Buffy returns in comic book form (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Long Way Home - Joss Whedon)

Member Name: GundamMeister

Product:	Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Long Way Home - Joss Whedon
Date:	10/01/08 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fantastic transition from screen to page with Whedon's writing near godly

Disadvantages: Disappointing artwork docks this a star

After a long wait, Buffy the Vampire Slayer continues in, perhaps, the only way it possibly could. No, not as a bigscreen movie, but as a comic book. The much talked about Buffy Season 8 comic series has Joss Whedon at the helm as executive producer, similarly to the TV series. he also writes the first five issues to make sure that things start with a bang.

Boy, what a bang. Joss Whedon is a fantastic comic writer and here he's well aware of the challenges that faced him writing this comic - having to transfer a character successfulyl portrayed on Tv for seven years into a new medium and yet after only two pages I naturally felt right at home experiencing Buffy in this way. The fantastic dialogue is present and correct and a number of characters make a welcome return with a real shift of emphasis and focus. What impressed me the most though is Whedon's decision not to dumb this thing down; he effortless alludes to a long term story arc, sets up some mysterious possibilities, reverses genre expectations (his favourite trick, this time its fairy tales) and leaves little clues and puzzles scattered around for the observant reader to pick up on if s/he will.

The first four issues deal with the story "A Long Way Home". The Buffy landscape has significantly changed yet again as Buffy is now in command of training an army of Slayers and Xander has grown up and become a sort of military ops guy. Ideal as this scenario sounds, the military have got wind of what Buffy is up to and want to put a stop to it, enlisting the help of a couple of old enemies.... If there is a criticism, at only four issues the narrative can feel a little rushed, but Whedon almost gets around this by pacing the story well, introducing key characters and developoment at the right moment to keep us on the edge of our seats.

The fifth issue is a standalone story entitled The Chain -
Quick aside to highlight Whedon's genius; he not only deftly dispenses with some really awkward continuity from the badly written Angel episode "The Girl in Question" in one caption, but he goes on to use this to greta emotional effect in this issue - about a girl who is hired as a Buffy lookalike to performa special quest. Buffy or the scoobies don't even appear in this story and it has to be read twice to be understood properly, but it manages to gain weight because of this.

The only major gripe I have with the whole thing is the artwork. jeannty can draw the Buffy characters Ok and maybe this is why he was picked, but his style has nothing unnique or interesting about it and he doesn't highlight Whedon's text in any special or exciting way. There's the odd standout page, but the ethos here is clearly make it clear and readable for the non-comics fans who are hopping on board. I can't complain too much, but seeing Whedon's work with Cassaday on Astonishing X-Men does make you hope for a little more...

All in all, this is a fantastic fix for us Buffy fans and its a true joy to see the story continued, even if its not as good as more live action Buffy.

Summary: An essential, easy purchase for any Buffy fan. Bring on the next one!