The Snick reads another old-news comic book

[snick_backup]

Alas. I so enjoyed No Future For You, but Wolves at the Gate returns to the big awkward plots and random fanservice of The Long Way Home. Don't get me wrong, Drac was pretty much the best part (which must mean something, considering how little I enjoyed him in the show). But isn't the comic capable of developing even one interesting character of its own? Just one?

I think I've figured out my two main problems with the comics thus far. First, I'm bored and verging on oppressed by this whole army of Slayers thing. It's like S7, but in a castle! General Buffy, a faceless horde of girls with stakes, and various menaces that require battling beasties and tearing off on random quests to wherever, to find out whatever. I just don't like the dynamic. Plucky kids in the teens (and early twenties) standing against the forces of darkness? Yay! A high-tech lair, public relations scandals, and an exploration of the Lonely Leader Syndrome? Nay. Definitely nay.

Second, the way the comics are structured, there simply isn't time for the kind of character development I demand from my Buffyverse. The reason I liked No Future For You as well as I did was because it focused almost entirely on Faith, and took the time to get inside her head a little. But following the various entanglements and plot threads at Slayer Central leaves no time for that kind of thing. Renee? Satsu? They're cute and spunky and all, but I'd have exactly zero chance of separating their voices from those of any other one-dimensional walk-on. At least Andrew, for all his shallowness thus far in the comic, colorfully fills out his entire one dimension.

All that, coupled with the just plain zaniness of the plotlines and the Buffy and Dawn characterizations, makes me want to tell these folks to leave my beloved canon alone already!

And there wasn't even any Faith&Giles this volume. I'm beginning to think that the only good thing to come out of this mess will be Faith&Giles.

Comments

[shapinglight]

I'd have to agree, though I did find all the Xander/Dracula subtext screamingly funny.

[snickfic]

LOL. Well, yes, there is that. I generally find Xander nigh-on unslashable, but they made it easy, didn't they? With Dracula, of all people. With whom he willingly spent several months. *scratches head*

[shapinglight]

Yep, the story was a bit cracktastic, but such fun.

[dragonpaws.livejournal.com]

I do keep up with the comics, sporadically, and the last two have actually been... dare I say it-- good?ish? The others, basically a suckfest.

One of them is Faith&Giles, which I agree is completely and totally of the awesome.

[snickfic]

Hah, I knew you'd love the Faith&Giles. If you haven't yet, you should check out sahiya's F/G stuff.