| | |  | Books | Home » » Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #7: No Future For You Part Two (Dark Horse Comics) | | | | | | | Description: | | Faith's out to kill a Slayer.
Lady Genevieve Savidge is one of the most dangerous women on the planet. If she's left unstopped, the British heiress will usher in the apocalypse. Faith has accepted Giles's offer of an early retirement package for this gig--but the wetworks will have to wait till she's infiltrated Savidge's mystically protected estate.
The blockbuster Season Eight continues with multiple Eisner Award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man; LOST), the stellar art of Georges Jeanty (The American Way), and Buffy creator and Executive Producer Joss Whedon.
Joss Whedon's Season Eight Continues! | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Brian K. Vaughan | | Publisher:
| Dark Horse Comics | | Publication Date:
| 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 3 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 It's Buffy by Joss...Jul 24, 2008
That should be enough of a review, but for the uninitiated. Buffy season 8 is a must have for all buffy fans as well as those who love a good story (although the latter will feel like they are missing something.. and they are as season 8 follow up heavily on earlier seasons.)
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Faith gets dressed up to the nines to kill a SlayerOct 03, 2007
Here we are, seven issues into "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8," and it seems that with each new issue we can expect great cover art by Jo Chen and that when we flip over to the final page of the story we will discover a splash page revealing a significant turn of events and the familiar words, "to be continued..." That is exactly what we have with issue #8, which offers "No Future For You: Part Two," which features a cover with Faith dressed up in a formal gown and Giles sans glasses, both looking at us, and it is all about the look in their eyes and the slight smiles on their faces rather than other accentuated physical aspects. I know there are alternative covers for each of these issues, but I do not have the gene that demands I have each variant cover of the comic books I collect and find the covers by Chen to be as good as it gets.
In Part One we discovered that not all of the nearly two thousand Slayers created in the final episode of the television series are fighting the good fight. Almost five hundred of them are working for Buffy's European-based operations, but some of them are going their own way and when one particular nasty threat pops up it makes a certain sort of sense for Giles to get Faith, the original rogue Slayer, to be the one to track down the target and take her out. The prize is that for Faith her slaying days will be over, but the fly in the ointment is that Faith as to pass as a lady to get close enough to take out Lady Genevieve Savidge. This means that Giles and Faith had to go the Pygmalion route so Faith can pass for landed gentry and get into Savidge's mystically protected estate back in Merry Olde England. Of course, a few pages in Faith is already off script, winging it and slinging it.
This second story-arc is scripted by Brian K. Vaughan, creator of "The Runaways," who has swapped writing gigs with Joss Whedon this summer, with art by penciler Georges Jeanty and inker Andy Owens. The idea of Faith having to kill a Slayer certainly resonates, because we all remember Buffy and Faith going after each other a couple of times (Faith remembers too, since their first fight from "Graduation Day, Part One" is a flashback here). I just have trouble believing that Faith, who has taken the name of Hope for this undercover operation, could pull off the act; mainly because I think she would run with it about as long as she puts up with the earpiece connecting her to Giles (which was not even an entire page). But things are still getting set up at this point and we still have to see how it all plays out. This second part of the story also includes a "meanwhile, back at the castle" section where Willow has a talk with Dawn and a few more hints are dropped as to the state of affairs that has turned Buffy's kid sister into a giantess. But that is just to tease us, because the final page of this one provides a twist that make it quite clear to Faith that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
 Gettin' British With ItOct 03, 2007
Expectations were high for this issue. The first part of this arc was nothing short of perfect, so everyone was wondering if BKV could keep the goodness up. He can, and he did. The story unfolds, throwing both Faith and us faithful readers into the center of action; an uppity British party. Basically, the plot is that Faith has to try to kill another slayer, a rich young Brit--and the hostess of the party--named Gigi. But nothing is ever that cut and dry in the Buffyverse, is it? The issue starts off with a flashback to the scene in "Graduation Day Part I" where Buffy fights Faith (then, the current 'slayer gone bad'), thinking it's going to be a battle to the death. We, for the first time, get Faith's perspective on the fight, and--as the issue goes on--the connections between the flashback and the major drama of the issue become clear. Gigi isn't just an 'evil slayer.' She's a person, quite like Faith was when she was 'bad.' Can Faith step into Buffy's shoes and kill a girl who is following the same path that she, Faith, wound up recovering from?
That's still up in the air. A lot happens in this issue, but the plot is still left on a cliff-hangy note. One of BKV's strengths is his pacing. I loved Joss' "Long Way From Home" arc, but the thing that I've noticed most about why "No Future For You" is simply a better arc is the fact that it's paced well, from page-to-page and even issue-to-issue. As a seasoned comic writer, BKV knows just when to end a page to keep the reader turning, but not too fast. His panelling allows you to appreciate each page to the fullest, without simply skimming over any images. It's the perfect balance of a fast-paced story and a story you want to take your time to read.
On the other hand, there are a few things I would have liked from this issue, but didn't see. I expected more Giles, thinking he might be playing Dixon to Faith's Sidney Bristow. But no such luck. Even though our favorite Ben-killing-Watcher gets a spot on the cover, he's only in one panel of the issue. Faith gets even more screen time in this issue than she did in the last, simply because there aren't that many other characters there to share it with. The variant cover, which depicts Faith, Buffy, and Gigi in formal wear is also misleading; Buffy only appears in the flashback. Xander and Andrew are no shows. What we do get is a marvelous exchange between Dawn (still breakin' scales) and Willow, which brings me right back to the show. Their dialogue (and before I forget, Faith's internal dialogue as well) is spot-on, and quotable to death. Especially Willow's "gay wiccan jewess" and "itty bitty things" lines. Simply amazing.
About the art... Many people have criticized George's depiction of Faith. Admittedly, some of Faith's Issue #6 facial expressions looked a bit bull-doggy. But this issue, art wise, is a vast improvement on what I thought to be already great art. Georges visibly gets more comfortable drawing the characters page-by-page (especially with Faith and Willow) and he continues to kick ass in drawing the newly introduced characters. The action here isn't made up of the best comic action sequences I've seen (that honorable title goes to Franco Urru's fight scenes in Spike: Asylum) but Georges is an all around competent artist, and we should be glad to have him involved.
So all in all, I loved the issue. It's--in retrospect--as good as Issue #6. It's easier to rank #6 higher, because the perfection of it was such a surprise. This time, we expected it. And all I can say is that BKV delivered.
9/10
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