Buffy’s back, continuing her journey to remain the Slayer in the aftermath of the Seed’s destruction. When last we left the group, Willow, Spike, and Buffy were up against a loan-collecting demon. We’ll get back to that soon, but first there’s a murderer in our midst.

Buffy’s back and she’s just as messed up as ever. When last we left our Slayer, she had rid the world of magic, put her former boyfriend in jail, and was continuing to string along her vampire stalker giving him hope that one day he might have a chance. But all is not right in the world and it’s up to Buffy to continue the good fight, even if the world around her could care less.

In the worlds and dimensions and workplaces of Whedon and Sorkin, family are the people you spend your time with, who have your back, who will help you through the bad times as well as the good, who will inspire you. And most of all, they’re the people in your life who seem to have the most natural dialogue and give the best speeches.

It’s the end of Season Eight! And we’re starting off the issue with a time jump. When last we left our heroes, the apocalyptic aftermath had left the world in ruins. As this issue picks up, all seems well and Buffy seems overly cheerful as she serves coffee patrons at the corner bookstore. I feel like I’ve missed out on so much and we’ve only just begun.

When you kick off a comic with the Master in chains and Angel seemingly evil, I’m going to have high hopes for a follow-through. Considering the expanse of the storyline, perhaps my hopes are not misplaced. It’s an all-hands-on-deck battle that may leave the planet in ruin and the battle between good and evil with a bloody aftermath.

This week we rant about Joss Whedon and the newest Buffy comic before talking about the week in TV and the Video Game Awards.

This week’s Fan Art Friday doesn’t focus on one fandom or character in particular. Instead it’s a celebration of fans’ creativity when they throw their fandoms together to create some unexpected crossovers!

This week we talk about the downward spirals of the Buffy comic and Chuck. On a more positive note, we love Fringe and Human Target, even if Fox doesn’t.

Going into this issue, I had not been keeping up with the lead-up story in the comics. Since I’ve always thought this universe was about the characters at its core, I was sure that the essence of them had stayed the same. I was wrong. This is like a whole new world.

In 2008, the Chicago-based Slay-A-Thon, an annual charity event organized by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fans, raffled off a particularly cool prize: a playset of the iconic Magic Box, made by fanvidder (and modeler) HammerPixVideo.