Written by: Joss Whedon, Scott Allie
Arted by: Georges JeantyWhile Super Buffy is fighting side by side with Spike in Sunnydale, Angel is on the other side of the world fighting demons of his own. As Twilight he was given a clear mission in regard to Buffy–help her reach the next plane, together create a new world, and end all suffering. But Buffy doesn’t play by the rules, and this “higher plane” and a lifetime of happiness with Angel wasn’t gonna cut it–not if she had to sacrifice her family to keep it. And now Angel has to answer for his failings as Twilight–willingly or not.
Back in Sunnydale everyone is fighting for their lives against a horde of demons, and someone close to Buffy joins forces with a villain from the past to strive for a common goal–protect the seed.
The finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is in full effect, and you won’t want to miss a single beat of Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty’s fateful conclusion years in the making.
* Joss Whedon writes the series finale!
Another month, another Buffy issue! Today marks the release of Part Three of Last Gleaming, the season finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight. There seems to be a lot of ground to cover, and with only three issues left, what will happen? And more importantly, what will I think of it?! Follow the cut to find out!
Whedon, this is your world, we’re all just visiting.
In part three of Last Gleaming, the season finale of Buffy Season Eight, a lot of pieces were promised to come together. Things were supposed to make sense; like The Master’s return, along with that strange flaming hair lion creature that claims to be Angel and Buffy’s lovechild.
If you’re confused about that last part, I don’t blame you.
To be honest, this issue read a bit better than the last few. Joss Whedon somehow pulled plot development out of nowhere and more importantly, they made sense, which is something that has been sorely lacking as of late. I suppose that’s my fault for doubting the man who created the series to begin with, but some of the reveals were actually quite brilliant.
I think my favorite was the reason why The Master is kicking again, as well as how he got to be there in the first place, and even a supposed reason for that unfortunate face of his. It was a pretty funny Xander moment that made me pine for it to be on screen instead of in a comic book.
And if this book proves anything, it’s that Whedon can script a quality action scene with a large cast and have everyone matter in the grand scheme of things, instead of merely pushing ancillary characters to the side. It gives me hope for a future action sequence starring Clint Barton in the Avengers movie. It really does.
But it’s not exactly perfect. I’ve been an unabashed fan of Georges Jeanty’s art throughout the series. It’s been consistent in an otherwise inconsistent book (at least toward the end). But unfortunately, Jeanty, while still talented in his own right, wasn’t up to his normal ass-kicking self.
I mean, it’s still well crafted in places, but there are a lot of pages where the lights felt unnaturally “turned off”, with stark shading in scenes that wouldn’t feel like they would cast those kinds of shades. In other scenes, he left detail off background characters that were actually in the forefront of the top ic at hand (Read: The Master). Instead of drawing a complete face, The Master is left with simply two dots and a line for a face, which felt like a cop-out, especially when the focus should be on him, even if it is technically for comic relief.
That being said, the book is finally in an upswing. I just hope it’s not too little, too late.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy
P.S., am I the only one who prefers the Jeanty covers to the Chen covers? Don’t get me wrong, I think Chen’s work is beautiful! I just like the cohesiveness and the humor Jeanty injects into his covers! Let me know if you agree or not!
