No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)

Joss Whedon is the man. He's the best script-writer television has ever had, and in his own rights I feel he's the Shakespeare of our time (what with re-inventing the English language ad hoc).

If you loved Buffy, this is worth reading to continue where Season 7 left off. The characters stay in character, and talk the talk. My only complaint is that their images are not always exactly like the actors - but given my own artistic drawing talents, I'm not one to criticize.

Buy this, read it, love it.

I was very psyched by the first volume of Season 8 and have had this item saved on my wishlist for months now. All this pent up anticipatation may explain my dissatisfaction with the second volume. The Faith side story starts out with some depth and potential, but the storyline borders on recycling. I simply cannot believe that an upper class elitist Brit was the best they could come up with as a foil for Faith. The interchanges seemed stilted and the villain more petulant and annoying than sinister or frightening. Faith has attachment issues and a hard time not switching sides. We get it. It's just a stretch to think that a new gal pal of 36 hours is the missing link that tempts her back to the dark side...

Since this was the predominant story line it really weighted my review, BUT the bright spot was the latter story (penned of course it would seem by the lucky fellow himself)chocked full of cameos and Buffy-Willow wittilogue.

Last time I checked, Joss Whedon was not soliciting my consultation before making his next creative decision, nor can I blame him. However, it's obvious to any Buffy/Angel/Firefly fan that the closer Joss is to writing/directing any episode, the better the finished product. Of course he can't be at all places at all times, BUT I am willing to bet my Sarah Michelle Gellar autographed Underoos that he had less hands-on during the production of this volume than the first.

Didn't like the first issue of S8 that much, but this was awesome. Faith back, and the character done fairly well, though I would have preferred a little more bonding with the bad guy (girl) to show the development of the relationship. The final, out-of-arc story at the end was classic Whedon, lots of dream sequences etc well done. I really liked it!

No Future For You, the second collected volume in Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, finds the return of one time rogue slayer Faith. At the request of Giles, Faith finds herself on a mission to infiltrate the world of a wealthy English slayer who is taking out other slayers, and has Buffy in her sights as well. What does this have to do with the new big bad called Twilight and the U.S. government's plans for Buffy and her crew? Writer Brian K. Vaughan, who has written such amazing comics including Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, manages to wonderfully convey Whedon's penchant for snappy dialogue here, while returning artist Georges Jeanty provides more solid artwork as well. The last issue collected here, entitled "Anywhere But Here", is written by Whedon himself, and finds Buffy and Willow on a dizzying mystical trip and answers some questions, as well as plants the seeds for upcoming chaotic events. All in all, No Future For You is another spectacular volume in the new Buffy comic, and cheers to Brian K. Vaughan for picking up the torch and running forward full-throttle.

Some fans were on the fence about the first volume of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. If "No Future For You," the second volume of the series, can't pull them off that fence and over to the rabid fan-boy/girl side, then nothing can, because this is just a solid, solid book.

Brian K. Vaughan takes on writing duties for the main part of this volume, the titular "No Future for You" miniseries. In the story, we catch up with Faith, who is still adjusting to living live as one of the good guys. Like most Joss Whedon (and Brian K. Vaughan, for that matter) works, this is a dark book with a lot of moral ambiguity that perfectly suits Faith and Giles, who is also a major part of this arc. Brian K. Vaughan's writing is great and his intricate knowledge of the medium of comic books makes this a better arc than Joss's own "The Long Way Home."

The story has Faith going up against a rogue slayer, which has her reflecting a lot on her own evil days. Through flashbacks, Vaughan makes strong parallels between Faith's past and the main action of this story, which takes place at a "fancy dress party" in England. Vaughan doesn't let us forget about the Scoobies, who are dealing with their own problems back at the Scottish castle. Another big plus about this story is that the Big Bad of the season is revealed on the final page of #9 (the conclusion to the "No Future for You" arc).

Also included in this book is a one-shot called "Anywhere But Here" (written by Joss Whedon), which is been one of the fan favorites from Season Eight. Artist Cliff Richards (the artist who drew many of the old Buffy comics) takes on art duties for this one issue, which shows Buffy and Willow having a very revealing heart-to-heart conversation... while they go up against a demon that causes reality to buckle around it. This issue alone is worth the price, because not only is it the best example of Joss's writing we've seen up until that point, but it's also a "very special issue" because it pays tribute to a disabled fan of the show who won a Buffy contest. Further comments on the artwork and stories of the individual five issues can be found here: Buffy #6, Buffy #7, Buffy #8, Buffy #9, and Buffy #10.

Overall, this isn't only a book that every Buffy fan should have, it's something that every fan of graphic storytelling should own. It's a perfect example of why this is such a great medium and how the comic book has evolved. It packs an emotional wallop, it's true to the heart of the show, and it's written by two great writers.

9/10