The Buffyverse

Buffy Season 09 comics are set to start in August, and this time we're getting two comic series.

August 31st will see the first issue of Angel and Faith, written by Christos Gage with art by Rebekah Issacs.


I've been trying very hard to avoid spoilers for any of the Buffy related comics, but I was very curious about two things. Is Angel and Faith a team-up book, or just a place to share both of their stories? And, how important will the Angel comics from IDW be in this new series? Judging from some of the initial artwork released, team-ups will not be out of the question. Scott Allie, editor of the Dark Horse Buffy line, has said "All the Angel IDW comics count, but they aren't gonna spend time nitpicking with the details," whatever that means. I may actually need to go try to read the Angel comics, which had bored me last time I tried to read them.

I am not greatly familiar with Christos Gage or Rebekah Issacs, so I have no pre-existing bias towards or against either of them. That's great for a series based on my favorite television show.

The same cannot be said for Georges Jeanty. I read all of season eight of Buffy, and I've seen his artwork elsewhere, and I think it is terrible. Okay, maybe not terrible, but very ill-suited to Buffy. The way he draws faces makes me wonder if he's ever seen another human being. Most of the time. Sometimes, he surprises me, and I'm hoping season nine will be full of good-art surprises.


What doesn't surprise me is that Jo Chen is back on covers. Her work has been nothing short of spectacular.

The first Buffy story arc is written by Joss Whedon and Andrew Chambliss. I didn't think that I was familiar, since his name is usually followed by The Vampire Diaries, a show I haven't watched. But he's written for another Joss Whedon project, Dollhouse (which I absolutely love, despite the bad press). I will be very interested to see how he works in the Buffyverse.

Actually, I'm just really interested to see where the Buffyverse is going. Season eight was pretty disappointing (especially towards the end). Hopefully this season will be more like what we all know and love from Buffy.

Both of these series are set to run for 25 issues (50 glorious issues!). While both of these series will compliment each other, neither is necessary to understanding the other. So, if you only like Angel and hate Buffy, you can ignore Buffy season nine, apparently. Though, why would you?

Angel and Faith #1 comes out August 31st (the same day as DC's new Justice League of America #1). Buffy Season Nine #1 is scheduled for September 14th (the same day that Batwoman's solo series finally starts).