Discussion of 8.02 "The Long Way Home Part 2" - Released 4/4/07 (Dark Horse)

Issue # 2 is out, and speaking for myself personally, "Whoopee". I didn't get shut out this time. My comic pusher told me there's as much, if not more interest in this one. He had a long list of people on the waiting list, and at least a box of Buffys with the names of waiting buyers in every plastic cover.

Oh...here's the plot squib.

=The destruction of Buffy’s hometown, plus covert and powerful slayer “cells” around the world, add up to a new label for the Scoobies: Terrorist threat. Speaking of Sunnydale, the crater formerly known as, has opened to reveal the witch Amy, and boy is she pissed. Now: Giles, smoochies, a knife to the heart, and a big sleep. Season Eight continues.

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http://www.popcultureshock.com/index.php?p=41349

It's even better than last issue. If he keeps this up, how good can it get, I wonder. Great dialogue. The characters are beginning to breathe. Wild ideas, and hints at future wowness.

And that last line, with that image. Was anyone else rubbing their hands together, cackling maniacally, or should I say apprehensively, because next issue...oh that's gonna be something.

Are those of us who were betting Adam as Amy's boyfriend starting to get ready to collect their cash yet. I'm not so sure any more. Now I'm starting to expect a surprise. It seems too obvious now to be Adam. Then again we could guess The First as big bad for Season 7 from the final scene in Lessons.

Buffy's headless romancer...Spike, or Angel?

I'm guessing the just off frame lover was Spike. Did we ever see Angel wear a t-shirt with his coat?
I'm still holding my bets on the boyfriend to be Warren.
Someone is FINALLY talking about Dawn's abandonment issues.

And wow, I'm looking forward to Willow kicking Amy's ass, after that whole "turning into Warren" thing...

Love the Willow appearance and can't wait for Amy to get what's coming to her. I agree with DantePD - the dream boy appears to me to be Spike (yippe!).

I got nothing on who Amy's boyfriend is other than whoever it is, they are not human (based on the General's comments). Clem got the hell out of dodge, Adam and Warren were without a power source and skin respectively, so not really seeing them as filling the bill. Could it be the First in a Caleb skin?

[Whedonesque] (SPOILER) Herc's Seen Buffy 8.2!

AICN's Hercules gives a page-by-page review of Issue 2 of Buffy Season 8. Couldn't get a hold of it at your comic book shop? Comic Book Resources has an eleven page preview of issue 2.

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I was just reading the posts at the link above and they offered a few "aha" moments. I don't mean they're necessarily true. I just mean it's stuff I hadn't thought of.

* Suggestion * The guy without a head in Buffy's dream is not Spike, or Angel. It's Riley Finn.

* Suggestion * The slayer girl who makes the Nick Fury comment to Xander in # 1, and the one who seems to have a crush on Xander in # 2 are the same girl.

* Suggestion * Floaty feet guy is Dracula.

I won't add the Amy's boyfriend is Adam one, because someone here at BB had that one last month.

* Something I missed * "In the letter page of issue 2,Scott Allie said there would be a month hiatus between issue 4,the conclusion of the first arc and the standalone issue 5.It's to give the various artists some extra time to give their best work.So it looks like we won't get a issue in July.It's the first of the various skip months we'll be getting between arcs."

Here's the link to the eleven page preview.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10211

NO! not Riley! i was happy when someone mentipned Spike. seriously, i was doing cartwheels!
k, that's a lie, but still, it made me giddy!
Dawn looks so cute bathing in the pond, lol. Xander just looks uncomfortable!

Still waiting on my copy...I'm glad Andrew got a haircut. His hobbity Frodo hair from Angel Season 5 truly bugged me. Just as nerdly as ever, so that's good. It's nice to hear everyone's voice again. You can definitely hear Joss in all the dialogue. It's different in some ways from all the other Buffy writers.

I'm thinkin Georges' art is only gonna get better too, as he gets into it. This looks a little better than #1.

There is one thing about the art I don't like. It's just a niggle, but there are times when he just does black dots for eyes. It looks old time comic strippy.

This kind of sucks, waiting for all you guys to get your subscriptions. I'm pretty much sitting on this thread talking to myself. It's OK though, I guess. At least this way I know nobody's going to say anything that's going to piss me off. : king :

I'm tempted to walk down to the comic shop, loiter, skim the issue...a time honored tradition, heh. It's already sold out for all I know...

Georges does scrimp on the detail quite a bit when the figures are small. That bugs. I'm assuming he's drawing the panels at close to the published size, as opposed to drawing really large, then scanning, shrinking.

On the plus side, it's lively, slightly scruffy, craggy which is good.

My comic book guy told Mrs P that he's expecting to get his supply of no. 2 in next week...it took a lot of willpower not to look at the preview above 🙂

nerd4hire said:

This kind of sucks, waiting for all you guys to get your subscriptions. I'm pretty much sitting on this thread talking to myself. It's OK though, I guess. At least this way I know nobody's going to say anything that's going to piss me off. : king :

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Thats what I was like last time! I wen't into town this afternoon and went to a comic shop but it wasn't there, it had sold out in under an hour!! But got it at another shop, almost freaked. Bought both covers two as there so cool!

Such an amazing issue. It actually did improve since last issue, the art I thought did look better too.

Andrew I didn't recognise at first then I read what he said and realised it was him.

The whole Buffy/Xander bit before it was revealed was a dream freaked me out completly! The demon that "pulled" her out the window, Buffy says "I know you" - Do we know who that was?

It was also allot funnier then last issue Xanders "Oh my god!!... This is the crappiest sacrificial dagger I've ever seen" was classic"

* Suggestion * The slayer girl who makes the Nick Fury comment to Xander in # 1, and the one who seems to have a crush on Xander in # 2 are the same girl.

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Was that not totally obivious? She looks exactly the same?

And Wow, just wow the last page was just... Wow. That was such a good moment, I really got that whole excited feeling when I saw that - Like I was grinning ear to ear and all twitchy in the back seat of the car, and when I looked up my friend was looking at me in the rear view mirror - clearly I looked insane!

Next issue is going to be AMAZING!

Black Eye Guy said:

The whole Buffy/Xander bit before it was revealed was a dream freaked me out completly! The demon that "pulled" her out the window, Buffy says "I know you" - Do we know who that was?

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Well yeah. That's Amy, isn't it. I mean it's the monster in the dream, but it's also Amy, because isn't she in the next frame. That's the impression I got anyway.

Oh right that would make sense I thought she was saying it to the demon - Thought it might have been a physical form for the first or something (Just ciz it looked a little like it!

The dream portion freaked me out a little - had to read that twice to get it and yes, the large demon dragging Buffy out of the window is Amy - the demons little "yes, scream" speech is continued by Amy in the next panel.

I will admit up front I'm hoping for Spike to be dreamlover, but I don't think it would be Riley - Riley never called Buffy love, neither did Angel. That was a Spikism...

Ok - and can I say love the crappy ceremonial dagger moment... Sgt. Fury saves the day. (hehehehehehe) - Xander is redeaming himself by the issue.

Yey - i got my copy today so i can stop feeling left out!

I think dream guy is Spike because in the dream Buffy says "balls' and 'dance', two words that have been particualrly associated with Spike, (anyway i hope it is him).

I though the monster in the dream was the same one that she fought in #1 - you know the one she put the crusifix through the head of because they talk with the same hissiness.

Any world travellers who could hazard a guess what city or country Giles is in? i thought Russia or Istanbull but they are just amature guesses...

Amy's boyfriend? i was very much thinking it was a re-animated Warren but was watching Villains and realised that Willow burns up the body after ripping off the skin so, not much left to reanimate so i'm still pondering that one.

Loved that last page! Me and my kids watched Two to Go today after reading the comic and when Giles made his big entry we all said in unison -"I'd like to test theat theory...' It was a very special moment, makes a mother proud!

Oh, the "two to go" connection. I had forgotten what episode "test that theory" was from... What about Jonathan as the boyfriend? Didn't Andrew leave him on the hellmouth?

Just read it, DL-d issues 1 & 2 off the internet (please don't start critizing, I have ordered the comics, they'll arrive in about 3 weeks time). Anyways I love season 8 so far and the caharcter art is also good (except Andrew, art needs improving, just couldn't recognise him). As this is a topic for #2 I'm gonna give my thoughts on it

>I'm 90% sure that the true love is Spike, leather jacket, red t-shirt, it just has to be him. I'm actually concerned how the writers are going to handle his character, wasn't it said that we won't see much of him in the comic, does that mean he's gonna kiss Buffy and then take off? That'd be unreal and also we really need to know where the Fang Gang is right now and who survived the battle. Then again, the true love may not be Spike. 😛

>Whatever happened to the guy whose feet we saw in the air in #1 (lol, this sentence is just wrong, hopefully you'll get what I'm saying)? Because of the jacket I'd bet Spike again but as far as we know he can't fly 😛

>As for Amy being the Big Bad this season, I simply don't buy it. She isn't interesting enough, hopefully the army guys will send Amy's boyfriend after the Scoobies real soon and hopefully the boyfriend really is Adam, it would be a good choice. Also, want to see Willow kick Amy's butt. Willow's last line was awesome however I would have preferred "I'd like to test that theory," instead of "As a friend of mine once said I'd like to test that theory." We would have gotten the quote anyway.

>Liked that Xander is still watching out for Dawn and that she confines in him. Have 1 question about the dream though. When did it start, Xander telling Buffy about Dawn, did that really happen or did Buffy subconsciously know that Dawn might have made herself big on purpose?

The Long Way Home (part 1) *** of *****
The Long Way Home (part 2) ***1/2 of *****

Although I may be harsh I love the comic book and knowing what's ahead the next issues might get 5 stars.

Sorry for bad grammer, English isn't my primary language.

My boyfriend (TD) says that it's probably not Angel, because another company owns the right to the character/Season 6 comic. So, my guess is that it's Spike. Though, the words "true love" really do throw you off... so who knows. All I know is that it's NOT Riley. Joss knows better than to start a riot.

Lehanefan said:

My boyfriend (TD) says that it's probably not Angel, because another company owns the right to the character/Season 6 comic.

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Well, as long as you have a reference source...😉

Just kidding. I use Wikipedia sometimes which isn't much better.

However...Scott Allie the editor of Dark Horse claims IDW don't own the rights to Angel or the Angel characters. Check it out.

https://buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=31841