The first issue of "Angel" came out today!

I have a feeling that if "Angel" were still on, Brian Lynch would've gotten hired to join the writing staff. I haven't read Spike: Asylum or Spike: Shadow Puppets yet, but I've heard great things from not only fans, but Joss Whedon himself. I know Lynch from his "work" with Kevin Smith, so I was a little worried about how he'd translate to the Whedonverse. I'm still not sure what his Muppet movie was about... But I was pleasantly surprised by how well he integrated.

*Minor spoilers*

I love the factions, though o.O over the return of Gwen and Nina... Ya know, cause Gwen lost her powers and Nina left L.A.... But whatever.

And Xander wasn't in this month's "Buffy". Grrrrrr. Although, since the whole "No Future For You" arc is broken up like a four act episode... I guess that's a little more acceptable.

Buffy #9
So ends Brian K Vaughn's "episode". Faith's place in life has been renewed and Giles might actually be connecting with her. But Buffy and Giles are on the outs... So far, I'd like to think this was the end of episode 3 of Season 8 and in that sense there's enough of a change of an average episode... But if I were to measure the Faith arc on its own merits, I'd be a little let down. In the words of the editor in the letter section of the issue, this was the Faith arc fans have been waiting for. That's true, but it was really underwhelming. However, Faith's alive and she's headed for her next character evolution, so we can all hope that by the end of the "season 8" Faith will be where fans really want her.

On the upside, the Big Bad has been revealed to not be Amy but this anti-magic/Nazi-like masked guy. He looks enough like Cobra Commander to earn my excitement; that, and Amy and Warren never seemed like a diabolical enough team.

Angel #2
Spike returns! But only to give us a quick recap on where he ended up. This issue serves as much more of a expository issue to familiarize the audience with what happened after "Never Fade Away" than a thrilling issue in itself. Gunn's fate is clearly stated and explains how he's still "alive"... Still too early to make any sort of judgment. Though I had wished Spike to have had a more grand of an entrance than telling a long story off frame. And we get to see another long lost character... But I still miss *r**.

ReeperTheSeeker wrote:

And Please tell me Oz returns, He will. ...then Amy mind controls him and Kennedy has to kill him... There's no Kennedy. ...And Doyle got gipped, his death should have been a season finally dammit. I liked where they put it. I couldn't believe it! Though his death really did propel the show into better territory. I also heard he was supposed to come back in season 5... But ya know, the actor died in season four, so they used Lindsey as Doyle...

ReeperTheSeeker wrote:

I Thought she was Willow's bitch at the end of season seven or something . . . did they kill her off?

No, she's just not mentioned at all... Actually, there might have been a BRIEF mention in issue #3 where Willow says they're on the outs. Either way, Willow and Kennedy are over, so, just like real life, Kennedy is just not around.

Edit: And a quick check with Wikipedia:

Wikipedia wrote:

Later, in the comic "The Long Way Home, Part III", Buffy catches up with Willow in Scotland, after the latter's year long absence. During this conversation, Buffy asks how Kennedy's doing and Willow reveals that she died, though it was only a short-lived mystical death. However, it did freak Kennedy out, causing her to slow things down in her and Willow's relationship.

Still, I said it before and I'll say it again:



Yum.

Cattivo wrote:

...and I never liked Tara to begin with anyway.

Blasphemy!

Well, I liked her once "Family" aired and we knew she wasn't evil as was sometimes hinted.

Buffy #10

Joss Whedon's back writing and it shows. I can not describe how pleased I was by this super-sized issue. It's the first issue I've read so far that actually read like the show (albeit, still abridged). Plus, it's as weepy as we've gotten so far this season - And hysterical. The Christian Bale scene = genius. Really exceptional issue.

Plus, Kennedy did indeed sort-of return. The issue really dealt with where she is in the current mythology.

Angel #3

Another good issue! Although, Illyria fighting Angel and a Dragon wasn't on my must see list, but I understand some people wanted to see that. Now, Spike? Still great. I love that he's continuing to take everything from Angel and yet still remain a good guy. That's why season five worked so well... One season and he pretty much stole the show from under him. Plus, great cliffhanger.

In March, Serenity Better Days begins... That means the Whedon show readers will have three comics to read (assuming they're not also reading Runaways or the other books he's writing -- yes, his Runaways run is almost over). I can't wait for the Dollhouse comics to join them too.

ReeperTheSeeker wrote:

And wasn't their a rumor of A Spike movie, i'd so see that.

I just read an interview in TV guide with Marsters where he said it's still a possibility. Joss just needs to find time.

ReeperTheSeeker wrote:

BTW: Is Wesley still dead? He was another fav of mine that Josh killed off. In fact, i think Josh killed off all my favorites in the buffy verse. I can't imagine anyone taking Wes' place.

Wesley is in the new comic, but he is dead. Remember those pesky Wolfram and Hart contracts? Angel doesn't fully trust him as he's the new "liaison to the Senior Partners", but so far he hasn't given us a reason not to trust him.

TV Guide: What about the Spike spin-off? Is that absolutely dead now?

Marsters: I don't think it's absolutely dead. I told Joss [Whedon] that I didn't want to do the character as an old vampire, which would be really sucky. [Laughs] But I am aging pretty well.

I missed the comics last month, but I caught up this week.

Serenity: Better Days #1
It's always good to get new Firefly/Serenity content. However, I felt the issue was a little too much build up and too little payoff. A total issue one. Good things sprinkled here and there, but we all know the real gold will be in the other issues.

Buffy #11
Another stand alone written by Joss Whedon himself and again proving he’s the best writer for the series. This is an issue with a lot of call backs and reminded me that I need to go back to reread these issues from time to time. I totally forgot about the question of Buffy’s kiss from the beginning of season eight. I'm glad an issue dealt with that, but did it in such a character driven way. A really good Buffy issue. Sometimes I forget she's the star of the show.

Angel #4
One thing the Angel series does better than the Buffy series are the cliffhangers! Lorne makes a most welcome return to the Angel world. Had the show gone on for a sixth season, I don’t think Lorne would’ve returned, but since this is the comic world run by two madmen, I can accept it. I think Lynch is getting better writing the series, because this is the best dialogue he's done for the characters yet.

Buffy #12
This issue actually had me laughing out loud. Even a twist or two I did not see coming. Drew Goddard slips back into Buffy mode BEAUTIFULLY! It was such a good issue, I'll bestow on him the title of second best writer on the series! ...And Buffy. Wow... Um, you go girl? And I love there was no playing it in secret. They had everyone find out, so that doesn't have to be revealed like six episodes from now... Kinda like when she went to Heaven or a million other things from the show. Also, thankfully, Andrew has rejoined the scoobies, so more hilarity can ensue.

How can Joss Whedon live with himself? Why aren't these three amazing titles making him mad that he's not making another Serenity movie or a Spike movie?

Serenity: Better Days #2
Very funny read. The plot takes a back seat in order to present all too brief fantasies of what the characters will do with their share of the money. Much like "Those Left Behind", it seems like all the good stuff will be in the final issue.

Angel #5
We've finally come to a confrontation. The "cliffhanger" is probably where the fourth episode of the season would've ended. Jay and Silent Bob made an odd cameo in one frame... Huh.

Buffy #13
Nowhere near as awesome as the last issue, but still good. Xander and Dracula stuff, Buffy stuff, Willow admits to fantasizing sexually about Buffy, and a new slayer who we think will be important... But no! Thank GOD there's now a weapon to depower the slayers cause there's like, what? 500 of them now? And a Krull reference! Excellent.

Angel #6
Taking a cue from Serenity (or vice versa) multiple stories for "First Night". We get Spike, Conner, and Lorne. Good stuff all around. I can now guiltlessly accept Lorne still being in L.A. However, I don't like that Conner only then got his memories back. I believe the show specifically implied that he got them back when Wesley smashed the whats-it-ma-bob on the show.

There was another continuity error in one of the issues that I caught and I don't even think of myself as a super fan. They need a better story editor, stat!

Edit: The other error was that Lorne said Fred was in Heaven. The show made it quite clear her soul was obliterated, devoured, whatever. She did not go to Heaven or Hell, she died without peace and blinked out of existence except for the echoes in Illyria. However, Lorne could've meant that Fred was lucky to not have lived to see LA plunge into Hell.

Ghandi wrote:

While I like the Whedonverse lives on through comics I kinda like wondering what happened at the end of "Never Fade Away". I think it could've been a better ending for a show, but the more I see it(TNT does replays every week day) the more complete it actually looks. I'd love for it to be turned into a movie with their fates answered, rather than a comic. Everyone who's worked with Joss seemed more than happy to work with him again, so maybe there's hope yet.

Well, as Nicholas Brendan and Joss said at the Buffy reunion earlier this year, a lot of stars have to align for that to happen. Joss at current has no plans for a super Buffy/Angel movie, but he hasn't ruled it out.

He'd still like to do "Ripper" the BBC movie and Anthony Stewart Head even hooked him up to a someone who could make that happen. But the writer's strike hurt the chances of that happening. Since, Head is doing that Merlin show. But in the same interview I'm summarizing here, he also said he'd jump at it the moment Joss is ready for it. Dollhouse also getting picked up hurt the chances of this getting made too.

The rumors of a Spike TV movie continue. The Spike movie would take place after Never Fade Away and would co-star Amy Acker and Alyson Hannigan. Rumor had it that Jeffrey Bell was asked by Joss to write and direct it. Originally it was planned to be the first of a series of Direct to DVD films, a second would star Faith. Of course, plans for that are on hold too. The problem here was MONEY!

Those are pretty much the only concrete continuations that Joss has actually thought about. In a way I think he's doing the comics to lead up to a story he has planned that takes place much farther down the road...

Tyop wrote:

Well, if the Spike movie doesn't get made within the next couple of years there might never be one. James Masters has stated that he wouldn't play the role if he was visibly older, because that wouldn't work for him with Spike being a vampire and thus not aging. So they either have to get this off the ground soon or somebody has to freeze the guy. What's the current state of cryogenics again?

Here's the thing, when you rewatch his first episode back in season 2 he is noticeably older by the end of "Not Fade Away" as is Angel. But if Terminator 3 and Red Dragon has taught me anything its that make up and CG can make anyone frozen in time. The same is not true for Sharon Stone.

Better Days #3

Thus ends "Better Days". While it wasn't as spectacular as I would've liked, had it been an episode I would've enjoyed it thoroughly. The ending "twist" makes the whole series IMO. It was truly a Mal thing to do and one I sympathize with. From an aesthetic point of view, the final action scenes were a bit confusing as they crammed a whole sequence into a page and a half that the images they chose may not have been the best ones to get the scene across smoothly. Overall, any Firefly/Serenity proves to be good to have.