Introduction

Comic Book Willow is not as scary as Dark Willow

Last week I didn't run this column, and in retaliation Marvel killed Captain America. I just wanted to say, "Lesson learned, Joe Q!" Rather than risk the deaths of anymore icons, I will endeavor to keep the column timely. I am, however, moving the column to Thursdays so I can write about the Wednesday comics when they come out rather than the week later.

Dark Horse Comics released "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight" #1 yesterday, and I have to say it's pretty good. It's written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon with art by Georges Jeanty, and it definitely feels like Buffy but on a larger canvas. The comic is set after the events of the seventh season of the television show when the entire city of Sunnyvale was destroyed. Buffy finds herself in Scotland working with teams of slayers numbering in the hundreds, Xander appears to be in line to be a Watcher if he isn't one already, and Dawn is inexplicably the size of a building. It's exactly what you'd expect from a Buffy story done for the comics. Joss Whedon has stated that this comic series constitutes Season 8 of the television show and is canonical. The press has picked up on it running stories claiming Buffy's Back! I think it's a cool idea to take a defunct television show and continue it in comic form as long as there are good stories to tell, however is it fair to call this "Season 8"? After all, it's a comic book not a television show regardless of its importance to the mythology, none of the actors who put so much of themselves in those rolls have any say about it, and it's definitely on a larger scale than the television show. So why call it "Season 8" at all? Why not just relaunch it as a comic? Well, what it does do (at least so far) is capture the essence of the show, which is why I think it's just fine to call it Season 8. Additionally, from a marketing perspective, a Buffy comic called "Season 8" written by Joss Whedon is a stronger brand that just another Buffy comic (this isn't the first). If they did a Season 8 of the TV show, I seriously doubt it would start like this, and there is no evidence that the comics are patterned after unused scripts from a Season 8 that was in the works. Buffy was not renewed, so they ended it with a bang. Now Whedon wants to tell more stories, and I'm fine with that. He's the creator, and if he says it's Season 8, then it is.

Not everyone agrees with me, though. My friend Mike (who works in television) watched Buffy, and he's always good for a strong opinion on pop culture happenings. I mentioned to him that "Buffy Season 8 started today," over messenger and this is how our conversation went.

Travis: I'm not sure if you care, but Buffy Season 8 started today.

Mike: I watched Buffy live. I'm done.
Travis: What do you mean "live"?
Mike: When it originally aired.
Travis: Right, but it only went up to Season 7.
Travis: This is Season 8.
Mike: A new season?
Travis: Yeah, sort of
Mike: Sort of?
Travis: It's in comic form.
Mike: Oh please.
Travis: But it's written by Joss Whedon and he's calling it Season 8.
Mike: Thanks, but no thanks.
Travis: He says it's canon.
Mike: Fine.
Mike: What network?
Travis: It isn't a show.
Travis: It's a comic book.
Mike: Wait a minute.
Mike: It can be canon if he wants, but not "season 8".
Travis: Well, it's both.
Mike: "Season" means TV. I'm declaring it so.
Travis: The copyright information calls it "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight #1".
Mike: Nope.
Travis: Printed right on the book
Mike: Denied.
Travis: Can't be.
Mike: You little fanboy drones go right ahead.
Travis: I'm just saying when you hear people talking about Buffy Season 8, this is what they are talking about
Mike: Very good. I feel well-informed.
Mike: Even if it doesn't count.
Travis: That's the thing, though.
Travis: It does count.
Mike: You know how you say that Ridley Scott is wrong about Deckard?
Mike: That's what I'm doing here.
Travis: I'm not sure this is the same thing, but I'll allow it.
Mike: It counts as canon; it doesn't count as a season.
Travis: It does if the creator calls it a season.
Mike: Nope.
Mike: He has no jurisdiction.
Travis: So if George Lucas makes a Star Wars TV show and calls it "Star Wars", you feel OK claiming that it isn't Star Wars?
Mike: That isn't the same.
Mike: If Lucas makes a 30 minute cartoon and says, "This is a Star Wars movie," he's wrong.
Travis: He isn't.
Mike: He can call it "Star Wars".
Mike: Joss can call it "Buffy".
Mike: Just because you call something a certain thing, it doesn't become it.
Travis: So you agree that he can call it canon...
Travis: ...but it isn't a season?
Mike: Sure
Travis: So you're quibbling over the semantic use of the word "season"?
Mike: I'm allowing for the concept that there are different levels of "canon".
Mike: I think it's cheap and misleading.
Mike: The Medium Is The Message
Travis: Misleading?
Travis: You think people are going to look at the comic book and be confused why the pictures aren't moving?
Mike: I think people are going to be confused when they hear, "There is a new season of Buffy."
Mike: I was.
Travis: To be fair, I did that on purpose.
Mike: Rat bastard.

Mike brings up some good points, but I stand by Whedon on this. The comic is Season 8 of the TV show (as strange as that sounds) because it's the spiritual and narrative successor to the show. As far as Deckard being a replicant, Ridley Scott is just plain wrong about that.

Here's what I else I picked up this week:

Dark Horse

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 - A solid start to Season 8.

DC

Wonder Woman #5 - Watch out, men. The women are on a rampage.

Dynamite Entertainment

Battlestar Galactica #7 - Sharon arrives with her Cylon barbarian horde. Hilarity ensues.

Marvel

Civil War: The Confession - Tony Stark tries to ease his conscience.
Moon Knight #8 - Hands down, the craziest hero in the Marvel U.
New Avengers #28 - The New New Avengers are going to Japan!

Punisher War Journal #5 - Still good, but not very funny this time.
Thunderbolts #112 - A "good guy" team made up of supervillains. What could go wrong?

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