With Dark Horse's Buffy line, we have a rare opportunity. Because of his lifelong love of comics, the shows' creator, Joss Whedon rolls up his sleeves and actually gets involved in our comics. On a recent trip to LA, I met with Joss and comics scribes Tom Fassbender and Jim Pascoe. We set the ground rules for a new approach to the Buffy comics, making them more like what Joss would do if he had time to write and draw them himself.
I was also there to talk about a creator-owned book, another of Dark Horse's specialties. This summer, we'll present Joss Whedon's true comics vision, Fray. 
His script presents a futuristic world, where vampires are all but forgotten and vampire slayers are lost to the distant past. When the bloodsuckers resurface, a very unlikely mentor must train a young street urchin and thief-for-hire, Melaka Fray, to face the forces of darkness.
Early in 1999, Joss and I began talking about artists, and went through some unsuccessful trial runs. This gave us the chance to figure out, by trial and error, what the book really needed. We had a lucky find with Karl Moline, who brings to Fray realistic and expressive people, a dynamic flare for action, and a clear, graphic style, perfect for Joss' brave new world. The writer and artist finally had a chance to meet at a summer convention, taking time away from the fans to talk about the new book. They poured over layouts for the first issue, as well as Karl's previous work, and various color samples by Dave Stewart. The look for Fray began to evolve.
All of Joss's film and television experience, not to mention his years of reading comics, have gone into this book. Dark Horse is famous for our creator-owned books as well as our Hollywood tie-ins, but never have the two come together as they have with Buffy. Joss Whedon's love of comics will find its expression in an eight-issue epic, beginning this May, and will remind us all why we got into this industry in the first place. Frayis gonna knock your socks off. 