(no subject)

[sapote]

gerbal and I went to Hometown Comic Book Store yesterday and loaded up on Buffy Season 8 and the Serenity Comic. I am not big on comic books - I'm just not that visual - but man I am glad I made the leap.


I came into Buffy as a closed canon - I come into everything as a closed canon, generally. It's that whole no-television-as-a-child bit. So the idea that there is more Buffy canon - or, to sidestep the canonicity debate, just plain more Buffy written by Joss Whedon - blows my teensy mind. And I admit I find the graphic novel form a little stilted, but: these are our guys! They talk right! They move right! They are quintessentially Slayer and Slayerettes, and I love them with that unreasoning Whedon love, except for Dawn, who I dislike in exactly the same way I disliked her in-series. (Intriguingly, that never stopped me from trying to write her. Next WiP amnesty day will be a bit of a reckoning.)
SPOILERS
Also: I am through the Long Way Home #3 and: not just cliffhanger: SHIP cliffhanger. Ship hanging on a cliff! Who kissed Buffy? I don't know, but if I lived full-time in a town with a comic shop, I would be hanging around the shop on the day the new shipment came in waiting to find out.END SPOILERS

I have never been a comics nerd before! I am enjoying it.

Also, it's interesting how different a character and an actor can be, isn't it? I was never all that into Sarah Michelle Gellar, but the Season 8 vol I cover art makes my heterosexuality crumble a bit. Oh, Sunnydale people. I missed you.

ETA: Also, while I've seized control of an internet connection: vid rec! Set Fire to the Third Bar by sol_se. (Torchwood, Jack/Ianto). I am not particularly into either this song or this pairing right now, and I still love the pants off this video. Sol_se does some really cool things with timing, and makes connections that are surprising and interesting. I know the whole TW fandom has seen every frame of S1 Jack/Ianto footage a thousand times, but she still manages to do new things with it.

Comments

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you! (This is SE, btw. *g*) When I got your message, your name looked so familiar, so I looked at your imeem page and now I remember! You made Backdrifters! I loved that video! I rec'd it (http://sol-se.livejournal.com/67243.html) way back when. Anyway, thank you for the comments! It really made my day. :)

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Hi! I had no idea that was you! (I'm hoping it's because you have an anonymity-protecting name mismatch and not just because I'm slow on the uptake.) And you're very welcome, thanks for sharing!

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

Nah, it's actually neither of those. I was making videos as SE long before I ever came to LJ or any other forum. Since joining places like LJ & Imeem, I've come to realize what a bad choice 2 letters were to use as a name, because that name is never available. So I improvised. It was either this or SE and a bunch of numbers. I probably should have gone with the numbers. *g*

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

Just letting you know I friended you, since your profile said to let you know. Hope that's ok. It looks like we have a lot of similar interests. *wanders off*

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Hey! That is cool. I would be pleased to friend you back, but just a headsup, I tend to post about an entry a day about real-lifeish things under friendslock. So if you're not particularly interested in what I had for lunch, that's okay too! Let me know which you prefer.

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

Yay, Whedon comics! Aren't they fantastic? I am a Buffy fan and a comics fan so I nearly bounced off the walls when I heard Joss was writing them. (There have been other comics in the Buffy 'verse, not all of them good, so I was also a bit worried.) But yes! Slayer and Scoobies, and they all sound *right*.

Also, if you dig these, Joss also wrote a future Slayer series called Fray that is totally worth checking out. (It's a few years old, and has been collected into a trade, so you don't even need a comic shop to find it.)

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

They are pretty much the shiniest. God, I love Whedon dialogue.

You are actually not the first person I've heard give the thumbs-up to Fray (and the thumbs-down to some of the other ones), so I will hopefully check those out soon!

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

Fray is good - all new characters, but still very much Joss. There's an Angel series from IDW (I think?), and um...hide. It is cringeworthy. I tried one issue, haven't gone back.

There is a one-shot, Spike vs. Dracula by Peter David, which sounds like a recipe for awesome...but isn't. I didn't like it, although I at least know people who do.

There are a handful of Tales of the Slayers and Tales of the Vampires - he wrote some, and was somehow involved with the rest and it definitely shows. I highly recommend those. (I think both are available in trades as well.)

Also, when reading Buffy issue 3, I'm pretty sure I noticed someone reading Fray. (And possibly the face of Joss in one of the dream sequences.)

spoilery spoilery comments!

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Yep! I went and looked for the girl reading Fray. It's in the background of the strip poker bit with Andrew. And Joss is on the top of one of the cubes where the dream sequence starts pixelating. That, um, definitely wasn't the most distracting thing in the dream sequence though.

Hey, do you have an opinion about who Prince(ss?) charming was in part III? And what is up with Giles? I enjoy me some fannish speculation, personally.

Re: spoilery spoilery comments!

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

If you're referring to Buffy's, uh, fantasy...um, whoo boy. (I had to put the book down and fan myself. Aside from Buffy's costume, I think I've read that fic. It would appear that Joss has too.)

I refuse to believe that Giles is doing something evil. (He could very well *be* doing something evil.) He's possibly my favorite character on Buffy, and while I do not put it past Joss to break all our hearts into a million pieces in some unforseen way involving characters I adore, I'm really not ready to buy evil!Giles just yet. (Even though that would be hot. Damn you, Joss Whedon.)

As far as the kisser? I really don't know. Maybe Willow? In the way a friend loves another friend? God, I don't know.

This comic is probably going to be the one that makes me break down and get a monthly pull list from my friendly neighborhood comic shop. Grrr.

Re: spoilery spoilery comments!

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

Did you notice the background on that page? Even when Whedon gives text he still throws in the subtext. Awesome.

I haven't caught up with AtS, so I missed the whole plot arc where Wesley gets morally dubious. Which is a shame, because I feel like it would provide some context.

I was wondering if they were going to drag out the old Xander/Buffy thing again. I mean, I feel like they've addressed that to everyone's satisfaction already, but who knows?

My full-time home (Universityville) has no comics shop. I am clearly going to have to figure something out.

Re: spoilery spoilery comments!

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

I didn't notice the background, I shall have to re-read! (After I get it back from my roommates, both of whom I've pimped this to: "It's Buffy. By Joss. No network censors, no 22 episode constraints, unlimited FX budget.")

AtS is fun. It's a little uneven the first season, but there were points I liked it better than the Buffy airing at the same time. Wesley gets extremely morally dubious (and also really, really hot) in later seasons. If for no other reason, you need to catch up so you can experience the puppet episode. Angel is a muppet, and my glee cannot be textually rendered.

The Xander thing has been well-addressed. I hope if they take that road they don't do something lame.

You might try http://www.milehighcomics.com/istore/ for comics? I have not used them (I am lucky enough to have an excellent comic shop in town). I have never tried them, but I've heard good things. My guess is, this series will end up as a trade...but you'll have to wait awhile for that to happen.

Re: spoilery spoilery comments!

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

the helpful clerk in Hometown Comic Books Store reported that he thinks they're going to print a trade every six parts. (parts? issues? Comics terminology I do not know yet!) Incidentally, there were twelve people in the store when I was in there, and the clerk and my brother were the only guys. Is this gender ratio normal? Will I have to move back in with my family just for the local comics supply? Very important rhetorical questions, these.

I saw just enough AtS (it is on at seven in the morning here) to catch that late Wesley is, indeed, of the hot. I hope to actually rent the dvds this summer, with my giant intern's stipend :-)

Re: spoilery spoilery comments!

[lurkmuch.livejournal.com]

That gender ratio is not normal, at least in my experience. The one I frequent is fairly mundy-friendly and girl friendly...which means I don't get the "But you're a girl!" look from the staff, just a few of the other customers. Usually there's not more than 2 girls in the place.

It is perfectly reasonable to move in order to be supplied with comics. In my last breakup, I got the comic shop in the divorce settlement. I win!

And yeah, "issues" is the common term. The Dark Horse site makes no mention of the trade, as yet. (They do have a lovely interview with Joss, however.) (Sometimes? The smaller labels don't always put out a trade. Comic book publishing economics are weird and complex: I do not claim to fully understand them.) Ebay can sometimes also be a location for the getting of comics, although the shipping gets stupidly expensive for single issues. (Not that I have ever done anything like that. Ever. Especially not from another country.)

Also, if this comic shop you purchased from is not local? They can likely set up a monthly pull list for you (although they may have a certain minimum number of titles), so that at least your comics will be waiting for you when you can make it there. (Things do sell out and then they're a bitch to find. See aforementioned stupid economics.)

I'm watching Angel again this summer, and watched eps 1 & 2 last night, with commentary. I will probably be squeeing about it at some point.

Re: spoilery spoilery comments!

[sapote3.livejournal.com]

My brother says Hometown Comics is always like that, and furthermore he feels slightly oppressed by the giant yaoi wall. Oh, hometown. Like utopia, in a way. Alas, the town where I pay rent / have a job is several hours away, so yes, a pull list might be a solution. Or I can pay one of the siblings to go buy them for me, with the added bribe that they get to read them first :-)

I first watched Buffy two summers ago - it's a great summer show. So I think, yes, Angel is on my watch list this year.