Post by Emmie on Feb 7, 2009 1:57:50 GMT -5
> 28. buffycomic: Will any of the future trade paperbacks have any extras besides just the issues collected?
We've not done that so far, and I think we probably will continue to stick to just story pages. Although Predators and Prey will collect the MDHP stories.
> 29. sarahi: In Joss Whedon's interview with MTV, he said that there will be an event that will cause pain, and then there was a quote about Buffy and Xander that made it seem like this event involved a development between those two characters. I wouldn't ask for anything less vague than you have to give us, but I have to ask: Is the quote about Buffy and Xander as related to the event Joss mentioned as the MTV columnist made it seem?
>
> Quote:
> And then Whedon (with the aid of Brad Meltzer) will wrap up the season with two more arcs to be revealed. "Brad was my most surprising 'yes,'" Whedon said. "He's coming on at the very last stage with me because that's where we have to do the big sort of everything coming together wrap-up, and I don't know anyone who's better at that then he is — really playing all the mythos of the universe and all the pain that the big event can cause."
>
> "Buffy and Xander don't need me for a new twist," Meltzer said. "You love the characters already, because they're terrific. My job isn't to show you what's not there, but what you've always seen before but never thought was there. I'm going to try my best not to screw it up too badly."
>
No spoilers. Sorry.
> 30. tenshi: If Dark Horse doesn't currently have rights to publish Angel (Dark Horse) comics, does IDW (in theory) have rights to publish them? Or these comics are in a kind of "editorial limbo"?
I'm not entirely sure what IDW's deal would include, but the comics I edited are in limbo.
> 31. Joe: Can you give us any information on the arc that follows the "Oz" arc?
Just that it's the Meltzer arc, and that by then things will have really heated up toward the climax.
> 32. dane5by5: Can you give any insight to the status/planning of Season Nine?
No planning yet. We're looking forward to the "summer" between Seasons Eight and Nine, when we can rest, and regroup. We've discussed what the major arc of Season Nine would be, but it'd be giving away the end of Season Eight to tell you anything about it.
> 33. cheryl: I have noticed that a few of the characters are wearing jewerly that could resemble something that a Vengence demon might wear...is that a coincidence? Could we see Anya return? Maybe?
> Or D'Hoffryn? I know that might be a little spoilery but anything you can share would be appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
That's a coincidence. No plans for those two characters at this time.
> 34. Paul370: What would you say the purpose of Renee was in the larger Season Eight story? Obviously, she was a likable character and a cute love interest for Xander, but now that she's gone, I have to look back and wonder why that sub-plot was there. At the time, I thought maybe her death was a way of opening old wounds for Xander regarding Anya, but it's only been lightly touched upon once. Will that relationship continue to have emotional ramifications for Xander, or is Renee just a pleasant footnote in Buffy history?
Like so many things, I think Renee was there to cause Joss's kids pain. The Renee relationship had a hand in getting Xander to where he is emotionally right now, and setting the stage for his next emotional development.
> 35. Ethros: You said there no were plans to bring "either Robin" back. In reference to Robin Wood- why?
> He was a strong character in Season 7, and as the son of a Slayer and a good fighter he had a prominent place in the gang by the end of the season. Seems if Andrew can lead a Slayer cell, surely Wood can too? Apart from a 'blink and you'll miss it appearance' of "No Future For You pt.1" the guy seems to have been shafted in Season 8, so I just wonder *why* hasn't he ever shown up or at least been mentioned since?
Robin is a great character. And he is operating in Cleveland, as seen in the first chapter of No Future For You. He just hasn't had a role in this story. None of us intend to "shaft" him—remember, he is a fictional character, and not wounded in any way by not being included. He's just one of the many characters that could have been used, but for whom there wasn't any purpose, and so we can assume he's busy elsewhere. As seen in #6.
> 36. vampmogs: This is something I've been pretty interested in when reading the comics given Xander's new buffness. We've seen Xander training to spar with Renee, and kill Toru, and fighting the monsters in "Time of Your Life". Does Joss now see Xander as more of a fighter type than he was on television, and can we look forward to Xander scrapping more during Season 8? Maybe his old buddy Riley?"
Yes, yes, and no spoilers. Xander's role in the organization has given him the opportunity to become more of a warrior himself. He's still not a Slayer, he's not as strong as hardly any of the girls he works with, but he's shed the pounds he gained when his life was going nowhere in Sunnydale.
> 37. NotaViking: Wasn't the submarine being run by Satsu's squad alone and in secret from the rest of the slayer organisation?
I think so. Is there another question I'm not understanding?
> 38. sosalola: I'm wondering about when exactly Dawn became a giant. Did she get huge while in college, causing ciaos and destruction to the building? When did Kenny curse her? Is there a reason why we never heard from Kenny or Dawn's friends at college? Are all these questions gonna be answered in #25?
I must admit, that's a story I could stand to hear—your first question. The bit about friends from college ... I dunno. She was only there a little while, and then she went halfway across the planet. I think she just didn't stay in touch.
> 39. Jay: Joss Whedon had said before that he was willing to throw out the entire Season Eight story if a new Buffyverse show materialzed. So does this mean that when he writes this comic, he looks at it as his "plan B", and saves his alternate "plan A" for something on TV?
You're making me cry.
> 40. andrewcrossett: We know that vampires are now popular with the general public. Does this mean that they are no longer killing people for some reason? It seems like even reality TV wouldn't be enough to cover up the fact that we have 1 cute blonde vamp on the screen, and all the others are out there killing people on a nightly basis. Presumably not everybody gets their view of reality from a TV show -- the police, for instance, or the Homeland Security department. Is there more of an explanation for this that we haven't gotten yet?
This is something I think requires a little more explanation over time. The Tales of the Vampires story we announced today, with Becky Cloonan and Vasilis Lolos, will explore this a little bit.
> 41. Enisy/Maggie: Scott, you have an answer in your latest where you say that you aren't going to do any filler between Season 7 and Season 8. That's specifically in response to a question about whether we'll see Anya's funeral or anything like that. What I want to know is whether we should take your answer to mean that we've been told all we are going to be told about how Buffy the Vampire Slayer evolved into Buffy the Bank Robber. Do you and Joss think that this is such an organic development of her character that we should have no problem filling in the blanks for ourselves (much as we really shouldn't have any problems filling in the blanks about Anya's funeral)?
Yes, I believe this is all you're going to be told about how Buffy the Vampire Slayer evolved into Buffy the Bank Robber. You might learn a little more by the end of the arc. I do think there's a story there, of how she came to make the decisions to do these things, how she looked at her growing army of Slayers and tried to think of a way to finance it all, and settled for crime. But I don't think that's a story that needs telling in Season Eight. I know that the desire to fill in continuity goes directly against the narrative device of in media res, and I know that Season Eight still has a lot of open questions. I think what's important for Season Eight is understanding how corruption/compromise has affected Buffy, rather than how she came to be a little corrupt. I hope the story is succeeding there, in the long run.
We've not done that so far, and I think we probably will continue to stick to just story pages. Although Predators and Prey will collect the MDHP stories.
> 29. sarahi: In Joss Whedon's interview with MTV, he said that there will be an event that will cause pain, and then there was a quote about Buffy and Xander that made it seem like this event involved a development between those two characters. I wouldn't ask for anything less vague than you have to give us, but I have to ask: Is the quote about Buffy and Xander as related to the event Joss mentioned as the MTV columnist made it seem?
>
> Quote:
> And then Whedon (with the aid of Brad Meltzer) will wrap up the season with two more arcs to be revealed. "Brad was my most surprising 'yes,'" Whedon said. "He's coming on at the very last stage with me because that's where we have to do the big sort of everything coming together wrap-up, and I don't know anyone who's better at that then he is — really playing all the mythos of the universe and all the pain that the big event can cause."
>
> "Buffy and Xander don't need me for a new twist," Meltzer said. "You love the characters already, because they're terrific. My job isn't to show you what's not there, but what you've always seen before but never thought was there. I'm going to try my best not to screw it up too badly."
>
No spoilers. Sorry.
> 30. tenshi: If Dark Horse doesn't currently have rights to publish Angel (Dark Horse) comics, does IDW (in theory) have rights to publish them? Or these comics are in a kind of "editorial limbo"?
I'm not entirely sure what IDW's deal would include, but the comics I edited are in limbo.
> 31. Joe: Can you give us any information on the arc that follows the "Oz" arc?
Just that it's the Meltzer arc, and that by then things will have really heated up toward the climax.
> 32. dane5by5: Can you give any insight to the status/planning of Season Nine?
No planning yet. We're looking forward to the "summer" between Seasons Eight and Nine, when we can rest, and regroup. We've discussed what the major arc of Season Nine would be, but it'd be giving away the end of Season Eight to tell you anything about it.
> 33. cheryl: I have noticed that a few of the characters are wearing jewerly that could resemble something that a Vengence demon might wear...is that a coincidence? Could we see Anya return? Maybe?
> Or D'Hoffryn? I know that might be a little spoilery but anything you can share would be appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions.
That's a coincidence. No plans for those two characters at this time.
> 34. Paul370: What would you say the purpose of Renee was in the larger Season Eight story? Obviously, she was a likable character and a cute love interest for Xander, but now that she's gone, I have to look back and wonder why that sub-plot was there. At the time, I thought maybe her death was a way of opening old wounds for Xander regarding Anya, but it's only been lightly touched upon once. Will that relationship continue to have emotional ramifications for Xander, or is Renee just a pleasant footnote in Buffy history?
Like so many things, I think Renee was there to cause Joss's kids pain. The Renee relationship had a hand in getting Xander to where he is emotionally right now, and setting the stage for his next emotional development.
> 35. Ethros: You said there no were plans to bring "either Robin" back. In reference to Robin Wood- why?
> He was a strong character in Season 7, and as the son of a Slayer and a good fighter he had a prominent place in the gang by the end of the season. Seems if Andrew can lead a Slayer cell, surely Wood can too? Apart from a 'blink and you'll miss it appearance' of "No Future For You pt.1" the guy seems to have been shafted in Season 8, so I just wonder *why* hasn't he ever shown up or at least been mentioned since?
Robin is a great character. And he is operating in Cleveland, as seen in the first chapter of No Future For You. He just hasn't had a role in this story. None of us intend to "shaft" him—remember, he is a fictional character, and not wounded in any way by not being included. He's just one of the many characters that could have been used, but for whom there wasn't any purpose, and so we can assume he's busy elsewhere. As seen in #6.
> 36. vampmogs: This is something I've been pretty interested in when reading the comics given Xander's new buffness. We've seen Xander training to spar with Renee, and kill Toru, and fighting the monsters in "Time of Your Life". Does Joss now see Xander as more of a fighter type than he was on television, and can we look forward to Xander scrapping more during Season 8? Maybe his old buddy Riley?"
Yes, yes, and no spoilers. Xander's role in the organization has given him the opportunity to become more of a warrior himself. He's still not a Slayer, he's not as strong as hardly any of the girls he works with, but he's shed the pounds he gained when his life was going nowhere in Sunnydale.
> 37. NotaViking: Wasn't the submarine being run by Satsu's squad alone and in secret from the rest of the slayer organisation?
I think so. Is there another question I'm not understanding?
> 38. sosalola: I'm wondering about when exactly Dawn became a giant. Did she get huge while in college, causing ciaos and destruction to the building? When did Kenny curse her? Is there a reason why we never heard from Kenny or Dawn's friends at college? Are all these questions gonna be answered in #25?
I must admit, that's a story I could stand to hear—your first question. The bit about friends from college ... I dunno. She was only there a little while, and then she went halfway across the planet. I think she just didn't stay in touch.
> 39. Jay: Joss Whedon had said before that he was willing to throw out the entire Season Eight story if a new Buffyverse show materialzed. So does this mean that when he writes this comic, he looks at it as his "plan B", and saves his alternate "plan A" for something on TV?
You're making me cry.
> 40. andrewcrossett: We know that vampires are now popular with the general public. Does this mean that they are no longer killing people for some reason? It seems like even reality TV wouldn't be enough to cover up the fact that we have 1 cute blonde vamp on the screen, and all the others are out there killing people on a nightly basis. Presumably not everybody gets their view of reality from a TV show -- the police, for instance, or the Homeland Security department. Is there more of an explanation for this that we haven't gotten yet?
This is something I think requires a little more explanation over time. The Tales of the Vampires story we announced today, with Becky Cloonan and Vasilis Lolos, will explore this a little bit.
> 41. Enisy/Maggie: Scott, you have an answer in your latest where you say that you aren't going to do any filler between Season 7 and Season 8. That's specifically in response to a question about whether we'll see Anya's funeral or anything like that. What I want to know is whether we should take your answer to mean that we've been told all we are going to be told about how Buffy the Vampire Slayer evolved into Buffy the Bank Robber. Do you and Joss think that this is such an organic development of her character that we should have no problem filling in the blanks for ourselves (much as we really shouldn't have any problems filling in the blanks about Anya's funeral)?
Yes, I believe this is all you're going to be told about how Buffy the Vampire Slayer evolved into Buffy the Bank Robber. You might learn a little more by the end of the arc. I do think there's a story there, of how she came to make the decisions to do these things, how she looked at her growing army of Slayers and tried to think of a way to finance it all, and settled for crime. But I don't think that's a story that needs telling in Season Eight. I know that the desire to fill in continuity goes directly against the narrative device of in media res, and I know that Season Eight still has a lot of open questions. I think what's important for Season Eight is understanding how corruption/compromise has affected Buffy, rather than how she came to be a little corrupt. I hope the story is succeeding there, in the long run.