Spoiler! Preview for Buffy #2 (spoilers)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #2 Review
fandompost.com/2011/10/07/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-season-9-2-review

Mysterious bodies, stalking demons, skulking strangers "“ all in a day's work for Buffy

What They Say:
Buffy continues her nightly patrols while trying to cobble together a sensible life . . . Willow's adopted a new look, while Dawn and Xander celebrate the comforts of a magicless world. The fun and games come to a halt when mysteriously marked bodies start appearing. As Buffy starts to investigate she captures the attention of San Francisco police detectives who have taken notice of the unnaturally gifted Slayer . . .

The Review:
The strange deaths we glimpsed in part one come to center stage in this episode. As the police dig deeper into the identities of the victims, they are surprised to find matches in missing persons cases from half a century ago. Since reality television has showcased the presence of vampires in the world, they immediately begin to pursue the idea that the victims were vampires. Who better to blame than the Slayer? Of course, we know that vampires "end in one big poof" when staked. But is that always the case? And who is the mysterious stranger shadowing Buffy on patrol?

Meanwhile, Buffy continues to experience fallout from her destruction of the seed of magic. The demon that caught up with her at the end of part one, looking for repayment of her student loan, just needs to find a way to pay his bills. I found this a humorous yet effective way to emphasize how the seed's destruction impacts a wide variety of people in Buffy's world. Yet Spike's ongoing warnings about "rumblings" set the stage for another, darker, deadlier demon that seeks Buffy. Who or what is this mysterious danger? We get a few images of what may it may be, and I already want the next issue!

The action in this issue focuses mainly on Buffy, Spike, and the police department. As a Buffy fan who adores Spike, I'm excited to see his presence in her life. There's just something about Spike, and the way he watches out for Buffy, that appeals to me. I do wish, though, that we got to see more of Willow. I'm dying to know how Willow is adjusting to her new reality, and to see if this season gives us any further insight into the dark future for her that we saw in season 8. I also missed having more Xander. He only got a few brief scenes, and his humor makes me smile. Hopefully we'll get more of both of them next month.

In Summary:
This is a solid issue that continues to set up some major plot points for the season. While it wasn't as compelling to me as the first issue, I was excited by the conflicts and new characters that entered in this one. I'm curious to learn more about the new skulking demon. Is he the one Spike has been warning Buffy about? When you add that to the question about the mysterious vampire deaths, and the unknown stranger, there is plenty in this story to make me eager for the next installment.

Grade: A-
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Thank you, Zianna!

As the police dig deeper into the identities of the victims, they are surprised to find matches in missing persons cases from half a century ago. Since reality television has showcased the presence of vampires in the world, they immediately begin to pursue the idea that the victims were vampires. Who better to blame than the Slayer? Of course, we know that vampires "end in one big poof" when staked. But is that always the case?
Click to expand...

So, another point in favor of the theory that Severin somehow "burns out" the demon that animates a vampire.

I'm already wondering if Severin could turn Spike into William and Angel into Liam...
 
Buffy Season 9 #2 - Review by Buffyfest (spoilers)

http://buffyfest.blogspot.com/2011/10/spoilers-buffy-season-9-2-reviewed.html#links


When last we left Buffy, she had come face to face with her newest and most mortal enemy "“ student loans. The juxtaposition of the usual demon peril with the seemingly mundane looks to be the main thrust of the first arc of Buffy's season 9 and issue #2 delves further into that while adding a new mystery or two along the way.

You remember how vampires came out last season a la True Blood? Do you also remember how that seemingly huge plot point took a backseat in favor of space sex? The good news is, if you liked the former idea, it's making a comeback. While Faith is in her own book still mourning the deaths of the humans she killed back in Season 3, Buffy is dealing with the new consequences of murdering (not slaying) vampires.

During the course of the show, killing vampires was a thing Buffy was never really questioned for. Vampires bad, Buffy slay vampires, Buffy good. Since monsters on the show were usually metaphor that made sense. Things are different now, though. In a world where a demon needs a day job, even your random baddie in a darkened alley is no longer easily expendable. They're people, too.

One thing that Buffy (and the audience) hasn't quite earned yet, is a return to the idea of a team of Scoobies. If issue #1 showed us that Buffy and co. could still throw a party, issue #2 reminds us that their party is still very over. Willow, Xander, and Dawn all have lives of their own and, when Buffy hits the skids, they don't really have the desire or the energy to help. It's hard to gauge how to feel about this element of Season 9. I've personally been craving that feeling that Buffy et. al. really belong to each other, that they'll work together until the end. At the same time, though, that feels like an unrealistic request after last season. What I'm saying is, I hope we start moving beyond the whole "˜family torn asunder' thing by the end of the second arc at the latest.

The Spike/Buffy thing is still happening, albeit in drips and drabs. Some of this issue harkens back to Season 6 when Buffy felt that Spike was the only person she could really talk to and rely on. Granted, here that relationship is a far healthier affair. Still, there's this gnawing feeling at the back of my mind that, before Buffy and Spike can really try again, they kind of both need lives of their own. Buffy should be hanging out with those new roommates of hers (before they get the chop, at least) and Spike should really look into companionship that isn't giant, alien bugs just for a change of pace. Buffy (as both a show and a character) has kind of done the whole "only we understand each other's pain" romance story to death, so something a little more adult would be preferable. All that being said, the dialogue between Buffy and Spike is sweet and in keeping with a season more defined by the interpersonal than the intergalactic.

Yes, there is a new character you may have heard something about. Yes, that character will relate to Buffy in a "professional" way, let's call it. That, coupled with a mysterious intruder in Buffy's apartment are the mysteries at play in this issue. Also worth noting, is the focus on police investigation, an element that adds something more adult and real to the story. Again, we can see that difference between the two comic seasons. Season 8? The army. Season 9. The fuzz. Macrocosm vs. microcosm.

I wonder what the microcosm answer to Twilight is?
 
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