Should I read the comics too?

[Kenimowy]

So should I read the comics? I will be honest, I have avoided them because I have heard mixed reviews on them. Some people have stated the the comics ruined the series, and that terrifies me. I hold BtVS and AtS very near and dear to my heart. I have an interest in what happens beyond the telling of the screen but I also worry that I wont like what I read.
So, for those who have read them, do you like where the comics have gone? Should I invest into the comics?

 

[Washburne]

My guess is you'll end up with mixed reviews here too.

If you don't like the comics you can do as others and don't count them. I say give them a try but not to start buying them straight away. Check libraries or online. If you end up liking them buy the TPB (collections) or the newer library editions.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Long-Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season/dp/1593078226/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349106356&sr=1-1&keywords=buffy+season+8"]The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer,Season 8,Vol. 1): Joss Whedon,Georges Jeanty: 9781593078225: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Swy93%2BUvL.@@AMEPARAM@@51Swy93%2BUvL[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Buffy-Vampire-Slayer-Season-Library/dp/1595828885/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349106261&sr=1-2&keywords=buffy+season+8"]Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8 Library Edition Volume 1 HC: Joss Whedon,Brian K Vaughan,Scott Allie,Georges Jeanty,Paul Lee,Cliff Richards,Andy Owens,Dave Stewart: 9781595828880: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51meLKp2B2L.@@AMEPARAM@@51meLKp2B2L[/ame]

My personal view on the comics are mixed. 😛 Some I really enjoy, some not so much. Some of the things that happen I'm not a fan of but the same can go for the show. I'm glad that I bought them. I'm way too curious not to read them. Even if I can wait. I'm just now buying season 9 and Angel and Faith first editions since I'm waiting for the TPBs.

One thing is for certain and that is that the comics are not as the show. If you expect that you'll be disappointed for sure. It's "bigger", no budget to set restrictions and it can be more difficult to get as emotional as you can with actors and added music.

 

[EVIL UU]

Short answer:

NO ;O





Still in doubt? Check this recent season 8 and 9 poll:

http://shapinglight.livejournal.com/1207568.html

Older comics are pretty cool though.

 

[Washburne]

Still in doubt? Check this recent season 8 and 9 poll:

http://shapinglight.livejournal.com/1207568.html

Just don't read the comments.

59 participants, 26 say that the comics hasn't changed their view of the show. 8 like it more due to the comics and 13 like it less. I know the math don't add up. The rest are in the comments that one shouldn't read unless you like possible spoiler.

EVIL UU: You have all the right to feel the way you do. I can understand if people don't like the comics. But such a small poll with that result and writing with huge letters? Not a best argument in my book.

 

[EVIL UU]

[MENTION=8013]Washburne[/MENTION]
Yeah, you're right.

I simply don't feel like writing why those comics suck on just about every level, again, since I've done it so many times already, so these days I just go with huge letters followed with an appropriate emoticon.

Posting a link with plummeting sales data would have worked better though.

 

[Groge]

I've read the majority of the comics (I mainly stick to the canon ones) and I enjoy them. Season 8 had its ups and downs but Season 9 is a lot better. I'm also enjoying Angel & Faith, it's great to see them working together! I don't think they spoil the TV shows if anything, they just add to them. They will never be better than the shows themselves (some may argue this of course but generally speaking) but I love that I can carry on the story with all my favourite characters.
I recommend reading them if you enjoy reading comics. If you're not interested in the media and the experience that comics give you then it's maybe best if you just leave it as it is. 🙂

 

[Kenimowy]

Thanks for the input guys! I have never read comics before but I love Buffy so much I have thought of dipping my comic virgin self into that world just to see my beloved characters develop more.
I like the idea that if I don't like it, I can just pretend it never happened and stick to my series instead 🙂

 

[EVIL UU]

[MENTION=8013]Washburne[/MENTION]
Good idea. I'll just quote myself.

No, they're not worth reading.

Basically, they are one PR stunt after another ( Buffy is a lesbian! Buffy is pregnant! Buffy is a robot! ) with derivative nonsense, boredom and filler in between. Emotionally flat, direction-less, borderline offensive and pointlessly ambiguous. Also, the art is substandard.

Anyway, if season 8 is what happens when Buffy writers don't have to deal with all those surely nasty TV execs then bless those TV execs I say. And for the record, NO, season 8/9 comics are not more exciting and interesting than the show, they're not even more interesting then the original run comics.

I don't get it, it's like season 8/9 writers don't understand why people watched the show in the first place or maybe they're just a tad too pretentious?

We have a "Buffy" comic that requires the readers to watch the spin-off show ( "Angel" ) read a spin-off comic ( "Fray" ) and on the top of it, do some research.

It's ridiculous

That's the problem - it's not just "Buffy" continuation, it's a continuation of "Fray" and "Angel" with various references to other Buffy comics and even books thrown in. A "fan" who loved "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" TV show will feel lost.

The title "Buffy season 8" is simply misleading. ( "Buffyverse the extended universe - the continuation" seems more apt though harder to market, I guess )

So dear reader, if you enjoyed the show and the show only, steer clear, those comics are clearly not for you.

There, spoiler free.

Here, relevant threads:
https://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=59685

https://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=59108

 

[Skytteflickan88]

I had to read them, even when I didn't think I would like them, because I couldn't miss out on seeing the official continuation. So question is; just how curious are you?

 

[Robb Stark]

The opinions here so far seem to be really mixed, and I've heard that from a lot of people. Some like them, and some really (and I mean really) hate them. For me, I bought them after reading some of the reviews, but I was looking for some more Buffy content. I picked up the first library edition volume and I really enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting anything, and it wasn't the best comic I've ever read or anything, but it was fine. I liked it. The second library volume just arrived from Amazon the other day.

The library editions themselves are absolutely stunning. I mean, they're practically coffee-table pieces. Even if you aren't super into the comics, the book itself is so gorgeous it's almost worth it just for that alone.

 

[BlessedLunatic]

I read a little bit of Season 8 and honestly just had a hard time getting into them. Part of it was that I was reading them on a computer screen, where you have to scroll around to see the whole page, but part of it is that I just personally have a hard time reading comics. I was never into them. Seems I either need dialogue with the emotional expressions and inflections of actors bringing the words to life, or I need written descriptions of everything happening (like a book) with no pictures at all but plenty of emotion. I have a hard time just reading dialogue and looking at still pictures. The art of comics can be beautiful, but to me the medium doesn't have a good narrative flow. It just doesn't suck me in like a book does, and it doesn't have the realism of acting.

But that's totally just me. It made it difficult for me to get sucked into the story though, and I wasn't fully able to feel like I was reading/looking at new "episodes." I think I personally would've been happier with a series of novellas that told new continuing stories.

I keep thinking I'd like to give them another shot...maybe find a printed version somewhere (I haven't tried the library...I live in a very small town with a very small library, so I'm betting they won't have it, but it's worth looking into). But I also don't really feel that I'm missing out all that much.

Ultimately I think it's just up to you. Do you feel like you're missing out? Are you curious about it? Give them a shot then. I wouldn't let the opinions of others sway you. 🙂

 

[Kenimowy]

Thanks for all the answers guys. I think I am going to give it a shot. Can't hurt anything. Even if I don't like the comics, it couldn't possibly change my view on how the show is 😉
I am just dieing for a way to increase my mildly unhealthy obsession with the Buffyverse!

 

[tbessie]

Thanks for all the answers guys. I think I am going to give it a shot. Can't hurt anything. Even if I don't like the comics, it couldn't possibly change my view on how the show is 😉
I am just dieing for a way to increase my mildly unhealthy obsession with the Buffyverse!

Too bad you're not in California - I'd sell you my entire trade paperback season 8 and collected non-canon comics for cheap-ish! (I liked them, by the way, especially season 8 - season 9 is filled with too many pat comic-book universe answers and solutions to things ... you know, the "oh, we never told you this, but [random unknown fact], which is why that happened" kind of thing.

- Tim

____________________
Sent via TapaTalk

 

[dexeded]

Bring brain bleach.




In all seriousness, as you said, you might as well read them. They didn't affect my enjoyment of the show itself. There are about two arcs that I actually liked in S8... and the rest I felt was total crap. Be sure to read Fray. I heard After The Fall (the Angel continuation) is better, but I haven't read that. S9 of Buffy seems better (haven't read it firsthand yet, though). Angel and Faith is supposed to be good.

---------- Post added at 11:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 PM ----------

Just don't read the comments.

59 participants, 26 say that the comics hasn't changed their view of the show. 8 like it more due to the comics and 13 like it less. I know the math don't add up. The rest are in the comments that one shouldn't read unless you like possible spoiler.

EVIL UU: You have all the right to feel the way you do. I can understand if people don't like the comics. But such a small poll with that result and writing with huge letters? Not a best argument in my book.

I agree the poll wasn't the best piece of evidence, but there's nothing wrong with the figures. You missed out the last category, which was the option to answer in the comments. The numbers add up. The count at this moment is 60 participants: 9 like the show more, 13 like the show less, 26 weren't affected by the comics, 17 opted to answer in comments. You are allowed to vote more than once. So the numbers add up.

 

[Washburne]

B
I agree the poll wasn't the best piece of evidence, but there's nothing wrong with the figures. You missed out the last category, which was the option to answer in the comments. The numbers add up. The count at this moment is 60 participants: 9 like the show more, 13 like the show less, 26 weren't affected by the comics, 17 opted to answer in comments. You are allowed to vote more than once. So the numbers add up.

The numbers I mentioned didn't add up to 59. When I said "The rest are in the comments" I meant the missinng numbers. I just didn't want to read the comments since I haven't read all of the comics. Which meant I had no clue of those votes vent. So I left those out instead of saying 17 are in the comments. I can't expect people to follow my train of thought. Especially when I'm not great at expressing them.

 

[ladydorotea]

To be honest, if I could un-read the comics now that I read them - I would. But as they say, curiosity kills the cat. One good thing I got from them though is that I am tremendously grateful to SMG for quitting the show when she did.

 

[tbessie]

To be honest, if I could un-read the comics now that I read them - I would. But as they say, curiosity kills the cat. One good thing I got from them though is that I am tremendously grateful to SMG for quitting the show when she did.

Nooooooo! My eyyyyyyyes! 🙂

____________________
Sent via TapaTalk

 

[Robb Stark]

To be honest, if I could un-read the comics now that I read them - I would. But as they say, curiosity kills the cat. One good thing I got from them though is that I am tremendously grateful to SMG for quitting the show when she did.

Well, to be fair, if they're had been a T.V. S8, they it wouldn't have been even close to the same, simply because they have a budget. I mean, If Angel had been renewed for a sixth season (and it should have been), they wouldn't have done After the Fall like we saw in the comics. Just from a money perspective, they probably wouldn't have even done "LA goes to hell".

 

[ladydorotea]

Well, to be fair, if they're had been a T.V. S8, they it wouldn't have been even close to the same, simply because they have a budget. I mean, If Angel had been renewed for a sixth season (and it should have been), they wouldn't have done After the Fall like we saw in the comics. Just from a money perspective, they probably wouldn't have even done "LA goes to hell".

AtF was supposedly written by Lynch based on an outline presented to him by Joss as his plan for S6. So yeah, LA would have went to Hell and back, and

Spoiler

Gunn would have turned vampire and back too.

The difference would have been in the amount of outdoor shots and special effects. Like the dragon probably would not have been there - although it could have been done with a hint of a giant head on the background.

As for the rest of my sentiment - it was mostly expressed over the Buffy comic proper. I am tremendously grateful to SMG for leaving the show just when Joss was about to turn her into Echo's blonde pissier clone - having that on top already boring and illogical S7 would have killed my enjoyment of the show completely.

 

[dexeded]

AtF was supposedly written by Lynch based on an outline presented to him by Joss as his plan for S6. So yeah, LA would have went to Hell and back, and

Spoiler

Gunn would have turned vampire and back too.

The difference would have been in the amount of outdoor shots and special effects. Like the dragon probably would not have been there - although it could have been done with a hint of a giant head on the background.

As for the rest of my sentiment - it was mostly expressed over the Buffy comic proper. I am tremendously grateful to SMG for leaving the show just when Joss was about to turn her into Echo's blonde pissier clone - having that on top already boring and illogical S7 would have killed my enjoyment of the show completely.

The situations for Buffy S8 and AtF are entirely different, though. I agree that AtF would've gone the same way (was it well-received, the comic?), but BtVS would have turned out differently. Hell, if they'd known S7 wasn't the end, they wouldn't have ended it with Chosen.