Georges Jeanty

Everyone thinks The Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns are subversive deconstructions of the superhero genre. Frankly, neither holds a candle to John Ridley's masterful approach to setting golden and now silver-age characters in a world that isn't colourblind. Stunning stuff, both for how topical it is in an era of racist pushback but also for how it inevitably calls out how comics are rarely ever "woke" in any meaningful sense.

Roberson doesn't have the effortless-seeming capture of the character voices Zack Whedon provided in the previous volume, but he manages passably, and the plot continues in an organic and interesting way. I still have issues with the all-too-quick recuperation of Iris, and Kalista somehow seems to have less personality the more page time she gets, but overall, this is a solid entry, and I hope they continue it further. And the Disney-esque side story illustrated by Stephen Byrne at the end show more is adorable and cosy, and for character arc purposes should really be read before the main story (where it is also set). show less

Unengaging graphic sequel - apparently the first 'episodes' in a notional Season 8 - to the TV Series, 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. It misses the point - the Buffy series was fantasy, sure, but it was also about the psychological development of, and the tensions within, its Scooby Gang.

'Season 8' (at least based on reading this first volume) is filled with stereotypes and seems a forced attempt to drive the 'girl power' message of the last minutes of the final show of Season 7 to ridiculous show more lengths. Much of this comic is just silly, portentous and disconnected.

It also gives us a clue as to why Joss Whedon literally lost the plot with Firefly, less so with Serenity, when he tried to paint on a much bigger canvas. The point was that Buffy was not such a big canvas in time and space when you got down to it.

It was a small town living under the shadow of many dimensions and, as HP Lovecraft and Stephen King have both shown us, a relatively tight 'real' universe can often be more effective at making us believe in cosmic horrors than a world of limitless fantasy ... perhaps Whedon should leave big fantasy to the top graphic design 'auteurs' like Alan Moore and Mike Mignola who can create characters and situations that are limitless from the start.

The novel is also ridiculously expensive for what it is. There is something irritating about a marketing mentality that hooks kids on a product and then prises £11.99 of their pocket money for something so unstimulating. It feels like exploitation.

Perhaps it gets much better in Volume 2 (and afterwards) but I am not going to bother to find out. I don't believe in completism for its own sake.

If Whedon cannot continue the story on the small screen in episodic form, then I, for one, will be happy to close the mythos with the Scooby Gang (minus Anya) standing by their commandeered school bus, looking down into the gaping hole that was Sunnydale and the (presumed) vapourised grave of the redeemed Spike. And so it goes .... show less

The first real continuation of the storyline following the film (previous comics have either been set between the series and the film, or been single issue stories without much plot development) is truly excellent, and likely the best Serenity comic to date. Zack Whedon is masterful at capturing the character voices and the 'verse particularities of phrasing. The artwork by Jeanty is clear and vivid, though unfortunately the likenesses are often virtually non-existent. He does a great job show more with the close-ups, but in most other panels you need to keep track of what colour clothing each character is wearing to have the faintest idea who is who. That aside, my only beef with this comic is the off-screen super-convenient de-programming of the new character Iris. That was so weird and implausible and devoid of aftereffects that it completely undermines the otherwise very real-feeling plotting of the story as a whole.

But quibbles aside, this is a great story for anyone who wish "Serenity" wasn't the end, which moves the characters around and brings back two old characters in a way that feels cool and organic rather than gimmicky and contrived (as is sadly often the case when spin-off products bring back characters). Not to mention introduces several new ones without them feeling too out of place in the world (though it is of course impossible to ever quite measure up to the beloved cast established on the original show). Warmly recommended. show less