Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 1: The Long Way Home

The Long Way Home starts off with a reference from the last television season of Angel, immediately bringing the reader back into the action. Visually, the book is perfect, capturing every minor detail in clear and recognizable depictions of the characters. In a way, the comics are actually better than the original because you get the chance to really know what's going on in the character's heads and there are no budget restrictions impeding Joss's creative ideas.

There are now 1800 slayers in the world, all connected and many "enlisted" to fight alongside Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang. Situations have changed and there seems to have been a lot of growing up for some of the characters. Our old friends (and any long-time Buffy fan show more knows that's what they truly are) still use the zany pop-culture laden humor that has always lightened up the darker subject matter.But, with Joss at the wheel, could you expect any less?

This first volume of Season 8 is simply amazing. I proudly confess to being a huge raving Buffy fangirl, but still this book blew my mind. This is Buffy on a grander scale - Buffy taken one step further. You completely forget you are reading and lose yourself in the pictures. You become so fully immersed in the story that you feel as though you have become a part of it. 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 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 show more 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

This volume feels like a very natural continuation of the "Buffy" show from where things ended in Season 7! It has a nice balance of action and fighting; some looking into the question of what the world is going to look like now; and touching little family/friend moments, like Buffy and Dawn working to find their balance, as well as Buffy's mysterious kisser. The fifth issue also really was wonderfully done and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this side story.
My one major nitpick is that the return of Amy and Warren felt a bit weird? I think the story would have been strengthened if Buffy had to face a new foe instead of the writers rehashing old faces. Also, I hope this military-ish plot doesn't become too like the Initiative plot show more from Season 4. It was kinda a slog in the show and it would be nice to see some baddies other than just men with guns and convoluted military ops.
Either way, I'm excited to keep reading into Season 8 and have high hopes for what's next! show less

Archie comics aside, this was my first foray into graphic novels. I figured, why not start with something I already know I love?

The good: Whedon very much wrote these. The dialogue had me giggling, and I am intrigued to see where the story goes.

The bad: The art was great, but I found some of the characters hard to tell apart. There were also a few plot points that, in the scope of this edition only, were confusing.

Will be picking up the next one to see how Whedon handles having no budget. This should be fun!

It has been decades since I have read a comic book. The medium has changed-- these deserve the term graphic novel. The chapters are beautifully illustrated with artwork that does look like the actors. The story is fascinating, and it does follow directly from the results of season 7. The individual chapters, like a series of episodes, are internally consistent, and show a facet of the overall story arc. The story is consistent with the fifth season of Angel, as well. But still, it is not as satisfying as either a television episode, or a novel. There are relatively few monsters, and no vampires, but our main characters are beautifully drawn, and they are doing fascinating things.

Recommended for Buffy fans, but readers really need a show more background in the whole mythos. show less

Summary: After the cataclysmic end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 7, our favorite petite blond evil-fighter finds herself with a whole host of new problems. After Willow gave every potential in the world full Slayer strength, Buffy has relocated to Scotland with Xander as her new pseudo-Watcher, while members of her team are busily training the new Slayers around the world. Averting the apocalypse has never earned our gang more than a temporary rest, though, and Buffy still has to deal with problems both normal (Dawn's growing up, causing all kinds of sisterly tension) and supernatural (Dawn's really grown *up* - about forty feet up, and she refuses to talk to Buffy about the reason.) Plus, in the course of daily monster-fighting, show more Buffy stumbles across hints of a new organization, called Twilight, which will bring together new force and some old enemies in order to bring down the Slayer and her friends. This volume also includes a one-off issue titled "The Chain", which explores the idea that even if there are now thousands of Slayers, the name of Buffy Summers still carries some weight.

Review: True to the title, this really is exactly like another season of Buffy, only with an unlimited budget to pay for special effects and guest stars. The story structure is the same: following multiple storylines that all feed into the overall arc. The editing is the same: cuts between scenes where the previous scene's dialogue feeds into the next image. The language is the same: the snarky sense of humor is recognizeably Joss Whedon, and the rhythms of speech are recognizably Buffy. The characters are the same: they all sound like themselves, and for the most part look like themselves (Giles, Willow, and Xander are all great; personally, I was less-impressed with Buffy herself, and Andrew's almost unrecognizable in some panels.) The story moves quickly, and you have to pay attention to stay on top of what's going on... and I'm sure there are plenty of clues hidden in the dialogue and the drawings that I didn't catch. Overall, though, comics and Joss Whedon and Buffy are a natural fit, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: My recommendation isn't going to be worth a whole lot, here, Buffy fans should definitely read it, even if they're not really into comic books; non-Buffy fans should absolutely NOT start here. show less

I'm not going to try to sound all scholarly or like an actual reviewer up in here; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight is like crack-laced popcorn to me, and it's impossible for me to be objective. The original teevee series meant a lot to me, and Season Eight feels like an extension of that series -- same cleverness, familiar characters, Monster-of-the-Week style subplots with a Major Big Bad hovering over it all -- and I can't help but love it.

I don't know if non-fans would think as highly of it -- maybe having the characters' voices and mannerisms in my head already is an advantage? -- but I finished the first five TPBs in one night, and would have kept going if my library owned the others in the series.