While Whedonites everywhere wait for Joss Whedon to bring his next story to the big screen (hello, Avengers, what big superheros you have), fans can get their fix via new Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Dollhouse comics coming out this year.
At WonderCon this past week, Dark Horse Senior Managing Editor Scott Allie announced new series for each comic will debut this summer and fall, according to Comics Alliance. For Buffy fans, the show continues in comics with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9. Whedon and company recently finished up a successful 40-issue Season 8 run, and will launch the next season in September.
Joss Whedon and Andrew Chambliss will co-writer and Buffy Season 8 artist Georges Jeanty is back to illustrate. Also back will be Willow and Spike, though Allie said the doesn’t expect there to be more crossover into the futuristic Fray world that Season 8 explored. The new season will be a shorter and less drawn-out 25 issues.
In an interview with Assignment X, Allie said Willow will still be dealing with her unresolved feelings toward Tara in the new season. He said:
Not gonna say what we have planned for Tara in Season 9 but let’s just say that Willow has some major trauma ahead of her. Willow maybe has reacted the least well at the end of Season 8 and she will be feeling that daily in the series.
The Season 8 comic has continued Willow’s relationship with Kennedy as well as had Buffy explore a brief relationship with another female slayer. So far the comic’s portrayal of gay characters and same-sex relationships has been nuanced and inclusive, and hopefully Season 9 will give us even more.
A new Angel series is also set to launch this August, and everyone’s favorite rogue slayer turned good Faith will be joining him. They’ll both be retreating to England after the events of Season 8, in the new Angel and Faith #1 issue. The series, written by Christos Gage (Avengers Academy) and illustrated by Rebekah Isaacs (Magus), will run 25 issues. Faith in England? That’s definitely 5X5.
Then, finally, Dollhouse will return with a mini-run of five issues starting in July set in the future shown in the TV series episode “Epitaph 1.” The miniseries will be co-written by Jed Whedon and Chambliss, who worked on the Dollhouse TV series and currently works on The Vampire Diaries. Chambliss confirmed to MTV Splash Page that the series will feature Mag, Zone and Griff “as they try to survive in post-robocall Los Angeles” as well as Alpha.
This, of course, is more good news for queer Whedon fans because Mag (played on the show by Felicia Day) is gay.
So, excited about these new titles? Happy to have Buffy, Willow, Faith and Mag back?
