Can I read Buffy S9-10 without Angel & Faith?

[Emily Rachelle]

I'm a Buffy-Boards newbie. I just finished rewatching the Buffy show. I've never been a big fan of the Angel show and have never finished season two, and don't really want to. I want to keep up with the post-TV Buffy storyline, at least the core comic series, but I don't want to buy all the Angel & Faith books too if I don't have to. College student budget and all. Can Buffy S9 and 10 make sense without the Angel & Faith books?

 

[white avenger]

There's not much in the way of interaction between the two titles, except for one major event, and that is pretty much self explanatory once it happens, so you shouldn't have ant real problems.

 

[thetopher]

Short answer? Yes, you can read one without the other, its just like the show. In S9 both Willow and Spike crossover to A&F for an arc or so but it doesn't vastly affect the outcome of Buffy. There are a couple of 'where did that come from?' moments.
Same for S10 where Faith and Angel briefly crossover to Buffy for a bit but, barring one surprise cast addition, doesn't make either story difficult to follow.

Personally I found A&F vastly superior to Buffy S9 in every way, but others would probably disagree.

 

[vellavu]

Well, you should start with reading some S8 issues first. And then decide if S9 and S10 are worth it for you.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

If you are a fan of the show I would avoid the comics. Otherwise it will, more than likely, taint your experience.

 

[Hunga Munga]

Personally I d watch Angel season 5 before starting on the comics ... There's an animated series of the first half of Buffy season 8 too .

As it happens I m in a similar situation ...I ve read most of Buffy Season 8 + 10 but not done Angel: After the Fall , the oneoffs or any Angel and Faith . Buying it works out fairly expensive .The plots still makes sense , there's a few spoilers but that probably wont bother you .

 

[gite63]

Yes, you can read BtVS S9 and S10 without reading Angel & Faith (any minor doubt you can search on the Internet or ask here ). What could be confusing is not reading BtVS S8...

I love the comics, and I'm enjoying S10 very much. But I'll tell you something: Angel & Faith S9 is awesome - and I didn't even like Faith that much on the show (I love Angel, though). It was written by Christos Gage, the same writer of BtVS S10.

 

[Samuel Reyes]

Yes, but you'd be missing out. Especially considering A&F Season 9 is miles better than Buffy Season 9.

 

[Emily Rachelle]

Thank you everyone! I guess I wasn't clear about S8 - I would definitely read that. I was just asking about S9-10 because that's when the A&F and Buffy separate series happen.

 

[amberjane]

i hated angel too, i only decided to watch it through completely because my buffy thirst is unquenchable. and faith was never my favorite. but, i heard so much good about a&f, especially with the plot premise and an awesome team like gage and isaacs working on it, i caved while waiting for more buffy to be released in library editions and volumes. i was more surprised that it ended up being my favorite, and now im waiting for more a&f to be released in library edition format

 

[MmmmFashnik]

To be honest A&F S9 is better than BtVS S9.

 

[GoSpuffy]

Buffy season ten and eleven are excellent. I've never read any Angel and Faith.

 

[buffy1990]

I only read the Buffy comics and I've never had a problem.

I may eventually read Angel and Faith. I've only watched Angel once all the way through so I understand!

 

[Priceless]

You can definitely only read the Buffy comics, but if you do I think you'll be missing out on some great story telling. I was never a big AtS fan (or a fan of Angel the character) but the comics are completely different. The inclusion of Faith makes Angel less mechanical or arrogant, she softens him and gives the viewer a different perspective. I would say S9 is excellent and S10 is good, but S11 has been very poor and part of the reason for that is the change of writer and the removal of Faith from the title.