So I’m a big Buffy fan, and I’ve read that there’s a comic book coming out that tells the story of season 8. But I’ve never bought a comic book in my life. So… how should I go about buying it? Is it a given that it will eventually come out as a trade paperback or something with all the issues? Should I just bite the bullet and pay above list on amazon.com for the issues I’ve missed?
And, without spoiling anything, do people think it’s good?
thanks
It’s pretty good. Call any local comics shop to see if they have issues 1 and 2 of Buffy: The Long Road Home (I have great certainty that this will be collected into a trade paperback, but the covers so far are sweet!). There is another Buffy comic also being published, but Whedon isn’t writing it and the art isn’t as appealing.
Xander is more-or-less getting some respect and street cred as an action hero (the eyepatch helps). Willow and Giles are around, but onlu just. Andrew gets a little more face time than he’s actually worth, IMO, and the Big Bad they’re starting out with isn’t the one that terrifies me personally, but the best subplot involves Dawn. I don’t want to spoil it, but A) it would be difficult to do this one on television and B) Buffy gets in a line that takes on a whole new meaining: “Those big pants make your butt look huge!”
Yeah, it’s worth hunting down.
i’m getting it on subscription from “Things From Another World” - tfaw.com
I just now saw issue #3 in a 7-11.
You can get issues 1-3 on eBay. I highly recommend it. The story so far is good, Xander looks awesome, great plot twists, funny dialogue, and Issue #3 had 2 total “OMG!” moments that I won’t spoil. Let’s just say the final panel of each issue has been well worth the price of the comic.
Well, I’ve bought many comic books in my life. As much as my allowance would allow. But that was a long time ago. (I’m sure that some of the Marvels would have appreciated–but I miss Unca Scrooge the most!)
After a hiatus of 30 years, I purchased the Firefly comics. Now I’m happily subscribed to Buffy Season 8.
Yes, many comics are reprinted in paperback form–they call them Graphic Novels. If you don’t want to wait, buy individual issues and/or a subscription at TFAW.COM. (Much cheaper than Amazon.) The Buffy Season 8 comics are selling well & selling out–but they are being reprinted.
I’m having trouble (a little, not much) keeping things straight. There seems to be a panel missing as you go from one page to the next. It’s just the style this story is being told, and it takes me most of the read of a new issue to get back on track with their style.
And man, the cover shot of Willow is just fantastic on the new issue!
Yeah I have to say, even as a fan of the comic-book medium, I’m not really enjoying how it comes across as Buffy. It seems, well, cluttered. And confusing. I guess it might be the transition from live action to comics, but it just doesn’t feel like the same sort of storytelling, even if the characters are sort of the same.
Whedon has shown himself to be a very capable comics writer, so I’d lay this one at the feet of the artists, Andy Owens and Dave Stewart. They get the likenesses down, but can’t really make them move or flow believably. Paul Lee is the artist starting with (I think) #5, so things should pick up.
I’m getting some of the pages off of scans_daily on Livejournal, and what I’ve seen is pretty good–Buffy’s dream sequences leave me indifferent, but Dawn as a giant is a big bit of adorable. Also, Xander is ridiculously squee-worthy.
I may have missed this from the show, but is there a reason he’s wearing an eye-patch?
Apparently, there are going to be little 4 issues “arcs,” so Lee starting with #5 makes sense. So long as Joss is writing them, I’ll keep reading them. I do wish they’d toss in a little more nudity, though. Dawn taking a bath had too many suds! 
Yeah. The Preacher (played by Nathan Fillion) poked it out with his thumb when the Slayerettes stormed the old winery in the last season of BtVS. An episode or two later Buffy kicked his ass as Angel watched from the sidelines.
Our little Dawnie, all grown up…
Caleb, the evil cleric from season 7, jabbed Xander’s eye out with his finger. Nathan Fillion played him.
Gotcha! Thanks, Sean Factotum and Krokodil 
I’m thoroughly loving them, and my wife (who had never read a comic in her life) is utterly addicted. I’m sure they will collect them into a graphic novel at some point, but it’ll be a while.
The comics themselves are readily available in my area. If you can’t find them, I’d be happy to pick up a set for cost+shipping for you. Dark Horse is also publishing large graphic novels reprinting all the Buffy comics to date, starting in July for something like $25 each, a steal. And Joss penned a graphic novel called Fray chronicling a Slayer some 800 years in the future. Very well done.
I think you’re right:
In issue #1 they captured a creature who was with Amy in the rubble of the town, but he does from ripping a soldier’s head off to somehow ending up in a cell in the secret army base, with no explanation or scene.
In any event color me unimpressed so far, and at $3.75 a shot I think I’ll wait for the graphic novel.
You’re gonna be waiting quite a while. The projected run of Season 8 is 25-30 issues. Since it’s a mix of arcs and stand-alones, just like the TV show was, I doubt they put anything together graphic-novel-wise until the whole season is over. Say…2010 or so.
Now, I don’t know about that… I remember many times when they were keeping a certain upcoming character secret in which you’d see just a snippet of what they were doing or what they’d done, and that’s all you’d get… seems very true to the series, IMO.
I’m a little disappointed the characters don’t look more like the actors from the show. Xander is okay, and Buffy looks good on the cover, but on the inside Buffy and Dawn don’t look familiar. I guess they would have to pay to use the likenesses, but I didn’t think of that ahead of time and it suprised me.
The whole Andrew character is horrible, I don’t understand the point of having him talk about thos Star Wars movies, I don’t understand why that is supposed to be funny particularly when it goes on and on for years. I was offended when I turned the page and saw Andrew’s mug, it made me want to punch Joss Whedon in the face.
The story could be interesting, it’s too early to tell. It did get a bit confusing with the sleep thing in issue 2. The notes at the end of the first issue talk about earlier comics and references to them. What’s that about? I’d though it was purely a series of sequels to the TV series.
They seem very, very short to me. I’m not sure I spent 15 minutes on an issue, whereas I would expect that each one would be equivalent to an episode from TV.
Oh, and about that mystery character, my guess is
Her boyfriend is some sort of rat. She’s having sex with a rat.