If Buffy was still a television show, this book would be an unofficial pilot for a Faith spinoff show. And based off of this book, I’d really love to see that Faith series.
With hundreds, if not thousands, of Slayers existing around the world, it makes sense that not all of them would be as upright and good as Buffy. We’ve already seen the Slayer-gone-bad theme in Faith, a girl who should have been the next great Slayer but was robbed of that future when Buffy hadn’t actually given up the role yet. Since then, she’s only tried to destroy Sunnydale with a demonic mayor, tried to kill Buffy and spent some time in jail. Like many of Whedon’s Buffy characters, Faith is a character who seeks redemption but never knows how to. On the flipside, Giles, Buffy’s watcher, has always seemed prim and proper, even stuffy, but there’s something lurking underneath that’s dangerous and destructive. Maybe Faith and Giles aren’t too different with the exception that Giles has kept his own inner demons under
tight control.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: No Future for You sees Giles recruiting Faith and sending her on the type of mission he could never send Buffy on– to kill another Slayer. More specifically, to kill a psychotic Slayer who’s out to kill Buffy. Here’s the fun twist– Faith has to successfully impersonate a high-society debutante to get close to Genevieve, a high society rich girl for who being a Slayer is both cool and probably ticks off her parents. Being a Slayer is Genevieve’s form of teenage rebellion. Yet like any rebellious kid with too much power and strength, she’s dangerous and has to be dealt with. Sent undercover posing as one of Genevieve’s peers, Faith discovers something shocking; she likes the rich lifestyle and she likes Genevieve.
Joss Whedon steps aside for this arc and lets Brian K. Vaughan have the book for this story (other than a back-up chapter written by Whedon.) Vaughan steps into the world very naturally, capturing the distinct voices of the characters perfectly. Faith is cocky but scared. Giles is slightly over bearing and over protective. Xander is… Well, Xander is Xander and that’s all we can hope for, isn’t it? What’s really interesting here is how Vaughan moves the characters forward. No Future for You features two characters, Faith and Giles, who start out with no future. They’ve been abandoned by Buffy, left on their own and have no roles in the new world order that Buffy is establishing. Buffy has no use for either of them or, at least, she thinks she has no use for them.
As shown in the first book The Long Way Home, Buffy is disconnected from the world around her. Her sister Dawn won’t talk to Buffy about the events that made Dawn into a giant. Her best friend Willow is largely absent and only shows up when she’s needed. Giles, her Watcher, is in some other country training other would-be Slayers. The only real contact Buffy has is Xander, who’s stepped into this Nick Fury-ish role but still remains essentially the same. But after the events in Sunnydale, everyone has grown up and grown apart. Vaughan’s story only emphasizes Buffy’s disconnect from the world by presenting two Slayers who have next to nothing to do with the army of Slayers that Buffy has put together. But in this post-Sunnydale world, it’s not just Buffy who’s disconnected, it’s everyone. None of the characters have the bonds that they used to. For how much Buffy needed Giles, he needed her as well. Without a Slayer, what purpose does a Watcher have? In the end, Vaughan sets up Faith and Giles with a new mission and a new purpose, one that fits well with the overall arc these characters have been on.
When people talk about the current Buffy series, they easily mention its star creator Joss Whedon or current hot writer Brian K. Vaughan while artist Georges Jeanty is often overlooked. Geanty is the key player in making this comic story work. Comics that adapt or continue stories from other media rely heavily on how well their artists can capture likenesses without going overboard and looking like each and every panel was drawn from a still photograph. Geanty’s artwork is a blending of Mike Mignola and Art Adams; stylized and shadowy. The only problem is that occasionally he drops the details and his artwork becomes blotchy and undistinguished. It’s a stylized choice that he makes but it loses some of the definition and charm that makes the majority of the art work.
Having Joss Whedon heavily involved in the creation of this pseudo 8th season of Buffy almost guarantees the success of the title over DH’s luck with previous series but this latest comic version of Buffy also benefits from being a good comic. The strong writing by Vaughan and Geanty’s ability to capture likenesses without losing that “comic booky” feeling makes Buffy The Vampire Slayer: No Future For You an enjoyable comic and a wonderful continuation of a fan-favorite television show.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: No Future For You
Written by: Brian K. Vaughan & Joss Whedon
Pencilled by: Georges Jeanty & Cliff Richards
Inked by: Andy Owens
Colored by: Dave Stewart
Lettered by: Comicraft
May 28, 2008
0
