Buffy #6 review
In a nutshell:
Very good issue. Really inspired art, especially in the last scene. All the emotional nuances are written on the characters' faces.
Great dialogue. "We don't all have spaceships!" - hysterical!
Interesting, controversial content. I don't want to assess the story before reading it whole - but, so far, it's fascinating.
Buffy confides in Dawn about her pregnancy and makes the list of potential fathers: "It's a little hazy, but Riley, who's married. Andrew, whose name I'm not sure why I'm saying. Root, who doesn't shower. Tumble, who showers infrequently. The shut-in neighbor, whose name I can't remember. And then there's Spike." Dawn: "Is a vamp baby daddy even possible." Buffy: "Normally, I'd say no... but since I destroyed the seed, the vampire rule book is being rewritten." Xander isn't mentioned - but, apparently, Buffy can't bring herself to tell Dawn "Your boyfriend is on the list too".
Buffy goes to Robin Wood, he tells her about his childhood. Interesting detail: according to him, Nikki couldn't quit slaying. "She was chosen, Buffy. Just like you. No matter where she went, no matter how much she wanted to be with me. She wasn't strong enough to ignore it. She had to be a slayer." It's vague, of course. Stormwreath thinks that it was the sense of duty that forced Nikki to return to slaying. To me it's something more primal. Rooted in a personality, or even in physiology - most likely, magicaly enhanced. We'll see if this idea will be developed or not - but The First Slayer's words "You're not a slayer" in #5 may acquire an additional meaning.
Meanwhile Spike and Dowling talk about Buffy during a patrol and we are literally hammered on the head "YES! SPIKE LOVES HER!" It's scary, because Joss never gives shippers such good stuff unless he plans to do something utterly devastating. Dowling urges Spike to tell Buffy about his feelings, and Spike is ready to talk to Buffy, but...
Buffy tells him she's about to have an abortion. Spike, who is crouching behind her, is so shocked that he falls, literally, on his ass. (Interestingly, he has a reflection in the water on these panels. And he can't smell Buffy's pregnancy while in the beginning of the issue a vampire can smell Nikki's pregnancy. I wonder if it's a deliberate clue that something is happening to Spike.) [ETA: Spike's reflection wasn't mentioned in the script. Bummer.]
Buffy: Robin told me how Nikki tried to run away from slaying after he was born. I thought I could do what she couldn't. I thought I had everything that Nikki didn't. Dawn, Xander, Willow. You... I was ready to ask you to run away with me. But then I realized... I'm barely able to hold onto a job. I live with roommates who are about to kick me out. And I can't even hold my alcohol well enough to remember who got me pregnant. I can handle the slayer stuff. I can do what Nikki couldn't. But everything else? I'm not ready. At least not now. It's not the slaying. It's me. Will you come with me when I do this?
Close-up of Buffy crying. Close-up of Spike with tears brimming in his eyes.
Spike: Yeah. (he helps her to stand up).
To be continued...
It's the first time that Buffy made it into the mainstream media since Buffy's romance with Satsu.ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY interview with Joss Whedon and Andrew Chambliss has interesting tidbits.
Joss:
--I don’t think Buffy should have a baby. I don’t think Buffy can take care of a baby. I agree with Buffy. It’s a very difficult decision for her, but she made a decision that so many people make
Do you know who the father is?
--I know everything about it, but will tell you nothing. Except, like I said, it’s going to end up being a storyline that is rooted in the Buffyverse. I’m not going to turn comic book into something other than what it is. The whole thing isn’t going to be, well, normal. There’s not going to be a lot of normal going on, but hopefully there’s a certain amount of relatable. We’re going to pursue what this storyline means, but not in a way people are going to expect.
--Her behavior at that party has already bothered some fans, and to learn she got pregnant there, and doesn’t know by whom, will bother some fans even more, especially those who want Buffy to be, well, more responsible.
I think that first of all that they should wait until they have all the facts and they’ll learn stuff that they didn’t know before. They should find out what happened before they completely judge her.
Chambliss:
--I think in issue 6, that’s kind of what it’s all about - Spike coming to the realization that he still harbors feelings for Buffy, but then realizing in order to be the person he wants to be for Buffy, he can’t even tell her that. That’s definitely been fun to play around with, with his feelings for her. Unrequited love is always more fun than requited love.
So, Spike's chances of being a father are highter than a month ago. Joss says that we don't know stuff that will make us judge Buffy less harshly. Of course, if it's Spike, then it's no wonder that he didn't use condom (and if it's Xander - we have to judge Buffy harsher). Chambliss' words, too, becomer very clear: Spike doesn't want to hurt Buffy, so he doesn't tell her that it's his baby, because he doesn't want to make abortion harder for her. Let her think it was nameless neighbor.
I don't say that it's Spike - but, for the first time, I started to ponder seriously on that possibility. And I think that if it's really Spike's baby, then it won't survive -- because Joss has to keep his damn shipper status quo.
Very good issue. Really inspired art, especially in the last scene. All the emotional nuances are written on the characters' faces.
Great dialogue. "We don't all have spaceships!" - hysterical!
Interesting, controversial content. I don't want to assess the story before reading it whole - but, so far, it's fascinating.
Buffy confides in Dawn about her pregnancy and makes the list of potential fathers: "It's a little hazy, but Riley, who's married. Andrew, whose name I'm not sure why I'm saying. Root, who doesn't shower. Tumble, who showers infrequently. The shut-in neighbor, whose name I can't remember. And then there's Spike." Dawn: "Is a vamp baby daddy even possible." Buffy: "Normally, I'd say no... but since I destroyed the seed, the vampire rule book is being rewritten." Xander isn't mentioned - but, apparently, Buffy can't bring herself to tell Dawn "Your boyfriend is on the list too".
Buffy goes to Robin Wood, he tells her about his childhood. Interesting detail: according to him, Nikki couldn't quit slaying. "She was chosen, Buffy. Just like you. No matter where she went, no matter how much she wanted to be with me. She wasn't strong enough to ignore it. She had to be a slayer." It's vague, of course. Stormwreath thinks that it was the sense of duty that forced Nikki to return to slaying. To me it's something more primal. Rooted in a personality, or even in physiology - most likely, magicaly enhanced. We'll see if this idea will be developed or not - but The First Slayer's words "You're not a slayer" in #5 may acquire an additional meaning.
Meanwhile Spike and Dowling talk about Buffy during a patrol and we are literally hammered on the head "YES! SPIKE LOVES HER!" It's scary, because Joss never gives shippers such good stuff unless he plans to do something utterly devastating. Dowling urges Spike to tell Buffy about his feelings, and Spike is ready to talk to Buffy, but...
Buffy tells him she's about to have an abortion. Spike, who is crouching behind her, is so shocked that he falls, literally, on his ass. (Interestingly, he has a reflection in the water on these panels. And he can't smell Buffy's pregnancy while in the beginning of the issue a vampire can smell Nikki's pregnancy. I wonder if it's a deliberate clue that something is happening to Spike.) [ETA: Spike's reflection wasn't mentioned in the script. Bummer.]
Buffy: Robin told me how Nikki tried to run away from slaying after he was born. I thought I could do what she couldn't. I thought I had everything that Nikki didn't. Dawn, Xander, Willow. You... I was ready to ask you to run away with me. But then I realized... I'm barely able to hold onto a job. I live with roommates who are about to kick me out. And I can't even hold my alcohol well enough to remember who got me pregnant. I can handle the slayer stuff. I can do what Nikki couldn't. But everything else? I'm not ready. At least not now. It's not the slaying. It's me. Will you come with me when I do this?
Close-up of Buffy crying. Close-up of Spike with tears brimming in his eyes.
Spike: Yeah. (he helps her to stand up).
To be continued...
It's the first time that Buffy made it into the mainstream media since Buffy's romance with Satsu.ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY interview with Joss Whedon and Andrew Chambliss has interesting tidbits.
Joss:
--I don’t think Buffy should have a baby. I don’t think Buffy can take care of a baby. I agree with Buffy. It’s a very difficult decision for her, but she made a decision that so many people make
Do you know who the father is?
--I know everything about it, but will tell you nothing. Except, like I said, it’s going to end up being a storyline that is rooted in the Buffyverse. I’m not going to turn comic book into something other than what it is. The whole thing isn’t going to be, well, normal. There’s not going to be a lot of normal going on, but hopefully there’s a certain amount of relatable. We’re going to pursue what this storyline means, but not in a way people are going to expect.
--Her behavior at that party has already bothered some fans, and to learn she got pregnant there, and doesn’t know by whom, will bother some fans even more, especially those who want Buffy to be, well, more responsible.
I think that first of all that they should wait until they have all the facts and they’ll learn stuff that they didn’t know before. They should find out what happened before they completely judge her.
Chambliss:
--I think in issue 6, that’s kind of what it’s all about - Spike coming to the realization that he still harbors feelings for Buffy, but then realizing in order to be the person he wants to be for Buffy, he can’t even tell her that. That’s definitely been fun to play around with, with his feelings for her. Unrequited love is always more fun than requited love.
So, Spike's chances of being a father are highter than a month ago. Joss says that we don't know stuff that will make us judge Buffy less harshly. Of course, if it's Spike, then it's no wonder that he didn't use condom (and if it's Xander - we have to judge Buffy harsher). Chambliss' words, too, becomer very clear: Spike doesn't want to hurt Buffy, so he doesn't tell her that it's his baby, because he doesn't want to make abortion harder for her. Let her think it was nameless neighbor.
I don't say that it's Spike - but, for the first time, I started to ponder seriously on that possibility. And I think that if it's really Spike's baby, then it won't survive -- because Joss has to keep his damn shipper status quo.