Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #17 Review

Posted by SylverWhisper on July 21, 2015

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #17 Cover by Steve Morris

They say two’s company and three’s a crowd. This is especially true when you have the Mr. and the Ex tagging along. Complicated further by unresolved feelings, sexual tensions, and old rivalries, and you’ve got yourself a classic lover’s triangle. But like anything else in the Buffyverse, amp that up by ten. Let’s not forget, Buffy is no ordinary gal, and her suitors are both supernatural creatures of the night.

So awkward doesn’t begin to describe the encounter when Angel (Buffy’s former love) arrives to aid The Scoobies and face the news that Buffy’s current flame is none other than frenemy Spike (aka William the Bloody when Angel and he used to pal around, committing heinous acts and leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake). Throw in some fangs and sharp implements of death and destruction and you’ve got a perfect recipe for disaster – never mind a lively “ex-boyfriend barbecue”.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #17 Panel

TEAM SLAYERS…

Still, the team must put their differences aside, along with that time Angel killed Giles (good times), among other fond memories, to band together, bringing their collective mojo to defeat the evil Archaeus, a demon which has been attempting to control soulful vamps, and rivals for Buffy’s affections, Angel and Spike.

Of course, evil-doers must be fought, minions dispatched, and quips exchanged, in good ole’ Buffy fashion. What is actually more terrifying and surprising, is the fact that Andrew imparts some seriously thought-provoking words of wisdom, which had me waxing all philosophical. But I digress… as I often do…

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #17 Variant Cover by Rebekah Isaacs

HANGING OFF A CLIFF…

What happens next will leave you on the edge of your seats, as any good crossover event should do, with a cliffhanger that will have you crying “Noooooo!!!!” to rival Shatner’s “Khaaaaaaan!” in Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. Ok, maybe that’s a little bit over-dramatic, but I got your attention, didn’t I?

Once again, the team of Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs (love her variant cover for this issue, btw) deliver, along with Steve Morris’ cover art, suitable for framing. I really need to collect these as prints. (Steve, help a nerd gal out, will ya?)

If you’ve been staying with Season 10 of Buffy, don’t turn back now, pick up Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10: Issue 17, out today, at a comic book store near you!

For more on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 and Angel & Faith Season 10 from Dark Horse Comics, check out my reviews at Skeletonpete.com.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #16 Review

Posted by SylverWhisper on June 16, 2015

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #16 Cover by Steve Morris

A Bridge Between Worlds…

I’ve always loved a good crossover. That’s just something the nerd in me can’t resist. I would become super excited as a kid whenever The Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman would have a crossover event. An episode would start on one show and end on the other. It’s still true now, I geek out whenever The Flash makes an appearance on Arrow (and vice versa). And it always worked for Buffy and Angel, even when they were on different networks, just like it did for that other super-couple Jamie Sommers and Steve Austin.

Bionic duo and former lovers Steve Austin aka the Six Million Dollar (Lee Majors) and Jamie Sommers aka the Bionic Woman (Lindsay Wagner).

When Angel (repentant vamp and Buffy’s former love) left Sunnydale all those years ago, we knew he’d be back, and likewise, Buffy wouldn’t (couldn’t) stay away from him either. With dark slayer Faith (portrayed in the series by Eliza Dushku) traveling back and forth between both shows, there was always a bridge, and always a chance for a crossover event. Angel even shows up briefly during the Buffy finale.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #16 Panel

When Worlds Collide…

Is it any wonder then that the writers of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel & Faith comics have teamed up to create a season that allows each series its’ own arc, while still letting one be part of the other’s story as well.

We all know that whenever Angel turns up in Buffy’s world, it means angst and complications. Having your first love show up while you’re involved with your current love is hardly a simple matter (read messy and awkward). I call this the “ex-boyfriend barbecue”… and I’ve been there myself… but I digress, as I often do…

Ever since the “Love Dares You” arc, starting with this season’s eleventh issue, Buffy and Spike have reconnected romantically, and after many long years of waiting, fans let out a sigh of relief (myself included). Of course, hi-jinx must ensue when Angel is called, by none other than Spike (Buffy’s other on again/off again/currently on again beau) to aid in their latest fight against Archaeus, an ancient demon who has been tormenting both Angel and Spike. There is way too much history between these three, going back to when Spike was sired (turned into a vampire for the newbie) by Drusilla (who was sired by none other than Angel). There was a whole lot of siring going on back then. Oh, those wacky vamps!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #16 Variant by Rebekah Isaacs

Suck Up and Deal…

Of course, there’s no time to wallow in hurt feelings and awkward silences when there are demons to slay, and the old team bands together to do just that, in their own unique fashion. Equipped with banter aplenty and sharp and pointy implements of death and destruction – not to mention a whole lot of hacking and slashing – they get to the task at hand. However, it’s just the beginning for our Scoobies, and the big bad for this season has yet to be dispatched. After all, what would a crossover event be without a cliffhanger?

As always, the team of Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs aim to please and do not disappoint, and Steve Morris’ cover art always impresses.

While each series can stand on its own, do yourself a favor and pick up both Buffy and Angel & Faith Season 10 books. They’re even more fun together.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10: Issue 16 is due out tomorrow, June 17, 2015! Get it at a comic book store near you!

For more on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 and Angel & Faith Season 10 from Dark Horse Comics, check out my reviews at Skeletonpete.com.

REVIEW: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 10 #11 PART 1: DARE TO LOVE

Posted by SylverWhisper on January 20, 2015

Buffy Season 10 Issue #11 Cover by Steve Morris

A THORNY PATH…

They say the path of true love never doth run smooth and roses have their thorns… Cliche, but true, and quite the understatement for Buffy and her friends. Relationships are complicated at best, and romantic relationships are probably the hardest thing to get right, for anyone… For vampire slayers and demon hunters, this is doubly true.

Complications abound and hi-jinx ensue when Buffy and the Scoobies find a little down time to examine their feelings and their broken relationships. With the rules of magic being re-written (with Willow’s help) and the world more aware of its presence, you’d think it’d make life a little easier, right? Of course, no episode (or issue) of Buffy can be completely angst-free, and at some point, this issue’s big bads have to surface. For once, I’d say they’re almost welcome.

Buffy Season 10 Issue #11 Variant Cover by Rebekah Isaacs

Meanwhile, a Harry Potter-like, 12-year-old Rupert Giles continues to struggle with his second adolescence. Painful enough for any pre-teen, but never mind a pre-teen with a middle-aged man’s memories… Memories of a full life and lost loves. A second childhood might be welcome to some, but not for him. Poor Giles hasn’t had much luck in the romance department either, and when an old flame shows up, things go from bad to mortifying. How many ways can we spell awkward?

However, the script seems to flip for our resident uber-geek and reformed super-villain, Andrew Wells (portrayed in the series by Tom Lenk). When did he get a life? I must have blinked and missed something.

Andrew Wells (Tom Lenk) during his “super-villain” phase (note the Death Star on the van).

LOVE AND MONSTERS…

Issue 11 is classic Buffy fun (Christos Gage masters the Whedon/Buffyverse voice), with more than a few moments that are reminiscent of some real life dating horror stories I’ve heard friends recount. Including the indignity of speed dating (which I can gladly say I’ve never had to endure). I’ve only ever heard it work out for one couple I know (ah bless). Of course, the ending, though not surprising, will be satisfying for most fans (including me), however, with Part 2 (and Valentine’s Day) on the horizon, I can’t allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of security. This is the Buffyverse, after all.

Buffy Season 10 Issue #11 Birthday Variant by George Jeanty and Tariq Hassan

FINAL THOUGHTS…

I love Steve Morris’ cover art, as always, so much so, I’ve often considered them suitable for framing. But papering my walls with Buffy comics might seem a bit much, no? Maybe if I was 12 again (it would be the coolest room ever), but I digress, as I often do…

For this installment, artist Megan Levens replaces Rebekah Isaacs (who provides the Issue 11 variant cover), and Megan does a great job picking up where Rebekah left off.

For more on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 from Dark Horse Comics, check out my reviews at Skeletonpete.com.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10: Issue 11 is due out tomorrow, Jan 21, 2015! Get it at a comic book store near you!

Available Today: Buffy Birthday Mega Bundle from Dark Horse Comics!

Posted by SylverWhisper on January 16, 2015

buffybundle

Hard to believe that it has been 18 years since our favorite blonde cheerleader-turned-supernatural-slayer, Buffy Summers, first burst onto the scene. That would make her 34-years-old today. To celebrate the occasion, Dark Horse Digital has a limited-time offer for die-hard Buffy fans.

Starting today, every single digital issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Season 9, and Season 10 is on sale for only $0.99 each.

But if you really want to impress the Buffy fan in your life, the Buffy Birthday Megabundle is the perfect gift to add to their collection of memorabilia.

With nearly 200 titles (worth over $500), the Buffy Birthday Megabundle includes digital copies of:

Season 8 (including one-shots), Season 9, and Season 10
Angel & Faith Season 9 and Season 10
Buffy classics
Angel
Spike
Willow

The Buffy Birthday Megabundle is on sale now through Monday, January 19, 2015 for only $150.00.

Check out the special $0.99 sale and the Buffy Birthday Megabundle on Dark Horse Digital, both available now!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #9 Review – Return to Sunnydale Part 2

Posted by SylverWhisper on November 18, 2014

Buffy Season 10 Issue 9 Cover Art by Steve Morris from Dark Horse Comics

If you ask most Buffy fans which regulars from the series they’d like to see return, or resurrected, what do you think they’d say? Think about it… think hard. It’s not an easy choice, is it? Nor is it an impossible one. I do think there’s one “fan favorite” that would win hands down, however.

In the Buffyverse we’ve seen Angel return from a hell dimension and Spike go from soulless vampire, to ensouled vampire, to ghost, to corporeal being again. So anything is possible… but is it right?

Buffy Season 10 Issue 9 Cover Variant by Rebekah Isaacs from Dark Horse Comics

TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES

It’s a quandary isn’t it? If you bring someone back to from the dead there should be consequences, and even then, doesn’t that lower the stakes if you know there’s always some magical “get out of jail free” card?

Still, we didn’t mind when Buffy was returned to us – albeit somewhat psychologically scarred – after her death in Season 5, when Willow and her friends chose to resurrect her with dark magic. But there was a price… There is always a price. A life for a life… and lasting ramifications for Buffy and the Scoobies.

You would think they’d all learned their lesson on that one. Well, some folks never learn, as we found out in last month’s issue.

Buffy Season 10 Issue 9 Preview Panel

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE ANDREW?

This issue picks up where we left off – with Buffy, Spike, Willow and Andrew – back in Sunnydale, during Samhain, with a hell of a lotta spooky-doos and magic don’ts right at the Hellmouth.

When we last saw Andrew, he was attempting some magic don’ts of his own, using the Vampyr tome. Resurrection spells require a great deal of dark energy, and we all know there is no such thing as a free ride. Needless to say, there are some unwanted side effects, namely a soul-eating beastie of epic proportions.

Of course, this trip home to Sunnydale also leads to some soul-searching for our heroes and perhaps some promising confessions. Redemption, forgiveness and acceptance are recurring themes in the Buffyverse, and ones which come up again in “Return to Sunnydale”.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Without giving too much more away, I will say Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs (along with Dan Jackson and with stunning cover art by Steve Morris) deliver another strong installment for Season 10. And while Buffy fans may not get the ending they were hoping for, they do get an emotional and satisfying resolution to the Halloween story. Certainly worth the emotional ride.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 Issue #9 from Dark Horse Comics is out today at a comic book store near you!

Attention Female Sci-Fi Writers: Doctor Who Needs YOU!

Posted by SylverWhisper on October 18, 2014

Sandman and Doctor Who writer Neil Gaiman

Recently, Sandman and Neverwhere author Neil Gaiman, commented on the lack of female writers in Doctor Who. He would know, having penned two stories himself (The Doctor’s Wife, Nightmare in Silver) for the current series.

But that can’t be right, can it? I thought long and hard to myself, and truthfully, while I can recall female directors and producers (after all, the series was birthed by the late Verity Lambert and producer Julie Gardner was instrumental in helping Russell T. Davies bring back Doctor Who in 2005), I can’t – off the top of my head – recall female writers for the series. This really gnawed at me.

Verity Lambert and Russell T. Davies

FROM FANDOM TO CALLING THE SHOTS

Often, I cite Paul Cornell as one of my top writers for the current series. Paul writes compelling science fiction and drama, as evidenced in The 10th Doctor story (originally written for 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy) Human Nature and Father’s Day (for 9th Doctor Christopher Eccleston). Even upon repeated watchings, I am always moved to tears by these episodes.

Back in the day, it was Robert Holmes who wrote some of the best stories for the classic era, including The Deadly Assassin and Talons of Weng-Chiang (for 4th Doctor Tom Baker) and Caves of Androzani (for 5th Doctor Peter Davison). Surely, my favorite sci-fi show of all time had just as many female writers, right? Right? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

I owe Doctor Who for inspiring my love of science fiction and desire for self-expression. I was one of those fanfic and fanzine writers who felt compelled to expand on The Doctor’s universe. Yep, I was one of the ones people snickered at. We found refuge at conventions and dared not share our creations with the uninitiated. They wouldn’t understand… They just wouldn’t get it.

Times have changed, and some of those same con-geeks and nerds are among some of the most successful writers and producers in film and television today. Fanboys Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), Russell T. Davies (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Queer as Folk), Mark Gatiss (Doctor Who, Sherlock) and of course, Steven Moffat (Coupling, Doctor Who, Sherlock), all started as fellow nerds and Whovians. But that’s a rather testosterone–laden list.

Buffy, BSG and Torchwood writer Jane Espenson

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

What about the rest of us? Geek girls, fangirls, nerd girls – whatever label you choose. We’re out here, ready to produce the next Doctor Who, Star Trek or Star Wars, given the opportunity. And yet, my short list is, well, rather… short. This shouldn’t be so hard…

Maybe Buffy and Battlestar Galactica alum Jane Espenson (she also wrote for the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood starring Arrow’s John Barrowman) should have a go as head writer/show runner for Doctor Who? She’s written for just about every sci-fi/fantasy series in recent history (the ones I care about anyway), including Game of Thrones and Firefly.

“Outlander” author Diana Gabaldon with her two Jamies

Perhaps Outlander author, Diana Gabaldon, should try her hand at writing for our favorite Time Lord? Considering Outlander’s connection to Doctor Who it wouldn’t be a stretch. I wouldn’t mind a return to purely historical Doctor Who stories like The Aztecs, The Crusades and Marco Polo (from the William Hartnell/First Doctor era).

Fellow Whovians, which female writers would you like to see pen a Doctor Who script?

NEXT UP

Series 8 continues… Stay tuned for tonight’s episode of Doctor Who – Flatline.

Airing Saturday, October 18th at 9pm on BBC America.

SylverWhisper

Silver whispers… soft sounds with a metallic edge… barely there…

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