Discussion of 8.01 "The Long Way Home Part 1" - Released 3/14/07 (Dark Horse)

[vellavu]

i definitely appreciate it more upon rereading, especially since when i first recieved the issue it was a part of the library editions so there was soooo much to read. i did forget to mention how i hated dawn's regression. by season 7, dawn was one of my favorites, but in her giant state she is acting more like when she was the brat introduced in season 5.

Both Dawn and Buffy acted bratty when they were together.

But Giant Dawn was acting nice towards anyone who wasn't Buffy. Her conversations with Xander were all very interesting. She kept her whinings for Xander but the whinings are so intimate that they almost became flirtings in retrospective.

Also, she fought bravely in the Tokyo battle and the destruction of the Scotland castle. She's the number three fighter (next to Buffy and Willow) in the first half of S8. That's something.

 

[amberjane]

neither of those battles occur in this issue, and i couldn't really interpret dawn's reactions with xander as flirtings.... but maybe that was just something i missed considering where it leads. you're right about both buffy and dawn being bratty, but especially with her overgrown whining to xander- her character wasn't appealing to me. not to delve in and break spoiler boundaries, but she was only a top fighter out of convenience due to size, nothing to do with strength or skill. i saw it as unimpressive.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Guess who's re-reading S8? This girl! So I'm resurrecting this thread from the dead.

Here my thoughts on Issue #1...




Since I haven't read the series since it was released, I feel like I'm reading for the first time, since I barely remembers what happens, except a few things.


Firstly, I really like the art. Jo Chen's cover art, and Andy Owens too. Chen nails the characters and their likeliness and Owen's art is bright and fresh.

The script feels very much like it could be in the show, which makes sense because Joss wrote it. The characters are clever and witty, just like in the show. It's definitely very comic book smash bam pow you know, but still feels true to the spirit of the series.

It's not clear to me how much time has passed since the end of S7. Does anyone know if this is ever mentioned? It seems like it could be years.

The idea of Buffy's operation being treated as terrorist organization by the military is interesting...we will see where it goes.

Buffy being insensitive to Dawns uh predicament seems out of character to me, but their immature bickering is definitely in character.

Buffy admitting she misses sex is not something I saw coming. The implication she's referring to Spike right? It has to be. Also "great Muppet Odin" is def not something she would say. Maybe Xander would.

Amy, interesting to see her back and working with the military to capture Buffy. I always thought she was an interesting character who could have been developed more, so it may be interesting to see where this goes.