Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 – Motion Comic

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE: SEASON 8 – MOTION COMIC (DVD)
20th Century Fox Home Ent.

Release date: October 3rd, 2011
Certificate (UK): 15
Running time: 137 minutes

Director: Jeff Shuter
Writers: Jane Espenson, Drew Goddard, Brian K. Vaughan, Joss Whedon
Producers: Jeff Shuter, Thomas L. Wentworth

Cast: Rafael Amaya, Jose Masagosa, Chus Pereiro, Cristian Valencia, Clara Moraleda

The thing about changing the world, once you do it, the world’s all different.

That’s definitely true in this case. Admittedly, I remember when I first heard the news that some mediocre early 90’s movie was being turned into a television series with an all-new cast, it didn’t so much ignite an emotion of any kind, but passed over me with a general feeling of “eh, whatever”.

That all changed when said-show began airing in 1997 and for the next 7 seasons, it changed my world. Joss Whedon wove together so many themes to be inspired by, especially the idea that all actions have consequences and no matter what side you were on – good or evil – there’s always a shot at redemption and also falling from grace.

Buffy, together with her band of Scoobies, including Xander, Buffy, Anya, Dawn, Spike, Oz and Giles became an integral part of life and once the show ended in 2002, the world seemed different again…

Much empiter. And also, less funny.

So you can imagine my delight when Whedon decided to continue the series with Season 8, but shifting to a different medium to do so. First appearing as comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, it brought back our gang, minus a few faces, and picks up one year after Season 7. Now released as a motion comic with a voice cast who almost sound like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan and Eliza Dushku. The illustrations definitely look like them and Xander continues to rock the eye-patch.

After Sunnydale was completely destroyed and Willow’s spell turned close to 2000 potential Slayers into actual Slayers, the world was definitely changed.

Xander’s now the head of a command centre located in Scotland where Slayers, together with psychics and witches are being trained on a mass scale to fight the good fight. Buffy continues to keep a distance and feels burdened by Slayerness still but at the same time she hasn’t had a relationship since Spike and the dust is gathering. Meanwhile, Dawn is experiencing some growing pains of a mystical nature and Willow is keeping Kennedy out of harms way as best as she can.

But there’s something stirring beneath the rubble of Sunnydale and the Hellmouth. The U.S. government is threatened by the rising power of the Slayers and they bring back a couple of Buffy’s former foes to take them down. They also have history with Willow.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 maintains a lot of the dry wit, sarcasm and energy its live action counterpart had. As a long-time fan who’s always longed to return to Sunnydale, it’s a great chance to catch up with some old friends, including the ever conflicted Faith. Mid season we get to see her working with Giles but again being tempted to the dark side when she gets a chance to rid Buffy from her life once and for all. Elsewhere, there’s the return of Harmony and also Dracula, who still has the power to make Xander go weak at the knees as his man-servant.

As Buffy and her army uncover a much bigger problem, a movement known as Twilight – no, nothing to Bella and Edward – there are a lot of surprises and shocks, just as there were with the original television series. I for one would love to see this continue for at least a few more seasons as there’s so much potential. Maybe we could even finally find out what happened to Drusilla or maybe she’ll just leaving us guessing.

Either the way, as the world keeps changing and being all different, at least we know Buffy’s still in it, one way or another.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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