The End of Buffy: Season 8

January 19, 2011

Editor Scott Allie discusses the finale to Season 8 and what is still to come in Season 9.

Few segments of geekdom are as devoted to their obsession as fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These fans cried out in pain when Buffy and its companion series Angel went off the air. And they celebrated when Dark Horse chose to continue beyond the end of these two shows with Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8. The saga of Buffy and the Scooby gang has unfolded over the course of nearly four years, 40 issues, and multiple writers. And now, with the release of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #40, that saga comes to a close.

To mark the ending of this mammoth undertaking, we chatted with editor Scott Allie via e-mail. Allie shared his thoughts on co-writing the final arc with Whedon, the complicated relationship between Buffy and Angel, and bidding farewell to several popular characters.

But fans needn't worry about the future of the franchise. Dark Horse is already prepping Buffy: Season 9 and a new Angel series for later this year. We also asked Allie more about what the publisher has in store for these new books.

IGN Comics: Your name name is credited along with Joss Whedon's for the scripts in "Last Gleaming". How would you describe the writing arrangement on this arc? How does it compare to Joss' previous efforts on the series?

Scott Allie: We worked really closely together on the outline, then I went off and wrote scripts, sometimes in pieces, and ran them by him. He gave me notes, sometimes extensive, sometimes light, and then the book was drawn. When it was time to letter, he'd first go over the script and polish the dialogue in places. I think this was similar to arcs that other writers wrote, except that he generally gave them dialogue notes before it was drawn. So it was at least as hands on as with those other writers, but not the same as him writing the arc himself.

IGN Comics: Presumably Joss had a fairly comprehensive outline for Season 8 when work began. How much have plans for the series evolved over time? Is the series ending differently from how you originally planned?

Allie: The big picture is exactly the same, but a lot of details changed. We knew from the get-go that Angel was Twilight and that this would mean the end of magic, the ultimate betrayal being betraying oneself. We knew she'd get super powers, but didn't know exactly how that would come across—it was a little more like a superhero story, with Brad at the helm. Lots of details changed. At one point Warren and Amy were going to kill each other, but we got jazzed about the idea of Warren liquefying when the magic ended.

IGN Comics: "Last Gleaming" is easily the most densely packed arc of the series. Have there been any unique challenges putting this final story together?

Allie: It was the end, and we had to tie down everything we could, so that was different than previous arcs. There were a lot of plot threads in this thing, and we did not sew it all up, but the effort to do that, to decide how much we were going to do, that took a lot of figuring. And the death of Giles thing, that was the only time we kept a secret from the other people on the creative team.

IGN Comics: Issue #39 featured several major character deaths. Was it hard dispatching fan favorites like Giles and Andrew? How have the fans been reacting to these events?

Allie: Wait, who killed Andrew!? No, Andrew didn't die. Are you thinking of Warren? Andrew just got knocked out. And everyone hates Warren, so that was easy, and sort of fun, and hopefully funny. But Giles. Yeah, that was not good. We all felt sick. There were long talks. Whedonesque threw up some kind of funeral announcement and closed the site for a day in memory. Tony Head has recently commented on the comic, and that was a relief. In that his comment was not that I ruined this or that, as some of the fans have said.

IGN Comics: Which character do you feel has shown the most interesting growth and evolution over the course of these last few years?

Allie: I'd say Xander. I think he's matured, settled into himself. I was pretty excited to see him rebuff Buffy like he did, when she tried to steal him out from under Dawn. Oh, no, wait, it was Faith. She's grown the most. Not just in this season, but over the course of Seasons 7 & 8 she's become something better than she was. She's still vulnerable when it comes to Buffy, but she's a much more mature person than she was on the Angel show, and before that. I'm excited to see her evolution continue.

IGN Comics: What can readers expect from issue #40? Does it serve as an epilogue to "Last Gleaming" or are there still more trials ahead for our heroes?

Allie: I didn't write this one, it's all Joss, and so you know there are arduous trials in store for the kids. It is epilogue, to the whole season, but in doing that, it shows what her life is like after the dust settles. And there are challenges, which will get worse in the next issue …

IGN Comics: How would you characterize the relationship between Buffy and Angel in the aftermath of this big battle? Are they back to being antagonists?

Allie: Gotta wait for #40. I like what Joss did, don't want to do anything to diminish it.

IGN Comics: Jo Chen's cover to issue #40 forms an obvious parallel with issue #1. Will there be other parallels drawn in the story itself?

Allie: Yeah, very much so. And, in odd ways, other key moments in the characters' histories. The Joss issues are always the best, in particular the standalone issues. I'm happy that some readers would disagree, because it's a shame when there's only one choice for best story … but for me, his are the best, and this is a great one to go out on.

IGN Comics: What can you reveal about Season 9 right now as far as premise, creative team, and structure? Can we expect other Season 8 writers to return, such as Brian K. Vaughan or Brad Meltzer?

Allie: Some Season 8 writers will return, but there will be important new members of the team. We're all getting together in a week to work on the story, and things will be a bit more solidified there. But it will be very different from Season 8, in important ways, including how it's put together.

IGN Comics: Will the Buffy comic and the new Angel series co-exist in the same way the two TV shows did when they were on the air?

Allie: I'd kind of say moreso, but not that Buffy and Angel themselves will be crossing over all the time. Maybe not at all. They'll need a break, but in other ways, the two titles will have connections the shows did not. And one publisher, instead of two networks.

IGN Comics: Can readers expect any other Buffy projects in the gap between Seasons 8 and 9? Are there any other one-shot specials in the pipeline like the Willow and Riley specials?

Allie: There will be something bite-size between seasons, but nothing major. There's really not that much time. Six months, I think? It'll take that long just to rev this engine back up, man.

IGN Comics: WB has been showing some interest in producing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot not tied to the current Buffy universe and continuity. Should that movie materialize, would you have an interest in producing comics set in that universe in the same way IDW publishes G.I. Joe books set in various universes?

Allie: Shit, look what DC does with Batman, that's no more unified a continuity or approach than IDW's various Joe books, is it? That's totally cool, and a valid way of presenting your characters. And Disney's got that new, edgy, Breaking Bad-style version of Mickey Mouse on Disney After Dark, which I'm looking forward to. But that's different than saying, Hey Joss, let's work really carefully with you to do an official, canonical continuation of your iconic female character … plus we're also gonna do this other thing over here that you've been wicked polite about. Who knows, though, maybe they'll work something out with him.

IGN