“The thing about changing the world . . . Once you do it, the world’s all different.”
TITLE:
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON EIGHT: THE LONG WAY HOME
WRITER:
by Joss Whedon
ARTISTS:
by Georges Jeanty (Pencils)
Paul Lee (Guest Pencils)
Andy Owens (Inks)
Dave Stewart (colors)
SERIES:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight: The Long Way Home Vol. 1
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight comics #1-5
PUBLISHER:
Dark Horse Books
GENRE:
Graphic Novel (collection), Horror, Humor, Fiction
DESCRIPTORS:
Saving the World, Demonic Invasion, Military, Magic, Revenge, Torture, Underground Worlds, Look-Alike, Disguised,
CHARACTERS:
Buffy Summers, The Vampire Slayer who is leader of an army of vampire slayers.
Willow Rosenberg, Buffy’s friend who is also a witch.
Xander Harris, Buffy’s friend and former loser who has grown up.
Dawn Summers, Buffy’s sister.
Giles, Formerly Buffy’s Watcher, the only known Watcher left alive.
Andrew, Formerly a bad guy, he has reformed and leads a squad of slayers . . . sort of.
SUMMARY:
Once there was a council of Watchers that kept an eye on demonic activity and stored mystical lore that might be needed to save the world. Once there was a slayer — one young woman who inherited supernatural power, agility and the ability to kick vampire butt. But slayers inherited their power upon the death of the previous slayer and did not last long.
However, Buffy changed all of that. In season seven — the final season of the televised program — she shared her power, distributing it among eighteen hundred potential vampire slayers; young women who were slayers-in-waiting.
Now she leads an army of slayers against an upsurge of vampire and demonic activity. However, demons have become the least of her problems.
The military has taken an interest in eliminating Buffy and her slayers. To that end they’ve enlist a pair of horrors from Buffy’s past — possibly the only two survivors of the implosion that turned the town of Sunnydale into a crater. A deal is struck and an assault is leveled against the Scottish castle where Buffy’s squad resides.
But the target turns out to be — not Buffy — but Willow.
This first story arc introduces us to the name of the “big bad” of Season Eight: Twilight.
This first collection ends with a stand alone story about one of three slayers who volunteered to have themselves surgically altered to look like and pose as Buffy. This nameless woman descends into an underground labyrinth — home to myriad of creatures and demons.
She earns their trust, posing as Buffy, and teaches the creatures to band together into a protective community. When the time comes, she makes a stand against a demonic hoard to protect the other non-human denizens.
APPEAL:
The events in this series of comic books take place 6 months to a year after the series finale of the television show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As the show ran for seven seasons, this comic book series is called Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight to easily distinguish it from all the other Buffy comics published by Dark Horse.
The stories assume you’ve watch the television series. If you haven’t, they provide a quick explanation or a flashback to bring you up to speed, but it does make for a richer experience to have seen the series.
Buffy creator Joss Whedon wrote the scripts for the first batch of stories collected in this trade paperback. The first four stories form an arc introducing the big bad menace for Season Eight called “Twilight”. Next is a single issue story about the life of one of the slayers who was made to look like, and pass as Buffy.
The characterizations are spot-on and pure Buffy. From the unique use of vocabulary to familiar characters, in new and uncomfortable (for them) roles. Some new characters are introduced, especially Slayers who will get their stories as the season continues.
One difference from the television show is that Joss isn’t limited by a budget or the state of special effects technology. So he can open up the story with an attack of a squadron of slayers on three very big and very ugly demons.
READALIKES:
Nothing is quite like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so the best readalikes are the other Dark Horse collections of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You could start with the Omnibus collections: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 2, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 3, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 4, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 6, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus, Vol. 7.
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