Post by Emmie on Mar 4, 2009 13:32:09 GMT -5
Hey Buffy fans! Dark Horse Editor, Scott Allie, is back for another Q&A to celebrate the release of Buffy Season 8 #23 Predators and Prey.
The rules of the game remain the same: one question per post and do not submit another question til the pending one has been answered.
Remember, Scott will probably not be giving away spoilers so keep that in mind when you're posting - i.e. avoid asking spoiler-filled questions. The Q&A will last as long as it's fruitful, so let's make it a great one. Don't be shy to join in and if you're not a member yet, this is a great time to join and submit a question. Everyone is welcome.
If you want to participate but you're not interested in registering at this time, you can e-mail me your questions at emmie@slayalive.com and I'll submit them for you with credit. Again, we'd really love people to actively join in, but I'm hoping to encourage any fan out there with a great question to feel free to share it.
I'll kick it off!
1. Emmie: Any behind-the-scenes tidbits you can share with us? Future issue titles, descriptions of future covers, etc.?
Scott Allie: Aw, c'mon, you gotta give me an actual question!
2. AndrewCrossett: Will the personal feelings between Buffy and Satsu (whatever those may be) play a significant role in the upcoming plot, or is that storyline pretty much closed?
Scott Allie: No and no. They won't play a major part in the arc, but that story's not totally over. A LOT is gonna be going on in this arc, though.
3. trunktheslayer: Since we know Oz is coming back, are we going to get any backstory on what he's been up to over the, what, 5ish verse-years he's been gone? And along those lines, are we going to see him with other 'tamed' werewolves?
Scott Allie: Yes to the first part; no spoilers to the second.
4. El Diablo Robotico: This isn't a "Buffy" question, so hopefully it's okay to still include here, but I've just recently finished the "Serenity" 'Better Days' series (which I enjoyed a lot). My question is, we've gotten a good picture thru various interviews and Q&A's of exactly how Joss is involved with S8, but I'm just curious about what his role in the two "Serenity" comic series has been? Similar to S8? More involved? Less?
Scott Allie: On Season Eight, Joss supervises the scripts; on Serenity he's a cowriter. In the Executive Producer role, sometimes that amounts to cowriting—he will come in on a script and do a lot of work when he feels the need, but sometimes he'll just talk over the story with the writer, direct it into the flow of the overall arc, and give notes when the script is written. He's like a very hands on editor, who tells the writers where he wants them to take the characters. His role as cowriter on Serenity is more hands on than that. It's possible on the next arc that he'd step back into more of an Exec Producer role, allowing a writer to take full writing credit.
5. bamph: Are we supposed to read anything more into Andrew's line about having met Angel and liking Spike more because he's edgier? Buffy doesn't have a reaction really. She gives a weird look after the whole thing including Andrew's comments about liking when her hair was cut. So should we infer anything from that about how much details Buffy knows about the events of Angel season 5 and Andrew's meetings in Damage and TGIQ with Angel and Spike or is this just a throwaway jokey line to once again show Andrew has fan crush on Spike? Was there any real purpose to that bit other than for a little joke to break tension before the showdown with Simone and to acknowledge fan expectations of a Angel/Spike mention in a issue featuring Buffy and Andrew teamed up in Italy?
Scott Allie: I think you're reading more into it than you need to, but I do think you can assume that there's been conversations about this stuff that you haven't heard. But I think what this was here was Andrew thinking it might be the end for him, and wanting to tell Buffy everything of consequence that he hadn't yet had the chance to tell her.
6. sosa lola: Did Buffy own the castle using the money she'd stolen or did it belong to the Watcher's Council?
Scott Allie: It didn't belong to the Council—she came up with that through her other sources.
7. CowboyGuy: I noticed that at the end of Buffy #9, Twilight makes his first full-on appearance with Lt. Molter atop the famous Devil's Tower in Wyoming. This famous monument has also been used in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And probably other things too. Does this have any significance at all, or was it just a cool reference to throw in there?
Scott Allie: I think it's just a cool location. If you've ever seen the place, it's really amazing. Always nice to through in a fascinating bit of geography.
8. Enisy: Was the jab at the Twilight fandom (with their "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" terminology) deliberate? 'Cause, hee.
Scott Allie: Crap, you know, went right over my head.
9. daryth: Is there anyway that we would be able to solve any of the mysteries currently in Season 8 (i.e. Twilight's identity, the betrayer, Dawn) anytime before the actual reveal of said puzzles? I know a couple of months ago you said that we did not have enough pieces of the puzzle to figure it out, but I guess what I'm trying to ask is if we will get any more clues thrown to us in the issues up to the reveal? You don't have to say anything about the clues themselves, just if there are any at all since then or if there will be any hidden in any of the next 15 issues? Or are the mysteries so big, so "blow me away" big, that there's no way we could have deduced the answers with what we are given?
Scott Allie: You could guess, but it's not a puzzle where there are simply pieces to put together. You'll continue to get more information, but I'm not sure that these questions are the sort that can be solved through deduction. There aren't hidden clues that we've been laying in there, that when you've collected enough you'll have all the answers.
10. cheryl: Having read the new issue today, another great one, btw, I can't shake this feeling that there was a lot more going on than what one might suspect at first glance. Is this one of the issues with another significant puzzle piece?
Scott Allie: I dunno. See answer above. I don't see it as puzzle pieces, but this one did deal with some significant stuff. Simone can't be ignored, and solidifying Andrew's relationship with the team is important, in my mind.
11. Trey: Considering they (Japanese vampire gang) stole the Scythe to de-power the slayers, would it be safe to assume they're involved with Twilight in someway? Or would that be considered a theory?
Scott Allie: That's a theory, for sure. The Japanese group's relationship to Twilight remains unspecified.
13. barryshaft: Are any of the upcoming issues more focused on the Scoobies than the last bunch have been? Specifically, when will we be getting some follow up on where Xander is at emotionally (post-Renee) in the next couple issues?
Scott Allie: You'll get more on the Scoobies themselves in #25. Issue #24 is totally removed from the Scoobies, unless you count Giles. But we're bringing it all back home to all of the kids real soon.
14. Nicholas: Will Warren and Amy become more prominent characters again soon?
Scott Allie: I'll actually answer this one ... Yes.You get to see them in real action, actual activity, very soon.
15. AndrewCrossett: In the story lately it seems like humanity in general is acting strangely. They've fallen in love with a species of monsters that are killing and feeding on them, and Simone's gang was able to take over a whole Italian town and force its population into exile, without any apparent response from the government, the military or law enforcement. Would I be completely off base in suspecting there's something more unnatural than just PR and the media influencing people's perceptions here? Or am I just over-thinking this stuff?
Scott Allie: There may be demons involved. Magic as well, in some cases ...
16. bamph: With Warren back,is it safe to assume that Andrew will cross paths with him at some point before season 8 is over?
Scott Allie: Yes.
17. vampmogs: Will season eight's storylines and characters be more or less wrapped up this season or is Joss planning on leaving something’s unresolved until season nine?
Scott Allie: Well, a lot of people will still be alive, so certainly some things will be unresolved. But it'll be about as resolved as a Season of the show. Some of you might, when it's all said and done, argue that's not true, because things will be more different at the end of this season than they usually were at the end of a season of the show.
18. sosa lola: Why did Buffy and Andrew travel to Rome like the normal people? Why didn't they use the private jet?
Scott Allie: I dunno. I think Drew liked the trains, planes, automobiles thing. I don't think they're required to always go overboard.
19. AndrewCrossett: We've been told that the next arc ("Retreat"?) will be complex, eventful, and emotional. Without addressing any specific plot elements, is there any one word that might best describe the tone of Brad Meltzer's subsequent arc?
Scott Allie: Revelatory.
20. trunkstheslayer: Will Saga Vasuki play a significant role in the season or is she something of a minor subplot?
Scott Allie: Shouldn't say yet.
21. curiouswolf: I have a question about the Buffy omnibuses: why was that one Buffy comic "Rogues' Gallery" by Andi Watson that was serialized in the Preview catalogs not reprinted in any of volumes set in season 3?
Scott Allie: Good question. We didn't have the material in the proper format. It was a weird project, and hadn't been properly archived.
22. dane5by5: It's been more than a year since we last saw Faith and Giles, how long can we expect to wait before they make a comeback after "Safe"?
Scott Allie: Three months.
23. sosalola: From #16:
What's Buffy's other source of income?
Scott Allie: Groups that choose to help finance the Slayers.
24. AndrewCrossett: Now that Twilight's allies have pulled the location of the new (much less defensible) Slayer HQ from Satsu's mind, there must be concerns about new missile attacks, zombie invasions, etc. Have Willow and Buffy and Xander been busy putting in magical defense/concealment systems to prevent this?
Scott Allie: You'll see what goes in there real soon.
25. wenxina: This is a general house-keeping question, just to see if there are any changes to the release schedule. You said in one of the previous Q&As that 2009 will see us through issue #31. That's 11 issues, with that short break for the "Tales of the Vampire" story, meaning 12 books anyway (at least I was taught that 11+1=12).
As of now, does it look like that schedule will remain unchanged, or should we brace ourselves for a delay of sorts?
Scott Allie: We might do another month off between Jane's arc and Brad's, to buy the art team a little breathing room. I don't foresee more than that.
26. trunkstheslayer: What do you think of the fandom arguments over Andrew's sexuality/the apparent 'need' for a gay male character?
Scott Allie: I don't follow the arguments. I can imagine the arguments for us NEEDing an OUT gay male character, but for now, we got Andrew. I don't think we need to represent any given categories, but I think I understand why some people will feel strongly that we do.
27. pablo: One of the things I still miss, 2 years into the TV-to-comics leap that the BtVS franchise made, is a soundtrack to my favourite characters' stories.
Acknowledging the fact that music has always played a major role in BtVS episodes, have you or Joss ever come up with a song that could reflect any issue or story-arc?
Scott Allie: Never talked about that. He'd probably want to write the soundtrack himself, and that plate is FULL.
28. skippcomet: What have been, in your opinion, the most surprising reactions from the fans about Season Eight or the characters involved?
Scott Allie: This is the area of my job where I am most easily surprised. Regardless the specific shakeup, the level of venom that some readers can muster over any given tempest in a teapot--that's the surprise.
29. lmblack21: I laughed out loud at the Andrew and "Team Spike" line - so very Andrew with his man crush on Spike - and I see someone already asked about "the meaning" of it and loved your answer that people are reading too much into it.
I am curious though, seeing various reactions around the net if Buffy's reaction (non-reaction?) was also being played for laughs? It's difficult to tell by her expression, but the fact that she doesn't say anything, made me think it was just Buffy having a typical "Oh this is so Andrew" kind of reaction - much as I imagine she was during his many random rambles during their trip. But are we supposed to see some deeper non-verbal response from Buffy on this considering it sort of lingers on her for 2 panels? Shock or confusion or just thinking Andrew's kinda weird....
Yes, our fandom is one who over-thinks everything, aren't we? LOL!
Scott Allie: What Andrew said was both more for and about Andrew than anyone else, so I don't think any response was called for, or, really, possible.
30. smashed: I've got a question about the Buffy omnibuses: How many stories were not published, and what were their titles? : )
Scott Allie: I believe the only exclusion was Rogues Gallery. I can't remember. Something may have slid through the cracks, but that was the only one we agreed to leave out.
The rules of the game remain the same: one question per post and do not submit another question til the pending one has been answered.
Remember, Scott will probably not be giving away spoilers so keep that in mind when you're posting - i.e. avoid asking spoiler-filled questions. The Q&A will last as long as it's fruitful, so let's make it a great one. Don't be shy to join in and if you're not a member yet, this is a great time to join and submit a question. Everyone is welcome.
If you want to participate but you're not interested in registering at this time, you can e-mail me your questions at emmie@slayalive.com and I'll submit them for you with credit. Again, we'd really love people to actively join in, but I'm hoping to encourage any fan out there with a great question to feel free to share it.
I'll kick it off!
1. Emmie: Any behind-the-scenes tidbits you can share with us? Future issue titles, descriptions of future covers, etc.?
Scott Allie: Aw, c'mon, you gotta give me an actual question!
2. AndrewCrossett: Will the personal feelings between Buffy and Satsu (whatever those may be) play a significant role in the upcoming plot, or is that storyline pretty much closed?
Scott Allie: No and no. They won't play a major part in the arc, but that story's not totally over. A LOT is gonna be going on in this arc, though.
3. trunktheslayer: Since we know Oz is coming back, are we going to get any backstory on what he's been up to over the, what, 5ish verse-years he's been gone? And along those lines, are we going to see him with other 'tamed' werewolves?
Scott Allie: Yes to the first part; no spoilers to the second.
4. El Diablo Robotico: This isn't a "Buffy" question, so hopefully it's okay to still include here, but I've just recently finished the "Serenity" 'Better Days' series (which I enjoyed a lot). My question is, we've gotten a good picture thru various interviews and Q&A's of exactly how Joss is involved with S8, but I'm just curious about what his role in the two "Serenity" comic series has been? Similar to S8? More involved? Less?
Scott Allie: On Season Eight, Joss supervises the scripts; on Serenity he's a cowriter. In the Executive Producer role, sometimes that amounts to cowriting—he will come in on a script and do a lot of work when he feels the need, but sometimes he'll just talk over the story with the writer, direct it into the flow of the overall arc, and give notes when the script is written. He's like a very hands on editor, who tells the writers where he wants them to take the characters. His role as cowriter on Serenity is more hands on than that. It's possible on the next arc that he'd step back into more of an Exec Producer role, allowing a writer to take full writing credit.
5. bamph: Are we supposed to read anything more into Andrew's line about having met Angel and liking Spike more because he's edgier? Buffy doesn't have a reaction really. She gives a weird look after the whole thing including Andrew's comments about liking when her hair was cut. So should we infer anything from that about how much details Buffy knows about the events of Angel season 5 and Andrew's meetings in Damage and TGIQ with Angel and Spike or is this just a throwaway jokey line to once again show Andrew has fan crush on Spike? Was there any real purpose to that bit other than for a little joke to break tension before the showdown with Simone and to acknowledge fan expectations of a Angel/Spike mention in a issue featuring Buffy and Andrew teamed up in Italy?
Scott Allie: I think you're reading more into it than you need to, but I do think you can assume that there's been conversations about this stuff that you haven't heard. But I think what this was here was Andrew thinking it might be the end for him, and wanting to tell Buffy everything of consequence that he hadn't yet had the chance to tell her.
6. sosa lola: Did Buffy own the castle using the money she'd stolen or did it belong to the Watcher's Council?
Scott Allie: It didn't belong to the Council—she came up with that through her other sources.
7. CowboyGuy: I noticed that at the end of Buffy #9, Twilight makes his first full-on appearance with Lt. Molter atop the famous Devil's Tower in Wyoming. This famous monument has also been used in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And probably other things too. Does this have any significance at all, or was it just a cool reference to throw in there?
Scott Allie: I think it's just a cool location. If you've ever seen the place, it's really amazing. Always nice to through in a fascinating bit of geography.
8. Enisy: Was the jab at the Twilight fandom (with their "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" terminology) deliberate? 'Cause, hee.
Scott Allie: Crap, you know, went right over my head.
9. daryth: Is there anyway that we would be able to solve any of the mysteries currently in Season 8 (i.e. Twilight's identity, the betrayer, Dawn) anytime before the actual reveal of said puzzles? I know a couple of months ago you said that we did not have enough pieces of the puzzle to figure it out, but I guess what I'm trying to ask is if we will get any more clues thrown to us in the issues up to the reveal? You don't have to say anything about the clues themselves, just if there are any at all since then or if there will be any hidden in any of the next 15 issues? Or are the mysteries so big, so "blow me away" big, that there's no way we could have deduced the answers with what we are given?
Scott Allie: You could guess, but it's not a puzzle where there are simply pieces to put together. You'll continue to get more information, but I'm not sure that these questions are the sort that can be solved through deduction. There aren't hidden clues that we've been laying in there, that when you've collected enough you'll have all the answers.
10. cheryl: Having read the new issue today, another great one, btw, I can't shake this feeling that there was a lot more going on than what one might suspect at first glance. Is this one of the issues with another significant puzzle piece?
Scott Allie: I dunno. See answer above. I don't see it as puzzle pieces, but this one did deal with some significant stuff. Simone can't be ignored, and solidifying Andrew's relationship with the team is important, in my mind.
11. Trey: Considering they (Japanese vampire gang) stole the Scythe to de-power the slayers, would it be safe to assume they're involved with Twilight in someway? Or would that be considered a theory?
Scott Allie: That's a theory, for sure. The Japanese group's relationship to Twilight remains unspecified.
13. barryshaft: Are any of the upcoming issues more focused on the Scoobies than the last bunch have been? Specifically, when will we be getting some follow up on where Xander is at emotionally (post-Renee) in the next couple issues?
Scott Allie: You'll get more on the Scoobies themselves in #25. Issue #24 is totally removed from the Scoobies, unless you count Giles. But we're bringing it all back home to all of the kids real soon.
14. Nicholas: Will Warren and Amy become more prominent characters again soon?
Scott Allie: I'll actually answer this one ... Yes.You get to see them in real action, actual activity, very soon.
15. AndrewCrossett: In the story lately it seems like humanity in general is acting strangely. They've fallen in love with a species of monsters that are killing and feeding on them, and Simone's gang was able to take over a whole Italian town and force its population into exile, without any apparent response from the government, the military or law enforcement. Would I be completely off base in suspecting there's something more unnatural than just PR and the media influencing people's perceptions here? Or am I just over-thinking this stuff?
Scott Allie: There may be demons involved. Magic as well, in some cases ...
16. bamph: With Warren back,is it safe to assume that Andrew will cross paths with him at some point before season 8 is over?
Scott Allie: Yes.
17. vampmogs: Will season eight's storylines and characters be more or less wrapped up this season or is Joss planning on leaving something’s unresolved until season nine?
Scott Allie: Well, a lot of people will still be alive, so certainly some things will be unresolved. But it'll be about as resolved as a Season of the show. Some of you might, when it's all said and done, argue that's not true, because things will be more different at the end of this season than they usually were at the end of a season of the show.
18. sosa lola: Why did Buffy and Andrew travel to Rome like the normal people? Why didn't they use the private jet?
Scott Allie: I dunno. I think Drew liked the trains, planes, automobiles thing. I don't think they're required to always go overboard.
19. AndrewCrossett: We've been told that the next arc ("Retreat"?) will be complex, eventful, and emotional. Without addressing any specific plot elements, is there any one word that might best describe the tone of Brad Meltzer's subsequent arc?
Scott Allie: Revelatory.
20. trunkstheslayer: Will Saga Vasuki play a significant role in the season or is she something of a minor subplot?
Scott Allie: Shouldn't say yet.
21. curiouswolf: I have a question about the Buffy omnibuses: why was that one Buffy comic "Rogues' Gallery" by Andi Watson that was serialized in the Preview catalogs not reprinted in any of volumes set in season 3?
Scott Allie: Good question. We didn't have the material in the proper format. It was a weird project, and hadn't been properly archived.
22. dane5by5: It's been more than a year since we last saw Faith and Giles, how long can we expect to wait before they make a comeback after "Safe"?
Scott Allie: Three months.
23. sosalola: From #16:
WILLOW: More largess from your mysterious benefactor who is actually you stealing things?
BUFFY: You know, we *do* have some legitimate funding…
BUFFY: You know, we *do* have some legitimate funding…
What's Buffy's other source of income?
Scott Allie: Groups that choose to help finance the Slayers.
24. AndrewCrossett: Now that Twilight's allies have pulled the location of the new (much less defensible) Slayer HQ from Satsu's mind, there must be concerns about new missile attacks, zombie invasions, etc. Have Willow and Buffy and Xander been busy putting in magical defense/concealment systems to prevent this?
Scott Allie: You'll see what goes in there real soon.
25. wenxina: This is a general house-keeping question, just to see if there are any changes to the release schedule. You said in one of the previous Q&As that 2009 will see us through issue #31. That's 11 issues, with that short break for the "Tales of the Vampire" story, meaning 12 books anyway (at least I was taught that 11+1=12).
As of now, does it look like that schedule will remain unchanged, or should we brace ourselves for a delay of sorts?
Scott Allie: We might do another month off between Jane's arc and Brad's, to buy the art team a little breathing room. I don't foresee more than that.
26. trunkstheslayer: What do you think of the fandom arguments over Andrew's sexuality/the apparent 'need' for a gay male character?
Scott Allie: I don't follow the arguments. I can imagine the arguments for us NEEDing an OUT gay male character, but for now, we got Andrew. I don't think we need to represent any given categories, but I think I understand why some people will feel strongly that we do.
27. pablo: One of the things I still miss, 2 years into the TV-to-comics leap that the BtVS franchise made, is a soundtrack to my favourite characters' stories.
Acknowledging the fact that music has always played a major role in BtVS episodes, have you or Joss ever come up with a song that could reflect any issue or story-arc?
Scott Allie: Never talked about that. He'd probably want to write the soundtrack himself, and that plate is FULL.
28. skippcomet: What have been, in your opinion, the most surprising reactions from the fans about Season Eight or the characters involved?
Scott Allie: This is the area of my job where I am most easily surprised. Regardless the specific shakeup, the level of venom that some readers can muster over any given tempest in a teapot--that's the surprise.
29. lmblack21: I laughed out loud at the Andrew and "Team Spike" line - so very Andrew with his man crush on Spike - and I see someone already asked about "the meaning" of it and loved your answer that people are reading too much into it.
I am curious though, seeing various reactions around the net if Buffy's reaction (non-reaction?) was also being played for laughs? It's difficult to tell by her expression, but the fact that she doesn't say anything, made me think it was just Buffy having a typical "Oh this is so Andrew" kind of reaction - much as I imagine she was during his many random rambles during their trip. But are we supposed to see some deeper non-verbal response from Buffy on this considering it sort of lingers on her for 2 panels? Shock or confusion or just thinking Andrew's kinda weird....
Yes, our fandom is one who over-thinks everything, aren't we? LOL!
Scott Allie: What Andrew said was both more for and about Andrew than anyone else, so I don't think any response was called for, or, really, possible.
30. smashed: I've got a question about the Buffy omnibuses: How many stories were not published, and what were their titles? : )
Scott Allie: I believe the only exclusion was Rogues Gallery. I can't remember. Something may have slid through the cracks, but that was the only one we agreed to leave out.