Buffyverse Season 9: News Nexus

[CowboyGuy]

Post any and all articles, Q&A comments, and videos about Season 9 news in this thread. This, in an attempt to keep things a little organized for now

[mandikaye]

Do we know yet when Season 9 will start?

[Wenxina]

Mid- to late-ish this year (wow... it is 2011...). I think there was a mention of something like an 8 month break, or something to that effect.
Regardless, I think we'll hear some noise at the Cons this year, especially SDCC. I mean, it's a huge platform to capitalize on.

[jellymoff]

Gail Simone has been asked to write for Buffy Season 9 according to Bleeding Cool:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/01/...y-season-nine/

Simone confirms this on Jinxworld Forums in response to a post by a mysterious member named @AndrewCrossett

http://www.606studios.com/bendisboar... /> stcount=25

ETA: When tagging AC for this I realized that he reported this in another thread weeks ago. Still cool though!

[Dorotea]

I sincerely hope she won't be writing for S9. I never ever read a comic by her, and my reasons are fairly simple - she is a comic writer, and Buffy need's a different kind of writer. Please, no.

[CowboyGuy]

I'm pretty excited about her...she did a great job with Birds of Prey. She knows how to write strong, intelligent, yet vulnerable women.

[leyki]

Has she watched the show?
I think this should be the major question....

[jellymoff]

I sincerely hope she won't be writing for S9. I never ever read a comic by her, and my reasons are fairly simple - she is a comic writer, and Buffy need's a different kind of writer. Please, no.

I've got to disagree with you about Buffy not needing comic writers. One of the most well received arcs of Season 8 (and I think the one with the least flaws) was written by Brian K Vaughn, a comic book writer. I found that some of the TV writers don't have a strong enough grasp on the comic medium.

[Manda Cookie]

I've got to disagree with you about Buffy not needing comic writers. One of the most well received arcs of Season 8 (and I think the one with the least flaws) was written by Brian K Vaughn, a comic book writer. I found that some of the TV writers don't have a strong enough grasp on the comic medium.

I agree here, you don't need to have been a writer on the show to be well received. I love Gail's work, and I have no doubt Season 9 could benefit from her work. When she took over in Birds of Prey, I noticed a distinct rise in quality and interest. These are characters she didn't create, and a series she wasn't in from the start, and she just nailed it.

[Dorotea]

I've got to disagree with you about Buffy not needing comic writers. One of the most well received arcs of Season 8 (and I think the one with the least flaws) was written by Brian K Vaughn, a comic book writer. I found that some of the TV writers don't have a strong enough grasp on the comic medium.

I would agree if we had an ongoing series with no end in sight. Moreover, I am more than happy to see that writer try their pen at any non-canon in-between seasons stuff. But we have at most 1-2 seasons left. No time for experiments here. Brad Meltzer was enough ( for me personally). If she is hired and hapopens to be another Kelly Armstrong - do you realize that this would mean the last 'ever' Buffy canon season would be written by somebody who is not capable?

[AndrewCrossett]

You're talking about her as if she's an unknown quantity. "Buffy" is now a comic book, not a TV show, and as such needs either comic writers, or TV writers who can also write comics. Gail Simone has written a ton of very successful and popular comics series that share some thematic and stylistic similarities with Buffy... "Birds of Prey," "Secret Six," "Wonder Woman," "Welcome to Tranquility." She is well known for her witty dialog and for striking a balance between action and character development. Some people have even accused her of deliberately copying the Whedon style, although this is not true.

Kelly Armstrong was hired by IDW (not Joss) and had no experience in either comics OR television writing. Gail Simone has both (she's written a couple of episodes of Justice League Unlimited).

There is no question of her being "not capable." As I said, Dark Horse would not have actually offered her the job unless Joss wanted her to do it... they approached her about it, not vice versa.

(Sidebar 1: She would only be writing one of the various titles making up season 9, not the whole thing.)

(Sidebar 2: We have no indication that season 9 will be the last canon season.)

[Dorotea]

I do not care what she wrote before - she never wrote for Buffy, and it is (possibly) the last, or one before last, ever season. As I said - if she screws it - there won't be any chances for repair. I would rather see a known entity , like anybody who has proven themselves capable of actually writing Buffy's characters' voices. She might be as talented as you say she is, but the risk is too great. If she is hired I would consider it them giving up on the series integrity.

There is no proof S9 won't be the last one. And as I mentioned before - if Buffy the comic will descend into never ending series conundrum - I would rather know in advance so that not to invest time, money and emotional commitment into it. The worst thing that could happen is them deciding to go into continuous mode with no end in sight. Then, I won't care who writes it - I will simply disregard ALL of the comics.

[Butters]

I love Gail Simones work! I really hope this happens. I also definitely agree that Buffy is not a television show anymore, it's a comic and should be written like a comic. I say yay!

[DorothyFan1]

I do not care what she wrote before - she never wrote for Buffy, and it is (possibly) the last, or one before last, ever season. As I said - if she screws it - there won't be any chances for repair. I would rather see a known entity , like anybody who has proven themselves capable of actually writing Buffy's characters' voices. She might be as talented as you say she is, but the risk is too great. If she is hired I would consider it them giving up on the series integrity.

There is no proof S9 won't be the last one. And as I mentioned before - if Buffy the comic will descend into never ending series conundrum - I would rather know in advance so that not to invest time, money and emotional commitment into it. The worst thing that could happen is them deciding to go into continuous mode with no end in sight. Then, I won't care who writes it - I will simply disregard ALL of the comics.

I agree with you on this, Dorotea. I also have serious concerns if they bring in someone "new" no matter how good. Although I have a wish that Ron (Battlestar Galactica) Moore could do it...but only if I knew he fully understands the characters. This appears to be the key. Understanding the motivations. Because right now after Twilight...one of the biggest plot developments to happen is Willow's predicament after losing her magic powers. If this new writer isn't sensitive to the dynamics of Willow for example...she could be written in as merely cardboard cutout material which Willow clearly is not.

So your concerns match mine in this regard.

[KrazyXXXDJ]

Gail would "get" Buffy.
I'll echo what Andrew said, Gail's writing has been compared to Whedon's, especially in terms of the similar "speak" and wording mannerisms. The greatest of her work revolves around strong female characters who are both tough and humanized. If there's an outside writer I would trust to do it, it would definitely be Gail.

[Wenxina]

I do not care what she wrote before - she never wrote for Buffy, and it is (possibly) the last, or one before last, ever season. As I said - if she screws it - there won't be any chances for repair. I would rather see a known entity , like anybody who has proven themselves capable of actually writing Buffy's characters' voices. She might be as talented as you say she is, but the risk is too great. If she is hired I would consider it them giving up on the series integrity.

There is no proof S9 won't be the last one. And as I mentioned before - if Buffy the comic will descend into never ending series conundrum - I would rather know in advance so that not to invest time, money and emotional commitment into it. The worst thing that could happen is them deciding to go into continuous mode with no end in sight. Then, I won't care who writes it - I will simply disregard ALL of the comics.

Y'know... if the S8 track record suggested that you were right about known entities, I'd agree with you. But let's see... Jane Espenson... pretty much one of the best known writers of the TV show, and a very successful writer of a bunch of other popular shows like BSG. Her scripts for S8 were erratic to say the least. She had some highs, but in general, her work felt slovenly. "Harmonic Divergence" was rather poorly executed, and basically muddled up the whole Potential/Slayer element. "Retreat" as a whole had some interesting ideas, but execution-wise, I think I'm being generous by saying that it was not good at all. Other than #26 and #28, that arc was lackluster and at times, quite poopy.
Other than Drew Goddard, who wrote "Wolves at the Gate," no other staff writer had an arc at all (discounting Joss, of course, whose work was always way better than most). Their work made up 80% of "Predators and Prey," with the only exception being "Safe," which was written by Jim Krueger, a comic book writer. Krueger's work was utter shite, I'll say that much. But the arc was wildly inconsistent, and to be perfectly honest, none of them really hit it out of the park. I enjoyed "Swell" and "Predators and Prey," but they weren't exactly top notch.
Now, Brian K. Vaughan, who wrote "No Future For You" excelled. He wasn't a writer for the show, but he got the voices and nuances down. And the pacing was perfect. And he's a comic book writer.
Brad Meltzer wasn't awful... his arc started out strong. It was only when he got so wrapped up in the plot and less on the characters that the whole thing kinda unravelled.

I guess all I'm saying is that there's no guarantee anyone, tested or not, is going to write something great or toilet paper-worthy.

[KrazyXXXDJ]

Not to mention that the bigger following and more money these books make, the "end" will get pushed further and further away. It would be ideal to have the series wrapped up with a tidy ending, but not likely in the face of capitalism, unless Joss just gets completely tired of it. Kind of a catch 22. It's more likely that the more we fuel it, the longer it will burn.

[DorothyFan1]

I've changed my mind about Gail Simone. It turns out she wrote an article on the trend in seeing women comic book characters minimized or *depowered*. After the end result of Season 8 this is most definitely pointing in Willow's direction. Willow has been this important woman who had powers...and now she has nothing. If Gail Simone comes in for Season 9...I strongly suspect her major focus could be to rebuild Willow into being important again but without her magic powers. So at this point...anybody brought in to help Willow recover after losing her reason for being gets my vote.

[Tanner]

I don't really like Gail Simone. Always thought she was over-rated.

[AndrewCrossett]

Brian K. Vaughan never wrote anything for Buffy before he came in to do NFFY. Joss knew his work on "Runaways," and "Y: The Last Man" and other things, and knew that his style would be a good fit for the Buffyverse. Many fans rank NFFY as their favorite arc of season 8. Some people (people who are not me) object to the gratuitous bath scene with Faith and Gigi, but it was a hugely successful arc. I'm sure Joss reviewed and tweaked it all before it saw print, to make sure it fit in with the specific quirks people expect of the Buffyverse.

The same thing happened on the TV shows all the time. Who ever heard of Dan Vebber before he showed up and wrote "Lover's Walk?" Ben Edlund was known mainly as the creator of "The Tick" before he came in and wrote "Jaynestown." Jane Espenson showed up out of nowhere in season 3 and wrote "Band Candy."

How many people panicked when they heard Joss was turning over the writing of the climactic issues of season 8 over to Scott Allie, who'd never written a word of Buffy before? Yet it worked out, because oddly enough, Joss's 15 years of experience as an executive producer and showrunner have shown him how to mold the product of diverse minds into a coherent whole. Also, he knows his own story well enough, and he knows writers well enough, to judge which ones will or won't fit in.

I'm intimately familiar with the Buffyverse, and I'm also intimately familiar with Gail Simone's work, and I think Joss's judgment is perfectly sound on this one. Now it's just a matter of whether Gail agrees, and whether she can find the time.