Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #9

Whedon seems to be holding Giles and Faith as a Steed and Peel back for the massive climax that will no doubt arrive when Buffy, the Slayers and the Scoobies face off against the newest Big Bad and his army. I can see the beginnings of Whedon's long game, but even without the context, this issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Faith scores a massive victory over the forces of evil and the darker needs of her own nature is without a doubt one of the best. Read Full Review

Most importantly though, is that the overall plot is progressing and characters are starting to move out of the static representation that we know so well. While the settings have changed, the characters really haven't grown all that much (besides Dawn's literal growth of course), so it was good to see Giles and Faith branch out in new directions. The art chores are handled once again by Georges Jeanty. He does a good job of capturing the likeness of the major players, while at the same time putting his own touch to them. The only problem I really had was that Faith in the flashback scene looked 12 years old instead of how she actually did in the third season. That's a small quibble though, and doesn't really detract from what is one of the best issues since season eight began. Read Full Review

Perhaps most waited for, though, is the reveal of the Big Bad at the end of this issue. While Im sure the entitys physical appearance will be a subject of much debate, as it is a bit super-heroish, the conspiracy that has been slowly revealing itself through Season Eight is given cause and reason. For those who have not read it, it wont be mentioned here, but it can easily be said that it is both ominous and intriguing. Read Full Review

Buffy #9 is a double-edged sword, really. It does a good job to finishing the story off and teases some great things to come. It's just that, unfortunately, they're not coming next issue. Read Full Review

Storm Winterfyre

Mar 19, 2019

Cover-***** Writing-**** Art-** Story-***