Stupid Buffy comics poll

[shapinglight]

Here's that stupid comics poll I mentioned, brought on by the fact that the latest issue of Angel and Faith (no 16) was quite good (well, better than other recent efforts, like the last arc of A&F, the last two arcs of the Buffy comic, and all of the Spike mini so far) and it made me foolishly optimistic for all of five seconds that something good might come of this debacle after all.

I also thought I remembered Scott Allie saying something in one of his Slayalive Q&As about how things would be very different at the end of season 9 and some people would be pissed off by it (which, being me, I took to mean the Spuffy 'shippers would be pissed off by it). However, I can't find that reference so maybe I imagined it. All I can find is him saying 'the landscape' would be very different, which could mean anything. And after all, it's California. Maybe he just meant there would be an earthquake?

But anyway, I decided to try and think of various things that would piss people off to include in this poll. I'm sure there are lots more (for instance, some that aren't to do with Buffy's love life at all), but my imagination fails me.

Over to you.

Poll #12223 End of Buffy Season 9

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25

View Respondents

What will happen to piss people off at the end of Buffy season 9?

View Answers

Spike will ask Buffy to marry him. She'll say yes.
5 (20.0%)

Angel will ask Buffy to marry him. She'll say yes
7 (28.0%)

Angel will ask Spike to marry him. He'll say yes.
4 (16.0%)

Buffy will become a nun
5 (20.0%)

Buffy will wake up and it will all have been a dream
13 (52.0%)

Answer in comments
3 (12.0%)

For the record, I don't think any of the above likely, especially 1, as I think, as rahirah does, that to Joss, Allie and co, Spuffy has been dead in the water since Seeing Red and they only don't pony up and say so because they want the Spuffies' money.

Comments

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I've seen him say that the fallout from Chosen in the comics was supposed to be like the backlash after Obama was elected.

My brain tried to convert that into "backlash after Bush was elected" (in 2000); I still remember the bitterness and rancor and anger. But Obama - wait, what? (And buffy is neither Obama or Bush - she's a warrior and a general.) I keep reminding myself not to listen to a thing that comes out of Joss' mouth.

"Believe the tale and not the teller" - I need to put that on a bumper sticker.

Which, valid story to tell, I suppose, but there was so much else in that series that wrecked things people had loved in the show.

The comics came up on lostboy's meta "Why the Buffyverse" that you inspired (it's actually my fault for mentioning them in the convo thread. I should be punished) and he came up with a very nice summation of why they don't work just in terms of what is lost in the translation from the tv screen to the page, the lack of actors, music etc. He's much more polite than I'm capable of being on the subject.

I agree with you - this COULD have been intelligent, interesting, coherent, etc. I didn't have any preconceived notions going into it except I don't read comics, but I know sometimes they can be an art form (Maus). The yawning chasm between the show and the comics is unbridgeable for me, never mind how offensive I find it. I don't understand sticking your thumb in the eyes of your own fans just to be clever or "make a point".

and thinking about it, not 'getting' Buffy is probably the worst thing

A world of YES to that. When I first picked up a copy of the early season 8 last year the one person who seemed strangest to me (least like her tv self) was Buffy. And to me that's fatal - it's her story. And my first impression was right; she's become increasingly irrelevant to her own story. So why keep her hanging around? they may be making some money on the various spinoff titles but no one is getting rich off of this - and they'd be making a great deal more if they invested some care into the project.

I'd just as soon let her have (another) glorious death than dwindle into nothingness. It's the comics so I won't give a damn or consider it canon, and then there's always the option to be resurrected by someone who cares about Buffy and wants to retell the tale properly.

BTW - I keep hearing some people claim that "Joss is a Spuffy" - and actually, Spuffy comes out smelling like a rose in S8 compared to Twangel/Twuffy (whatever the hell it's called.) Joss was never about "happily ever after" and I'm still convinced that the spacefrak is meant to mock fanfiction and all the fans who "don't get" what he was trying to do with Angel in S2. Again - bad form, dude, and just plain rude.

or I have to believe he would never have done something that made so little business sense.

For all I know this whole thing is somebody's tax write-off anyway. they can't be making that much money to begin with, but if they cared to they could make a great deal more. They had 4 years to correct course but in fact they only went in deeper.

I've read people claim that Joss is a Spuffy - but I've also heard the exact opposite - and compared to the spacefrak, Spuffy came out smelling like a rose at the end of S8. (Granted, that's setting the bar REALLY low.) I suppose Allie et al are trying to go by the "it's not what they want it's what they need" motto - which in my mind translates into "screw the fans it's what we want to do that's important" IDK

[shapinglight]

But Obama - wait, what?

I think Joss meant that everyone was so euphoric when Obama was elected, but then there was a horrible backlash. Plus, Obama disappointed a lot of his supporters, and poor Comics!Buffy more than does that in season 8.

Also, re the claim that Joss is a Spuffy, I think a while back - and not in connection with the comics specifically - someone asked him in an interview which of Buffy's relationships he preferred, and he said Spuffy. However, that doesn't for one minute mean he imagines her ending up with Spike. As regards what Spuffy there is in season 8 (opinions vary, but as a Spuffy, I'll probably never recover from what happened in the issue where Spike came back)it certainly doesn't come across as very important. In fact, the whole story, with the space frak and Angel being Twilight just doesn't work if people aren't convinced that Buffy still loves Angel.

And it's not so much that Spuffy came out of season 8 smelling of roses, more that Spike did. But that was part of the problem. Most of the way through the series - which lasted for 4 whole years - Scott Allie acted all perplexed that people could even be interested in what Spike might be up to, as if he couldn't understand why anyone liked the character. Then, when Spike finally did turn up five issues from the end, it was clearly just fan service. Yes, Spike was all heroic and stuff, but he was also completely irrelevant. The samne story could have been told without him appearing at all.

Hmm. Seems like I'm still quite bitter.