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Post by AndrewCrossett on Jun 4, 2009 16:32:31 GMT -5
Wow. Well, let's look at the current scorecard:
Buffy (2) Willow (2) Faith (1) Kennedy (1) Dawn (2) Satsu (2) Gigi (1) Saga Vasuki (3) May (1) Alex (1) Angel (1) Spike (1)
This doesn't count Dawn's continual exposure in centaur form, which I'm surprised didn't embarrass her more.
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Post by Emmie on Jun 4, 2009 17:03:20 GMT -5
This nudity scorecard could probably be beaten by the episodes Gone, Dead Things and As You Were alone.
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Post by hitnrun017 on Jun 4, 2009 17:34:08 GMT -5
Nudity, nudity, nudity, nudity. This thread should just renamed "Naked Hot Chicks". Ok, got that out of the way. I enjoyed this, nothing too special, but it was a nice little story. It was pretty cool learning more about how vamps are looked at now in the Buffyverse, that alone made the issue worth buying. The art seemed unconventional, but it worked well. The writing fit the Buffyverse style, which I didn't really expect, lots of layers and moral issues. I especially liked this question that was brought up: Are vampires any worse than humans? Worth reading, it's better than having nothing this month.
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Nicholas
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
One Good Scare
Tonight I'm Dancing.[Mo0:16]
Posts: 656
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Post by Nicholas on Jun 4, 2009 18:14:58 GMT -5
I have to say I loved this one shot. I felt that it honestly had more story and progression than the past couple of Buffys have. This focuses on the actual story rather than all the crappy Lord of the Rings mystical baddies and giant dawn crap. This is what I would like to see brought back to the Buffyverse. The nitty gritty. The show focused more on the actual story than it did action and I felt thats what this story did as well. i havent felt this good about one of these comics sense A Beautiful Sunset. It was a tragic, beautiful story.
Jacob feels void of emotion just like Buffy did and to an extent Riley as well. This is kinda like "what could have happened" to either of those two had they not been saved. Jacob basically see's Alex as his shining light, his way out of the mess he is in. And sadly he is changed into a vampire, and goes right back to feeling the same way he did before. And yet again, towards the end of the book, he see's Alex as his way out. Thats probably why it said "Its not about her choice. Its about my choice." This is once again to explain that its about him filling the void and "crawling out of his grave" if you will. I mean sure, we want to know what Alex does, but I think its better if its let ambiguous because then the actual message resonates. Joss Whedon called the show "a soap opera with vampires and demons" and this issue finally got back to that.
Its beautiful.
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Post by AndrewCrossett on Jun 4, 2009 20:22:29 GMT -5
I was really struck by the vampirism = sex theme, and the point that "sex" and "rape" are really all the same to the vampires.
I'm also glad they left Alex's decision unrevealed. I'd like to hope she decided that it *is* about her choice after all, even if it means her death.
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Nicholas
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
One Good Scare
Tonight I'm Dancing.[Mo0:16]
Posts: 656
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Post by Nicholas on Jun 5, 2009 1:10:21 GMT -5
I really still cant get over how much I like this issue. It actually felt like a whole episode to me, I mean obviously a comic and much much shorter with less dialogue, but the pacing was perfect and the down to earth feel was perfect.
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Paul
Ensouled Vampire
[Mo0:34]
Posts: 1,173
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Post by Paul on Jun 5, 2009 8:53:53 GMT -5
Best issue in a while. It wasn't quite as "fun", due to the gloomy tone and unfamiliar characters, but it was a better constructed story than the last few issues. I for one really liked the art.
Question: Was Alex a Slayer? I thought the characters were using "Slayer" as a kind of slur against people who were bigoted towards vampires, it doesn't mean she was one? I know she slayed a vampire, but humans can do that too.
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Post by AndrewCrossett on Jun 5, 2009 9:10:11 GMT -5
Question: Was Alex a Slayer? I thought the characters were using "Slayer" as a kind of slur against people who were bigoted towards vampires, it doesn't mean she was one? I know she slayed a vampire, but humans can do that too. She was a Slayer... she was saying stuff like "I never chose to be a Slayer", etc. She's another one like Soledad... finds herself with the powers of a Slayer and a compulsion to use them, but has no guidance or training... so she steps right out the door and into disaster. There must be a lot of others like that... which is why Duncan Fillworthe's "sanctuary" for alone-and-scared Slayers was getting so much business.
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Nicholas
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
One Good Scare
Tonight I'm Dancing.[Mo0:16]
Posts: 656
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Post by Nicholas on Jun 5, 2009 13:54:28 GMT -5
Duncan Fillworthe? Whos that and what are you referring to?
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Post by AndrewCrossett on Jun 5, 2009 13:57:39 GMT -5
Duncan Fillworthe? Whos that and what are you referring to? Duncan Fillworthe, the rogue Watcher from #24 who was luring Slayers to be eaten by a demon by offering them "sanctuary" and guidance.
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Post by wenxina on Jun 5, 2009 15:12:12 GMT -5
If anyone's interested, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba (twin brothers, if you didn't know) have posted an entry on their blog detailing the process of coming up with their variant cover. Click to be directed there. EDIT: It's also their 33rd birthday. Say hi on their blog!
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Post by Emmie on Jun 5, 2009 15:19:30 GMT -5
Best issue in a while. It wasn't quite as "fun", due to the gloomy tone and unfamiliar characters, but it was a better constructed story than the last few issues. I for one really liked the art. Word. Couldn't agree more. Yes, the tone was a bit despondent, but it was dependent upon Jay's POV and so it lent itself well to the atmosphere of a myopic teenager choosing/embracing to become a vampire. I liked the art too. This issue felt complete in a way that's been lacking for the past several issues of Season 8.
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Paul
Ensouled Vampire
[Mo0:34]
Posts: 1,173
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Post by Paul on Jun 5, 2009 18:38:04 GMT -5
Emmie, you talk about themes of disconnection... I wonder, have you read "Stacy" from the original Tales of the Vampires collection? It was about an alienated teenage girl who becomes connected when she is turned into a vampire. It was actually quite similar to this story, but better IMO. It was written by Joss too.
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Post by AndrewCrossett on Jun 5, 2009 18:41:50 GMT -5
Emmie, you talk about themes of disconnection... I wonder, have you read "Stacy" from the original Tales of the Vampires collection? It was about an alienated teenage girl who becomes connected when she is turned into a vampire. It was actually quite similar to this story, but better IMO. It was written by Joss too. I'd love to see more of Stacy's story, BTW.
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Post by Emmie on Jun 5, 2009 18:46:04 GMT -5
It's been a long time since I read Tales of the Vampires collected comics.
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Paul
Ensouled Vampire
[Mo0:34]
Posts: 1,173
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Post by Paul on Jun 5, 2009 19:40:31 GMT -5
Emmie, you talk about themes of disconnection... I wonder, have you read "Stacy" from the original Tales of the Vampires collection? It was about an alienated teenage girl who becomes connected when she is turned into a vampire. It was actually quite similar to this story, but better IMO. It was written by Joss too. I'd love to see more of Stacy's story, BTW. Lol, me too. I was kind of hoping she would pop up during the whole "vamps are in" storyline, but no luck. Instead we get some new guy Jacob! What's that all about?! Stacy FTW.
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BlueJay
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
Resident Charmed Fan[Mo0:12]
Posts: 631
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Post by BlueJay on Jun 5, 2009 20:06:10 GMT -5
So I bought both covers at the comic store and read it while driving home (I got a lot of red lights, okay?!) and I was very taken aback at how... dark... this issue was.
The aforementioned themes and metaphors definitely hit home just like episodes of Buffy.
But I wasn't all too thrilled with the plot...
So after re-reading the story in the comfort of my own home, this is what I figure:
He's a lonely kid with not much to feel hopeful for other than getting sucked off by vamps.
Big. Whoop.
Seriously, I wanted to SMACK this kid upside the head. First of all - I am Jay (!@#$). Secondly, he had at least two people in his life that cared for him, his best friend Alex (which he often seemed to take for granted) and his mother. So he's "disconnected" with life. Stuck in his hell hole of a town. But soooo what? Has he ever heard of college? Has he ever heard of *gasp* getting a part-time job? And to all of you who will defend this ..."Jay"... I will say one thing. I know what he went through. Hell, I'm STILL going through it. But I'm doing stuff about it. I could EASILY turn to drugs at the drop of the hat, because...well, it's definitely available to me. But I didn't. I finished school, got a job, and I'm now earning my way out of here.
So I didn't care for the protagonist. Or the antagonist(s).
And as for Alex... I hope she staked him.
Cover artwork - 5/5 Interior artwork - 2/5 Story/Idea/Plot - 2/5 Writing - 4/5 Overall - 3/5
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Post by AndrewCrossett on Jun 5, 2009 20:19:36 GMT -5
Well, let's make no mistake...
Jacob was an a-hole, right from the start. The tragedy is that Alex felt something for him (which he didn't deserve, even while alive), and hesitated too long in killing him.
Vampires, as this story starkly points out, are sociopaths and rapists. And Jacob willingly embraced that, because he wanted to be a sociopath and a rapist, but was too cowardly to be one while he was alive.
This comic didn't make me feel one single iota of pity for Jacob. He was a self-absorbed little jerk who found true self-actualization in vampirism.
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Nicholas
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
One Good Scare
Tonight I'm Dancing.[Mo0:16]
Posts: 656
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Post by Nicholas on Jun 5, 2009 23:59:51 GMT -5
But Buffy went through the same exact thing, yet people felt for her. Even before she went to Heaven and came back and a lot in Season 8, feeling/felt empty and disconnected, even when she had people there who tried to connect. Its a part of depression.
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Lukee
Ensouled Vampire
Brilliant is my middle name tbf[Mo0:14]
Posts: 1,137
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Post by Lukee on Jun 6, 2009 12:03:54 GMT -5
Hm... i didn't really enjoy that issue as much as i thought i would. It was good but it just felt like ti was lacking something more. No idea what the more was but it just felt lacking.
I already saw coming that Alex was going to be a vampire slayer, i was just a little disappointed she was killed so fast. It makes me sad that the slayers are feeling like the big bads of the world yet people see vampires as holy things. It shows how much vampires are accepted now as his mother was just like oh no... i guess we can move ya in the basement and all.
I'm just wondering how this will all end i mean what's going to change peoples minds about vampires being good to changing them to seeing they are bad.
It also draws the question should you kill a vampire even if they don't feed on humans... for me yes... they are still soulless demons that when getting angry can really kill you alto!
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