Dracula, ambiguous sexuality, and death, oh my! This volume continues the interesting moral developments of season eight. ( )

In the third volume of Season Eight, Buffy comes up against a group of Japanese vampires who can shapeshift and turn into fog.

This series just keeps getting better and better! Joss Whedon and Brian K. Vaughan gave us some fantastic drama in the first two story arcs; now Goddard kicks it up a notch with that other staple of the Buffyverse: humor. This was bloody hilarious. I don't often laugh aloud while I read, but portions of this book had me in stitches. I had a blast with it. So many pithy little comments! So much sarcasm! Both Whedon, (who penned the first issue of this arc), and Goddard know just how to use the medium to amplify their desired effect. The beats are spot on, the paneling drives the story forward and the dialogue is broken up just perfectly. It's a thing of beauty.

But of course, Goddard also gives us some heartwrenching stuff. There's so much of it, in fact, that I feel a bit awkward emphasizing the humor in this volume. When all is said and done, though, I'm gonna remember WOLVES AT THE GATE as one of those rare and wonderful Buffyverse episodes that had me in stitches.

I also remain very impressed with Jeanty's art. He's done some great stuff here; one of my favourite panels involves Buffy doing a mid-air leap onto the bad guy's back. All the characters are recognizable, too; always a good thing.

If you're a Buffy fan, I can't recommend Season Eight highly enough. You've gotta read it. Start with THE LONG WAY HOME, (effectively the season premier), move along to NO FUTURE FOR YOU, (a fantastic Faith-centric arc), then plunge into WOLVES AT THE GATE. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

(An updated version of this review is available on my blog, Stella Matutina). ( )

This was my favorite of Season 8, so far. I feel like the Whedon humor is back in a way it wasn't, as much, in the other two. I mean, yes, maybe there was some unnecessary fan service(?), but, on the whole, it feels like the Buffyverse is back to its charming self. ( )

http://tyranist.blogspot.com/2009/03/... ( )