Written by Joss Whedon and Andrew Chambliss
Drawn by Georges Jeanty and Karl Moline
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
So Angel was possessed and became “Twilight” and he and Buffy sexed a new universe into existence. In the process they almost destroyed this universe but not before Buffy destroyed the Seed and in turn destroyed all the magic in the world. Oh, and Angel killed Giles. How could Season 9 top all that?
The Story
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight things got a little wonky, especially toward the end. My biggest complaint was the scope of the story. Every over arching story in Buffy has had end of the world connotations but once Joss Whedon took his story to the comics and didn’t have budget constraints he decided to truly go global. It took up until the last story arc to rein everything back in and focus on the villain at hand. In the end we saw something that we thought we’d never see and were left with questions about the future of the franchise.
Now we are in Season Nine and the world has changed quite a bit. Angel and Faith are off fighting the good fight in their own monthly book and Buffy and Co. are trying to be normal humans. But can a slayer really settle down and live a normal life? Because Buffy destroyed the Seed and all magic in the world the consequences are far reaching. The boundaries between dimensions are closed and the army of slayers do not have a direction any longer. One in particular hates Buffy wants her dead. Add on top of that the new “zompires” running around and a police detective who is looking for Buffy so she can answer some questions about a rash of murders and Season Nine is off and running.
Because of these new developments the Scoobies are worried about Buffy. But when Andrew is tasked with keeping Buffy safe he makes a typical Andrew blunder and turns Buffy into a robot. Not the run of the mill Buffybot we have seen before but a robot with Buffy’s consciousness inside. His work is so good that Buffy doesn’t know she’s a robot until she loses an arm in battle. But will finding her “true self” lead to happiness or make her wish for more?
In the process Willow has broken up with Kennedy and stolen the slayer scythe to try and bring magic back to the world, Xander and Dawn are starting to have grown up problems and Spike, well Spike is still hanging out with the bugs. After all this Buffy decides to join Kennedy’s slayer bodyguard group but soon finds she is dealing with Angel’s old foes Wolfram and Hart.
One of the things I really like about this “season” is that it is split between two books, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine and Angel & Faith. Although they are not directly linked the two books do see some crossover with Willow going to England to find Angel and the Wolfram & Hart link in Buffy. This time things feel more like a cohesive story and more centralized to the towns they encompass. This book is about half way through its run and everything is hitting fever pitch just like the best seasons of the television series. I cannot wait to read both these titles every month and I have my fingers crossed that the end result will be great. Joss has not let me down so far.
8/10
The Art
Usually the great thing about comic book art is that no matter how established the character the artist can still take their own license in depicting the character. It becomes a little tricky when the characters are based on real people that are well known to the fan base. If the fans cannot recognize their beloved characters and the actors who portray them then that can pull readers out of the story. Luckily for us Jeanty and Moline’s depictions are easily recognizable. And Jeanty’s cover artwork is gorgeous.
8/10
I love this book. It feels like Buffy and it reads like Buffy. Hopefully this “season” will stay on track and delivery another satisfying and forward moving finale.
Overall (Not an Average) 8/10
The Review
The Story 8/10
The Art 8/10
Overall (Not an Average) 8/10