Buffyfest

So...Um...That Happened AGAIN.

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:35:00 PDT

Joss: "What on earth is happening here?"
Thor: "Oh, I'm sorry I thought you understood.
You see, the hammer is my penis."

The Avengers broke so many more box office records this weekend, it's insane. Joss Whedon's first crack at a blockbuster earned an additional $103.2 million (estimated), which is by FAR the best second weekend ever, beating Avatar's previous record of $75.6 million. I'm not going to use the whole superhero pun staked the vampire thing, but the opening of Tim Burton & Johnny Depp's very cool looking Dark Shadows was definitely overshadowed by our guy. Oh, and The Avengers has already reached 1 billion worldwide.

What. The. Eff.

Other new records include: beating The Dark Knight for best second weekend for a movie that opened to more than $120 million (which is a dumb record but whatever), best opening week, fastest movie to $250 million, $300 million and $350 million, and highest eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day grosses. Finally, The Avengers reaching the $1 billion dollar level on its 19th day in theaters ties Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 for that record.

Box Office Mojo has a running calendar of the film's daily gross here.

One face...two faces! "Avengers Edition"

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:48:00 PDT

I'm sorry, I just can't help it....it's just too freaky and I'm obsessed. This is a sequel to yesterday's post, Avengers Style.

In celebration of another amazing weekend at the box office, check out Scarlet Johannson and Mark Ruffalo's evil siblings. Gwyneth Paltrow (Wortlap Htenywg)/Pepper Potts (Sttop Reppep) is over there too!:

Natasha Romanov (Vonamor Ahsatan):

Bruce Banner (Rennab Ecurb):

One face...two faces!

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:33:00 PDT

I'm kind of obsessed with this website Fassafass, where they take 1 photo of a straight head shot, split the sucker in half and then mirror each half. You kind of get like 2 evil siblings out of each one. Sooo freaky, especially when the photo entails an extreme side part hair style. Hilary Clinton's is especially hysterical for some reason!

Then of course you have your Supermodels who look pretty much exactly the same in each shot, as being perfectly symmetrical is their day job...boooring. Anyway, check out Sarah Michelle Gellar's two faces, or rather "Ralleg Ellehcim Haras" as she's known on the site. One looks like her athletic, pro volley ball playing twin (top) and the other her skinny, bouncy bimbo twin (let's just call her "Buffie" Gellar.) So weird! I can't stop staring.

And Eliza Dushku too (Ukhsud Azile)! Both of her twins are evil and in both shots they looks like they're going to beat me up:

Don't miss Christina Hendricks too!

She's Dead, Jim. 'Ringer' Canceled.

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:02:06 PDT

Well, even though it was a guilty pleasure (painfully shameful, really), the CW didn't agree with that notion and decided not to renew Ringer, it was announced today.

Probably for the best since Smidge is preggers now. Since they already used that particular storyline up, there would've been a LOT more coats and strategically placed bags in Season 2 anyway. Then again, the show was so twisty/turny and completely implausible, who knows? Siobhan could've become pregnant with newly gay Agent Machado's Quintuplets via turkey baster method and it wouldn't have seemed unreasonable after an episode or two. Oh, Ringer with your horrible green screen effects, it's time to join your brethren in the afterlife and rest in peace now.

Also on the chopping block was Secret Circle, but somehow Nikita managed to pull through for a 3rd season. Who woulda thunk it? The CW also picked up 5 new series and renewed the hotties in Supernatural for an 8th season. Yay!

Now Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mr. Whedon, please heed these words: Since the schedules are freed up please consider making a REAL BUFFY MOVIE ALREADY GAH! Is it that fricking difficult?! Joss you probably have a dozen extra million hanging around after Avengers, let's do this!

Joss Addresses Fans!

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:02:25 PDT

Even thought he had a very busy week and his little film grossed over 700m at the box office so far, Joss Whedon found the time to write a love letter/self made Q&A to us fans over at Whedonesque in the middle of the night. The question of whether or not he will be involved in The Avengers 2 wasn't addressed, but Wastelanders and Dr. Horrible 2 definitely still seem to be on the horizon. Check out some highlights below!

Dear Friends,

Well, it's been quite a weekend. Someday, long from now, I will even have an emotional reaction to it, like a person would. I can't wait! But before I become blinded by this "emotion" experience, there's a few things I'd like to say. Well, type.

People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good -- change is exciting. I think -- not to jinx it -- that I may finally be recognized at Comiccon. Imagine! Also, with my percentage of "the Avengers" gross, I can afford to buy... [gets call from agent. Weeps manfully. Resumes typing.] ...a fine meal. But REALLY fine, with truffles and s#!+. And I can get a studio to finance my dream project, the reboot of "Air Bud" that we all feel is so long overdue. (He could play Jai Alai! Think of the emotional ramifications of JAI ALAI!!!!)

What doesn't change is anything that matters. What doesn't change is that I've had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of -- I'm not even gonna say fans. I'm going with "peeps" -- that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of. When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I've had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y'all. A lot of stories have come out about my "dark years", and how I'm "unrecognized"... I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I'm ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much. I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I've yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I've thought, "maybe I'm over; maybe I've said my piece". But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y'all. Because you knew me when. If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you're probably new here. (For the record, and despite my inhuman distance from the joy-joy of it: topping a box office record is super-dope. I'm an alien, not a robot.) So this is me, saying thank you. All of you. You've taken as much guff for loving my work as I have for over-writing it, and you deserve, in this our time of streaming into the main, to crow. To glow. To crow and go "I told you so", to those Joe Blows not in the know. (LAST time I hire Dr. Seuss to punch my posts up. Yeesh!) Point being, you deserve some honor, AND you deserves some FAQs answered. So please welcome my old friend and certainly not-on-my-payroll reporter/flunky, Rutherford D. Actualperson!

RDA: So good to see you, young Joss! is it possible you've gotten more attractive since we last spoke, and less fungal in odor?

JW: Thanks for noticing. Let's talk.

RDA: "the Scavengers" is a huge success! Does this mean you have changed the very fabric of existence?

JW: Dude, it's just a movie. Also, yes.

Read the rest here. And congrats to Joss Whedon for making his dreams come true, yet again.

So...Um...That Happened.

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:45:45 PDT

The Avengers, written and directed by our Joss Whedon, demolished the record for best opening weekend for any movie, ever, making over 207 million dollars this weekend. This eclipses the previous record of $169M set by the fabulous Harry Potter 7 Part 2. It also received a rare A+ score by audiences in exit polls.

Let me repeat that.

A Joss Whedon project has set THE MOST IMPORTANT ALL TIME RECORD FOR MOVIES, PERIOD.

Like wha??

Since this thing has been 2 years in the making, I didn't think it would be that strange when it was finally opened and was naturally successful shortly after that. But here is the guy who makes the type of weird, niche stuff that other people roll their eyes at when we've been talking them to to death for the past decade. Here is the guy who makes the type of weird, niche stuff that that spawns sites like Buffyfest. Here is the guy who makes the type of weird, niche stuff that constantly, constantly (and unjustly) needs a "Save the Show" petition campaign.

Yeah, so now that it's here it is strange after all. Fact is, not sure we would've started this site if Whedon was always this guy and that fact alone actually makes his career seem very special and unique. He should be very proud of himself, we are.

:)

Update: Actual totals have now been adjusted to 207.4 million, which exceeded the weekend estimates! Whoa.

It's Free Comic Book Day Everyone!

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Sat, 05 May 2012 09:49:07 PDT

Today is "Free Comic Book Day", a single day—the first Saturday in May each year—when participating comic book shops give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. Dark Horse has announced some Whedonverse related signings in California (both North and South!) Check out the schedule below, but even if you're not in The Golden State, definitely go pick up your free Buffy/The Guild and Serenity/Star Wars free comics!

Signing Schedule:

Felicia Day (writer of The Guild), the cast of The Guild, and Andrew Chambliss (writer of Buffy) will be signing forBuffy/The Guild at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.! Just a couple of hours from now!

Zack Whedon (writer of Star Wars/Serenity) and Georges Jeanty (artist for Buffy) will be signing at Flying Colors Comics in Concord, CA, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.!

All events will have great Dark Horse giveaways: Buffy wristbands, lanyards, and Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi patches, in addition to Free Comic Book Day issues (while supplies last).

Make sure to head to your local comic shop to pick up Dark Horse’s Free Comic Book Day 2012: Buffy/The Guild and Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars/Serenity!

To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook or visit ComicShopLocator.com.

Alyson Hannigan's Big, Big Baby Bump

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:30:00 PDT

Alyson Hannigan tweeted that since Jessica Simpson gave birth, does she have now have the "biggest baby bump in Hollywood"? Judge for yourself below. Really, it has to be any minute now. Actually, as amazing she is working it in those 5" platform heels at the American Reunion premiere, that dress is kind of resembling the Mayor after he ascended. Sorry, sorry! But look at Alexis Denisof. 46 years old and as handsome as ever! Actually, neither one of them has aged much at all since Buffy. Which can only mean one thing...

BUFFY MOVIE ALREADY! Sheesh, let's go! After she gives birth to Satyana's little sibling, of course. Let's not get crazy.

Joss Whedon Attends 'ASSEMBLE' Show at 1988 Gallery in Los Angeles.

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:31:42 PDT

One of my favorite galleries in LA (and there are a LOT of awesome ones) is 1988 Gallery on Melrose. They often have great themed shows based on all of the pop culture we love. This is the same place that has housed some of Joebot's Whedonverse art in the past.

Anyway, I've been there a bunch of times but really wish I was there last night as their newest exhibit "Assemble" was attended by Joss Whedon and Clark Gregg and featured some fantastic art based on The Avengers! There was even Avengers themed cupcakes! Sad face and fail. Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub attended the event and has a great recap over on Collider.com, which is where we sourced these photos. Jealous! Check that link out for even more pics.

So if you're in the SoCal area, definitely go check it out. The exhibits usually stay up for about a month. Here are the deets:

1988 Gallery
7020 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(At the SouthEast corner of Melrose and La Brea)
Hours:
Wed - Sun: 11 AM - 6 PM
Mon & Tues: Closed

If you're NOT in LA then fear not! They usually sell prints of many of the original pieces on their website.

Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in Vogue

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:52:00 PDT

Well, the world has joined the rest of us in full-on Avengers anticipation now. Being the fashion obsessive that I am, I gasped when seeing these truly fab shots of some choice members of S.H.I.E.L.D. I just love that Joss got the chance to be involved with this humongous project and direct these A-listers. Still reeling from that fateful day at San Diego Comic Con 2010 when it was announced that he'd be at the helm and I feel so lucky we got to witness that in person.

Anyway, check out The Hulk and Black Widow vamping it up together in this month's issue of Vogue magazine. Come on May 4th already!:

Images via Vogue

Exclusive Pics: Joss Whedon Interview Airing this Sunday Morning on CBS

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:30:52 PDT

If you're looking for something to do during your Sunday morning brunch (or hangover) tomorrow, look no further! CBS is airing an interview with the man himself, Joss Whedon, and they have been kind enough to share a few extra images with us. Check out Joss at his home, chatting with John Blackstone about his kick-ass women, The Avengers and more.

Interview Airs Sunday, April 29 on “CBS Sunday Morning With Charles Osgood”

Best known for small, quirky television shows — like the cult hit Buffy The Vampire Slayer — Joss Whedon may seem an unlikely choice to write and direct a film that packs not only a team of Marvel Comics’ mightiest superheroes, but also some of Hollywood’s biggest names. But The Avengers, which opened this week overseas and is set to debut in the U.S. on May 4, is already generating the kind of acclaim and box office success that has Disney and Marvel Comics seeing green (and not just because of the Hulk).

This weekend, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone catches up with Whedon, who discusses the challenge of taking on a potential blockbuster, as well as how empowering women has been a theme throughout his work.

“I loved the idea of a girl going into a dark alley, and a monster comes, and then she just aces him,” Whedon tells Blackstone. “It's like, you want to see the tiny person suddenly take control. God, my whole career is basically about that!”

The full interview — which includes clips from the film — will broadcast Sunday, April 29, on the CBS SUNDAY MORNING WITH CHARLES OSGOOD (9:00-10:30 AM/ET) on the CBS Television Network. Rand Morrison is the Executive Producer.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is Pregnant

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:14:21 PDT

...to the surprise of no one here because @mbatz called it like months ago! US Magazine reports life imitating Buffy Season 9 Comic art - except without the robotics, I suppose. Anyway, the conversation went like this back in February:

And there you have it! Dude's like a pregnant psychic or something. And it's clear that SMG attended "Charisma Carpenter's school of Bump Concealing with Coats and Bags".

CCSBCCB Rule #4: If you wear a black coat and
place your arms just right, no one will
notice until it's written into the storyline.

Congrats to Sarah, Freddie and Charlotte on baby #2!

Buffy, the YouTube Porn Trailer

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:13:34 PDT

Tweep @teblue tipped us off to this hilarious & skanky porn parody trailer of our favorite show, and it's actually pretty legit! Check out the dialogue and fancy shmancy special effects. I am ashamed, however, that I think I own the same pair of jeans from Urban Outfitters that one of those sluts is wearing. I may have to donate those now.

Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku at Last Night's 'Equality Now' Event

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:02:56 PDT

Last night Equality Now's 20th Anniversary event was held here in New York City at the Asia Society. Whedon performed a monologue about the nature of change and Eliza Dushku performed a piece he had written, playing an undocumented immigrant forced into prostitution.

The Hollywood Reporter spoke to Whedon at the event and has a nice recap on their site. More pics below:

Whedon Still Open to 'Ripper'?

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:43:33 PDT

Back from the dead....in more ways than one.

Um, Excuse Me?! Here's some exciting news in case you missed the part in the recent AV Club interview where Joss said he was still open to Ripper or a similar Buffy-spinoff starring everyone's favorite watcher: Anthony Stewart Head.

Here's what the Master said:
"The thing about Ripper—the essence of it—is that the BBC came to me at one point like, 'It doesn’t have to be Ripper. It can just be [Anthony Stewart Head], and there’s magic, and he’s Tony, cuz he’s awesome.' And that’s the thing: For some reason, he keeps getting sexier every year. That’s not happening to me! I’m like, “What are you doing?” And that story was always about a mature guy who’s lived, and about the choices he’s made. So you could make that now, or you could make it 10 years from now. And I’ve tortured Tony more than any other living human with, 'We’re definitely gonna do this!' Because I thought we were. He’s working so much, though, I’d feel too guilty. But that’s the thing with Ripper: It doesn’t go away in my head because he’s still right for it, and he could still bring it."

Yeah he could still bring it! And if our March Madness tournament from last month proves anything, it's that Ripper is still in the hearts and minds of fans everywhere. LET'S DO THIS PEOPLE!

Exclusive Juicy News: 'Spike' & 'Willow' Mini-Series Q&A

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:26:16 PDT

We spoke to Dark Horse editor Scott Allie just before C2E2 and got the scoop about some new projects that have now been announced at the expo. Not only is a Spike 5-issue Mini-Series launching August 22nd, but Willow's Mini has also been given a release date of November 21. On top of all of that, Dark Horse has a new book titled Ex Sanguine coming out in October that'll vibe with our favorite type of story, those oh-so-romantic vampires. Check out all the deets below, straight from the (dark) horse's mouth:

Spike mini-series:

Buffyfest: Writer/Artist/Cover Artist?
Scott Allie: We've got Victor Gischler, Paul Lee, Jenny Frison and Steve Morris. This marks Jenny's return to the character, and her debut on the Dark Horse Whedon books. We're excited about that. Also our first time working with Victor, who's really throwing himself into things.

Buffyfest: Was this mini planned since the writer's summit? Did Joss always want Spike a story?
SA: It was not. The only one to emerge for sure from the Summit was Willow. The Drusilla one came later, though not much later, and Spike came together last, based on the direction of the Buffy series.

Buffyfest: Is this an arm of the central Buffy story or a one-shot separate from the main book?
SA: It is an arm of the main story for Season 9, not just Buffy, but Angel & Faith. All of these books support the main story of the two monthlies, though I guess some more than others.

Buffyfest: Will it bring Spike out of the Buffy book for a while?
SA: Yeah. He'll be leaving the Buffy book soon, not to return for quite some time.

Buffyfest: Any hints as to what Spike's story will be about?
SA: Well, the working title is A Dark Place, although that may change still. So I suppose that hints a bit ...

Buffyfest: Will anyone from the series be tagging along with him?
SA: Yeah, quite a few familiar faces. Multiple, nearly identical faces, if you follow me.

Willow mini-series:

Cover by David Mack

Buffyfest: Writer/Artist/Cover Artist?

SA: Jeff Parker, Brian Ching, David Mack and Megan Lara, al making their Whedonverse debut, although Megan is known to fandom for her Serenity Mucha pieces. Jeff has done very little for Dark Horse, is mainly busy on Marvel books and the occasional creator-owned thing for other publishers. Brian has done a lot of Star Wars stuff, and it was our assistant editor, Freddye, who pulled him in for this. I've been wanting to do something with David Mack for ages. Megan was Sierra's idea. David and Megan both stylistically get us to that mystical place that we want for the series. These covers will look a lot different from any other Whedonverse covers.

Buffyfest: Is this the story of her journey with the scythe?
SA: Yep!

Buffyfest: Timeline-wise, will this mini take place after Willow makes her appearance on Angel & Faith?
SA: Indeed. Yeah, picks up right out of the last panels of her arc in Angel & Faith.

Ex Sanguine
Buffyfest: You described the Tim Seeley book Ex Sanguine as a story about a serial killer and vampire who fall in love…Buffy and Angel if they were Natural Born Killers. Can you elaborate?

SA: It's a pretty dark story, a bit of a detective story, and it does feature a relationship between a vampire and a serial killer. The darkness of it, and the darkness of the protagonists makes the comparison to Natural Born Killers make sense. Tim made the Buffy, Angel, Natural Born Killer reference in the pitch, and I immediately got it, but those sorts of elevator pitches don't mean a lot to me. The intricacy of the mystery story is a big part of what attracted me, and just my love of Tim's work. I wanted to do more real horror comics, and we have a bunch of them cooking, like the Colder miniseries we announced with Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra a couple weeks ago. More to be announced shortly ...

Buffyfest: Thanks as always, Scott!

You can find even more info about the mini-series over at EW. Warning, it's all a bit spoilery for Buffy Season 9.

'Cabin in the Woods' FINALLY Hits Theaters today!!!

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:23:53 PDT

Cabin in the Woods, the long awaited, spoiler-sensitive horror film from Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, finally hits theaters today after being shelved due to MGM's bankruptcy drama and basically going through a long process of annoyingness in general. It was made 3 long years ago and now it's here! Some people think it's going to have a very good weekend at the box office as well.

Have you seen it yet?

Buffyfest Talks 'Buffy' #8 with Scott Allie (Part 2)

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:32:06 PDT

Last week we spoke to Scott Allie about all things horror and scotched in an interview about Buffy #8 "A(part) of Me", which is in stores and available for digital download today. Scott is currently on his way to Chicago's C2E2 Expo and if you're in the Chicago area, you should definitely check it out as Dark Horse is making some exciting announcements! Ok, on with the show...

Buffyfest: Hey Scott! So what Andrew has done to Buffy's mind closely resembles early Dollhouse technology, was that the intention?

Scott Allie: Sort of. The Dollhouse angle wasn't in the original plan from Joss, but as we started figuring out how to make the details work with the robot and the mind transference, Dollhouse came to mind. Riffing on Dollhouse seemed to make sense, gave us a short hand, especially with Andrew Chambliss working on the comic, and Cliff drawing it, after he'd drawn the Dollhouse comic. I was able to reference the device from Dollhouse in the script and Cliff already knew what it was.

Buffyfest: It’s made clear that homemaker Buffy is not what robot Buffy had planned. Did Andrew create that personality or…?

SA: Mm, yeah. More to come on that, but yes. Andrew programmed something to take the place of Buffy's personality.

Buffyfest: In the opening pages, there’s a lot of pop culture references littered throughout Andrew’s room (Star Wars, Tranformers, Lady Gaga, Glee.) With Cliff Richard’s penciling, did you leave it to him to come up with what Andrew’s room would look like, or did you and Andrew Chambliss come up with those details?

SA: I threw a lot of specifics in there, but Cliff added a lot too. I think I suggested Gaga, and he came up with Glee. I think, anyway.

Buffyfest: The zompires have been creeping into the story more and more throughout the season, now especially with Detective Miranda Cheung becoming one. Will they continue to play a major part in the narrative as the story progresses?

SA: They'll continue to be important, and involved in some of the turning points of the story, but they're not the whole story. And they're not ultimately the Big Bad. They're relatively minor presence in the next arc, "Guarded", which has Andrew Chambliss and Georges back. They grow more important again in Buffy #14 & 15, where we have guest writers digging a bit more into what's going on with zompires.

Buffyfest: Hand on your heart – someone you love is killed and gets sired. What’s harder to deal with emotionally – a vampire or a zompire?

SA: I suspect a vampire. A zompire can't manipulate you, it's just a monster. If you knew your child were a monster, and you had to kill it, or even just flee it, that would be unimaginably bad. But if it was talking to you while you were fighting for your life ... worse, I think.

Buffyfest: It's nice to see Dawn and Xander again but why is Xander raging so much? He pretty much Hulk-Smashed that tile.

SA: He is indeed grumpy. Things have not entirely gone Xander's way. More to come on that. That story comes to a head right before the final arc.

Buffyfest: By the way, Buffy losing an arm… Star Wars reference? Is Darth Vader her father? Be honest…

SA: This was Joss's idea, and he is a bit of a Star Wars fan, so ...

Buffyfest: We've noticed a big divide within Buffy fandom where many fans are downright angry at the reveal of Buffy being a robot and never having been pregnant vs. a new legion of fans (mostly on Tumblr) who have responded very positively to the story. What do you think of this anomaly?

SA: We expected it. We liked the idea, and felt that others would—but we also knew there'd be some backlash. I've seen criticisms from people thinking that we ruined our own story about abortion by saying she was never pregnant. And that would be true if the abortion, or the pregnancy, were the most important thing about Season 9. I hope that when it's all said and done most people will think it all added up. I have no delusions that everyone would think that.

Buffyfest: Why did Dark Horse decided to change the cover of #8?

SA: I want to show exciting things on covers. I don't want to ruin stories, but I want to strike a balance. We're not doing our jobs if the covers are boring. So for every cover of Spike and Buffy sipping wine on a couch, there needs to be one where she's getting part of her body chopped off. Every time Georges does cover sketches, he literally does 10 or 12, compared to the 2 or 2.5 that other artists do. When Georges did this sketch, we loved it, and wanted to use it, but you'll notice we actually put it on the issue AFTER the arm gets hacked off. So it was out there, people knew it was coming, but when it happened in issue #7 hopefully it was still somewhat of a surprise. When Georges drew the robot arm being hacked off, we went back and forth about how to show that it was a fake arm. I think the initial sketch had blood. Georges tried a few different ways of drawing the sparks. Then Michelle colored it, and it didn't look right, so Georges tried another way of doing the shoulder. She colored it again, and it looked great. In all that mucking around, we talked a lot about the cover, and came up with the idea to conceal the fact that she was a robot by going back to the bloody shoulder version. So Georges drew a patch, Michelle colored it yet again, and we decided to spoil the arm being torn off, but mislead a little bit by concealing the fact that the arm is mechanical.

Buffyfest: The Drusilla mini-series has been shelved but we know you've been planning other minis for Season 9. Do you know who you'll be focusing on having their own mini-series next?

SA: I do. We'll be announcing at Chicago, C2E2. I think word will get out on Thursday, at the retailer presentation, and then in more detail on the Dark Horse panel on Friday. I wish you guys were gonna be there.

Buffyfest: Us too! Will that mini-series be moved up now?

SA: Actually, yes and no. And I'll tell you guys this. It's two series. One is being moved up slightly, one is not. For a couple reasons—in part because of the scheduling change on Drusilla, and in part because of where and when we need that character doing other stuff in the two main books. While we started with a detailed outline, a lot changed over time. Things changed for the characters in ways we didn't initially predict or understand, and so where each character is, what they're doing, has changed as the story has gone on.

Buffyfest: We're definitely looking forward to it! Thanks, Scott.

Look out for some extra tidbits about that C2E2 announcement here on Buffyfest this Friday!

Buffy Season 9 #8 Review (SPOILERS)

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:36:31 PDT

Moving on from the pregnancy plot (and yes it is really and truly over so far as I can tell), Buffy Season 9 begins on the path of a new and very different story arc with issue #8 called “Apart (of me).” I have just one word for you to sum up the surprising direction things are headed, but not just yet. Let’s talk about a few other sundries first.

First, the good news. If you’re smart and you figured out how the whole “Buffy is a robot” thing works, then you already know that some of the emotional stuff from last issue still holds. That’s my way of saying that Buffy and Spike’s relationship is still growing and evolving in a way that I find emotionally satisfying.

There’s also a solid B plot surrounding the death of Cheung and the emotional fallout from that with a special guest appearance from Xander and Dawn. I’m relieved that the other members of the cast aren’t getting lost in the shuffle. One of the good things about the actual show was that there were always multiple threads coming together all the time and I feel like Season 9 is doing a much better job of that than Season 8 did.

That’s the good. The less good news, and I can’t imagine anyone will be surprised if they’ve read the solicits for later issues, is Andrew. Oh, Andrew. Never my favorite, but boy did I not anticipate he’d regress into the sort of dude who could justify taking a woman’s agency away completely. DON’T WORRY, THOUGH BECAUSE HE WAS DOING IT FOR BUFFY’S OWN GOOD.

Right. Here’s the narrative flaw for me. I need to believe Andrew would do what he did (and, yes, it’s a little complicated so I’ll leave some of the details for when you read it.) My beef is that I don’t buy that Andrew would take the actions that he has and, furthermore, that Buffy or Spike would allow him to continue, you know, BREATHING after they figured it out. I suppose you could argue he is a necessary evil in this moment but, BOY, am I not loving where his story has gone.

Buffy Season 9 #8 is a good but mixed bag, basically. On the one hand, there’s exciting stuff on the horizon and it feels like we’ll be getting interesting character development for more than just Buffy. On the other, I felt like I had to swallow some bitter pills and accept some stuff I didn’t want to in order to focus on the things that are good. Then again, I’ve felt that way since long before the show became a comic so, hand on heart, maybe I’m just that guy, you know?

Alright. Back to that one word that is going to describe the rest of “Apart (of me).” Did you work it out while reading reviews on the interwebs? If not, then here it is – Dollhouse. Soak it in because, baby, you don’t know the half of it.

Let me know what you thought of this issue in the comments.

See you next month!

Buffyesque Comics You Should Read - Alabaster: Wolves

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:41:47 PDT

Writer: Caitlín R. Kiernan, Artist: Steve Lieber, Cover Artist: Greg Ruth

Happy Friday people! Since you probably love Buffy if you're reading this blog, and hey...who doesn't love a good monster hunter story anyway, check out Alabaster: Wolves. The book is about a "chosen one" of sorts and all the murky darkness that goes along with that. Dark Horse Editor Rachel Edidin says of the series main character:

"If you like Buffy Summers, you’ll probably like Dancy. She’s a girl in her late teens, and she’s got that same gritted-teeth determination. But Dancy’s not pretty, or bubbly. She’s got no superpowers — just a knife and a harsh celestial master. She’s got the start of a sly sense of humor, but no glib Whedonesque quips."

"If you like River Tam from Joss Whedon’s Firefly, you’ll probably like Dancy. She’s a kind of crazy, or she might be, or she’s afraid she might be, and her hair is always in her eyes, and she’s always a step ahead. But Dancy isn’t a supergenius. She doesn’t need a trigger word to fight, and no big brother will ever swoop in to comfort her. Dancy can’t kill you with her brain: that’s why she carries that great big knife."

The first issue debuts next Wedensday. And Dark Horse tells us there will be an Alabaster short story in the Buffy and Serenity Free Comic Book Day comics! Holla!

Buffyfest talks Horror and Comics With Scott Allie (Part 1)

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:26:21 PDT

Most readers of this site know Scott Allie for his work writing and editing the Buffy comics, but he's been working in funny books for a long time. One of Scott's biggest passions is the horror genre, so while he's the Editor Guest of Honor at World Horror Convention this weekend, we thought it would be the perfect time to give you a little more insight into not only Scott, but also some of the other great titles we've been reading through Dark Horse. Look out for part 2 of this interview where we chat about Buffy and the first issue Scott's written this season, the upcoming #8.

Buffyfest: What, to you, defines a great, classic, traditional horror story?

Scott Allie: One of the things I love about horror is how broad a genre is, how many different things it can be. I love a horror story that gets you really caring about the characters, and where mood and atmosphere and pacing and weird, out-of-the-ordinary events keep the reader off-kilter and scared for the characters and even for themselves. This can be so many things.

Buffyfest: Can you remember the first horror story that really and truly scared you? What was it about that story that got to you?

SA: I might say Salem's Lot, by Stephen King. The town he was writing about could have been the town I grew up in in Massachusetts, and I remember many times reading the book over the years being paralyzed with fear. For all the supernatural melodrama, the settings and the characters convinced me that it could really be happening, that the world was really that dangerous. Probably the fifth time I read that book, in college, I was up till four a.m. reading it, terrified, and realized I had to call it a night, and that I had to go the bathroom. I walked out of my girlfriend's dorm room, out into the brightly lit hallway, and stared down the hallway, about a hundred feet to the bathroom door. And I just decided it wasn't worth it, that brightly lit hall was too scary, and I would wait till morning. I'd first read the book when I was about eight years old, and it scared me just as much at twenty. But the earliest memorable scares, for me, were the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, which once caused me to run screaming out of the kitchen where I was watching with my mom on a little black and white television set. She haunted my dreams for years.

Buffyfest: Aww. Well, a lot of people who know you primarily through Buffy might not know your background. How did you get into funny books and how did you get yourself from reader to editor/writer over the years?

SA: The first comics I read were in junior high school, Frank Miller's Wolverine series. That drew me in, but when I discovered horror comics, particularly underground horror comics of the 1970s, that's what really made me fall in love with the artform. I really dedicated myself to it, steered my college education around it, and found that what I loved more than anything was making books, comics in particular. I produced a lot of work in college, which got me a job at a literary magazine, and the job paid well enough that I was able to finance some self-published horror comics, which then got Dark Horse's attention and got me the job there.

Buffyfest: What other comics did you read growing up?

SA: The underground stuff was most exciting—Skull and Slow Death. They were hard to find, and Creepy and Eerie were the next best thing, as well as some Bernie Wrightson and Bruce Jones horror comics that Pacific Comics was reprinting at the time. This was in the early eighties, when Marvel and DC weren't doing much good horror, and Dark Horse wasn't around yet. Pacific was a company I loved a lot during that time. I also read a lot of superhero stuff, but I kept losing interest in it. Frank Miller's work would always rekindle my interest in superheroes, keep me around a little longer, and actually his great Batman stuff indirectly led me to Alan Moore's great Swamp Thing stuff, which were maybe the best horror comics of the 1980s, the books that ultimately got me to dedicate my life to this stuff. Alan's run of Swamp Thing is way better than Watchmen in my opinion.

Buffyfest: We know you’re doing some workshops at World Horror Con, what’s the most common advice you give to writers and artists when they’re struggling to break into the comic industry?

SA: Well, the most easily applied advice is this: Work small, don't commit to your magnum opus before you've really cut your teeth. A lot of people who are just learning how to write or draw comics want to start by doing a 50-issue epic, and they need to scale down their ambition to work that they can tackle, complete, and then, as they improve ... throw that early work away and not feel bound to it forever. The other thing I want to tell people is to know what it is they want to do, know why they're trying to make this happen. If what they really want to do is tell their own stories, have freedom to express themselves, they should not necessarily focus on getting good-paying work from Marvel or DC. They need to know what they want to do, and they need to look at the industry and see where they might be able to do that. And that's hard to do, but I think you might be wasting everyone's time waiting in portfolio review lines if you don't have a good answer to, "What do you want to do"?

Buffyfest: So the BPRD stuff you’re doing right now is meant to hit that classic horror sweet spot. Talk about the challenges and the benefits of the comic medium when delving into the horror genre.

SA: I think one of the most important aspects of writing in terms of executing a horror story is pacing—and pacing is one of the hardest things to control in comics. In film, the director totally controls the pace; second per second, he decides how the story rolls out. In prose, it's different, but still, the writer controls how the information rolls out. In comics, it's not just easy to skip ahead—it's hard not to. If I want to do a really slow, silent scene, where there's no words, and the reader just lingers over silent images ... there is nothing I can really do to stop the reader from glancing over the panels and skipping to the next word balloon. If I have a very slow-paced thing at the end of which, surprise, the monster jumps out of a cake, the only way I can manage that surprise is to put the cake monster at the top of a left-hand page, so you see it on the page turn. But it's not just about surprises—every aspect of pacing is harder in comics than other media, and pacing is uniquely important in horror.

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH:
THE PICKENS COUNTY HORROR #1

Buffyfest: In BPRD: The Pickens County Horror, we’re dealing with some Hellboy vampire mythos, how do vampires fit into the Hellboy world? When you and Mike Mignola talked about vampires for this story, what vampire lore influenced you?

SA: Mike loves vampires, but vampires have been relatively scarce in the Hellboy world. There is a reason for that, which we're just starting to unveil. It was hinted at in BPRD: 1946 & 1947. It was hinted at in Hellboy: The Sleeping and the Dead. But Pickens County finally reveals what the vampires have been doing. Mike's reference points for vampire lore are very classic, Dracula and earlier, but we talked a lot, with Pickens County, about Near Dark. Also, of course, Lovecraft plays into it a bit.

Buffyfest: I read Ragemoor #1 a week ago and LOVED it. I know you’re editing that book, so I was hoping you could give us a little background on it. How did the project come about and what attracted you to it?

SA: THANK YOU. Corben and Strnad are the guys that were blowing my mind when I was a kid looking for REAL horror comics, in the tradition of Poe and Lovecraft and Weird Tales. I love working with Corben—it's an incredible honor. The way Ragemoor came about, as I understood it, is that Richard approached Jan to do a Poe adaptation. Corben just wanted to do Poe. Jan felt they'd done that, and wanted to do something original, but with overtones of homage. What they've done is FAR more interesting to me than any adaptation could have been. I haven't read a comic like this in years. Working with these two has been spectacular for me. At the same time, Corben wanted to get some Poe out of his system, so he's adapting some less well known Poe stories in DHP. So everyone wins.

Buffyfest: What other horror comics do you have cooking right now?

SA: Well, on April 2, our YouTube program beings on Felicia Day's Geek and Sundry channel, and we're kicking it off with a week long serialization of the horror comic The Secret, turned into a motion-comics/animated feature. It's Mike Richardson, my boss, doing a modern, teen-slasher-type horror story, but with a more classic approach. The art, by Jason Shawn Alexander, is awesome. Also, we're announcing a new horror series this weekend at Emerald City Comic Con, Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra's Colder. A real dark psychological thing. We've got some more cool horror comics to announce at Chicago's C2E2 next month, along with some Buffy announcements that we should talk about in advance ...

Buffyfest: Can't wait to hear all about it. Thanks as always, Scott!

In addition to BPRD: Picken's County Horror and Ragemoor (both very much worth your time), Dark Horse has a number of other titles out now I'm enjoying, including Conan the Barbarian (with art by the sensational Becky Cloonan), Dark Matter (think Alien meets Firefly), the delightfully disturbing adaptation of The Strain, and (my personal favorite) Lobster Johnson.

World Horror Con is at the downtown Raddison Hotel in Salt Lake Ciy this weekend through Sunday April 1st.

Champion Announced! March Madness - The Whedon Alternate Universe Tourney.

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:23:16 PDT

Buffyfest's 2012 March Madness was all about the Magical Alternate Universe where those cancelled, ruined or never-realized Joss Whedon projects got the chance to finally shine. But there could only be one winner and if anything deserved more story, it's this masterpiece. Behold, the winner by popular vote of this year's Tournament:

Firefly Season 2, of course! Oh what could've been if it kept flying....

Until next year!

THE FINAL BATTLE of March Madness! The Whedon Alternate Universe Tourney.

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:02:03 PDT

This is it! End of the line for this year's March Madness. This time, we set out to determine which of Joss Whedon's lamented fallen projects would the fine people of our fandom want to see most. The king of all missed Whedon opportunities if you will, and sadly there has been many.

Throughout the tournament, Firefly Season 2 has held steady. Angel Season 6, on the other hand, got beat out by a Spike Made-for-TV-Movie early on in the bracket, but has crawled it's way out of hell since then. This is the final battle! Which broody male lead and fabulous supporting cast will take it?

Last Round:
- Angel S.6 beat Faith the Series by quite a bit and that's the 2nd loss for her and her motorcycle so she's out for good. Ah well, stack it on top of Tru Calling and Dollhouse I suppose. Poor Dushku, even in the magical alternate universe.

Next: The FINALS! This round will actually be ending on Friday at noon at which point the winner will be announced! Vote below for the Whedon project you'd like to see most in perfect world:

Notes:
Firefly Season 2 vs. Angel Season 6?
In the alternate universe, would Angel still be fighting the good fight? Would Captain Malcom Reynolds still be flying the good flight?

Both of these series were cancelled before their time. Some would say one more than the other. I guess all you can do now is listen to your heart. So I ask you: In a magical realm where we'd actually get to see either a 2nd season of Firefly or a 6th season of Angel, suspending the actors in their prime with any plot line you desire...which series would you want to see more?

And click below to enlarge the entire bracket:

March Madness! The Whedon Alternate Universe Tourney - FINAL Loser's Round!

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:04:58 PDT

OK, we're about to meet the end of the line for the losers of this Tourney! If you're just joining us, this March Madness has been about trying to find out which of Joss Whedon's fallen projects fans would want to see most. Since it's been the first time we've done a Double Elimination, this is the last chance the losers have to get back in the game...the fantastic losers being Angel and Faith, that is!

Last Round:
- Firefly beat Faith the Series by a lot. It's not at all surprising, but let's face it...Faith on a motorcycle would've been amazing! Anyway, Faith's going to the loser's circle and Firefly S.2 is advancing to the finals in all it's shiny glory!

Next: The Loser-finals...the 2 small dogs. This round will have just 1 match and will end on Tuesday night at 11:59 pm EST. Vote below for the Whedon project you'd like to see most in a Wonderful, Magical Alternate Universe of Trolls and Mermaids:

Notes:
Faith the Series vs. Angel Season 2?
Ah...Faith and Angel. They work so damn well together and yet here they're preparing to battle to the death!! So what would you rather see? Faith conquering the beasties and fulfilling her Slayer destiny? Or one more season of Angel and co. helping the helpless and facing Wolfram and Hart or some such. They're fate is in your hands!

And click below to enlarge the entire bracket:

March Madness! The Whedon Alternate Universe Tourney - Semifinals!

buffyfest@aim.com (Buffyfest.Blogspot.com) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:06:09 PDT

Well March is nearing an end and so is this tournament. We're at the semi-finals already, just a few more battles to go! If you've missed this entire March Madness so far, we're trying to find out which of Joss Whedon's fallen projects fans would want to see most. How the hell Firefly Season 2 is now facing a Faith series is pretty boggling, I think it has to do with this whole "Double Elimination" bracket.

Last Round:
- Angel S.6 beat the Spike Made-for-TV-Movie after they were tied for 2 days straight. Spike would gain by 2 votes and then Angel by 3. It was a 'shippers delight and nightmare all rolled into one. I don't know why the hell these brackets like to hurt me. This went to the wire and was determined by a single vote.

Next: The Semi-finals! The 2 big dogs. This round will have just 1 match and will end on Sunday night at 11:59 pm EST. Vote below for the Whedon project you'd like to see most in a Wonderful, Magical Alternate Universe of Unicorns and Leprechauns:

Notes:
Firefly Season 2 vs. Faith the Series?
Again, this match up is crazy strange....but I guess they would both be pretty bad ass! If you think about it, Faith the series would be a natural extension of the Buffy series. And if you're a Whedon purist, this might be as close as you'd get to a Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel, if you will. On the other hand, many a Browncoat (and average all-around Whedon fan alike) would probably lay down and die if a real Firefly S.2 was announced tomorrow. Shinyness all around. Happy Voting!

And click below to enlarge the entire bracket: