Dudes! I mean... gentle readers.... Uh, anyhoo, last FRAY finally hittin'! I've been planning that ish since before I wrote! Happy to see it reach fruition. But check out th' gaffe! On the title spreaed, the first two paragraphs have been inverted! It don't make no logical sense! Grr. (Arrgh.) But still, a sense of completeness, coupled with the fact that I just finished shooting the first Angel of next season.

Hope you guys dig, and as for more... well I have this movie I'm trying to write, but I definitely have ideas. By th' by, Scott Allie called me after I turned in the letters page stuff:

Scott: You wrote: "I can't imagine anyone but Karl drawing Mel".

Me: "Yeah."

Scott: "But... you CAN, right?"

It was so cute. Fact is, I don't think I'll be able to snag Karl for the next series. I'm into seeing a new artist's vision, but still... look at that last page. Neal Adams. Bryan Hitch. Karl Moline. I'm just sayin'.

I saw Karl at Comicon and gave him one of the Scythes that props had made for Buffy. His face was a thing to see.

Anyway, just wanted to hit th' thread, 'cause I actually finished something! All HAIL!

Hey Joss, nice gesture with the scythe (axe) - that was really cool. Glad to hear the big day's arrived for Fray, as a lot of us have been greatly enjoying the story and looking forward to its pentultimate chapter.

So how'd the shoot for the season premiere go?

Heh. This seems perhaps an inappropriate time to mention that I didn't like the ending.

Spoilery: I felt like Urkonn's being a baddie came out of left field, and, to be sure, it resonated for me with the way that Giles was (mis)used in the last season of BUFFY. I felt like, does every father/male teacher figure in the Slayer storyline *have* to turn out to be bad, or, at the best, get discarded?

Then again, it's been five million years since I read the whole thing starting from the beginning, and there may be things I missed.

I am relieved to know that Joss jossed himself, because I sat there after "Chosen" wondering how FRAY worked now.

The character in question wasn't evil, he just wasn't altruistic.

Interesting that this once again brings up one of the inherent tensions of the Slayer, between the hero and the soldier. Mel is struggling to be the hero, which was pretty far from her uncalled state, but it was still much closer to her original state than the soldier. The character in question did his action trying to evoke the soldier in Mel, but instead got the hero, probably much to Mel's own surprise.

Honestly, that surprise was one of the true surprises of the series. Virtually everything else was set up and foreshadowed, whereas the foreshadowing for this was suitably buried to keep it a true surprise.

Fact is, I don't think I'll be able to snag Karl for the next series.

Probably not. For people not in the know, Karl Moline is currently working for a company called Crossgen out of FL, which is experimenting in bringing back the 'bullpen', so that all of their writers and artists work in a single space. For those reasons, all of their creators are 'exclusive' to Crossgen, with a few negotiated exceptions. On the other hand, people should check out Karl's current title for Crossgen, Rte 666, a horror title in an alternative 1950s America.

On the title spreaed, the first two paragraphs have been inverted! It don't make no logical sense! Grr. (Arrgh.)

I didn't notice. I just assume you were going for disjointed thoughts. I don't think it'll throw people off that much. Just have them fix it for any reprintings. (That way my copy will be *extra* collectable...)

Michele: I didn't think it came out of left field so much, because I was bothered that it was the demons that sent Urkonn in the first place. Why would they go out of their way to aid the Slayer? You do make a fair point about the comparison with Giles (and Wesley, and the Watchers Council, and her Dad). However, my complaint would be more about Giles betraying Buffy, because there was far more trust built up over the years there, than Urkonn betraying Mel.

Oh my! And the letters column was absolutely hilarious.

Well, Joss posted last night, so he'll likely never see this comment, but his last paragraph in the letters section -- "I write stories. Mostly about girls....and the Getting of Power," make me goosebumpy and teary, what with Chosen and all.

And I was totally bereft about Urkonn killing Loo. Because I *loved* Urkonn from the very start. He was my MAN, in a big motherfucking way. But, dude -- betrayal! Made me sad.

And also Harth kissing Mel -- freaked me out in 2 ways: (1) reminded me so very much of Faith kissing Buffy in "Enemies," because Harth and Mel are (roughly) a lot like Faith and Buffy; and (2) YIKES! No likey the bro-sis kissing!

I really dig Mel. And I can't wait to see how Joss un-josses himself.

[edted becauce I keep using the italics shortcut when I want whitefont....duh....]

I have to say that I didn't notice the reversed paragraphs. . .and that UrKonn turning out to be Loo's killer completely surprised me -- maybe because we know that vampires sometimes do kill just to send a message.

And that it didn't bother me that he wasn't 100% good because I also never understood why he was sent to train Mel.
Also -- Joss really does that fucked up family thing well, doesn't he?

My reaction to Harth kissing Mel was along the lines of "okay, so the Simon/River subtext wasn't enough? You had to make it text with these two?"

That said... such a kickass ending. Wow.

I can't believe Joss actually posted here! Is that high praise for Karl, or what? That last page spread was pretty well done, that's for sure.

About (spoiler) Urkonn's betrayal. I've been running this through my brain, and it really feels like his actions are almost like a hyper-Watcher, in that he was willing to do anything to get the job done. Kind of like Giles killing Ben, but taken to the nth degree.

I went back to re-read the series last night, but only got partway through #1 before I finally had to sleep. It was interesting to note that Karl's highly detailed backgrounds were evident right from the beginning.

(For any Route 666 fans, I thought that a panel of Mel's sister in this last issue really resembled Cassie Starkweather, the heroine of 666.)

This story really does reflect and resonate with the themes developed in Buffy, doesn't it?

WHY did I mail order my copies of Fray? Why? It still hasn't gotten here yet. Might have to break down and just go buy a copy if it isn't here by 2 or so.....and - eeep! Joss!