Buffy season 11 no 8
Okay, in a (probably doomed) attempt to get back to posting, here is a review of the latest Buffy comic, my main complaint about which...
Spoilers behind cut
...is that I wish it had gone on for longer or rather that this part of the story - supernatural-powerless Buffy and Willow coping with the real - and increasingly paranoid- world- had gone on for longer, because I found it interesting.
As it is, everything they do there, which takes place over at least a week, is compressed down to a few pages.
Mind you, fairly dramatic things happen in those pages. Buffy faces off in a park against the would-be rapist of a former Wiccan, showing that, even if she's lost her super-strength, she still has her Slayer moves. And though she goes down after getting punched right in the face, she manages to turn the tables and emerge victorious. In fact, she kind of loses it completely and does a Faith-in-BtVS season-3 on him, which, when she realises what she's doing, upsets her quite a lot. The art's pretty good in these panels.
FWIW, I'd like to think Buffy is crying more from shock and pain and the relief of winning the fight/not being killed/raped rather than because she's upset with herself for doing a number on a human, but that's based more on knowing how I would feel myself if I was ever in such a situation and managed to walk away relatively unscathed. But judging by the panel of Buffy looking at the blood on her hands I'm probably wrong. Oh well. Certainly, Buffy's exchange with Sam Finn later in the issue would suggest so, though even then it's ambiguous.
Elsewhere, Willow has a moment that, though much quieter, is also quite affecting, when she bumps into Calliope and her girlfriend in the street and gets friend-zoned by her. Poor Willow.
All this takes up half the issue. The second half is all plot, starting when Riley and Sam turn up at Buffy's door. Turns out they're part of Buffy's and Willow's plan. They say the government is only days away from turning on its magic-draining machine and they want to get Xander and Dawn out of the country first - Dawn in particular since magic is the only thing keeping her alive. Needless to say, they both refuse. Riley then calls in back-up in the shape of Faith, who disables the drones keeping an eye on Buffy's apartment (and everywhere else, it seems). I like the meeting between the two, if only because it reminds me of a scene I wrote in a fanfic, in which Buffy hugs Faith and Faith is all, "Okay, hands off."
The five of them then head back to the safe zone, leaving Xander and Dawn to do who knows what, and get through security thanks to Willow's hacking skills and Riley's and Sam's military status. Riley and Sam then stage a diversion while Buffy, Faith and Willow break into the room where Buffy and Willow were drained of their powers (they think they can reverse the process), only to be confronted by Jordan and a group of the government stooge Slayers all looking for payback.
Dum-dum-dummm!
Yeah, good issue, I thought. Gage/Isaacs did a pretty good job of showing how paranoid society has become and how unpleasant that is for those under suspicion.
Only four more issues to go and a lot of story to pack in, I can see.
This isn't really a review, is it? More of a recap. Oh well
This entry was originally posted at http://shapinglight.dreamwidth.org/3753527.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Spoilers behind cut
...is that I wish it had gone on for longer or rather that this part of the story - supernatural-powerless Buffy and Willow coping with the real - and increasingly paranoid- world- had gone on for longer, because I found it interesting.
As it is, everything they do there, which takes place over at least a week, is compressed down to a few pages.
Mind you, fairly dramatic things happen in those pages. Buffy faces off in a park against the would-be rapist of a former Wiccan, showing that, even if she's lost her super-strength, she still has her Slayer moves. And though she goes down after getting punched right in the face, she manages to turn the tables and emerge victorious. In fact, she kind of loses it completely and does a Faith-in-BtVS season-3 on him, which, when she realises what she's doing, upsets her quite a lot. The art's pretty good in these panels.
FWIW, I'd like to think Buffy is crying more from shock and pain and the relief of winning the fight/not being killed/raped rather than because she's upset with herself for doing a number on a human, but that's based more on knowing how I would feel myself if I was ever in such a situation and managed to walk away relatively unscathed. But judging by the panel of Buffy looking at the blood on her hands I'm probably wrong. Oh well. Certainly, Buffy's exchange with Sam Finn later in the issue would suggest so, though even then it's ambiguous.
Elsewhere, Willow has a moment that, though much quieter, is also quite affecting, when she bumps into Calliope and her girlfriend in the street and gets friend-zoned by her. Poor Willow.
All this takes up half the issue. The second half is all plot, starting when Riley and Sam turn up at Buffy's door. Turns out they're part of Buffy's and Willow's plan. They say the government is only days away from turning on its magic-draining machine and they want to get Xander and Dawn out of the country first - Dawn in particular since magic is the only thing keeping her alive. Needless to say, they both refuse. Riley then calls in back-up in the shape of Faith, who disables the drones keeping an eye on Buffy's apartment (and everywhere else, it seems). I like the meeting between the two, if only because it reminds me of a scene I wrote in a fanfic, in which Buffy hugs Faith and Faith is all, "Okay, hands off."
The five of them then head back to the safe zone, leaving Xander and Dawn to do who knows what, and get through security thanks to Willow's hacking skills and Riley's and Sam's military status. Riley and Sam then stage a diversion while Buffy, Faith and Willow break into the room where Buffy and Willow were drained of their powers (they think they can reverse the process), only to be confronted by Jordan and a group of the government stooge Slayers all looking for payback.
Dum-dum-dummm!
Yeah, good issue, I thought. Gage/Isaacs did a pretty good job of showing how paranoid society has become and how unpleasant that is for those under suspicion.
Only four more issues to go and a lot of story to pack in, I can see.
This isn't really a review, is it? More of a recap. Oh well
This entry was originally posted at http://shapinglight.dreamwidth.org/3753527.html. Please comment there using OpenID.