Why is Season 8/9 More Exciting and Interesting

Than the series? Has anybody ever wondered this? There are some S8/S9 comics that I'd love to see the original cast do on TV

I believe you might want to change the title of the thread to 'was anything in' etc. And majority of tv show audience who also read the comic will probably answer 'NO". Otherwise the sale numbers would not have went from 100K to 39K at the end of S8 and to 26K now...

I personally don't think the comics are more exciting and/or interesting than the tv series, but I suppose some people may feel that way.

I think the comic medium allowed Joss some freedom that he wouldn't have had if s8 and 9 were televised. The comics don't have the constraints of a production budget nor do they have to deal with Angel being on a different network.

The Dark Avenger said:

Than the series? Has anybody ever wondered this? There are some S8/S9 comics that I'd love to see the original cast do on TV

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I don't think that it's so much a question of being more exciting and interesting as it has been that there was a continuation of the stories and characters we had all grown to love with the extra pleasure of knowing that, unlike the fan fiction that proliferates the internet, this story line is planned, supervised, and o some extent actually written by Joss himself. If Buffy goes into the future and meets Fray or has a two night stand with another girl, if Spike finally returns to where he has always belonged, by Buffy's side, and in command of a space ship, If Angel screws up in even more monumental proportions that we thought that even he was capable of, it wasn't the work of some fellow fan with a pen name like Saber Shadowkitten, posted in "The Spuffy Realm." It was really, unarguably, canon.

Even the parts that we didn't like.

It's a fresh source of drugs to an addict. The quality of the new product may, or may not, be up to the quality of the "old stuff," but after such a long dry spell, it's wonderful.

One thing I would have loved to have seen was Buffy & Fray. Well, Fray on a screen regardless would be cool. Aw hell- I'd take more Fray in any form. A single panel even. C'mon Joss, what're you waiting for?!

I really don't understand this whole "canon" fetish. The difference between canon and non canon is basically license. I mean, who cares? I don't see the relevance, a good Buffy story is a good Buffy story, regardless of the origin. It's just entertainment, right?

Anyway, if season 8 is what happens when Buffy writers don't have to deal with all those surely nasty TV execs then bless those TV execs I say. And for the record, NO, season 8/9 comics are not more exciting and interesting than the show, they're not even more interesting then the original run comics.

I don't get it, it's like season 8/9 writers don't understand why people watched the show in the first place or maybe they're just a tad too pretentious? It's so simple.

Take the core characters, throw them into bed or don't because seriously, who cares at this point, you might as well skip it. ( kill off or ignore everybody else, appeared in less than 6 seasons? IRRELEVANT! ) Xander tells a lame joke, Willow does a spell, Spike is you know...Spike, Buffy slays a demon/vampire. Done, see you next month.

The key word here is ENTERTAINMENT.

Simple stories. Fairly light mood. Instant gratification. Follow the K.I.S.S. rule. ( new ) readers can just pick it up with little knowledge of Buffy, previous issues, mythology, current relationships and everything else.

Give them what they want and count those dollars.

Yeah, yeah don't give people what they want, give them what they need and then your show/comic is canceled because nobody watches/reads it.

Who said season 8 and 9 is more interesting than the series? It's all a matter of opinion anyways

Uh no, it's just more nonsensical.

(To answer your question seriously, if I did agree with you even a little bit, which I don't... they have to no budget to keep to in comics, so they can make a universe explode.)

The single thing more interesting in the comics than the series was dealing with the pregnancy, namely Issue #6 in Season 9 (my opinion)

I have yet to read Buffy season 8 or season 9...but Angel: After The Fall would have made an amazing season!

From what I read online about season 8 I would have loved to have seen Xander and Dawn together in the show! 😀

I wonder if ANGEL's viewership would have taken a nosedive after him killing Giles over on BtVS if it happened whole the shows were still running haha.

Well, I don't find the comics, of Buffy or Angel, more interesting or "better" than the show. But like White Avenger said, it's been so long since some original Buffy/Angel content came along that I'm practically starving for it at this point, and it's been great to read. When a "verse" like Buffy dries up into pretty much fan fiction, just about anything new is welcome.

I've read After the Fall, and I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great continuation from how "Not Fade Away" ended, and without budgets, actors or T.V. regulations to worry about, it was neat to see what Joss and company could conjure up. In that regard it was pretty much exactly what I'd imagined, so seeing that come to life a bit on the page was pretty cool. And it really felt like an Angel story.

I'm only part way through S8 of Buffy (and trying desperately to avoid spoilers, which is not that easy), and it's been good so far. I don't think it touches the series, but again, I'm not that far into it yet. It's a little...strange seeing Buffy and Xander basically commanding an army, and I'm not really sure about the whole "war on the human race" thing yet, but I've liked what I've read. Skinless Warren was a little too far out there, so I hope that doesn't last, but on the whole it's been good.

From what I've read of the comics, no, the TV show was alot more exciting. This is me purely going on what i've read of Season 8, I have yet to read the Angel comics, so I can't judge those.

EVIL UU said:

I don't get it, it's like season 8/9 writers don't understand why people watched the show in the first place or maybe they're just a tad too pretentious? It's so simple.

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That's exactly why I gave up on the comics and stopped reading them. I long ago got the feeling the writers (of the comics) fell out of touch with a large amount of the fans, or just go their own merry way without giving much thought about these fans. (Don't know which of the 2 is worse) but it would explain why the comics are selling less and less. if the writers only got that message and would ask themselves why that is 🙁

That's exactly why I gave up on the comics and stopped reading them. I long ago got the feeling the writers (of the comics) fell out of touch with a large amount of the fans, or just go their own merry way without giving much thought about these fans.

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**** the fans.

Season 8/9 is precisely what happens when pleasing the fans is the goal. The appearance of every character ever even those dead ones, the pointless exploration of the convoluted, boring and derivative mythology and the absolutely ridiculous shipper pandering. Guess what, you target obsessed wankers you get intellectual masturbation. Screw the fans.

At this point it's pointless because nobody reads those comics, but whatever, bear with me, the writers might want to ask themselves a simple question. Why did people watch Buffy in the first place. What made the show cool?

Here's a hint. It wasn't the derivative, boring and nonsensical mythology or the minor characterless characters nobody gives a shit about or the obnoxious political statements, in a vampire comic, are you freaking serious?

So what did make Buffy cool? Why did people watch it?

I don't know, let's ask them, shall we?

It's like, it's a B-movie every week about a teenage girl who hunts vampires and I don't know about you, but man, I love me some B-movies, vampires and teenage girls too, you know. Shit's just fun.

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~Blazdin97

It has a strong female lead and a group of likable, easy to relate to characters, it's also fresh and entertaining. Girl power! Not as good as Xena though.

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~SuperGirl1980

Hunky vamps, oh mi god! And gay people, that's like, so zeitgeist new century.

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~Miss_PinkFluff

Yeah, basically.

Do those comics deliver that? Are they cool?

NO

They are like 40-something guy who wants to be cool, so he dresses in his teenage son's clothes and does things that were cool ~15 years ago, "I've got a yo-yo, I'm still cool and relevant, right?" "Uh, dude, you might wanna check the calendar or something."

You know why the comics sell like crap? Because Miss_PinkFluff, SuperGirl1980 and Blazdin97 are not the target audience, they don't understand the plot, they don't even recognize half of the characters. It's not their Buffy, it's not fun, it's not cool, it's not what they loved so why would they keep reading? OK, so who is the target audience?

You are.

The people who read/write fan fiction, post on forums and blogs and argue whether it is Spike or Angel who has indeed a larger penis. The ****ing fans. **** them.

So uh yeah RipperGilesFan, it seems that I either wholeheartedly agree with you or strongly disagree, it depends on what you understand as a "fan". Sorry about that 🙂

EVIL UU said:

You know why the comics sell like crap? Because Miss_PinkFluff, SuperGirl1980 and Blazdin97 are not the target audience, they don't understand the plot, they don't even recognize half of the characters. It's not their Buffy, it's not fun, it's not cool, it's not what they loved so why would they keep reading? OK, so who is the target audience?

You are.

The people who read/write fan fiction, post on forums and blogs and argue whether it is Spike or Angel who has indeed a larger penis. The ****ing fans. **** them.

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So, I hate the comics. I pretty much agree with the (not quoted) first half of the post, although it is, er, pretty... emphatic.

And the quoted bit? 'You are'? Excuse me. You're posting on a forum. I think at least half the people posting on this forum dislike the comics. And all the people in this forum hate what they did to Angel. So... your quoted comments manage to be both derogatory and false. Also, you can dislike the comics all you want, but insulting the people who like the comics just isn't cool.

[MENTION=11500]drizzlydaze[/MENTION]

Way to miss the point. I'm not trying to insult the people who like the comics, I'm berating the people responsible for season 8 and 9 comics for targeting a tiny fraction of the audience, the hard-core fans, the often obnoxious minority.

We have a "Buffy" comic that requires the readers to watch the spin-off show ( "Angel" ) read a spin-off comic ( "Fray" ) and on the top of it, do some research.

It's ridiculous

Who does that? Yeah, sure, the hard-core fans do but what about all those people who simply watched the show? Those comics are impenetrable for them, seasons 8 and 9 basically show the middle finger to the vast majority of the audience focusing on the hard-core fans instead and that should not be the case. That's why I say **** the fans, ignore them and make a comic for people who just watched the show, that's already a whole lot of effort.

Also, if I wanted to insult the people who like those comics I'd just do that, don't you think? Cut me some slack.

HA HA STOP LIKING S8 MORANS!!!

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~EVIL UU

I'm not going to, live and let live etc.

Well, targeting the hardcore fandom over Miss_PinkFluff actually makes sense - to me at least - if one stops and thinks carefully about the history of post tv show Buffy comics project.

The whole thing started with Joss writing the first issue of S8 and emailing it to Scott Allie - without being overly concerned for being compensated for his trouble - because he wrote it before he even got a contract, and just because he felt like doing it. Ergo, the comics never meant to target Miss_PinkFluff and her cohorts' $$ because Joss did not give a fig. Once DH got involved, and the comics started rolling out - they (DH) obviously got to get their buck for the bang - but they are a very small publisher and ergo the whole project only keeps going because Joss is still into it. The moment he stops being into it - it will stop. Therefore, one might conclude that the comics are his labor of love for the most part - and that he does what he wants with the story - and one of his personal enjoyable sides of the project is that he wants you to be the hardcore fan to enjoy them.

This new generation of Miss_PinkFluff and her likes have plenty of other tv shows to watch that scratch that particular itch ( Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Grimm, Once Upon a Time or other teen-oriented comedy/dramedy/soap/supernatural show)

Buffy ( on top of being a cool funky show about vampires and ass kicking funny quippy teen girls ) also turned out to be vying for #1 spot of ' tv cult show' of the last 2 decades - it is a tie between 'Buffy' and its spinoffs and 'Dr.Who', if you did not notice. Ought to be something more in that show than what Miss_PinkFluff liked, yes?

Moreover , if former Miss_PinkFluff matured a bit and got her groove - it is very likely that she would still crave Buffy (BSG, Dr Who) and BtVS canonical continuation - than she would crave any mayfly comic fluff that does not require her to watch AtS and read Fray series. And if she is bored by Fray and AtS - then I guess Joss does not want her, or he would have started writing a very different comic.

Ergo your point is moot.

Moreover , if former Miss_PinkFluff matured a bit and got her groove - it is very likely that she would still crave Buffy (BSG, Dr Who) and BtVS canonical continuation - than she would crave any mayfly comic fluff that does not require her to watch AtS and read Fray series.

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False dichotomy.

The inclusion of elements from "Angel" and "Fray" doesn't automatically make season 8/9 comics any deeper, sophisticated, better, it just makes them less accessible.

BtVS canonical continuation

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That's the problem - it's not just "Buffy" continuation, it's a continuation of "Fray" and "Angel" with various references to other Buffy comics and even books thrown in. A "fan" who loved "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" TV show will feel lost.

The title "Buffy season 8" is simply misleading. ( "Buffyverse the extended universe - the continuation" seems more apt though harder to market, I guess )

So dear reader, if you enjoyed the show and the show only, steer clear, those comics are clearly not for you.