Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 8

My fondness for comic books borders on the obsessive and I'm ok with that. And when it was first announced that Joss Whedon was resurrecting Buffy and the Scoobies for a season 8 comic book series I took notice, and heart. Of course I'm a HUGE BtVS fan. I don't trust anyone who isn't. It's the finest show ever conceptualized and rendered, perfectly structured and brilliantly written. The manner in which the characters were fleshed out and fully realized, while at the same time remaining true to their own mythologies (think Anya, and of course Faith) and still remaining infinitely complex and embodying any myriad of human failings (even Spike the vampire), rivals Shakespeare. Yes, I really did just say that. And mean it.

When the show ended after season 7 and the gang slouched toward an uncertain future, a part of me fell into the blackhole that was Sunnydale. Apparently I wasn't alone, either literally or figuratively, as the Buffy comic can attest. It's impossible to heap enough praise on the comic. You absolutely have to read it for yourself. But be forewarned, it demands a lot from you. What might otherwise seem like a throw away line, in typical Whedon fashion, isn't. And now with the Brian K. Vaughn-penned Faith arc hitting it's stride, BKV proves to be an apt pupil of all things Buffy. He perfectly grasps the inherent problematic nature of Faith, Faith easily being the most complex *hero* ever imagined, and writes her dialog with an eye, and an ear, toward the pragmatic smarty pants that Faith has always been. But more importantly, BKV delves into the Buffy-Faith dynamic from Faith's perspective. In the upcoming issue #7 Faith muses about finally meeting someone (Buffy) that she digs. Wha? Huh? Are we getting subtexty here? I believe so, yes indeedy. Legions of B/F fan fiction writers the blogoshpere over are tattooing "I told you so" on their foreheads. I'm not entirely convinced that Faith does have a sexual crush on Buffy, it could just be idle idol worship, but how exciting is it to entertain the possibilities? Very. Way very exciting!