re: OMWF - it sounds like they rerecorded the whole thing - understandably, to get rid of the SFX from the ep - which would be OK except that a) some of the background music is noticeably different - the twiddly little guitar bit in "Standing" (under "But now I understand") is gone, which I particularly liked, and also the tempo of the first fast part of "Give Me Something To Sing About" appears to be off or something, maybe this is how Joss originally wanted it, but I liked the episode version better, and b) the vocal performances are not as good in some cases (NB's part in "I'll Never Tell"; the "I know/I should go" part of "Rest In Peace" sounds off to me). But the backing instrumentation for the most part is much better in terms of mixing & volume, etc., so I'm torn. I wish I could remix it using the best parts of both.

Also the fact that I only have a downloaded (bootleg) copy right now may have something to do with it. I am going to buy it but do not want to pay $18.99 at HMV, so will probably order online for $11 or so.

My OWMF hasn't showed. Dammit.

A friend of mine got a copy of the Buffy novel guidelines. In case you were wondering why tie-ins are so bland:

CONTINUITY:

Our series currently takes place in an alternate sixth season storyline. That is:

--Buffy has recently returned from the dead and is still adjusting to life.

--Buffy’s mother Joyce is dead

--Riley is gone, as is Giles.

--Anya is a vengeance demon again, but not practicing. She and Xander are barely speaking.

--Spike and Buffy are not “together”, though there is lots of tension.

--Dawn is an innocent pawn, for whom Buffy feels tremendous love and maternal instinct; they still behave like sisters from time to time.

--Spike is moping around with a chip in his head and a soft spot for Buffy, but doing his part to fight—only because he likes to fight and he can only fight the bad guys right now.

--Buffy had dropped out of college to take care of Dawn and earn a living; Buffy was a good college student in the end and sort of misses it; talks about going back.

--Willow is a powerful Wicca who occasionally flirts with the Dark Side of majicks. She and Tara broke up over this, though they all still run into and talk to Tara.

--Angel (along with Faith, Cordelia and Wesley) is not in these stories, but may be referred to.

Note: Violating this continuity is only done by express permission of the editor. A first-time Buffy author should not submit a proposal based on a different continuity. Send a query letter first.

Well, this is a little beyond time frame, but the public library has a couple of Buffy comics. I picked up "Past Lives," the graphic novel by Chris Golden and Tom Sniegoski from 2001.

What crack was smoked when this was written?

I was really kinda jazzed after I read the introduction -- it sounded as though it would be really good. But the plot had holes a Mack truck could drive through, and the artwork was hit and miss, and dear lord why does Angel look like a pop star pretending to be a biker?

See, it could have been really good. And maybe I just haven't been in the world of comics enough to really have a good idea of what a story's supposed to be like. But honestly, there was no lead in. It was all about getting Buffy and Angel in the same room. The plot was secondary -- I had no clue it was Angelus when he first appeared in the story. No little box to tell me it was the eighteen hundreds. I thought we were still in the present day. There were maybe two cells where Buffy looked like herself -- one where Cordelia was drawn properly. Giles and Wesley were twins. Probably because they're English. Had the artist ever actually seen Quentin Travers? And why did Giles keep saying "Indeed?" I mean, British, but really.

And Alexa.

Please.

Yeah. What did you guys think of it when it came out?

It was a reprint of crossover of the Buffy/Angel comic. Different artists, I think.

Short version. Bleah.

Longer version. Golden's writing voice just never seems to fit the characters. He tends to a more pulpy style of action.

And fundamentally, DH has never managed to get decent artists, either due to their pay rates and/or licensing issues.

Thus the reason that the Buffy comic is consistently ranked in the 110-120 range of best selling titles, when it should be much, much higher.

And Betsy, if you have the full version of that, I would love to read it....

And fundamentally, DH has never managed to get decent artists, either due to their pay rates and/or licensing issues.

Actually, I very much like the artist who does Fray, but he still hasn't finished the next issue, so...

Ah, I suspect the artists for the Joss & ME stories worked solely because it was for Joss & ME.

Meanwhile, over at CrossGen, Karl Moline, the artist of Fray, just put out his four monthly issue of Route 666 on time. CrossGen uses the bullpen system, so it shows what a little whipcracking can do...

Meanwhile, over at CrossGen, Karl Moline, the artist of Fray, just put out his four monthly issue of Route 666 on time. CrossGen uses the bullpen system, so it shows what a little whipcracking can do...

So, what you're saying is that we should show up at Moline's house carrying implements of destruction and, er, encourage him to finish the artwork for the rest of Fray?

So, what you're saying is that we should show up at Moline's house carrying implements of destruction and, er, encourage him to finish the artwork for the rest of Fray?

No, no, we should use the method that Japanese manga editors use to get pages out of their artists.

Lock him up in a hotel and slide food under the door in exchange for completed pages.

Edit, and yes, I am not kidding, well except for maybe the food part. Apparently this legal in Japan, or at least not prosecuted...