elisi | Buffy 8.13.

I keep mentally slapping myself reading this arc. "But what does this say about the charact-" *slap* "Nothing! It's CRACK!" "But this doesn't make a lick of sen-" *slap* "It's not supposed to! It's CRACK!" "But why on earth would they think this was a good id-" *slap* "Because it's CRACK! And the next issue will have a giant space whale trampling Tokyo and it will be FUNNY!" :-)

And the next issue will have a giant space whale trampling Tokyo and it will be FUNNY!" :-)
Bwah! An emo space whale that they have to kill and everyone will be sad...

I keep mentally slapping myself reading this arc. "But what does this say about the charact-" *slap* "Nothing! It's CRACK!" "But this doesn't make a lick of sen-" *slap* "It's not supposed to! It's CRACK!" "But why on earth would they think this was a good id-" *slap* "Because it's CRACK!
Amen. The Xander/Dracula thing is just... I don't even know where to start. The whole dinner discussion, which was *so* the missus & the ex and I couldn't stop chuckling. ("You've lost weight."/"Can you tell? I've been trying to exercise more."/"Yes, it suits you." ::DIES::) And now I'm wondering if Xander used a stopwatch to seduce Dracula (srsly - young man loses girlfriend in tragic circumstances and turns to older man for comfort. It's the story that just KEEPS GIVING! Sure, the thought of the *actual* Xander going to stay with the *actual* Dracula - and the *actual* Buffy letting him - is so ridiculous that it boggles the mind. But, as you say, it is CRACK!

(And isn't Joss kind, btw? Everyone was all 'But the fanboys got Buffy/Satsu, what about us fangirls? Where's our slash?' And hey - he delivered! *g*)

Edited 2008-04-02 22:19 (UTC)

Sure, the thought of the *actual* Xander going to stay with the *actual* Dracula - and the *actual* Buffy letting him - is so ridiculous that it boggles the mind. But, as you say, it is CRACK!

Especially given how they even go to some length to make Dracula even more evil - all those racist comments are a real "kick the puppy" moment, and I especially like how Renee turns down the chance to save that poor Albanian boy - and STILL seem to try to sell him as a quirky, funny guy... it's like the comic was written by two different people simultaneously, one of whom is trying to tell a serious story and the other is on... um... some sort of drugs. :-) Vintage Torchwood, absolutely.

Especially given how they even go to some length to make Dracula even more evil - all those racist comments are a real "kick the puppy" moment, and I especially like how Renee turns down the chance to save that poor Albanian boy - and STILL seem to try to sell him as a quirky, funny guy...
*shakes head* My mind boggled and then gave up, and now I'm just stilling in a corner giggling, because it is crack!fic proper. (But well written. Some lines feel like they come straight from the show.)

it's like the comic was written by two different people simultaneously, one of whom is trying to tell a serious story and the other is on... um... some sort of drugs. :-) Vintage Torchwood, absolutely.
Actually, Torchwood tends to be a LOT more angsty. And it has BAD CONSEQUENCES when someone hangs out with BAD GUYS, no matter how charming they are.

Damn you, I'm gonna have to start reading again, aren't I? ;-)

Yes. Yes you are. It is BRILLIANT! :)

Is this a spoiler?

Not if you've read issue 12. (Although you should stay away from the comments.) It's just that they take the set-up from 12 and *really* go with it... and it is SO MUCH FUN! :)

Kewl! I'm blissfully unspoiled until I get to read it hopefully later today. *grin*

Enjoy! :)

He should really just slap a label across the front of the comic saying crack fic that you're paying for! and stop referring to this as canon because they jumped the shark some time back.

He should really just slap a label across the front of the comic saying crack fic that you're paying for!
Yup! (I might even buy it - that's a lot more tempting than 'This is canon omg!')

and stop referring to this as canon because they jumped the shark some time back.
It was the castle that did it for me...

It'd be a lot less annoying to us if he did. Especially since he's publicly said he'd drop the comics if given a chance to do a Buffy movie.

The castle is just the beginning of the list. I'll bet that shark is real tired of getting jumped over.

The Scoobies are not turning into better people the older they get(except maybe Xander but following the trend he'll does something massively unethical) . I thought there was a glimpse of maturity in Buffy when she was giving Satsu the talk and letting her down easy since Buffy's straight and will never love her that way and then the next issue wham! they slept together . That made no sense whatsoever. It just plays into a delusion that if a character is a feminist then she naturally has to have sex with a woman at least once even if she's straight. That makes about as much sense as saying every gay woman would like sex with a man if she'd just try it.

It'd be a lot less annoying to us if he did. Especially since he's publicly said he'd drop the comics if given a chance to do a Buffy movie.
*nods*

The castle is just the beginning of the list. I'll bet that shark is real tired of getting jumped over.
Hee! Where's Greenpeace when you need them?

The Scoobies are not turning into better people the older they get(except maybe Xander but following the trend he'll does something massively unethical) .
Oh don't get me *started*! On the plus side re. Xander, then he's finally getting a story line, and that I applaud. It is also FUNNY, which is even better. (The fact that it is completely ridiculous and far-fetched is another story.) Re. Buffy, then the sleeping with Satsu didn't even register with me - the bank robbing killed the character stone dead. Comic!Buffy would clearly sleep with a woman, so she did - it bears no relation to anything outside of that. (I didn't like her shutting down Satsu though, because Satsu's suggestion was perfectly reasonable and smart. *grumble*)

Yep the bank robbing definitely killed it but Buffy appearing to do the right thing re:Satsu gave faint hope that she could be resurrected and then the next issue was like they were saying we were just joking , she's not doing the right thing.

The shutting down Satsu is probably paving the road for Satsu to be the prophesized betrayer .

The shutting down Satsu is probably paving the road for Satsu to be the prophesized betrayer .
Well if this Buffy has learned nothing from her past 7+ years as a Slayer, then I think she *deserves* to be betrayed!

Word!

It just plays into a delusion that if a character is a feminist then she naturally has to have sex with a woman at least once even if she's straight.

That's if you read into it. I really think it came down to 'let's have Buffy sleep with a woman, that'll sell some issues!' which might be even worse.

It wasn't a sudden idea for them , they planned it from the beginning. You can see that with her thinking she misses sex and the kiss of true love. But it definitely was done for the sensation value to me so that they could go down in comic history as having the first straight female character to have sex with a woman. Not to mention the amount of attention they got in the press.

If they just wanted to have Buffy get involved with someone , break thier heart and eventually have that person betray her (which I think is where this is headed) then it just as easily could have been a Watcher in Training who wasn't killed by the bringers. But by making it a woman they get the attention.

Oh, I think they were planning something, but I think making it sexual with Satsu was added later. I think I remember reading something like that in an interview with Joss, something along the lines that it wasn't his idea and he actually had to go back an issue or two and rewrite to try to make sense of it. Maybe I'm misremembering, but it makes sense since all of Buffy's fantasies were about men.

There are alot of up sides to it--fanboy-squeeing, it's not 'serious' so it doesn't alienate ships and it sells copies. But to me it also cheapens the comics even more.

But to me it also cheapens the comics even more.
I think that's a good thing. And I need a Xander/Dracula icon. I'm hoping BGF will make some soon! :)

It's like they're taking a basic plot point and figuring out the worst way to bring it about.

Buffy is quite capable of breaking a young girl's heart either through ignorance or denial. Not knowing and being hard on all of them because she didn't know how to deal or being hard on Satsu (because she knew) because she didn't know how to deal. Instead we get a Buffy who first gives the responsible I'm straight , it'll never happen talk and then goes and sleeps with her anyway and gives the girl hope that her love can be returned.

For example with Dawn being a giant. They have Dawn dating a thricewise, then losing her virginity by cheating on him with his roommate (therefore betraying his trust and probably violating his room) , turns into a giant either because of her losing her virginity or because she lost her virginity and feels like a giant ho.And now she sits around with nothing to do with her new size and nobody seems overly concerned with fixing her.

They could have had Dawn became a giant because she lost her virginity, either just because of spilling blood that was in a blood vessel or that and her thricewise boyfriend. The boyfriend could've stayed by her side to support her and helped research a way to change her back .Then a way for Dawn's size to be useful could have come up and shortly after she was cured. No character assassination necessary and it's a good plot.

They could have had thier basic plot with no character assassination necessary. They're bashing thier own characters.

I think I'll just polish my glasses through this one...

Oh don't do that, you'll miss the fun! (And there's some... um, serious stuff too. I'm sure people will write about that also.)

You know, I think if he ever did have a plan to make a movie, these comics just killed any chance. It's getting to the point where you're just embarrassed by them, having to add the qualifying 'I'm a fan of the show, NOT the comics' when you say you're a Buffy fan.

It's getting to the point where you're just embarrassed by them, having to add the qualifying 'I'm a fan of the show, NOT the comics' when you say you're a Buffy fan.
True. Except people not connected with fandom do not have a clue that the comics exist. Which is nice. :)

<---huge buffy fan, reading the comics....I don't get what you are talking about. "Crack"? What does the Xander Dracula thing have to do with Torchwood?

I don't get what you are talking about. "Crack"?
Ummm... basically something that is ridiculous, over the top and yet hugely satisfying. Oooh, like 'The Girl in Question' f.ex.

What does the Xander Dracula thing have to do with Torchwood?
Torchwood is known for being pretty 'omni-sexual' - it has canon slash, mpreg & threesomes (to mention a few things) - and the sudden (and rather OOC to put it mildly) emergence of Xander/Dracula does remind me a lot of Torchwood's outlook. (All the characters are bi-sexual. Or at least bi-curious when exposed to alien sex pollen. 'Tis canon!)

Don't get me wrong, I am (now) enjoying season 8 very much indeed. Keep it coming! :)

oh, ok. I get it. yeah, I do agree, the there was a lot of "crack" in this issue, and I loved it, it is such good fun in my opinion.

But I hadn't thought about the Xander Dracula hook up...hmmm...that could definitely be hot :0)

I so rarely find people who read the comics that I can talk to about it...do you mind if I proble...? Since you mentioned you "now" like the comic...what didn't you like in the begining?

But I hadn't thought about the Xander Dracula hook up...hmmm...that could definitely be hot :0)
You've read this, right? The art is pretty awful, but the story is fun! :)

I so rarely find people who read the comics that I can talk to about it...
Try

newly_legion - there's another s8 community, but I can't remember what it is called. If you're reading 'After the Fall', can I recommend

angel6_atf?

Since you mentioned you "now" like the comic...what didn't you like in the begining?
Um... where to start? The artwork, the castle (why was Buffy living so far away from civilisation?), giant!Dawn, the lack of info about what had happened post-Chosen, skinless!Warren & Amy, Buffy being increasingly OOC (the whole *point* of S7 appears to have vanished, not to mention the bankrobbing) - to mention a few things. I am very, very, very fussy when it comes to how these characters are portrayed, and if s8 was a fic I'd have abandoned it long ago. However - it is now impossible to take it seriously, and therefore I can enjoy it. :)

Thanks for the communities suggestions!!
Oh yeah, I did read that in Tales of Vampire...but I guess I just kind of wrote it off in my mind because it was so rediculous...who would have known it would pop up again :0)
Now seeing you say it, I can definitely see where you are coming from, I didn't think the story really picked up and started being good until #5 and then the Faith arc.

Thanks for the communities suggestions!!
My pleasure. (The AtF one was my idea! *pets it*) Also make sure to check out

beer_good_foamy! :)

Oh yeah, I did read that in Tales of Vampire...but I guess I just kind of wrote it off in my mind because it was so rediculous...who would have known it would pop up again :0)
I love it entirely too much. I just wish the artwork was prettier...

Now seeing you say it, I can definitely see where you are coming from, I didn't think the story really picked up and started being good until #5 and then the Faith arc.
The Faith arc was OK (I had a couple of reservations, but mostly it was good solid stuff). If they keep up the level they're at now (and the previews for #16 looked *brilliant*) we should be in luck for the foreseeable future.

I did jump over and read beer_good_foamy's review, I know I will be checking that out monthly from now on...hopefully as the comic get better and better!

Sorry it's taken me so long to repsond. Life sorta ran away from me.

BGF is... no, words fail me. But he is! Oh yes. (We also often share a brain. This is a little worrying.)

And the other s8 community is called

btvs_season_8 if you want to check it out. Also

aycheb &

stormwreath have wonderful s8 meta and are generally very positive,

shapinglight also does reviews, and

moscow_watcher used to. She might have given up, I'm not sure.

Anyway, I hope that's helpful! :)

very helpful! Now I have tons of people to talk to about everything! Thanks so much!

My pleasure! :)

Ahahahah! It was so funny! I don't want to think about it, just want to laugh. Xander and Dracula are so silly and sweet together, just keep 'em going and I'll be happy. :)
Don't really want to think much about the rest of it - ecxept the death of the girl. It was very chilling.

Ahahahah! It was so funny! I don't want to think about it, just want to laugh. Xander and Dracula are so silly and sweet together, just keep 'em going and I'll be happy. :)

shapinglight and I are trying to talk

beer_good_foamy into making Xacula icons. We need some! :)

Don't really want to think much about the rest of it - ecxept the death of the girl. It was very chilling.
Actually - speaking of BGF, he has just posted some lovely meta on both #13 and the new AtF issue. Check it out!

Buffy 8.13.

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