Buffy

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #4
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Andrew Chambliss
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

Freefall, the first story arc of Buffy Season Nine, comes to an end as Buffy Summers squares off against the Siphon. In a trend that has continued through four issues (perhaps as a reverse nod to the Star Trek movie franchise?) the odd-numbered issues have been better than the even-numbered ones.

Although issue #4 isn’t bad, it does have a few problems including some sketchy art by Georges Jeanty. Buffy comes out looking like the Slayer we know and love, but many of the supporting characters only vaguely resenble their television counterparts (Xander and Dawn especially).

I’m also very mixed on the comic’s conclusion. Buffy being saved by the police at the last minute might get her out of immediate legal trouble (although there still is that whole “is slaying murder” issue left to be resolved), but it sure comes off anticlimactic when your super-heroine has to be saved by a guy with a gun. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #3
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Andrew Chambliss
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

The world without magic storyline continues as Buffy and the Scoobies are faced with two oddities that need answering. The first is Severin who has an unusual power to rip the demon from vampires and return the human body to a natural state of death. The second is the overly aggressive nature of vampires who have been sired since the Seed was destroyed.

Spike‘s investigation into the Siphon will answer one of Buffy’s questions (if he’s not too late for our plucky heroine). As to the vampires themselves, it appears with the hell dimensions now closed from our reality new vampires are really vampires, they’re zombie vampires, or zompires as Xander names them.

I was really impressed with issue #3, especially the dialogue and character interactions which felt much more natural and Whedon-esque than the previous issue (also penned by Andrew Chambliss). The story arcs seem more focused and character driven, and there’s some great humor throughout. If this is where Season Nine is going to go, I’m on-board. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.99]

• Title: Buffy the Vampire Season Nine #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Joss Whedon
• Artist: Georges Jeanty

Although I grew weary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight it did have its moments (including a terrific story arc by Drew Goddard) and even if it eventually went off the rails it managed to end with a strong finale.

Season Nine picks up where we left off. The line of Slayers is gone, magic is gone from the world, Giles is still dead, and Buffy Summers is responsible. Creator Joss Whedom promised Season Nine would get down to smaller stories and that’s exactly what he delivers here. No big bad, no ultimate evil, just Buffy and the Scoobies getting on with their lives. And it’s pretty freakin’ good.

The first issue centers around Buffy’s hangover from the first party for all her pals and new roomies at her new apartment. We get flashes of the party from Buffy’s hazy memory (some of which she’d just as soon forget). The comic is filled with great dialogue and it actually feels like the characters we remember from Buffy’s better days are back in force once again. It’s only a first issue, but it’s a damn good. Best of the week.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]

• Title: Angel & Faith #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Christos Gage
• Artist: Rebekah Isaacs

There are parts of Buffy Season Eight I enjoyed (the start, Faith’s arc, the final issue, and most importantly “Wolves at the Gate“), but as the season continued there’s more than a little I’d just as soon forget (super-Angel and super-Buffy, the reveal of Twilight’s identity, and the complicated and convoluted story arc which ended the series). From this first issue it looks like we’re sadly going to be mired in the post-Twilight angst for a little while longer. Sigh.

Season Nine begins, not with Buffy, but with Angel and Faith and the repercussions of the Twilight story arc and Angel’s return to form as a cursed vampire with a soul seeking redemption. After the death of Giles, Faith and Angel have teamed-up to fill his role, including saving a possessed young girl in this issue. Giles left the Watcher’s Chronicles and a hole to be filled, and Angel has a plan on what to do next.

This first issue isn’t awful, but it’s pretty disappointing. Season Nine, the first full comic season with all the characters under one publisher’s banner, begins not with a bang but a whimper. Hit-and-Miss.

[Dark Horse, $2.99]