Joss WhedonAnmeldelser

3.5 but I can't bring myself to round up.

While I wouldn’t have personally written the second half of Season 8 the way it was, I think given that it took these turns that this was a solid wrap up to everything that has happened! There was plenty of action, maybe a little too much exposition, some REAL sadness, and a broadening of the Buffyverse that could potentially be a lot of fun to see explored in the future (coughBugSpaceshipcough).

The plot had grown a little too big and out of control, so the writers had quite a bit to reign in, and it was a good effort! I feel satisfied with this ending. I don’t ~adore~ it, mainly because several choices and action seem vaguely out of character, and because the universe got WAY bigger without a lot of buildup, but it was a good time and I’m glad I read it nevertheless!

This volume had a pretty distinct shift in tone and story from the previous Season 8 volumes, and it was fun in its own (slightly gimmicky) way! The Satsu and Dawn issues were the strongest; they did a good job of continuing or wrapping up plot points from earlier all while developing the bigger picture (although Kennedy is mega-annoying here). Also three cheers for seeing more of the FaithxGiles team-up!! That issue felt like random filler but it was enjoyable to see them in action nevertheless. :)

2.5 rounded up.
Well…that wasn’t what I was expecting. Or necessarily wanting? This whole plot felt much sloppier than previous Season 8 plots, and like it wasn’t fully thought out. On the plus side, I liked seeing Oz again, and felt like his return felt natural. I’m glad to see his growth and how he’s chosen to deal with his own personal situation. Also, the Giles/Buffy moments and conversations in the first part were very nicely done!

But there was so much other stuff that felt off. It seems to me super unlikely that Buffy would turn so easily and quickly to having everyone give up their Slayer powers/magics, especially when that power is something she knows makes them who they are and also KEEPS THEM SAFE…as we see pages later when she’s like “Omg we need our powers!” It was kind of an interesting idea to explore, but this didn’t seem like the right time for it.
Also the artwork takes a noticeable downturn in this volume! It’s been good, even enjoyable at times, up until now. The close-up drawings are decent, but figures in the background look like literal aliens half the time. The rest of the time it’s a bit of a guessing game to figure out who is who; I kept thinking Kennedy was Faith, and Dawn looks like she went through another Thricewise transformation.
And what’s with the random side story about Monroe?! Talk about a page waster! NOTHING about that was important to the bigger picture and it was boring either way.

It was fine. “Retreat” wasn’t ~terrible~, but it was DEFINITELY not the strongest. Actually it’s the weakest in all of Season 8 so far. It’s just frustrating to read and all I can do is hope it gets better again!

I took a quick glance at some of the other reviews as I went to add this volume and was kinda shocked to see so many "meh" comments about it! I actually really had a blast reading this: the writing felt true to the characters and was quippy without being annoying, the artwork was vibrant and expressive, and the plot was a delightful time-travel-y ride! I LOVED getting to see Melaka again; I read "Fray" for the first time last year and thought it was fantastic. Maybe I'm a bit biased because I'm a sucker for time-travel play (and centaurs tbh), but truly "Time of Your Life" is my favorite volume in Season 8 so far.

SO much to enjoy in this one! This genuinely feels like such a natural (and more queer) continuation of Buffy’s adventures and I’m here for every vamp-slaying minute of it.

This volume feels like a very natural continuation of the "Buffy" show from where things ended in Season 7! It has a nice balance of action and fighting; some looking into the question of what the world is going to look like now; and touching little family/friend moments, like Buffy and Dawn working to find their balance, as well as Buffy's mysterious kisser. The fifth issue also really was wonderfully done and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this side story.
My one major nitpick is that the return of Amy and Warren felt a bit weird? I think the story would have been strengthened if Buffy had to face a new foe instead of the writers rehashing old faces. Also, I hope this military-ish plot doesn't become too like the Initiative plot from Season 4. It was kinda a slog in the show and it would be nice to see some baddies other than just men with guns and convoluted military ops.
Either way, I'm excited to keep reading into Season 8 and have high hopes for what's next!

Loved getting more exploration and development of Faith in this volume! She’s such a dynamic character and watching her growth is entertaining yet endearing; I’m rooting for her as much as ever now. Also WILLOW!! Ugh Willow ily❤️

5 slayer-tastic stars and a definite new favorite in the Buffyverse!

(4.5 rounded up) I haven't read a ton of X-Men content, so there is probably a little nuance that I'm missing, but I really thought this was a super fun collection that felt like watching a miniseries! It's well paced, has an interesting (if slightly familiar) plot, and does a great job of hooking the reader forwards but also providing a satisfying end. Each of the main characters were ones I was familiar with in some capacity and all of them (except Scott, he just annoys me) grew on me throughout this story, especially Emma and Kitty. Also Danger was a very exciting character to get to read - I enjoy AI/sentient beings arcs like that and this one was no exception. I'm eager to read more of this storyline!

Action

What a horrible, horrible way to desecrate the corpse of a long-dead story. The TV series was without a doubt one of the best ones out there and it had the best ending one could have hoped for.

These comics are a desperate attempt to create a new cash cow (which probably worked) out of it by inventing terrible and ridiculous story lines which don't even make sense and in some cases completely ruin the show.

Meh. Meh meh, meh meh meh, meh.

Let me put it this way--if you don't care about continuity errors, coherency, or actual ANSWERS to who Shepard Book was...this is fine. Too much of what is in the book does not mesh with what we learned in the series (or movie). Much as how the opening of Serenity (the movie) completely ret'conned how River got out of the Institute, this book tried to give us an alternative to how Book became Book. Sadly it just didn't make sense.

While the (as yet unreleased) second half of the series was comparatively weak, this first batch of episodes was quite promising, especially as it built towards its reveals at the end. Yet another sad HBO/Max cancellation of recent years.½

Pretty good - very classic, Claremont X-Men, but using some of themes from Grant Morrison's run, immediately preceding Whedon's. If anything this was more satisfying story-wise than the first half, wrapping things up pretty well. It was _very_ fast paced, to the point that I wasn't sure that some bits really made sense (so possibly a touch too convoluted, which can be a weakness of Whedon). I think it's worth, and would repay, a re-read. The actual, very final ending seemed a little needlessly overly-tragic. I didn't quite buy that, but whatever, that's okay. It wouldn't convert anyone to the supes, but for those who have a bit of nostalgia for some of those classic, space epic stories it hits the spot.

Good fun X-Men, with a nice classic Claremont feel. This was definitely deliberate, as it references those books directly, through Kitty Pryde's flashbacks as she returns to Xavier's. Pleasantly surprised to see Lockheed back too! It doesn't feel as crazy or creative as Morrisson's take, which preceded this one, but at the same time it's a little more consistent. The whole 'cure-for-homo-superior' thing feels like it's been done before. Also found some of the aliens and their motivations and stuff a little confusing, but suspect that'll get clearer in volume 2.

[Confused about what edition of this I read - should be this one http://www.amazon.com/Astonishing-Whedon-Cassaday-Ultimate-Collection/dp/0785161... but can't find it on GR]

Was alright. Bought it cheap, but probably hoped for a little more from Whedon. Solid enough, I suppose.

1.5 stars

There were a few bits here and there that felt like the "old" Runaways, but overall this was really disappointing. One of my favorite characters was missing entirely and there was little-to-no plot or character development, because the entire volume is pretty much just a compilation of battles. Other comics were thrown in when the Runaways were featured in them and the art style changes... ack. And if this is really where the story ends (there is no volume 4, to my knowledge), then what the heck? There was no closure.

Satisfying despite some dubious plot choices - hey, it's BtVS.

Pretty solid Firefly episode. The art and continuity were a bit uneven. But it was a pleasant return to this universe.

I didn't like the art so much in this one and I found it difficult to follow the story. The dialog was sparse and often cryptic and there was little exposition to clear it up. I thought the fantasies of riches for the various members of the crew were pretty funny. The overall story didn't quite work.

This was pretty OK. The art was a bit primitive and the only Firefly character in it for more than a page or two (obviously) was Book, but it worked. The interesting convention of starting with the end of Book's life and working backward was effective. Telling the same story forward, it would be more difficult for the reader to identify with the character, because we mostly know him from his latter days. I'm glad his story has been told, however briefly (and still somewhat cryptically).

This is a comic that is purely aimed at those of us who loved Firefly and Serenity and always wanted to know what Shepherd Book's back story was.   It used to be available on Kindle, which i managed to get, but for some reason only the expensive hard back is now available.

While this comic goes through Book's earlier life, it does so in such a way that is just totally messy and disjointed.   I can't understand how anyone could sit down and think that this was a good way to tell Book's story.   It starts at the end, where Book gets killed on Haven, and then keeps jumping back in time a few years at a time, but each jump is so harsh and disjointed it just leaves you having to go back over things several times to try and make some sense out of it.

To be fair, i would normally put a book this bad on "The Bookshelf of Infamy", but as a total Firefly and Serenity fan looking at the only thing that tells of Shepherd Book's past, albeit in a really badly presented way, i'm willing to spare it that utter shame and give it a hairline pass with 2 stars -- but that's an only just scraped into the bottom of 2 stars.

The annoying thing is that the Whedon's obviously know how popular Shepherd Book was and how much everyone wanted to know more about his past.   Shepherd Book fully deserved a full length novel.   Even if the Whedon's couldn't be bothered to write it themselves, they could at least have just dumped all their notes onto a really good writer and let them have at it.

Shepherd Book deserved better!!!

It's definitely not what I expected, but it was a nice read. I love Samnee so I'm pretty biased but as usual this was a beautiful piece of work. The writing was very good. You have to read it at least twice to get everything because of the backwards storytelling. But overall I enjoyed it, and it's worth the reread, and more.

If you like "Baccano", you would like this. If you like this, think about checking out "Baccano". The storytelling is similar.