Season 9? Hell, I still remember when Buffy was on television. It was about the only thing my sister and I agreed upon at the time. But about halfway through Season 3, then-thirteen-year-old Thom decided he was too cool for a show about girls.Whoops (I’m pretty sure Jesse Weinzimmer made fun of me and that’s really why I stopped).
I finally got through the entire season during my junior year of college. The first few issues of Season 8 came out a few months before I finished the show proper, and I picked them up to save until I was ready for them. Of course, it didn’t take long for me to catch up, and Buffy quickly joined the ranks of the dreaded monthly wait to which I had grown so accustomed with the rest of my comic books. No more five-episode marathons with my roommate before going to work every day during winter break—alas!
One of the best things about Buffy continuing in comics is that it’s something more to share. Whenever I lend my Buffy/Angel DVDs to my unexposed friends, I love vicariously experiencing the series again through their eyes. They always send me text messages with progress updates—“Nooooo! Angel!” or “Ben is Glory? What?” et cetera—and it fills me with the same giddiness I had watching both series for the first time. While those DVDs will always be there, Buffy in comics is a chance to reach out to a new and different audience. Sure, the pacing change takes some getting used to (I always felt like Joss’s done-in-one issues in Season 8 felt more like a full TV episode than most of the four-issue arcs), but the excitement and heart of the series remains the same. And for longtime comics fans such as myself, Buffy in comics is enough to convince, say, my girlfriend to finally read some other comic books that Mr. Whedon had his hands on, and hey, that’s good enough for me.
To this day, my favorite parts of Season 8 were those involving Faith. Not just because Brian K. Vaughan is a brilliant writer and had her voice down perfectly, and not just because Ms. Dushku herself is a beautiful Boston dame after my own heart, but rather because her journey throughout the entire series has been the most touching. The fall from grace, and subsequent redemption, is a classic in literature, but Faith’s story is a particularly powerful example. Of all the Scoobies, her flaws were perhaps the most apparent from the start, and her attempts to compensate through wit and sex were painfully human. I would have been happy reading an entire series that focused solely on the Giles-Lehane School for Wayward Slayers. So I suppose that the upcoming Angel & Faith series is the next best thing.
There has always been a fascinating dynamic between these two heroic sinners. Angel and Faith both come with shady pasts, and even at their best, neither one is afraid to dabble in those moral grays of which the other members of the gang might not approve. That’s why the camaraderie between them is so powerful. From her heartbreaking collapse in the rain, to Angel finally telling Buffy off for good (a crucial turning point in the series, as well as a bit of metacommentary on the part of the writers, I presume), Faith’s first appearance on Angel remains one of the most chilling moments of either series.
Angel and Faith have always shared a unique bond—and better still, it’s never had to rely on romantic tension (okay, maybe there was some sexual tension, but that’s just how Faith rolls). The darkness inside of each of them is an addiction, and the fight is all that keeps them clean—but it might also be the thing that makes them fall off the wagon once again. What makes the upcoming Angel & Faith series even more exciting is that the tables are turned—Faith is helping Angel through his rehabilitation. It’s a feminist noir, the woman saving the damaged man; a beautiful inversion that I am truly looking forward to.
Before I close out, I’d like to share an anecdote of what may have been one of the most exciting days in my life, thanks to Dark Horse Comics and Season 8 in particular. It was San Diego Comic-Con 2010—my first time at SDCC—and while I had originally planned on attending both Joss Whedon panels that weekend, the impossibly long lines for both ruined my chances. But Dark Horse held a raffle for a small meet-and-greet with Joss, and as I wandered the convention floor in defeat after being turned away from yet another Whedon panel, it turned out that I was one of the lucky few that would get to meet him after all. Reinvigorated, I spent the next hour before the meet-and-greet exploring Artists’ Alley, where I happened upon one Andy Owens, inker of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8. After some fantastic conversation, Mr. Owens actually sold me his original art board of the two-page Sunnydale crater spread from issue #1.
Awesome.
When I finally got to meet Joss, he was quite impressed with what I had for him to sign—of course, I had only procured the artwork forty minutes earlier. We chatted briefly and I ultimately ended up challenging him to an arm-wrestling match. Because why not?
And that is the story of how I beat Joss Whedon at arm wrestling. Although to be fair, I’m pretty sure he let me win (I still would have beat him even if he hadn’t). But if you want a rematch, Joss—I’ll be waiting.
—Thom Dunn
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