Season 8 - Twilight Part 4: Issue 35

[Paul]

Jan 26, 2010 20:34:45 GMT -5 AndrewCrossett said:

Oh, I think it definitely indicates a departure or a splitting up... possibly psychological rather than physical. Not necessarily an exact parallel of what happened in X-Men. Georges may be doing homage covers, but I don't think they're in response to homage plots by the writers.

And Dawn's absence from the lineup doesn't mean she's dead/missing/a traitor... that question has come up before on his other covers, and it's usually been just a question of the composition that guides who he includes. Dawn is there in the "floating heads" inset, and she's in the Jo Chen cover as well.

Obviously this is Buffy's story, so if there's a split-up here, it's because Buffy has to go confront Twilight (or whomever the real Big Bad is) alone.

Oh, I'm sure it won't be that similar to the X-Men issue, I was just indulging my not-so-inner X-geek.

I seriously doubt it's a flashback issue (waste of time much?), but this being Buffy, death is always on the cards. And the fact that Dawn - Buffy's sister - isn't there to react to her leaving, is suspicious.

It's probably just Dark Horse/Jeanty trolling us. "OMG! Dawn's not there!!! What's going on??!"

[alex_krycek]

wow! i have to say that this probably my favorite jeanty cover! i don't see this as being a flashback issue either. why do a flashback in the last chapter of the arc? say dawn were to die, i'd say a flashback issue may be in order as a one-shot after the twilight arc, or to kick-off the next one.

i never really thought of dawn as being the 'closest betrayal' until reading this thread. if she is the mole in the slayer camp, then i feel bad for xander. he'll be stuck between buffy and dawn just like he was between anya and buffy. poor xander.

i wonder if twilight would have any means of unlocking/restoring the 'key' energy in dawn?

[hitnrun017]

Man. I've really been loving Jeanty's covers, and this one might be favorite yet. Wish I cared enough to pick up both.

[wenxina]

Well, with perhaps the exception of #34, and even then, I may just get Jeanty's cover because of the homage, I think I'm set on all Jeanty covers for "Twilight".

[wenxina]

About the cover... according to Jeanty, the reason he's doing all homages this arc is because Brad Meltzer wanted a complete set of homage covers for his arc. So Jeanty put together a list of his and Brad's ideas and sent them out, and the majority went with the X-Men cover. He's also a big John Byrne fan, so it was a happy moment for him.

ETA: We have a preview of he first page, thanks to Mr. Savath Bunny! Check out the OP!

[Skytteflickan88]

OP?

[richie]

i think its gonna be like season 7 when buffy go expeled by everyone....
i think shes gonna do something that will leave everyone very very like very angry....

[Paul]

Jan 27, 2010 18:32:34 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

OP?

Original post.

Hating that preview, btw. Looks like Jeanty traced a screenshot, had to check to see if it was even his art. Bad times.

[richie]

this preview its a FB from chosen....
looks buffy hair and clothes....

[Skytteflickan88]

I think the preview is beautiful. A part of me wants to buy the original art for this, but I'm more Spuffy than Bangel now, and dislike Angel's character development after season 3, so the Bangel fan in me has to be ignored.

But it's so pretty.

[Paul]

Jan 27, 2010 19:06:12 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

But it's so pretty.

Because it's traced.

Since when does Jeanty draw hair like that? Urgh, I hate artists who trace, it's so cheap and lazy. Jeanty, you're better than this.

[Skytteflickan88]

Wow, I just can't shut up about original art.

It does look less cartoony than his usual style, so unless the rest of the issue is in the same style, I might get disapointed, and feel this doesn't fit in.

Of course, if this is a memory panel, not set in the present, it could work. I bet it's a memory thing, since it looks to be from Chosen. Then it's perfectly fine if it's traced.

[Paul]

Jan 27, 2010 19:13:09 GMT -5 Skytteflickan88 said:

Of course, if this is a memory panel, not set in the present, it could work. I bet it's a memory thing, since it looks to be from Chosen. Then it's perfectly fine if it's traced.

Not really. Jeanty has done plenty of flashback panels ("Graduation Day, Part One", "Chosen", "Storyteller") without ever resorting to the evils of tracing (that I've recognised, anyway). There's simply no excuse for this kind of despicable behaviour.

(I'm being tongue-in-cheek, but I am legitimately disappointed. It's Nick Runge all over again. *sobs*)

[wenxina]

It's not necessarily traced. Highly referenced, yes, but then again, so were the opening panels to #7.
Here's a screencap that's pretty identical to the panel:

SPOILER: Click to show

It's a pretty iconic moment, so yeah, it would be necessary to get it right.

Thing that bugs me though... Jeanty was supposed to be finishing up his work on #34 this week. And last we heard, the script for #35 wasn't even in yet. So... I'm actually rather dubious about the authenticity of this panel. I'll check... and get back to you all about it.

ETA: Until it's confirmed, I've decided to take down the image.

[Emmie]

Yeah, it's not identically traced. Check out the fact that it's at a different angle on Angel's face to see the difference. It's heavily-referenced, but not traced imo. In the actual cap, you can see hell-a lot of Angel's "double chin-age" of his chin. In the panel, nope. Also, Buffy's hair in the drawn panel is more perfectly styled. Also note the difference in Angel's collar not being visible in the cap but visible in the drawn panel.

So I'd say the screen capture has been heavily copied (not traced! but copied visually) for the memory drawing, which makes sense to me. But I don't think it's traced exactly.

Yeah, Xi - I'm a bit puzzled this is out here. Where did this preview page come from exactly?

[wenxina]

Preview page was from Mr. Savath Bunny. Apparently his friend sent it to him from 4chan... which by his own admission, is kinda sketchy. I've shot Jeanty a line to confirm the authenticity of the image, and I'm hoping to hear back from him by tonight or tomorrow.
Keep your fingers crossed.
I'm hoping it's real, but if not, it's a pretty damn good fake. Bah!

[Paul]

Jan 27, 2010 19:47:25 GMT -5 Emmie said:

So I'd say the screen capture has been heavily copied (not traced! but copied visually) for the memory drawing, which makes sense to me. But I don't think it's traced exactly.

Meh. Tracing... over-referencing photos, it's the same idea. Art should look natural, not some soulless copy. As I said before, Jeanty has done episode flashbacks before that were seamless with his usual art.

I'm hoping this is fake.

[Emmie]

I'll agree it's a divergence from his usual style. That being said, it doesn't bother me overly much to have one panel of a flashback be highly referenced.

I'm kinda feeling it's a fake, too. Though it's a damned good one if it is a fake.

[wenxina]

It's a less dynamic shot than when Buffy fights Faith. It's a very close copy, but it's not a trace, and even if it's real, it's not a departure from his usual style.
I don't care if it's real or fake, I just want to know... I'm kinda kicking myself in the ass for going against my better judgment. Was planning to ask, then post, but in my exhaustion, I figured it looked real enough, and posted it.
I'm not undermining Mr Savath Bunny's contribution; if it's real, that's pretty awesome that it was procured from a sketchy site. If it's fake, then there lies my stupid guilt; I was complicit in spreading a fake. God, I'm such a pirate!
And you wonder why I have nightmares that involve my trying to rationalize stealing a bottle of shampoo.

[Emmie]

Xi, it is a departure. Minute, but not his typical Season 8 penning. The figures are more photorealistic where as Jeanty tends to do a more stylized cartoon rendition (what unfortunate detractors call "bobblehead" and "childish"). I can already lay down money that people complaining about Jeanty's art will be going ga-ga over this because it's so pretty and photorealistic.