What are we most excited about seeing in Buffy Season 9? The simple, holistic, but terribly nonspecific answer: Everything.
But let’s break that down a little bit. An exercise of reductionism, if you will. On the story level, we’re totally stoked to learn about the state of this brave new world, to find out what’s changed exactly since the shattering of the Seed of Wonder. We’ve seen a bit of it, but there are tons more pressing questions concerning the new status quo: e.g., Do vampires sparkle in the sunlight now? (Dear Powers that Be, please no!) But most of all, we’re excited to see where the Scoobies are right now. The prospect of not one, but at least two stories running simultaneously makes us giddy, as does seeing how the lives of these extraordinary folk fit into an apparently more mundane world right now. Except, well, it’s the Buffyverse…Slaying vampires with a toothpick is mundane. Saving the world is business as usual, and intergalactic sex…well, that last one was quite a big deal, no? And new characters! New faces to help tell the story about a fundamentally changed world. And hey, everyone likes a new Big Bad, right?
On a community level, we’re excited for our boards (and forums everywhere) to once again go nuts with the release of every new issue; we had some colorful debates when Buffy snuggled up to Satsu, small nuclear meltdowns over the (premature) Twilight reveal, cries of approval when Oz made his appearance, and fangasms galore when Melaka jumped into the fray (excuse the atrocious pun). Not to mention the collective moan of loss when Giles was killed off. We’re looking forward to discussions, debates, arguments, and writing/reading entire dissertations on the tiniest, most esoteric detail we think is significant. To await the latest solicitation info and covers with bated breath. You know, an average day in a fan base as passionate as the one that Joss and Co. have cultivated over the last decade or so. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting back in the habit of reviewing each issue on my personal review blog (previously featured on Dark Horse in the Headlines).
We’re also looking forward to bringing back our exclusive Q&As and interviews with some of the folks involved in producing the books. We’ve been incredibly lucky to work with some really gracious people (namely, Scott Allie and Georges Jeanty) and we’re glad that the reception for these things has been warm and enthusiastic. Of course, we hope to do Q&As and interviews with new happy, shiny faces, so stay tuned.
It’s fair to say that we’re pretty much simply happy that Joss and Co. still have stories to tell and we’re excited to continue on the journey with our favorite characters. Unless, of course…our favorite characters bit/bites it. Damn you, Joss!
—Wenxina at SlayAlive
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Allison Ferland