Are the comics worth reading?

That was season 10. I was referring to 8. And no, one dream sequence panel doesn't do it for me I'm afraid.
 
Silverspike said:
Yes but imo it was more evenly balanced and instead of Buffy being the sex object (which you would expect in most other shows of that era) it was 9 times out of her ten her men/vamps. 😀

And as for those talking about the 'female gaze' well at that point on TV women were very badly served, being the sexist media that it's always been, so Buffy was a breath a fresh air imo.
Click to expand...
I'm not convinced the balance changed that much. Buffy was very much a sex symbol during the show. Sure we didn't get any GoT style nudity but Buffy was a pin up right from the start. Looking good, being attractive and boys in general were all part of her character.

I think it depends who's looking at the show as well. For example I never realised the "female gaze" and topless men were a big part of the show until I visited these forums. As a straight man it's just not something I'd picked up on as being a big deal or particularly noticeable. Maybe you had the same thing with the attractive women. You're not really interested so never noticed it as a selling point.
 
Yeah, how many skimpy pics of the female characters do we get in S8?

I personally don't care but to me the balance has always been towards the guys showing more on both shows. Seems the same in the comics.
 
Silverspike said:
That was season 10. I was referring to 8. And no, one dream sequence panel doesn't do it for me I'm afraid.
Click to expand...

Not sure why not, when this is apparently enough to make comic-Buffy a sex object...

buffy_season_8.jpg.size.xxlarge.promo.jpg


Don't get me wrong, there's some seriously racy stuff in comics...but seriously this??^
This fully clothed bad-ass of a woman in tight pants is terrible.... but butt-naked men wrapped in chains just about covering their genitals is coolio?
...Okay then. 
thetopher said:
I personally don't care but to me the balance has always been towards the guys showing more on both shows. Seems the same in the comics.
Click to expand...
Agreed. The amount we see naked/half-naked Spike alone pretty much takes away any chance of equality on that front. I mean I'm not complaining...but seriously, he's naked A LOT.


Anyway, I know I'm steering off topic, so apologies... I'll leave it there.
 
thetopher
thetopher
But we have to confront the 'naked bias' ratio! :P
Hey it's hot chicks with guns. A fanboy standard wank imo.

"I mean I'm not complaining...but seriously, he's naked A LOT."

Makes a change from it being the women being the usual sex object then, doesn't it.

Also it's not just image, it's about how poorly they wrote Buffy's character. How they managed to tip the whole Twilight arc into being her fault towards the end, and how stupid her actions with her 'army' had been. And don't get me started on Angel saying that If Buffy had only shut up he could have explained what he was trying to do?? WTF? Seriously??

Oh and Faith sharing a bubble bath with a complete stranger (women), because apparently thats what women do all the time.....Yeah right.

Yes, Buffyhad f*cked up before in the show, but this?
 
Last edited:
I don't disagree that naked, skimpily dressed women is a common thing... but just talking about Btvs here, I don't see the imbalance in the comics that you do.

Angel is (quite rightly) blamed for Twilight the most by far. Sure, Buffy gets some of the blame, but I hardly think that's unreasonable considering; she did play a part. Mostly she's gets blamed for destroying the seed.

You don't have to convince me that season 8 was pretty f*cked up in places. I just don't see an imbalance between male and female sexiness. Especially not with the comics generally, beyond season 8.
 
i never really paid attention to the gaze during the show- actually i do remember the skimpy dresses that a 15-16 year old girl was wearing... that did stick out in season 1. i dont remember a big shift towards the female gaze until probably third season when angel goes shirtless, riley, and then the glourious compact spike body (<3), but the male gaze if im remembering correctly was heavy in the third season considering thats when we first see buffy and faiths tight leather pants. faith is a very sexual character and by stereotype, her outfit and makeup accentuate that characteristic. the comics- i was too distracted by the horrible art and dumb plot lines to notice anything too prevalent.

as for the original question, i dont find season 8 and 9 worth reading. however, so much happens in there that is carried over that it is still important to read plus it does fill the buffyverse void for new material. i have yet to read season 10 but i do hear good things and i stalk the previews- much better. thats the good stuff i cant wait to get to. i am halfway through angel and faith and that is 100% worth the read. very interesting storyline.

not sure if i contributed to the conversation- this is the first time i posted without reading every post. also i have such terrible run on sentences xp
 
Season 10 is rather on the pedestrian side plot wise, but imo isn't as insane as the season 8 and at feels more like the TV show, which is a big bonus in my eyes. 😀
 
For me, the comics are the perfect follow up. Carring the DNA of the TV Show up to 100%. Season 8 might be a little bit over the top, but thats only logic, because season 7 started that escalation in TV. Season 8 is just closing that circle in comic form.
The only thing I could complain about are the paperbacks. I started with the library editions until I had to move on to the paperbacks. Well, size does aktually matter. 😉
 
I've been spoiled bout the comic's story lines. Should I even bother checking 'em out?
 
HowiMetdaSlayer said:
I've been spoiled bout the comic's story lines. Should I even bother checking 'em out?
Click to expand...
Short answer: If you don't have a "canon continuation" obsession like some of us (me included), don't.

Long answer:
The first half of S8 is brilliant in retrospection. This is the only part of BtVS that worths checking.
The Origin, Tales of the Slayers/Vampires, and Fray, are good enough. But they are side stories.

The second half of S8 is batshit crazy.
S9 is insulting and dull.
S10 learned from S8 and S9 by not being crazy/insulting, then it overreacted by refusing to kill characters/bring conflicts/hurt protagonists.
 
Last edited:
thetopher
thetopher
Good analysis
Puffy said:
What?!? ... Why ???
Click to expand...
The pregnancy/robot fakeout is insulting.
The began by "seemingly" studying the pregnancy theme and attracted a lot of serious discussions. Then they say "just kidding! No pregnancy at all!"

The dull parts: W&H quest, Billy. And just any issue in which Willow/Xander/Dawn are absent. Dowling/Billy/Koh are not interesting enough to support a new Scooby gang.
 
The whole 'Oh Buffy's pregnant, oh no she's not because she's a damn robot' bit was appalling. Yet another of Whedon's stupid cracktastic ideas.

And as for Billy, well I can kinda see what they were trying to do, but felt it was ill thought out and shouldn't have been done.
 
Billy was another genius JE 'special snowflake character brought in to break the rules of the 'verse with his special-ness. 'Choosing to become a slayer and somehow getting the ability to slay zompires through the power of belief
Only this time it didn't work at all because he was utterly and entirely pointless, which is why they got rid of him in Issue 2 of S10
 
thetopher said:
Only this time it didn't work at all because he was utterly and entirely pointless, which is why they got rid of him in Issue 2 of S10
Click to expand...
I would prefer that they keep Billy and get rid of Harmony though.

Jane Espenson's Billy only ruined 2 issues. Her Harmony stuff, on the other hand, was criminal.
 
vellavu said:
The pregnancy/robot fakeout is insulting.
The began by "seemingly" studying the pregnancy theme and attracted a lot of serious discussions. Then they say "just kidding! No pregnancy at all!"
Click to expand...

Silverspike said:
The whole 'Oh Buffy's pregnant, oh no she's not because she's a damn robot' bit was appalling. Yet another of Whedon's stupid cracktastic ideas.
Click to expand...

I wasn't offended by that, at all. It was Buffy's mind, she made a choice and she would go trough it - which should be enough for those who are pro-abortion. I'm not, and I didn't get offended by Buffy's/Whedon's choice. I wish they had dealt with the baby's soul, since in the Buffyverse a soul is something quite important and tangible. But this - Joss Whedon (or any other writer for that matter) never would be so courageous. And it's OK - it's just c-o-m-i-c-s!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom