There are two entirely different standards for evaluating Joss Whedon’s return to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The first, I should warn you, involves a total loss of objectivity, but I think I can make up for it with the second.
As a new Buffy story, it’s hard to complain about Season Eight: It’s a new Buffy story. It’s by Joss Whedon. Perhaps it’s not of the calibre of Season Five, but it’s a pretty darn good Buffy story. It feels like Buffy: The dialogue, the characters, the mood, the pacing… it all feels like Buffy.
Buffy and Xander are particularly well depicted, with Xander’s assumption of an almost Watcher-like position working nicely. As always, he doesn’t have any particularly useful skills, but he’s assumed an almost command role under Buffy, organizing things and providing emotional support and various witty remarks and pop culture references; a conversation with a Slayerette in the first issue of the virtues of Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos versus Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD is particularly well done.
And if that’s not enough nerding-out for you, Andrew shows up in the second issue to really kick things up a notch with some thoughts on Lando Calrissian.
Buffy and Dawn continue to bicker as is their wont, though Dawn is whining like it’s Season Six again. (I finally liked the character in Season Seven, when Whedon started writing her like one of the Scoobies.) Buffy is, of course, fairly central to things, though some of her narration seems a bit off: “Great Muppety Odin” would sound fine coming from Xander, but is pretty out of place for the Buffster. And “Balls” is right out, even if it’s a dream sequence.
The only flaw on the character front is the Slayerettes, who continue to be a bit interchangeable. There’s the one who talks to Xander (and I could look up her name, but the fact I have to sure isn’t a good sign), and Satsu, who’s apparently the best but is rather inconsequential up until #4 (and if I’m reading the hints right, she’s even more important than being the best fighter). It’s possible that having an entire army of slayers is diluting things too much; perhaps limiting Buffy to a relatively elite squad would help Whedon focus on two or three individuals.
It probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that the characterization and dialogue is excellent, but it’s reassuring: This opening arc proves that Whedon is genuinely interested in carrying on the Buffy epic, and not just flittering about. He’s learned a thing or two about pacing since I read his work in Astonishing X-Men: The last-page reveal in issue three would give Brian K. Vaughan a run for his money. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to compare the first four issues to a single TV episode in terms of story, but each issue is written as an individual issue, and each stands on its own quite well.
But while the character work is lovely and the pacing is generally effective, there are some significant flaws with the structure of the book. The aforementioned Andrew sequence is fun, but it serves no purpose beyond being a funny sequence; he has nothing at all to do with the opening story arc. His second appearance, in the third issue, is even more gratuitous and hammers an old joke into the ground. Giles is similarly unnecessary, appearing seemingly only for the sake of having Giles appear. At least he attempts to move things forward in the third issue, but it’s space that could have been put to better use.
Like explaining a bit more of Ethan Rayne’s role in the story. When last we saw Rayne, he was being hauled off by the Initiative after annoying Giles in Season Four. But Whedon has dragged him out of obscurity to play a fairly major role in the story, and put him right back there at the end. While his ultimate motive becomes fairly clear, his role isn’t; this is a guy who’s been, at best, an annoyance, and yet he spends most of the third issue acting like Buffy’s Guardian Angel.
The fourth issue, given over to action and a confrontation with the bad guys, consequently feels a bit rushed. While the Big Bad is a very nice decision (though there are some complications I shan’t get into here), the final scenes could use more depth. There’s some deal going on between Willow and some apparent elemental spirits that doesn’t get nearly enough explanation, to say nothing of a rather confusing introduction.
Which brings us to Georges Jeanty, the artist for the opening arc. I don’t think I’m familiar with any of his previous work, but he does a nice job with Buffy. He manages to capture the likenesses of the characters without attempting awkward photo-realism. He’s got a fair sense for action, and does some very nice character work, matching up with Whedon’s dialogue very well. He has a good bit of talent for comedy, too. On the whole he’s a solid and professional artist, if not a superstar. The only significant flaws come in the fourth issue, which feels a bit rushed; the aforementioned introduction to the elemental spirits is poorly laid out. He has a tendency to go low-detail on background faces, which works well in some of the funnier scenes, but detracts from some of the serious action pieces.
It’s probably worth noting that Jeanty suffers by having to follow Jo Chen’s fantastic covers. They’re just… wow. Fantastic. Gorgeous stuff, and very few interior artists could live up to that.
The Buffy fan in me is thoroughly enjoying the book, even if the critic and comic book reader is finding a few things that drag the story down. My fondness for the characters will go quite a ways, as long as the quality stays at least half-decent. With Whedon just warming up, and Brian Vaughn taking over for a story about Faith in #6, I have high hopes.
It’s Buffy, you know? How could I not love it?