke something. Not a great idea. Buffy is the Slayer, as was Faith. That worked. Having a ton of them? It was kinda like that scene in Attack of The Clones where all the Jedi are fighting on Geonosis. It should have been cool, but it's really just a bunch of assholes running around being a bit mediocre.
But this issue did echo elements that made Buffy great. Like the interaction between Buffy and Willow. Their relationship was the true bedrock of the series. Willow's reveal that she chose Buffy over Tara in terms of resurrection was a big moment in this issue. Which in turn echoes back to one of the most painful parts of the original series, when Willow did resurrect Buffy and the horror that entailed. It was a nice coda to that moment. Joss knew his characters well.
As a comic, Buffy was fine. I gave up on the Dark Horse series after the big pregnancy storyline because I found the resolution cheap and insulting. The comic had no budget, they could take the Buffy storyline anywhere except the place where it might actually change the dynamic. It showed a lack of courage and at worst, a con man's poorly executed trick.
But I still have all my Buffy comics in my collection, and sometimes I like to dip back into them, and remember better times.
