Discussion of 8.26 "Retreat Part 1" - Released 07/01/09 (Dark Horse)

Team Buffy has become all about sneaky in a world where Slayers are now feared and hated, and vampires would rank at the top of a popularity poll. All hands are on deck as Scotland's brand-newest Slayer headquarters comes under attack; but, when things get more than a little fried, Buffy has to punt. There are yaks.
Series artist Georges Jeanty, writer Jane Espenson, and executive producer Joss Whedon present Buffy on the defensive in "Retreat."
* Jane Espenson, acclaimed television writer (Buffy, Battlestar Galactica), returns to Season Eight, bringing more radical revelations and more . . . familiar faces.

Writer: Jane Espenson
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Cover Artist: Georges Jeanty
Genre: Horror, Action/Adventure
Features: Preview
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #26: Retreat :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics

It was pretty good. Nice to have the whole gang finally back together and finally a Buffy/Giles moment! The last page was great.

The best issue in a long time. It had nice moments throughout. I pictured the Buffy/Giles reunion differently though, I thought they were having a falling out. Also, not a fan of introducing a character on the last page. They've done that before, and it's not surprising because we knew Oz would show up since he's on the cover. I have faith in Jane Espenson again because I was worried after the Harmony issue.

I must say this Buffy was a GREAt issue it did put my FAITH back into the series after the last 5 issues but it also dident make much sense such as ARE Amy and Warren dead after they were all attacked. Also what waz with the goat wolf creatures. And everything happened a bit quick like the part were Buffy screamed get 2 the SUB and next panel everyone waz SAFe And why did they ntroduce oZ in the last panel i waz hopeing that he would be in the 1st a bit more But the best part was the WE ARE GODS that waz a funny mOMENT

Yeah, I agree with the consensus, Season Eight has picked back up after the unfortunate Predators and Prey Arc.

The one quibble I have seems kind of like a huge continuity error...
The First assuming Warren's appearance was the one who caused him to kill Jonathan and promote the "We Are As Gods"-thing, right? Then why did real-resurrected Warren and Andrew both say that the real Warren did it?

Buffyverse Fan said:

The one quibble I have seems kind of like a huge continuity error...
The First assuming Warren's appearance was the one who caused him to kill Jonathan and promote the "We Are As Gods"-thing, right? Then why did real-resurrected Warren and Andrew both say that the real Warren did it?

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Yeah, this was just a flat-out continuity error. A big one. We've been told it's going to be fixed for the "Retreat" trade paperback. I have no idea how.

This one is kind of impossible to fanwank.

I am getting this # tommarow , I carn't wait 🙂!.

I like it. It ended kinda funny. I could totally hear Oz going "Huh" in my head.

The reunion between Giles and Buffy was good, although I think that a frame or two of at least slight discomfort between the two. The first issue of the "No Future For You"established that the two were having at the least a strained relationship. possibly because of the events concerning Spike in Sunnydale. Other than that and the fact that a handful of Slayers could operate a submarine (old Navy guy here, folks, I pick up on things like that more than most folks), but, what the heck, it's a comic book after all. I do also wish there had been some time for a Buffy/Faith moment, if only to have Buffy warn Faith to be on best behavior. The last time that they met, after all, Buffy thought that Faith was trying to kill her, and they parted somewhat less than friends. (And I'm just dying to see Faith's reaction when she finds out that Buffy "isn't driving stick anymore." It could even lead to a confrontation between Faith and Satsu)

white avenger said:

The reunion between Giles and Buffy was good, although I think that a frame or two of at least slight discomfort between the two.

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Yeah... it would have been cool to have one panel of them just looking at each other with unreadable expressions, before finally hugging.

white avenger said:

Other than that and the fact that a handful of Slayers could operate a submarine (old Navy guy here, folks, I pick up on things like that more than most folks), but, what the heck, it's a comic book after all.

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They're Slayers. Slayers are good at stuff. 🙂

white avenger said:

I do also wish there had been some time for a Buffy/Faith moment, if only to have Buffy warn Faith to be on best behavior. The last time that they met, after all, Buffy thought that Faith was trying to kill her, and they parted somewhat less than friends. (And I'm just dying to see Faith's reaction when she finds out that Buffy "isn't driving stick anymore." It could even lead to a confrontation between Faith and Satsu)

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The Buffy/Faith shippers would certainly be up for that.

I assume there will be some tension in Tibet between Buffy and Faith over Buffy's decision to just hide out and disappear. On that score, Faith and Satsu will be on the same page.

I didn't understand the part where Willow says Warren told her how the demons found them?

Buffy Summers said:

I didn't understand the part where Willow says Warren told her how the demons found them?

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I don't think she did. I thought she grabbed some random invading demon and flayed him, which I thought was pretty horrible, to be honest.

I'm not exactly sure why Buffy and company were all that surprised that Twilight "found them". I mean, this isn't exactly new. Their Scottish base had been attacked at least three or four times since the beginning of S8, at least twice by Twilight. Why were they so shocked?

It kind of bugged me. I mean, Buffy's base has been assaulted numerous times. This isn't new. She has all kinds of intelligence from Riley and experience that the military is backing Twilight. Why wasn't she more prepared? Why didn't she have any contingency protocols or fail-safes in place?

It was also kind of dumb that Faith, Giles and Satsu were just "there", simply because the plot required them to be there. I mean, Satsu was previously a team leader in Japan. How did she get to Scotland and why is she there? How did Faith and Giles get to Scotland from Berlin, Germany in a page? That kind of took me out of the story.

AndrewCrossett said:

Yeah, this was just a flat-out continuity error. A big one. We've been told it's going to be fixed for the "Retreat" trade paperback. I have no idea how.

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I'm just starting these comics, and this is the first one I read, as I'm just getting what my library system has. The trade paperback version did not fix the problem with flayed-Warren taking credit for what First-Warren did.

I like that the dialogue sounds like how the characters would talk. I like the big battle scenes. I don't like all the gadgetry. They figured they could do anything in comics, but it's like a big-budget film going too much with the CGI graphics. It's too techy and too easy if they can have a command central and submarines, and basically anything they want.

Also, I'm having trouble identifying who's who. At first I thought it was just that I was coming in in the middle. But Oz just showed up, and I didn't know who he was for several pages into the next chapter, until someone said his name. It's either bad drawing or bad writing.

Still, the stories are entertaining, and I'll keep on with them, though I'll have to skip around based on availability of library copies!