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sdelmonteIt's like old times. Buffy and Angel on the same day. With the second part of the series-changing three parter in Fables and more of Morrison's weird Batman.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 16 - Yes, Melaka Fray is back, as indicated by the cover. But she only actually shows up on the first two and last two pages, and the bulk of the story sets up the scene. In the present, Buffy and Willow fly to NYC to follow Willow's weird vision from the snake-lady. Apparently the Scythe is there, even though Buffy has it. So something odd is brewing. Meanwhile, Dawn has finally gotten smaller. And become a centaur. And Warren the Skinless has made a magic missile for Twilight and launched it at Slayer HQ. Oh, and naturally, there is a temporal shift, and that's how Buffy ends up fighting Mel.
The bait and switch aside, this was a very good issue, as usual. Karl Moline, the artist from Fray, does a generally good job with the faces of the regulars as well. The scenes with Dawn and Xander are great, and the glimpse at what NYC in the Buffyverse is like are nice. My only concern is that Warren's attack will lead to more Death On Xander's Watch. Otherwise, fun in the key of Joss.
Angel: After the Fall 10 - The demon lords defeated, Lorne tries to fix LA bit by bit, and Angel gathers his team to find the hidden vampire threat otherwise called Gunn. Spike and Wesley talk of Illyria, Illyria outs Angel as not being a vamp, and we learn that the rest of world has no idea LA went to Hell. Lots of good stuff, but this issue is a bit scattered. Which might be the point. In Buffy's comic and life, things tend to be very straightforward. In Angel's life, not so much. It's an interesting point-counterpoint to read these back to back, and it shows that Joss (and his scripter here, Brian Lynch) still know what distinguishes the two shows and now the two comics based on them.
Fables 74 - Things are going very well. Too well. So says Blue's narration. A very good issue but all set-up still for the double-sided 75th issue. I am worried that there will be a lot of death, even if it really seems the good guys can't lose. To be continued!
Batman 678 - Bruce Wayne, amnesiac and drugged! The Clubs of Villains after Robin and Nightwing! Morrison telling yet another weird story that is very disjointed on the first reading and requires knowing about yet another obscure Batman story from the 50s with an alien version of Batman. On second reading, it makes more sense, and the script is great. But it's still a bit chaotic, and I cannot judge this issue without seeing how Morrison wraps things up. In could look brilliant in three months. It could look terrible. For now, though, this gets an Incomplete.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 16 - Yes, Melaka Fray is back, as indicated by the cover. But she only actually shows up on the first two and last two pages, and the bulk of the story sets up the scene. In the present, Buffy and Willow fly to NYC to follow Willow's weird vision from the snake-lady. Apparently the Scythe is there, even though Buffy has it. So something odd is brewing. Meanwhile, Dawn has finally gotten smaller. And become a centaur. And Warren the Skinless has made a magic missile for Twilight and launched it at Slayer HQ. Oh, and naturally, there is a temporal shift, and that's how Buffy ends up fighting Mel.
The bait and switch aside, this was a very good issue, as usual. Karl Moline, the artist from Fray, does a generally good job with the faces of the regulars as well. The scenes with Dawn and Xander are great, and the glimpse at what NYC in the Buffyverse is like are nice. My only concern is that Warren's attack will lead to more Death On Xander's Watch. Otherwise, fun in the key of Joss.
Angel: After the Fall 10 - The demon lords defeated, Lorne tries to fix LA bit by bit, and Angel gathers his team to find the hidden vampire threat otherwise called Gunn. Spike and Wesley talk of Illyria, Illyria outs Angel as not being a vamp, and we learn that the rest of world has no idea LA went to Hell. Lots of good stuff, but this issue is a bit scattered. Which might be the point. In Buffy's comic and life, things tend to be very straightforward. In Angel's life, not so much. It's an interesting point-counterpoint to read these back to back, and it shows that Joss (and his scripter here, Brian Lynch) still know what distinguishes the two shows and now the two comics based on them.
Fables 74 - Things are going very well. Too well. So says Blue's narration. A very good issue but all set-up still for the double-sided 75th issue. I am worried that there will be a lot of death, even if it really seems the good guys can't lose. To be continued!
Batman 678 - Bruce Wayne, amnesiac and drugged! The Clubs of Villains after Robin and Nightwing! Morrison telling yet another weird story that is very disjointed on the first reading and requires knowing about yet another obscure Batman story from the 50s with an alien version of Batman. On second reading, it makes more sense, and the script is great. But it's still a bit chaotic, and I cannot judge this issue without seeing how Morrison wraps things up. In could look brilliant in three months. It could look terrible. For now, though, this gets an Incomplete.
