Broken Frontier

Type in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” into any search engine and see what you get. If you chose Ask.com, you probably got 1,745,000 listings. Google? About 2,290,000. MSN Live Search? A whopping 4,124,889 sites.

The popularity of the Buffy franchise cannot be denied. People have developed a cult mentality about the Buffyverse, creating fan pages, episode guides and news sites about it. Fans have come to worship on the altar of Buffy Summers. I had a friend who was so into the show that she made a habit of comparing her friends to characters on the program (I was Xander to her Buffy, which was, I believe, her way of telling me something—although I could never figure out what.)

But it didn’t start that way. Buffy Summers first appeared on the silver screen in the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. Instead of inspiring a loyal fanbase, the film was a financial (earning only $16,624,456 at the box office) and critical (it is only rated as 32% fresh at RottenTomatoes.com) failure. Today, it is remembered as the movie where TV heartthrob Luke Perry made his feature film debut and as featuring a cameo by post-scandal Paul Reubens.

Creator Joss Whedon was disappointed by the film. He intended to it to be a gritty story that flew in the face of horror convention. The blond cheerleader was not going to be just another victim, she was the one who was going to kick butt and take names. The director, Fran Rubel Kuzui, and studio decided to make it a typical teen comedy with horror overtones with Buffy being a stereotypical cheerleader. 

The perversion of his vision by Hollywood stuck with Whedon. He never gave up on the dream that he would one day show the world his version of the Vampire Slayer. He got his opportunity five years later.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer debuted on the WB network on March 10, 1997. Whedon had more creative control on the series and, as a result, it matched up more with Whedon’s original vision. The show was dark and scary (while retaining some humor) and Buffy was tough and smart.

The show became one of the most popular series on the fledgling WB network; so popular that it was able to spawn a spin-off series based around David Boreanaz’ Angel character.

Another offshoot of the character’s popularity were the numerous comic series based on her. Between 1998 and 2004, well over 20 different titles were published devoted to Buffy and her supporting cast, almost all published by Dark Horse.

The character and her universe were immensely popular in both television and comic book media. But like all good things, it seemed that it was not meant to last.

In an interview that took place during the TV show’s seventh season, Sarah Michelle Gellar announced that she would not be returning as Buffy for an eighth season. She preferred to leave the show while it was on top, even though Whedon certainly had more stories to tell and fan interest was still high.

The series ended on May 20, 2003. To say fans were disappointed would be an understatement. They were looking forward to an eighth season, and for almost four years held out hopes that they would one day see it.

That day, it turns out, will be tomorrow, as Dark Horse starts a new Buffy comic book. This series will be written by creator Joss Whedon and will be considered the official eighth season of the TV program.

You might think it odd that a TV series continues its story arc in comic form. It certainly is unique. However, for fans of cult TV series—ones that develop a rabid fanbase which doesn’t translate necessarily into ratings—this could be a godsend. Lest we forget, while Buffy got good ratings for the WB, and later, UPN, it would have been cancelled if it were on any of the larger networks.

Too many great TV series are cut down in their prime, leaving fans disappointed. What this series does is provide a glimmer of hope to these fans that even though a property might die in one medium, it could be resurrected in another. I hope this trend continues. Buffy fans got another chance, why can’t everyone else? 

Also out this week:

• B.P.R.D.: Garden of Souls #1

Almost a year ago, in this very column, I wrote about the longevity of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy Universe. I commended it on how long it had lasted up to that point, and stated it might have a healthy future ahead of it.  Since that time, we have had an animated Hellboy film, prep work beginning on Hellboy 2, and this spin-off here. I think my faith in the property’s health and well-being was justified.

This mini-series delves more into the past of popular Hellboy supporting character, Abe Sapien.  Longtime fans of the mythos probably already have this title on their pull list. If you don’t you might just want to pick it up to learn more about one of the most interesting characters in comic history. 

Mike Mignola & John Arcudi (W), Guy Davis (A), Dark Horse Comics, $2.99. Five-Issue Mini-series.

• Grifter/Midnighter #1

It seems almost impossible that a company that is just going on 15 years old could have “old-school” and “new school” characters. But Wildstorm, in fact, does and a representative of each will meet in this miniseries.

Grifter was a member of Wildstorm’s first comic book—Jim Lee’s WildC.A.T.s—which started in 1992. The Authority arrived seven years later, spinning out from Wildstorm’s second generation title Stormwatch, and unleashed Midnighter into the world.

These are two of the most popular characters of different eras of Wildstorm’s existence. They unite for the first time tomorrow which promises to be action packed to say the least. Will six-issues be enough to capture all the mayhem?

Chuck Dixon (W), Ryan Benjamin (A), Wildstorm/DC Comics, $2.99. Six-Issue Mini-series.

• After the Cape #1

If the title of this series reminds you of TV series’ like Behind the Music or E!’s True Hollywood Story, you’re not alone. Judging on the story contained within, it seems like the creators meant for the comparison to be made. The tale would be right at home on one of those tell-all, biographical shows.

Ethan Falls was once a prominent superhero. There wasn’t a villain that he couldn’t defeat—except for the one which resides in a liquor cabinet. His drinking sets him on a downward cycle. He has fallen so low that he is in danger of becoming something he once fought against—a criminal—to be able to just provide for his family. 

Howard Wong (W), Marco Rudy (A), Image Comics, $2.99. Three-Issue Mini-series.

• Spider-Man Reign #4

The controversial series looking at a bleak possible future for our favorite Web-Swinger comes to an end. This series has been compared favorably to the Dark Night Returns as an intelligent deconstruction of an iconic character. More than one fan will be excited to see how it ends.

Marvel should get some credit for allowing top name creators the chance to create intelligent if somewhat divisive stories featuring their most famous characters. DC has been doing this for decades, and the rich legion of heroes and villains call out for the same treatment. Love it or hate it, this series is a step in that direction. Who knows? Maybe in the future we’ll see an alternate reality story where Marvel does something silly like kill off Captain America. Heh! Like that would actually happen!

Kaare Andrews (W/A), Marvel Comics, $3.99. Final Issue.

• Hack/Slash VS Chucky

You can’t swing a dead cat these days without seeing a modern horror movie legend making an appearance in comic book pages. You have Freddy, Jason and Leatherface over at Wildstorm, Evil Dead’s Ash is at Dynamite, and George A. Romero’s Living Dead has a home at Avatar.

And now Devil’s Due is bringing Chucky from the Child’s Play series of movies to the four-color medium. And they are doing something unique with him. They are featuring him in a crossover with one of their own horror franchises—Hack/Slash.  This is a good way to have fans of one property check out the other. Brilliant move, Devil’s Due. 

Tim Seeley (W), Matt Merhoff (A), Devil’s Due Publishing, $5.50. One-Shot.   

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. Both would like to encourage Mr. Whedon to give Mal Reynolds and the crew of the Serenity the same treatment Buffy got. They both want to see more adventures of those characters, too. Bill also writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software. (I know it’s the same bio as last week. It’s a long story.)