Do you think a comic is a better idea than another TV season?

[anyatara]

I don't think there's been a topic on this before, if there has, don't kill me 😉 I decided to make a topic to discuss weather you think making a comic book instead of an eighth season on TV? I asked a couple of my friends from school and they all said TV would be better but there only reasonings were 'Comics are for geeks' (Stereotype much...?). To be honest, although before the comics I'd moan and whinge that I wanted a new season on TV. But now I'm really into the comics, I don't think I would change them for TV. The storylines they're trying to do really wouldn't work as well for TV. The visuals and ideas work a lot better in comic form. So, other opinions? Reasons why...? Post away fellow BBers 😉

 

[Superstar]

Simple answer: There won't BE another Buffy or Angel TV season.
If you want your fix, comics are it.

Nevermind that the main star actors just aren't crazy about the idea even if it were possible.

 

[palabravampiress]

Hypothetically speaking, if the main actors and writers were still on board and willing to abandon and/or cut back on any projects on which they may be working currently, I would prefer a TV show to a comic. So far, I think Joss Whedon and TV = fabulous. It's the medium in which he excels above all others. He takes a shallow medium and turns it into an art form, each character, episode, arc, and season being infused with complexity and meaning as well as simple entertainment. The pacing is spot on. His stories and images move me. The ONLY area in which I sometimes find his TV lacking is in special effects. When I watch a Joss TV show, I feel as though I am listening to an opera by Mozart, a play by Shakespeare, or a novel by Jane Austen. His movies and his comics don't do that for me. The comics are enjoyable, but they're not quite on the same level.

That said, I know the actors and writers are busy pursuing other things. I also know that the actors have aged in the intervening years, so that even if they were willing to pick up where they left off, the story would have to play out several years in the future and something would have to be done about the vampires. With immortal, ageless type characters wandering around the canvas, it is kind of hard to extend a show indefinitely. Even if all parties were willing, I'm not sure that even Joss could recapture the same magic after so long away from the project. I don't think another TV show would be possible unless it was a spin-off that followed a relatively unexplored aging character or unless it took place several years in the future to accommodate aged or different actors and new settings and locations.

All of that being the case, comic books do seem like the best option for continuation. They allow the characters to age at a slower pace, to retain many of the movements and expressions of the original actors, and to participate in visually complex settings and scenarios that would be hard to stage for television or to adequately describe in a less visual medium (such as a novel). The sense of having the characters up close and personal in your living room is gone, though, as is the multi-sensory experience of being able to see and hear the story.

 

[Superstar]

The sense of having the characters up close and personal in your living room is gone, though, as is the multi-sensory experience of being able to see and hear the story.

Well, an animated version of Buffy with the cast returning to voice would be cool.
THAT might not be much of a problem.

How about that as a middle-ground?

 

[sk]

Well, the Buffy comics has worked pretty well for me.
So now it is kinda hard to say that another TV season would had been better.

But if I was given two choices.
Get the cast and crew together and do another season or a comic.
I would choose the TV season any day.

(In reality, doing the comic was the right thing to do though)

/SK

 

[Mozzymandias]

I'd prefer a TV series but I couldn't see that happening so the comic was a good way to gice us fans the new season/s we wanted in my eyes.

 

[T.I.P]

Comics do not even compare to the TV series. they are a weak substitute

 

[Tranquillity]

I'd take the reality of a comic book over a hypothetical new tv series because as they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Obviously if the tv series was anything more than hypothetical that is what I'd want more. I like the idea of a Buffy animation voiced by the real actors - preferably in beautiful, realistic animation rather than cutesy toon style. I would not be advese to a movie either - i mean with Sex and the City and the X-Files and rumours of a Friends movie, it seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days...

 

[LorneyTunes]

well i love comics but i understand why it doesn't match the tv shows reality . Its not real you cannot relate to it but i do think its interesting and it gets me excited lol

 

[white avenger]

If there had been a Season 8 the next fall after "Chosen" ended, I would most certainly have preferred that. Barring that, I would have liked a series of tv movies or direct to dvd presentations. Since we didn't get that, the comic books ore a weak substitute, but a substitute, nonetheless. The time between issues drives me crazy, and the amount of material in each book is frustrating, but it's all we've got, so I'm just happy we have it. (I still have my hopes up for a "Slayers--The Next Generation" though, and absolutely pray for a big screen movie with the original characters, even if they only pass the torch on to a group of younger players)

 

[Fake Shemp]

yes and no, i didnt like any CGI they did in season 7... i dont like CGI generally anywhos... well not on shows unless its BSG....and i dont think they could make dawns whole everything look good on tv... (the ones in xena looked bad enough but i loved them like that.)

 

[LorneyTunes]

Nightbird - I read too many comics to know that and am suggesting that the show is more real than the comics no way could the Body have been in a Buffy comic its more fun than to the bone x

 

[ckg927]

Well, an animated version of Buffy with the cast returning to voice would be cool.
THAT might not be much of a problem.

How about that as a middle-ground?

Great idea.

Too bad,though,that talk of that died out a few years ago. 🙁

 

[Rowan Hawthorn]

Given my choice, I'd take a new TV series or movie, or even TV-movie. But several different projects were proposed and apparently there was absolutely no interest from the networks and the financiers, so we got what we could get; and so far, it's been spot-on, in my opinion, given the necessary differences in the mediums involved.

Now, not pointing fingers at anyone here, but at the on-line fandom in general: What concerns me is wondering how long it'll be before the crying and grousing and bashing and utter slanderous rubbish causes Dark Horse to lose interest in the comic; I mean, they're strongly behind it now, but if all the feedback they get sounds like spoiled little two-year-olds whining, "Wah! I don't want this, I want that," how long will they be behind it? From some of the crap I've seen over the years, just a little negative feedback seems to outweigh all the positive feedback anyone can possibly show. Not saying everybody should love the comic if they don't, but maybe some of the "fans" out there should try a little harder to not shit in the only sandbox they've got to play in right now...

 

[CharmedSlayer85]

I would prefer another Buffy videogame

 

[palabravampiress]

Given my choice, I'd take a new TV series or movie, or even TV-movie. But several different projects were proposed and apparently there was absolutely no interest from the networks and the financiers, so we got what we could get; and so far, it's been spot-on, in my opinion, given the necessary differences in the mediums involved.

Now, not pointing fingers at anyone here, but at the on-line fandom in general: What concerns me is wondering how long it'll be before the crying and grousing and bashing and utter slanderous rubbish causes Dark Horse to lose interest in the comic; I mean, they're strongly behind it now, but if all the feedback they get sounds like spoiled little two-year-olds whining, "Wah! I don't want this, I want that," how long will they be behind it? From some of the crap I've seen over the years, just a little negative feedback seems to outweigh all the positive feedback anyone can possibly show. Not saying everybody should love the comic if they don't, but maybe some of the "fans" out there should try a little harder to not shit in the only sandbox they've got to play in right now...

As long as the comic remains profitable, the company will produce and sell it. You gotta take fan chatter with a grain of salt. Besides, most of us are thrilled to have the comics. Even the fact that we complain about it is a good sign. It means we care enough to nitpick and speculate, just like we did about the show. Silence would be worse; it would indicate indifference.

 

[eponinethen]

I definitely prefer comics. Don't get me wrong, I love the TV show a lot more, but it ended, and I think the ending was good and I honestly don't think the show should have gone on for much longer. I think the comics are a great way to carry on with the story.

Although, this I very much agree with:

Well, an animated version of Buffy with the cast returning to voice would be cool. [...]

That'd be pretty perfect imo..

 

[Pelle 79]

I think tv is the best thing. Comics are not the same.

 

[andrewcutter]

i think its obvious that a tv show is better than the comic, however with actors getting old and a budget to keeping in mind, comics pull through and are almost as good as a show.

personally i like to see a buffy and angel movie where the actors are covered in cgi like in beowulf. that way you can have the actors and they wont look old. just me


theres nothing wrong for a comic being a spin off and working. look at the star wars comics.... they are huge!

 

[Melon]

Comics? Nah! Not for me.

Buffy ended on a good note. Hell Mouth has been destroyed - The End.