Buffy the Vampire Slayer - THE LONG WAY HOME

Dark Horse Books

Script JOSS WHEDON

Pencils GEORGES JEANTY

Copyright 1998, 2007

In The Long Way Home, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 begins in graphic novel form written by Joss Whedon and pencils by Georges Jeanty. The graphic novels of Season 8 are the official continuation of the Buffy series and has Buffy leading and training several squads of new Slayers to fight the supernatural. In The Long Way Home,  the Military consider Buffy and her army of Slayers too dangerous, since she destroyed her home town, and brings back an old enemy to take down Buffy and her Slayer force.

In a continuation from the TV series, the graphic novels of Season 8 begins with The Long Way Home. Not constrained by a television budget, a more epic and graphic scale can be depicted in the visual story telling. The Slayers are more of an army now than they were in the last season of the TV series. Dawn has turned into a giant, Willow returns, and Xander is in command of Slayer Central. The closest to a normal life Buffy has is dealing with her sister-turned-giant. The graphic novel does mention other Buffys who were created to protect the original Buffy from being a target, including the Buffy in Italy running around with The Immortal, mentioned in the last season of Angel and in the book Queen of the Slayers. The last issue in the graphic novel begins a new story, in which Giles appears, that obviously continues in the next novel.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Immortal

Pocket Books

Written by CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN and NANCY HOLDER
An original novel based on the hit TV series created by Joss Whedon

Copyright 2000 by Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

In Immortal, Buffy encounters aggressive vampire Veronique who - when you dust her - reemerges as another vampire in another body. Meanwhile, Buffy's mother is sick and is about to undergo an operation. How can Buffy be with her mother - when an immortal vampire is after Buffy?

I felt for the usually dependable Buffy as she would much rather stay by the side of her sick mother - rather than fighting vampires, or of fighting the arrival of the evil demons Triumvirate that are wanting to absorb human souls. Having the Scooby gang prey on Buffy's duty as a Slayer was rather cruel of the gang, but that is the point. Which has more priority, Buffy's mother or the end of mankind?

The cover of the book also has what I think is the best cover of the entire book series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To me the cover for Immortal represents the Hell scenarios that Buffy is always encountering.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.