Love love love the dialogue. That is all.

TamaraC | February 02, 01:52 CET

Love the dialogue as well. No real 8.11 spoilers unless they are very subtle, but it's still odd that it's out before the next issue.

Not the way I've been expecting to see things going, but definitely interesting.

KingofCretins | February 02, 02:11 CET

I'm sad....

And just wanna shout "NooOOOOoooooOOOOO!" to the hills! Not Renee!!
I don't like Xenee!! (Like me little ship name there?)

And e-gads! Willow!!

CowboyGuy | February 02, 02:16 CET

I'm going to say that dinosaurs will attack next. Oh Drew, your dialogue is as wonderful as ever.



Dark Horse plays with our minds.

Simon | February 02, 02:28 CET

Y'know, this feels like the most shallow question in the world, and I don't want it to sound like one, but it's officially distracting me. If Renee was applying for a job, and chose to complete the voluntary equal opportunity employment section of the application, what box would she check for race/ethnicity?

Demanding people who want to fancast Season 8 so people can make fanart want to know.

The answer has no bearing on Xander/Renee for me, since it's still not Buffy/Xander, but it is a curiousity.

KingofCretins | February 02, 02:48 CET

YAY!!! Loving the Xander Renee bits! I'm much cheered by this.

AthenaMuze | February 02, 02:50 CET

Loved the preview. The dialogue feels really fresh and very alive. Can't wait for it.

Vanessa_A | February 02, 02:54 CET

She's doomed.

Dana5140 | February 02, 02:54 CET

He's doomed.

gossi | February 02, 03:04 CET

Good stuff, looking forward to my monthly visit. To the comic shop, I mean.

Jim in Buffalo | February 02, 03:11 CET

Someone's doomed. Or possibly plural.

Gill | February 02, 03:11 CET

Heh. Andrew may have changed, but I think it's safe to say he hasn't changed much...

KoC:
Umm - "yes"? Or maybe "All of the above"?

Dana5140, Yes, I too figure that Renee is a short-timer. (Although, my first reaction was to snarl, "Oh, bite me!" Are you trying to jinx her???)

Rowan Hawthorn | February 02, 03:11 CET

Okay, the part with Renee was kind of cute... but are they ever going to at least mention Anya? How long after Chosen is this? Is Xander still so upset that he can't talk about it or was he just not that upset at all or has it just been a long time?
I just read my comment over and I'm kind of annoyed with myself for making every sentence a question?

ProphecyGirl16 | February 02, 03:16 CET

I'd prefer to see Xander move on. 'cos I like my drama movey.

The dialogue here is fantastic. Also, so is the artwork. Seriously - it looks lovely.

Also, I imagine some of the Firefly cast have that conversation whilst in Edinburgh in 2005. I'm not sure why. I hope these characters don't start eating Haggis.

[ edited by gossi on 2008-02-02 00:21 ]

gossi | February 02, 03:20 CET

People grieve differently. I have friends who started dating months after their partners died suddenly. Doesn't mean that they still don't miss them or don't love them anymore.

Simon | February 02, 03:21 CET

Either the Buffy/Xander hintage was a mislead (which is the best case) or Xander will hook up with Buffy right after making this date with Renee. Which would be, you know, drama... But I think I'd rather Xander/Renee than Xander/Buffy. By a lot.

patxshand | February 02, 03:24 CET

I think that what we're heading toward is Buffy attracted to Xander, and Xander having to put her down and tell her he's moved on. I'm sure Xander will always love Buffy as a sister, and have some attraction to her, but I think that ship has sailed.

WilliamTheB | February 02, 03:46 CET

I don't have a clue about Renee's ethnicity, except that I really don't think she is a demon of any kind, which is interesting, considering X's tendencies in that direction.

toast | February 02, 04:00 CET

Well I'm liking this very much.

And yay! Renee and Xander :)

angeliclestat | February 02, 04:05 CET

Speaking as somebody who's done the Buffy/Xander/Pam/Jim thing for years, I can safely say - the ship doesn't always sail.

gossi | February 02, 04:06 CET

Heck I did the Grissom Sara thing for 7 years! And that ship came in!

Everyone is doomed!

Dana5140 | February 02, 04:18 CET

Renee and Xander are adorable, and loved the Superman shout out. Jeanty's work, always solid, remarkably looks better and better every issue!

And I think we are heading to a potential Buffy/Xander/Renee triangle, because relationships never sail smoothly in the Buffyverse.

Saturn Girl | February 02, 04:19 CET

I don't have a clue about Renee's ethnicity, except that I really don't think she is a demon of any kind, which is interesting, considering X's tendencies in that direction.

Odds of being a demon increase dramatically with Xander-dating interest and shoot off my graph paper with actual Xander-dating. She's dressing like Xander though, and that's new.

Sunfire | February 02, 04:53 CET

Simon, I didn't mean that I was opposed to Renee and Xander going out, just that so far they haven't mentioned Anya at all and she was a main character for years. Whether you've accepted somebody's death or not, their name usually comes up in the span of a few months or however long the series has gone on for so far.

ProphecyGirl16 | February 02, 04:54 CET

I love the watery cover, very nice rendering of Buffy without being distractingly un-SMG-like. :)

cabri | February 02, 04:54 CET

Simon, I didn't mean that I was opposed to Renee and Xander going out, just that so far they haven't mentioned Anya at all and she was a main character for years. Whether you've accepted somebody's death or not, their name usually comes up in the span of a few months or however long the series has gone on for so far.

ProphecyGirl16 | February 02, 04:55 CET

Must bop on over to TFAW and get me comics ordered. Maybe I'll actually be able to read them when everyone else does (yeah, right). ;)

deepgirl187 | February 02, 05:23 CET

I'm banking on a Buffy/Xander/Renee/Satsu love interest quadrangle. I'm not opposed to Xander/Renee in theory as long as they are both alive and not evil. But I obviously prefer Buffy/Xander, and if there's at least not some follow-up on the interest there, I'll be a little disappointed.

I mean, I know Joss likes to tweak the 'shippers a little, but the Buffy/Angel and Buffy/Spike fans at least have had the payoff. If the 8.02 dream kiss and attraction were *only* there as a surprise moment, isn't that... well, a little mean?

And why is Xander constantly throwing out these statements to Buffy about her being sexy if he's jonesing for Renee?

KingofCretins | February 02, 05:36 CET

Sadly, wolves on the moors are a rare sight nowadays, having been hunted to extinction in Britain centuries earlier. Unless Castle Summers is near the area where they've been reintroduced.

Of course, in the Buffyverse where there are giant coeds and these particular wolves are apparently shapeshifting vampires, this may not apply...

Craig Oxbrow | February 02, 05:44 CET

SMG's eyes seem to be just about impossible to get right.

filops | February 02, 06:03 CET

Hmmm. So ambivalent. There is basically no history of wolves killing people in North America. But lots of history of them killing people in Europe. The history of North America is being applied to Europe? I'm not sure that's a good idea.

dreamlogic | February 02, 06:50 CET

Bleh another Xander ship I'm worried I'll have to endure for ages ;) Him with Buffy is just so much more interesting. Very curious about where this wolf arc is going though.

alexa | February 02, 07:54 CET

I'm weird and totally ship Xander/Anya, so I don't like seeing him with anyone else. Of course, it also makes me feel wrong and dirty to say I 'ship' anybody, so there you go. It's not like I'm going to stop reading or go on some angry rant if Xander is with someone else though...though I've always destested the idea of Buffy/Xander. I thought his crush on her was fine, great, even, but at the end of the day I don't think they are right for eachother at all.

And my god am I really talking about my ideal romantic relationships of fictional characters? Sweet Zombie Jesus.

Anywho, I'll agree with ProphecyGirl16 in wanting to see Anya get at least mentioned. But that's mostly because she is one of my favourites out of all of Joss' shows, so any Anya is good Anya.

Nolan | February 02, 07:55 CET

Dracula vampires... Wolf form, smoke form... yeah, they have the "showy, Gypsy stuff." Dracy-Vamps fer sure.

IMForeman | February 02, 08:13 CET

I think most logically the wolf thing might have to do with Oz. I mean not only does he have the whole werewolf connection, but Willow just got kidnapped, which could also be related to Oz. Also Oz is supposedly on a world tour, so Japan is not out of order.

I also really love the idea of Buffy and Xander, but given these pages I`m even more intrigued by Renée and Xander.

On a side note, Georges really nailed Xander`s grin on page 5. It made me smile. :D

userpjx | February 02, 08:14 CET

That's gotta be some powerful mojo to take Willow out just like that. She's the most powerful witch in the western hemisphere, no?


Of course, they're from the eastern hemisphere. But they're not witches, either, so where's all that power coming from?

shambleau | February 02, 08:32 CET

shambleau:
That would depend, I guess, on whether Willow's attacker actually does manage to take her out just like that. So far, all we see here is our Ms Rosenberg being caught by surprise as she's grabbed from behind in mid-air. The next scene could have Willow being strapped down for surgery again, or could just as easily feature flambéed vampire. (Sidebar: Will's spending an awful lot of time airborne, but I love the pleasure she seems to be taking from flying.)

Rowan Hawthorn | February 02, 10:07 CET

I really, really hope this has nothing to do with Oz. It would be extremely pathetic for him to still be obsessed with Willow 4+ years later, especially to the point of organizing a posse to have her kidnapped or something. I guess someone could possibly kidnap her in order to use it against him, but even still... in my mind, he's moved on. After having cured the wolf, it seems like he'd be laying low and living a relatively normal life.

I mean, Willow's great and all... but how many people still pine for their ex they haven't seen in 4 years? That's gotta be exhausting.

dingoes8 | February 02, 10:19 CET

Rowan Hawthorn, I so agree with the loving Flying Willow--there just seems to be this incredible joy and radiance that well...oh, I'm just happy she's flying!

Plus, did anyone notice the henchgoth who grabbed Willow looks very much like a Fruits/EGL (elegant gothic lolita) Japanese street style girl? My guess is that we already have a link to Japan, so perhaps these assumed wolf/vampire hybrids are based in Japan. Perhaps Dracula has moved further East after all.(1)

Damnit, Wednesday already feels far away and now, the first Wednesday in March further still...


(1) Or possibly, the misdirect of a very cute hat.

JessicaMelusine | February 02, 10:22 CET

AWESOME Xander/Renee stuff :D

So Zatsu? is the bad guy and kills? Willow?

Hanselel | February 02, 11:00 CET

Flying Willow is a brilliant concept, I think Joss would have been doing this on TV if he'd had the money. I mean, the implication is that she flies as DarkWillow, they just couldn't afford to show it to us.

And, yeah, she does seem to enjoy it. I think she dropped Buffy on her butt on purpose in "Anywhere But Here".

KingofCretins | February 02, 11:01 CET

Almighty God up in heaven, how many times are Buffy or Willow going to get mysteriously poofed away to another location?! Seriously! It's happened to Buffy once, and now Willow twice! This is my first real criticism of S8, as I'm loving it beyond all words, but, c'mon. We need better, less convenient plot points to get our Scoobs out of the castle.

I am digging Xenee (CowboyGuy, in my in-no-way-official capacity, I am officially instituting that as the official ship name...which is all kinds of ironic, because you don't even want them together). WilliamTheB, I absolutely love your idea of Buffy going to Xander only to get rejected. *adopts Stephen Colbert voice* Joss, make it happen.

(Or, if Jean-Luc Picard is more your style, "Make it so, Number Joss.")

And yeah, weird getting this before "A Beautiful Sunset" even hits the stands.

UnpluggedCrazy | February 02, 11:03 CET

but are they ever going to at least mention Anya? How long after Chosen is this? Is Xander still so upset that he can't talk about it or was he just not that upset at all or has it just been a long time?

It's been a year and a half between Chosen and The Long Way Home, I say it's time for Xander to move on. I don't remember Xander talking about Cordelia in middle of season 5. Or Buffy talking about Angel in middle season 5. Same with with Willow and Oz.

Sosa Lola | February 02, 13:18 CET

Sosa Lola- Buffy was too busy talking TO Angel in 'Forever' to be talking ABOUT him!
Plus, I totally hope that Willow and Oz run into one another in Japan and say "Hang on, this is not Morocco!"

I wonder if there will be some kind of shout out to Cordy AND Anya having both died by now.
I'm guessing no, but one can hope.

With Bander, Xenee (or is it Rander?) or Butsu, I have no preference. I'm fully confident that the pairings we get will be in the best interests of the story.
And also, that someone will die.

[ edited by missb on 2008-02-02 12:07 ]

missb | February 02, 15:06 CET

Agree that the frequent involuntary hyper-spacing might be starting to wear out its welcome, but I'm still way-trusting and otherwise on board. The preview has me giddy. I'm a comic newb and this was one of the first times in S8 that I forgot I was reading a comic; I felt like I was watching BtVS again. Giddy. Me. The voices of the characters were spot-on -- so familiar but somehow new, you know? And if I had any disconnect at all, Jeanty's faithful recreation of Dawn's slightly, well, unusual toes grounded me right quick.

............crickets............ Is it just me, then? Those toes from The Gift? Sticking out of the barn...?

barest_smidgen | February 02, 17:24 CET

Buffy was too busy talking TO Angel in 'Forever' to be talking ABOUT him!

Forgot that one. Good call.


I wish they hadn't showed these preview pages. They should've waited a little after we got issue 11. Now we won't have teasers after issue 11.

I'd say this is the first time Jeanty got Xander down, now he looks so much like S7 Xander, no one could argue with that far as I can see.

I'm also tired of Willow flying. But I guess it was a must because of the Willow kidnappage. Plus Willow flying her friends to places they want saves them money.

Sosa Lola | February 02, 18:07 CET

dingoes8 Oz doesn't have to have been obsessing over Willow to come if she's in trouble. He can hear about whatever's going on in the middle of his moved-on life, and want to help. Especially if it's about were-vamps, or wolfy, shape-changing drac-vamps- involving his area of expertise.

toast | February 02, 18:17 CET

I'm not tired of it, it just seems like she's spending a lot of time that way. On the other hand, if I could fly under my own power, I'd probably never come down. Traffic in this town sucks...

ETA: Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if there's a reason for Willow's Frequent Flyage - beyond the obvious "because we can" from the SFX department.

[ edited by Rowan Hawthorn on 2008-02-02 15:28 ]

Rowan Hawthorn | February 02, 18:20 CET

So, is that basically the 'uniform' or something? Xander and Renee wearing pretty much the exact same outfit? That has an almost surreal quality.

I like flying Willow, but I find is funny that, for the second time in six "episodes", we're going to get a variation on the old "put Willow in peril" convention. It's cool, albeit a dorky cool, that even after Joss has established Willow as basically the Last Red-Haired Lesbian Witch Daughter of Krypton, that he can still make that work.

KingofCretins | February 02, 18:22 CET

Not many, I wouldn't think and I can't see Oz doing that. He was too self-possessed a person.

On the other hand, Buffy Anne Summers does do things like that.

I loved the artwork in these preview pages quite a lot. They're crisp, clean and extremely well drawn. Xander's lines are written in such a way that when I read them, I hear the words in NB's voice. I'm liking the stuff with Xander/Renee (although for some reason, it's reminding me of the scenes between Buffy and Riley in S4...kinda awkward. Maybe that's why I like it.)

All in all, interesting peek at this issue...I hope this arc turns out as well as the Faith arc did.

But I have to say, as much as I loved giant Dawn, it's becoming a bit tiresome now. When are they going to change her back?

menomegirl | February 02, 20:54 CET

dingoes8, I agree that if Oz is behind it then it would be very out of character for him. He was never a malevolent person, and he was disgusted with his own impulses when he wolfed out and almost attacked Tara in New Moon Rising. I think Oz is the kind of person who would eventually move on and try to have a normal life.

But it certainly wouldn't have been my first thought that Oz is the person kidnapping Willow. I strongly suspect he may be involved in the story in some way, but not as an antagonist. I think it's much more likely that he will help the Scoobies or could perhaps be trying to enlist Willow to help him with something, rather than being a villain.

As to mention of Anya, any sort of reference to her would be fantastic, but I agree that it wouldn't be natural for Xander to continually refer to her. But it's understandable why we feel a little cheated in that respect. When some of the big deaths occurred on Buffy, there was a definite impact there so even if characters weren't referred to by name. Joyce and Tara were such examples. Jenny's death was still quite raw and central in season 2 from Passions onwards, but wasn't very important afterwards.

The point is that if a beloved character was killed, we wanted to see the other characters react to that in the same way we were. But of course if people are killed in the last episode then there isn't time for that, especially because season 8 picks up over a year later.

I'd love to know how some of the characters reacted to Anya's death: Giles, who she had an interesting friendship with; Buffy and Willow, who didn't always get along with her; and even Dawn- how would she have reacted compared to her devastation following Tara's death? How did Giles and Xander, two of Spike's most ardent critics, react to his heroic "death"? How would any of the Scoobies have reacted to the deaths of Cordelia or Wesley (particularly Faith)? Would Willow have been upset about Fred's death?

I agree that it's hard to mention a dead character and make it seem like a natural part of the story, but it's not impossible. We may not spend every day of our lives reminiscing about dead or long-lost friends, but occasionally we do. And it would be entirely appropriate for Xander to discuss it at some stage, perhaps with Buffy.

I always wished that there had been a few more Cordelia references following her departure from Buffy, and appreciated the few there were, such as Buffy describing Glory as "Cordelia-esque". But it would have been nice if anyone had even mentioned at the start of season four where she had disappeared to, given that such a big point was made of Angel's depature within the show and Cordelia was actually a season regular longer than Angel was. If you were to view Buffy without knowing anything about Angel, it's like she simply disappears.

Razor | February 02, 21:19 CET

I've always wanted to see Faith's reaction to Wesley's death. We need a fill-in issue, or better yet a miniseries showing what happened.

Haunt | February 02, 21:52 CET

Haunt, don't know about you but I'd be more than happy to have an ongoing Faith series, rather than just a mini. Especially one that used the excellent Giles/Faith relationship we have seen developing.

Would be nice to see what she thought about Wesley's death, though. Actually it would be nice to see her reaction to the whole situation with Team Angel in Hell-A. Hopefully, time will tell.

RockManic | February 02, 22:25 CET

I have yet to see anyone that wouldn't love a Faith monthly -- get a nice rhythm of Buffy-Faith-Angel-offweek, rinse and repeat. The only people we'd need to convince are Joss and Scott Allie, I guess. But, y'know, get Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Richards or something and let 'em run with it. Faith and Giles going around as Slayer social workers around the world would be an awesome series.

In terms of a mini-series, I'm hoping that part of Joss' plan for Season 8 would be maybe a two parter, or a one-shot, that serves as the Season 8 version of "First Night", and gives us a recap of the story bridging from Season 7 to Season 8. The grieving process for Buffy and Xander, how the Scoobies moved on, and in some cases, moved apart, what they even *know* about Los Angeles. But, if not part of Season 8 directly, maybe they could plan it as something to publish separately during a skip month, and not part of the story arc?

Please?

KingofCretins | February 02, 22:54 CET

Hey, does Buffy even know that Spike is back? Or was? Or is?

Dana5140 | February 02, 22:58 CET

I can't wait to see how Joss brings Oz back into the fold of things, can not wait. Also didn't mind X/R but would like a mention of his feelings on Anya.
Not loving the "Andrew returns" but everything else looks very interesting.
I'd also like to hear Faiths reaction to Wes and his death but then I'd like to hear Buffy's reaction to Angel being taken to Hell.

cheryl | February 02, 23:20 CET

"...get a nice rhythm of Buffy-Faith-Angel-offweek..."

Offweek? Why waste a perfectly good seven days of the month when there is an ongoing Spike series just begging to fill the void? ;)

Speaking of Spike, Dana5140, I'm certain that Buffy has to know about him being back in the land of the unliving by now. You really think Andrew is capable of keeping that a secret?

RockManic | February 03, 00:31 CET

Oh, so that's what "unusual but strangely familiar " meant!!!!!

As for who's a demon, who's a human, and who's really dead and who's where if they aren't, and also on any romantic possibilites . . . notsayignawordnotsayigawordnotsayingaword.

DaddyCatALSO | February 03, 01:23 CET

Hey now, alternately, we could have a Serenity series slotted in there...

UnpluggedCrazy | February 03, 01:37 CET

Andrew is not too big with the heterosex, hellrokk. It might not even occur to him to say anything. And of course, we don't know how long after the events of S7 this new S8 is occurring. But so far as we know, she doesnot yet know, if this is indeed timewise after Angel S4 at some point.

Dana5140 | February 03, 02:35 CET

We know that it's been over a year (putting it timewise sometime after Angel S5) as stated in the first arc. A very important bit of information to get right off the bat, too, because it helps answer questions like that. Well, at least it rules out some possibilities.

I'm just wondering how I caught that tidbit and remember it, but can't for the life of me recall some of the clues people are pointing out that must have been inserted less subtly...

Good excuse to start reading from the beginning again though.

[ edited by bobw1o on 2008-02-03 22:11 ]

bobw1o | February 04, 01:10 CET

Anya isn't being mentioned until some future time when Xander's happy with someone else, and then much with the awkwardness. Like Oz meeting Tara. Or Riley and Spike. Or Angel and Spike. Hence, no Anya until it's "ooh, that will be an interesting conversation..."

jclemens | February 04, 02:25 CET

I just have to come in here to tell you all how lovely a man Georges is. Just got back from the Chosen convention in Bristol and had the opportunity to talk to Georges (otherwise now known as Gorgeous Georges). He had the next script with him to work on, and like a trooper gave nothing away.

Juliet Landau was also there and he had produced a fantistic print of her, it was sold, but I think it might be found at his website quite soon. So, I suppose that tells you that we might be getting a visit from the lovely Dru at some point!

bubblecat | February 04, 03:58 CET

I'm so glad Dave Stewart is back as the colorist. The colors are so much better here than in the #11 preview.

patxshand | February 04, 12:56 CET

Am I the only one here who say the goth chick that's nabbing Willow and thought "Awesome! Runaways crossover!". Seriously, that girl looks just like Nico, except less Asian. Also I wood like to say that on the Jeantys cover, Xander looks like he has boobs.

Ciella | February 04, 18:31 CET