These are just fun in the way that only Joss Whedon can deliver. I enjoyed Faith's return in this, as well as her growing relationship with Giles. ( )

I am a huge fan of the Buffy series. This was my first foray and I'm excited to read more. ( )

In the second story arc of Season Eight, Giles recruits Faith to take out a rogue Slayer.

Wow. The first story arc was really good, but this one is great. Vaughan does amazing things with Faith. He's uber aware of everything she's been through, and he works it all in. He gives the reader a real feel for how her past has affected her, and Jeanty's art does as much as Vaughan's text. We can see Faith struggling with her demons, and her rivalry with Buffy is never far from her mind. We've heard so much about how Faith moves in on Buffy's turf; it was great to see how that old story looks from the other side.

And then there's Giles! He's got his own dark past, and we know that he's not opposed to murder when he considers the cause just. He's in the perfect place to both support and challenge Faith as she works through her issues. His role in this story also adds greater insight to his relationship with Buffy. The last time we saw them together, they were on the outs. They'd banded together to save the world, but they still weren't exactly good with one another. Vaughan builds off of that here. He builds off of it big time.

The plot is fairly standard, but the character-centric stuff turns the story into something special. The Buffyverse is never just about the plot. It's the characters and their connections that really make it shine.

But of course, plot is important, and everything that Faith goes through ties into the stuff with this season's Big Bad, Twilight. (Personally, I'm quite happy to think of that as a multi-layered jab at a certain sparky vampire series. How 'bout you?) Faith's story is at the heart of the book, but we drop in on the gang in Scotland at regular intervals. The stand-aloneish story at the end of the volume also gives us a bit more of a peek at what's been going on with these characters over the past year, even as it hands us some more clues to the mystery. The momentum's building, and building nicely at that. I likes.

Highly recommended to Buffy fans, but read the first volume, um, first. And watch the TV show before that.

(A slightly different version of this review originally appeared on my blog, Stella Matutina ( )

Merideth says: After learning that the US military -- Twilight -- has it out for Slayers, Buffy recruits Willow to secure the Slayer training facility. Meanwhile, Faith has been working in Cleaveland, monitoring the Hellmouth there. Giles offers her a chance to flee her "second-rate life" -- but, she must kill another Slayer. The two travel to England, where Twilight has convinced a "poor-little rich girl" of a Slayer that she must kill Buffy. Faith, who is struggling with her memories of her time with the Mayor, and who is still somewhat ambivlent towards Buffy, warms to the girl. However, when Buffy is summoned for a fight, Faith's presence only leads to more misunderstandings between the two. Also included in this volume is "Anywhere But Here" a stand alone story that expands on the Buffy/Willow dynamic.

I'll be honest, Faith annoys me. I was not thrilled that she was the focus of this volume. However, Vaughn is a master storyteller, and he manages to give Faith more depth and subtley than I would have thought possible. The interplay between Faith and Giles is superb, as are the subtle reminders of Giles' own reckless youth. While the denoument of this arc felt a little rushed, the resolution was satisfing, and set up the future of the pairing nicely. The standalone story is equally good, and explains some of the loose ends from the series to comic transition. ( )

Upper class slayer queen clash.

While Buffy stresses about the creepy Twilight (who looks like either Kobra Commander or Marvel's Eel, or a combination), along with her giant daughter, Giles has a plan.

An undercover mission for Faith as an English debutante of all things, to take out a rogue Slayer who want's Buffy's title.

While not as good as the first volume, Vaughan still does a pretty serviceable job. The artwork is a little shakier in this volume than in the first, I think.

http://graphicsf.blogspot.com/2008/10... ( )