Buffy Season 8 Motion Comic

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ranks as one of my all-time favorite series. It’s one of the few shows I watched on a consistent basis. I have (some would say odd) traditions when I watch certain shows. For the Oscars I’m always in front of the TV with Chinese take-out. With ‘Buffy,’ my cousin and I would get together every week and make dinner (being bachelors that usually meant pasta). After dinner we’d sit in front of the TV with a few beers and watch The Slayer kick some undead ass.


When I learned that Joss Whedon was continuing the adventures of Buffy with an official Season 8, I was thrilled. This despite the fact that Season 7, for me, wasn’t quite the swan song that I think the Slayer deserved. When the comics hit the shelves, I got through the first couple of issues but life got in the way and I never quite found my way back to the comic shop to get the issues that followed.

I still hadn’t picked up any of the collected versions when I heard about the motion comic. So, after thoroughly enjoying Shout Factory’s Iron Man: Extremis Motion Comic I was very excited for Buffy Season 8 from 20th Century Fox. The Iron Man Motion Comic (check my review here) set the bar high for my expectations with this release. Unfortunately it fell far, far short of what I was hoping for.

First off, the Blu-ray/DVD combo comes with the first 19 issues of Season 8. I knew this going in, but why 20th Century Fox didn’t bill this as ‘Part 1’ for those not in the know is beyond me. Another thing that bothered me was, unlike ‘Extremis,’ the characters mouths don’t move, making it hard at times to know exactly who in the frame is speaking. This is especially annoying because a lot of the voices (at least to me) tend to sound the same. I realize that it would be expensive to get the cast to record the voices (if they were even interested in doing it) so I’m not complaining about the lack of their involvement, but the voice actors chosen for the job just didn’t sell it for me. At times their delivery was just…not good.

The artwork looks great (especially on Blu-ray) so I’m really disappointed that while there are some motion effects, it didn’t have that cartoon-like feel I was hoping for. Also, the transitions between the panels felt awkward. Overall, while it’s great to see The Slayer on my television again, I think I’d have been better off picking up the graphic novels.

Here’s where I let you form your own opinion. I purchased the Blu-ray and it comes with a copy on DVD. Since I don’t have a use for the DVD copy (as it’s the same as the Blu-ray) I’m going to give it away. Just leave a comment here or E-mail me at geekhashblog@gmail.com by Feb. 14th and I’ll put your name in the randomizer and one person will win the DVD!