Opening lines to each issue...

[Emmie]

In looking for Twilight clues and general theme-y goodness, I considered the importance of the first lines of each issue:

Long Way Home

1. Buffy: "The thing about changing the world...once you do it, the world's all different."

2. Giles: "I used to be a watcher."

3. Buffy: "My love. He called me 'my love'."

4. Willow (flashback): "Bored now."

The Chain

-Yamanh "Buffy Summers..."

No Future for You

1. Faith: "Oh, the places you'll go. Mom used to read me that book before she tucked me in...nights she was sober enough, anyway."

2. Faith (looking at the knife Buffy stabbed her with in GD1): "This is friendship."

3. Faith (talking about Buffy): "Her. Its always about her."

4. Mayor Wilkins: "Oh, one more thing before you go."
Faith: "Evil scumbag. That's what most people think of the last guy who put me in a dress."

Anywhere But Here

Dream Daniel Craig: "Buffy Summers?"

A Beautiful Sunset

Buffy: "Once upon a time, I did something good." (Image of little girl playing baseball and being chosen.)

Wolves at the Gate

1. Xander: "(looking at wolves in binoculars)...or maybe they're panthers."

2. Dracula: "I'm so alone."
Butterfield: "Master?"

3.
4.

Time of Your Life

1. Buffy: "Bad day. Started out bad, stayed that way."

____________________________________________________

So what's it all mean?

Clearly there's alot of theme-y-ness here. Hello theme of solitude and clearly its still all about Buffy, even when its Faith's story arc. Plus the world's all different, so there's all new rules for Buffy to deal with, take responsibility for and feel guilty about.

With all this Twilight speculation regarding Giles, the "I used to be a watcher" line seems quite meaningful...so what exactly is Giles now? Isn't he like THE watcher now considering the annihilation of the council? Oh Giles, what are you up to...

"Once upon a time I did something good..." seems to relate the mythic feeling of the slayer spell Buffy & co did in 'Chosen', plus a certain undertone that her doing something good was a fairytale. Is she questioning her decision here? Aren't we questioning it? Was it good?

[wenxina]

Apr 17, 2008 19:54:40 GMT -5 Emmie said:

So what's it all mean?

Clearly there's alot of theme-y-ness here. Hello theme of solitude and clearly its still all about Buffy, even when its Faith's story arc. Plus the world's all different, so there's all new rules for Buffy to deal with, take responsibility for and feel guilty about.

With all this Twilight speculation regarding Giles, the "I used to be a watcher" line seems quite meaningful...so what exactly is Giles now? Isn't he like THE watcher now considering the annihilation of the council? Oh Giles, what are you up to...

"Once upon a time I did something good..." seems to relate the mythic feeling of the slayer spell Buffy & co did in 'Chosen', plus a certain undertone that her doing something good was a fairytale. Is she questioning her decision here? Aren't we questioning it? Was it good?

Ahh... Giles... once upon a time, he was a Watcher. That was before the Council got blown up, and Buffy started a slayer army. Maybe it's just his way of recognizing that his place in the world is becoming less and less relevant. Sure, he can teach the girls, but so can the squad leaders. It used to be that the Watcher was responsible for his charge, to aid the girl until she died. Now, it's almost like he's just an honorary Watcher. Buffy's in charge, not him. Could be that this finally prompts him to offer to be the "Steed" to Faith's "Peel".

"Once upon a time, I did something good." I agree that it sets the slayer spell in a fairy tale light. I mean, it's a perversion of your usual fairy-tales. The girl isn't the damsel who needs rescuing, that's the point of the spell in the first place: "Are you ready to be strong?"
Also, Buffy is now reverred in the slayer circles. Those who haven't met her are awestruck when they finally do. Some are even willing to die in her name: the slayer in "The Chain". And hey, Willow makes a hot fairy godmother. No more "Bippity Boppity Boo".
But it also foreshadows Buffy's self-doubt. I mean, few panels later shows Simone and her cronies. At this point, it's hard to think that Buffy doesn't occasionally wish that the spell was more discriminate, or heck, maybe even wonder if it was a good idea in the long run. She just came up against Gigi, and Faith (who wasn't really against her, but hell, bad memories and drowning?). All bad eggs. It was good that she empowered these girls. But heck, life just got more complicated for her, and still, no connection.
So did she really move the world forward to something better? Or was it a step in wrong direction? Twilight seems convinced that it was a bad idea... and so far, it doesn't seem that Buffy's been convinced otherwise.

I agree that there's the whole isolation deal happening. Issues 1, 5, 7, 8, 11 can all be construed as either making direct or more subtle references to Buffy's otherness. Even when it's Faith talking, it's still about Buffy, and how Faith views her friendship with Buffy.

[faith0tvs]

The first few lines in the first panel of the comics is the equivalent of an episode's first scene and your theory could be a really good one if Joss had the habit of using the first scene of every episode to reveal something vastly important about the season's plot.Since thats not the case-at least not always - then i dont think that your theory is valid, unless Joss surprises us all

[Emmie]

Apr 18, 2008 6:22:27 GMT -5 faith0tvs said:

The first few lines in the first panel of the comics is the equivalent of an episode's first scene and your theory could be a really good one if Joss had the habit of using the first scene of every episode to reveal something vastly important about the season's plot.Since thats not the case-at least not always - then i dont think that your theory is valid, unless Joss surprises us all

But a comic issue doesn't translate exactly to an tv episode. The way a story is told on screen is different than how its told in the comics. There's alot of internal expostion in the first lines of each issue. Plus the first lines set the stage for each issue.

-The Chain "Buffy Summers..." the issue is about the importance of names and fame versus the importance of who you are and what you've done.

Plus these lines are important because they give us some of the most important internal thoughts of the main characters. The theory isn't that each line reveals a BIG secret about the plot like who Twilight is, but you can't tell me that each line is not put there with extreme thought and precision. That the way the issue begins isnt' vastly important and relates to the theme of each issue and the overarching themes of the characters.

The importance of these lines relates to theme and characterization. To me those are BIG reveals and yes they do come at the beginning of each issue.

[faith0tvs]

Sure I can say that for the comic scripts are quite similar-if not completely the same ,especially if the writer has a cinematic bakground- to the TV or Movie ones so it would be pretty weird to say that the writer tries to summarize the issue's themes into one sentence,you could say on the other hand that this technique is similar to one that is vastly used in classic and contemporary novels ,the one which you put a quote in the beginning of the chapter.
Comic books and Graphic novels are what directors like to refer to as finished storyboards so yeah in a way it is the first scene of an episode,unless the story happens to be the 2nd or th 3rd etc. of an arc where it usualy happens to be in the midst of the ep.
Each issues theme is spread throughout each and every page of it, maybe the lines are an introduction to it .Sometimes these quotes seem to relace the moments where we would just have a scene where an actor/tress wouldn't have any audible dialogue instead they would have to act with their bodylanguage-the example that comes to mymindis Faith in season 3 where she wold just sit in her bed staring at nothing in particular and contemplateabout things, this would usualy be accompanied by a"thought" line in the comicbook for the lack of the moving image.

[Emmie]

Lol it doesn't sound like you're arguing with me...you just said the themes are introduced in the first lines and that was my point. I dont' think that only the first line encompasses the entirety of the theme...I was just putting all the first lines together in a thread because they do have significance. It would be narrowminded to say that there is only one theme per issue - which is not what i'm saying - merely that the first lines have special significance worth looking at.

I stand by my claim that the first lines have vast significance for each issue. Of course, the theme is spread throughout the issues cuz thats why its a theme. But looking at the first lines of each issue was a way to compare them all in a simple manner.

I'd be more convinced if you'd show how any of these first lines do NOT relate to a greater theme for either the issue or the arc. I started the thread to discuss the text and what it may mean.

[barryshaft]

The lines aren't necessarily representative of the series as much as they are in setting up either a theme or a particular plot of the issue. But not every single one of them is the deepest insight. For the most part they're important but ones like "My love. He called me my love." or Xander's "...or maybe they're panthers" are pretty much just the beginning of the issue.

I don't think anyone's really arguing with you but I do think Faith0tvs is a bit off in thinking the scripts for these issues are written exactly like their teleplay counterparts were. In fact, while one could easily look at Comics as Storyboards I don't think you'd find many that would. Comics tell their stories in a limited number of frames and try to encompass as much into each as they really can. With storyboards there's much much more involved in the process. If a director used a comic as a "finished storyboard" as you put it you'd have a very choppy, poorly executed and shot film. Sin City would pretty much be the exception to the rule and to a lesser extent 300.

[Emmie]

Yes, some of the lines aren't as easily relatable to a theme like the "my love" one. But I think Xander's line actually does relate to the theme of things not being as they seem and transformation. Buffy transforms a bit before her friends eyes in that issue, for sure.

I just liked these lines because some of them are very reflective statements.

Like Faith's line "This is friendship" looks at her relationship with Buffy and then her developing friendship with Gigi.

[barryshaft]

Well put. I think one of the coolest things about the comics so far is the writers' inclusion of the traditional internal monologue. While it's very commonplace in comics it's very new for the Buffyverse to have these reflective inner statements from our characters.