Post by CowboyGuy on Feb 6, 2008 3:13:51 GMT -5
Hey gang!
Here are the answers to our questions...
I believe some were not answered due to obvious spoilery stuff. Most of the time they don't divulge important plot details, or talk about things that are planned in the upcoming story. It'd ruin the surprises!
From Dark Horse Editor Scott Allie:
1) Will Michelle Madsen be a permenant colour artist on the season 8 comics? Or will it rotate at times between colorists?
The plan is to keep Michelle. She's one of the colorists I've worked with the most. She's also coloring Serenity: Better Days.
2) What is your favorite issue cover so far?
Favorite cover? At first I thought you meant favorite issue, which would have been hard. But this isn't that much easier. I guess my top three would be Jo's first two covers, and Georges's cover from #5. Hard to pick between those.
3) Can you let Joss know we want a new Buffy game? The Season 8 story just begs for it!
I will pass it on.
4) Can you give a tentative list of the writers who are coming up? Is there any chance of getting other Buffy writers like Marti Noxon, who expressed an interest, or David Fury or Rebecca Rand Kirshner?
We don't have things nailed down that far out. Most of the twenties are still undetermined, and those are three names I'd love to see in that mix. I've never done anything with Marti, and would love to. The other two were great to work with.
5) What will the arc after Wolves At The Gate be? A hint maybe, or the title? Pretty please?
It's written by Joss. That's all I can say.
6) Eventually will we learn anything more about the other Buffy decoy slayer? Two were mentioned, one died in The Chain, and the other is seemingly dating a mystery man named "The Immortal". Yes, no?
That all sounds right. I don't think we'll have room to get much more into the decoys. There's so much else to explore.
7) Will Jo Chen will return to work on future covers? We love her! (Jon too, of course)
Jo is back as of issue #16, with plans to stick around.
8) Would Dark Horse be okay having an openly gay MALE character in Season 8?
Yep.
9) Will any Buffy Season 8 merchandise be available at any point? AKA Season 8 baseball caps, backpacks, *COUGH* ACTION FIGURES *COUGH*...?
Season Eight is really all about the story. We do have some Buffy merch coming up, but it won't be specific to Season Eight. The types of things we've wanted to do just generally fit the Buffy world in general. To tie them in to Season Eight would water down what the story is about. If we wanted to do Xander in the tight shirt, or Buffy in armor, that'd be cool, but we just haven't gone down that road yet.
10) Wouldn't a Buffy game on the Wii be neat? Waving the Wiimote to throw fireballs as Willow, or jabbing it to stake vamps as Buffy?
I don't play video games, so I don't know.
11) Will there be any more contests, Season 8 related? Like autographed give-a-ways, or having more fan likenesses put in the series?
We've been swamped with other sorts of promotion, so we we haven't talked about that sort of thing in a while, but I believe we'll do some more of that. Sorry, nothing to announce now though.
12) How close is the link between 'season eight' of Buffy and the Fray comics? Also, how certain is a Fray follow up? Are they closely related?
Ever since the Scythe showed up in Buffy Season Seven, there's been an undeniable connection between Fray and Buffy, and Season Eight definitely continues down that road. And as I've said before, Joss and I always talk about doing another Fray series, but we can't do it anytime soon. He's too busy.
13) Since we got an arc that focussed pretty closely on Faith, will we be seeing arcs/stand-alones that hone in on other characters who exist on the outside of the core Scooby gang? I'd love an Andrew character study!
There'll be some one shots that focus in on some key characters, but right now I don't see another arc taking us as far from Buffy as Brian's arc did. Andrew has some great bits coming up in Drew Goddard's arc.
14) How likely is a hardback special edition 'season eight', in the style of the omnibuses? Also, keep up the good work. It's taken me a little while to get onboard with the comics, but they're warming up into something really exciting.
Thanks. And there will be a deluxe edition of Season Eight. Joss just agreed to my proposal for it this week, so we'll probably announce it in a couple months.
15) How many issues of Season 8 will there be? Is there a set number yet?
Forty.
16) Will Kendra (the Vampire Slayer) make an appearance at all this season? Just 'cause she's dead doesn't mean she's out! Is that a possibility?
No such plans.
17) Any hope Buffy will become a full, ongoing Dark Horse franchise like Star Wars?
It is! We were just resting.
18) We love, and miss Anya. Any chance we might see her? Is that possible in this story?
Nothing currently planned. There are a lot of characters...
19) Will Willow/Tara fans ever get to SEE Joss' vision of Tara coming back through a wish by Buffy? If even in an alternate timeline, it's just a scene a lot of us wanted to see go down because it just sounded like perfection.
I do not think you'll see anything like it in Season Eight, sorry.
20) Any plans for bringing Glory back? We don't know what happened to her after Giles killed Ben. I think it'd be interesting if she came back to Earth to ruin Buffy's life,after living in hell for 1000+ years as a slave. Anyway, thanks!
Nothing to tell...
21) Exactly how long has it been since Chosen? A more firm number of years would please fans very much! We'd love to be able to at least be aware of the time this story is set in. They mention things in today's pop culture such as Amy Winehouse, and Daniel Craig (James Bond). So this makes me think Season 8 takes place in current time.
That's us being a little fast and loose, but there's only about one year between the end of Season Seven and the start of Season Eight.
22) Is there a possibility of a Buffy/Angel crossover comic?
Nope.
23) Serenity question: Will the Serenity: Better Days take place before or after Those Left Behind?
After.
24) Do you plan on making Omnibuses for the entire (old) Buffy run? Also, what about the Dark Horse Angel comics? (I know there weren't that many, but you could still get 2 volumes out of 'em)
Entire Buffy, yes, but Angel, no.
25) Will Dark Horse have a presence in the 'Buffy Reunion' panel at the Paley Festival on March 20? So far most of the cast will be there, along with Joss, as well as more unannounced panelists!
I only found out about it today. You guys have to keep me up to date!
26) Is Kennedy going to appear more in season 8?
...and you have to read #10!
27) Will there be any spin-off series' from Season 8?
We've talked about it, but for now we want to focus on this one story, big though it is.
28) We love the new slayers in Buffy's group! For the sake of just knowing...can you tell us if any of them have last names? Especially Satsu and Renee! Names are important in the 'verse!
Their names haven't come up. Something tells me we have a last name for Renee...but I can't remember...
29) Are we right to hope for an Oz return someday?
Yep.
30) Any cryptic messages for the fans? You know we love to be tortured!
Naw, just keep reading, there's plenty for you to puzzle over if you read close enough.
-Scott
Thanks Scott! Till next time! So what do you all think?? Hope this helps a bit! Intereting @ the last name for Renee...I bet it's Molter!
(We'll be doing this every so often, so be on the lookout for the next "Ask" in a few more months!)
Here are the answers to our questions...
I believe some were not answered due to obvious spoilery stuff. Most of the time they don't divulge important plot details, or talk about things that are planned in the upcoming story. It'd ruin the surprises!
From Dark Horse Editor Scott Allie:
1) Will Michelle Madsen be a permenant colour artist on the season 8 comics? Or will it rotate at times between colorists?
The plan is to keep Michelle. She's one of the colorists I've worked with the most. She's also coloring Serenity: Better Days.
2) What is your favorite issue cover so far?
Favorite cover? At first I thought you meant favorite issue, which would have been hard. But this isn't that much easier. I guess my top three would be Jo's first two covers, and Georges's cover from #5. Hard to pick between those.
3) Can you let Joss know we want a new Buffy game? The Season 8 story just begs for it!
I will pass it on.
4) Can you give a tentative list of the writers who are coming up? Is there any chance of getting other Buffy writers like Marti Noxon, who expressed an interest, or David Fury or Rebecca Rand Kirshner?
We don't have things nailed down that far out. Most of the twenties are still undetermined, and those are three names I'd love to see in that mix. I've never done anything with Marti, and would love to. The other two were great to work with.
5) What will the arc after Wolves At The Gate be? A hint maybe, or the title? Pretty please?
It's written by Joss. That's all I can say.
6) Eventually will we learn anything more about the other Buffy decoy slayer? Two were mentioned, one died in The Chain, and the other is seemingly dating a mystery man named "The Immortal". Yes, no?
That all sounds right. I don't think we'll have room to get much more into the decoys. There's so much else to explore.
7) Will Jo Chen will return to work on future covers? We love her! (Jon too, of course)
Jo is back as of issue #16, with plans to stick around.
8) Would Dark Horse be okay having an openly gay MALE character in Season 8?
Yep.
9) Will any Buffy Season 8 merchandise be available at any point? AKA Season 8 baseball caps, backpacks, *COUGH* ACTION FIGURES *COUGH*...?
Season Eight is really all about the story. We do have some Buffy merch coming up, but it won't be specific to Season Eight. The types of things we've wanted to do just generally fit the Buffy world in general. To tie them in to Season Eight would water down what the story is about. If we wanted to do Xander in the tight shirt, or Buffy in armor, that'd be cool, but we just haven't gone down that road yet.
10) Wouldn't a Buffy game on the Wii be neat? Waving the Wiimote to throw fireballs as Willow, or jabbing it to stake vamps as Buffy?
I don't play video games, so I don't know.
11) Will there be any more contests, Season 8 related? Like autographed give-a-ways, or having more fan likenesses put in the series?
We've been swamped with other sorts of promotion, so we we haven't talked about that sort of thing in a while, but I believe we'll do some more of that. Sorry, nothing to announce now though.
12) How close is the link between 'season eight' of Buffy and the Fray comics? Also, how certain is a Fray follow up? Are they closely related?
Ever since the Scythe showed up in Buffy Season Seven, there's been an undeniable connection between Fray and Buffy, and Season Eight definitely continues down that road. And as I've said before, Joss and I always talk about doing another Fray series, but we can't do it anytime soon. He's too busy.
13) Since we got an arc that focussed pretty closely on Faith, will we be seeing arcs/stand-alones that hone in on other characters who exist on the outside of the core Scooby gang? I'd love an Andrew character study!
There'll be some one shots that focus in on some key characters, but right now I don't see another arc taking us as far from Buffy as Brian's arc did. Andrew has some great bits coming up in Drew Goddard's arc.
14) How likely is a hardback special edition 'season eight', in the style of the omnibuses? Also, keep up the good work. It's taken me a little while to get onboard with the comics, but they're warming up into something really exciting.
Thanks. And there will be a deluxe edition of Season Eight. Joss just agreed to my proposal for it this week, so we'll probably announce it in a couple months.
15) How many issues of Season 8 will there be? Is there a set number yet?
Forty.
16) Will Kendra (the Vampire Slayer) make an appearance at all this season? Just 'cause she's dead doesn't mean she's out! Is that a possibility?
No such plans.
17) Any hope Buffy will become a full, ongoing Dark Horse franchise like Star Wars?
It is! We were just resting.
18) We love, and miss Anya. Any chance we might see her? Is that possible in this story?
Nothing currently planned. There are a lot of characters...
19) Will Willow/Tara fans ever get to SEE Joss' vision of Tara coming back through a wish by Buffy? If even in an alternate timeline, it's just a scene a lot of us wanted to see go down because it just sounded like perfection.
I do not think you'll see anything like it in Season Eight, sorry.
20) Any plans for bringing Glory back? We don't know what happened to her after Giles killed Ben. I think it'd be interesting if she came back to Earth to ruin Buffy's life,after living in hell for 1000+ years as a slave. Anyway, thanks!
Nothing to tell...
21) Exactly how long has it been since Chosen? A more firm number of years would please fans very much! We'd love to be able to at least be aware of the time this story is set in. They mention things in today's pop culture such as Amy Winehouse, and Daniel Craig (James Bond). So this makes me think Season 8 takes place in current time.
That's us being a little fast and loose, but there's only about one year between the end of Season Seven and the start of Season Eight.
22) Is there a possibility of a Buffy/Angel crossover comic?
Nope.
23) Serenity question: Will the Serenity: Better Days take place before or after Those Left Behind?
After.
24) Do you plan on making Omnibuses for the entire (old) Buffy run? Also, what about the Dark Horse Angel comics? (I know there weren't that many, but you could still get 2 volumes out of 'em)
Entire Buffy, yes, but Angel, no.
25) Will Dark Horse have a presence in the 'Buffy Reunion' panel at the Paley Festival on March 20? So far most of the cast will be there, along with Joss, as well as more unannounced panelists!
I only found out about it today. You guys have to keep me up to date!
26) Is Kennedy going to appear more in season 8?
...and you have to read #10!
27) Will there be any spin-off series' from Season 8?
We've talked about it, but for now we want to focus on this one story, big though it is.
28) We love the new slayers in Buffy's group! For the sake of just knowing...can you tell us if any of them have last names? Especially Satsu and Renee! Names are important in the 'verse!
Their names haven't come up. Something tells me we have a last name for Renee...but I can't remember...
29) Are we right to hope for an Oz return someday?
Yep.
30) Any cryptic messages for the fans? You know we love to be tortured!
Naw, just keep reading, there's plenty for you to puzzle over if you read close enough.
-Scott
Thanks Scott! Till next time! So what do you all think?? Hope this helps a bit! Intereting @ the last name for Renee...I bet it's Molter!
(We'll be doing this every so often, so be on the lookout for the next "Ask" in a few more months!)
Erm, what happened to those three years, everyone just time travelled into the future I guess?