is there a consensus on the best buffy TPBs?
Not that I have seen. Here are the ones I would recommend.
Tales of the Slayers
(everyone agrees on this, it's a collection of short stories, written by the series writers themselves, that covers various Slayers through time)
Ring of Fire
(an original GN, written by Doug Petrie, set in Season 2 after Angelus had killed Jenny Calendar)
Spike and Dru
(collects the 3 Spike and Dru issues, one co-written by James Marsters himself)
I also liked the Oz series, even if they did rush things a bit too much at the end. Still, Oz. IJS.
cool, thanks. how's the "death of buffy" one? they seem to have it everywhere.
There's today at Whedonesque a link to a synopsis + review of two spec scripts written by Joss during his struggling years in Hollywood, when he was selling his soul rewriting multimillion-dollar blockbusters. Pretty interesting ("Die hard on a bridge"??? Bwhahahaha).
cool, thanks. how's the "death of buffy" one? they seem to have it everywhere.
I liked the arc, but as in most cases, there were some questionable decisions made by the writers. One of the problems with writing a licensed product is that you know so much of the story can't change, in order to fit into the parameters of the show. (Actually, this is a criticism levelled at long-running comics in general; you know that Batman isn't going to die, for instance, so threatening his life holds much less drama than it could). This doesn't mean that you can't create good stories, but it does mean that certain cliffhanger endings may seem ridiculous, rather than dramatic. In a collected trade, though, this becomes less of a problem, since they usually don't end on cliffhangers.
So, to sum up, I liked the story and think it will play better as a trade than it did as a monthly.
(("Die hard on a bridge"??? Bwhahahaha).
The review just makes me want to read the scripts. It's like somebody describing his reaction to a picture of Alyson Hannigan wearing leather chaps. It's not enough if you can't see the original. (btw the spoiler warning on the review is for the scripts, not Buffy.)
Jon--
buffystore.com just got in more of those Spike statues and they are $44.95.
I got one a few days ago with a buy-it-now on eBay for $33.50+$10 shipping, but thanks for thinking of me!
(the post office is holding something for me that was sent via registered mail. I'm hoping it's the statue; I'll find out tonight or tomorrow morning...)
I got my first Sandman graphic novel. I'm pretty excited.
"Preludes and Nocturnes." I'm working in order.
