Buffy and Angel: After Television

In 2004, the final episode of Angel aired, and the Buffyverse ended. But the fans stayed loyal, and most likely grew in amount. I didn't become a fan until after Buffy ended, and I only saw one season of Angel on television, and I'm certain that there were scores of others like me. And though I was able to enjoy 12 amazing seasons, I wanted more. And so did everyone else. And in 2007, we finally got our wish. Dark Horse Comics, which owns the rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, which, unless otherwise stated, are non-canonical, announced that Joss Whedon himself would be writing and "executive producing" a canonical Season 8. In addition to Whedon, a group of other great writers, both Buffyverse vets and not, would write story arcs as well. A few examples include Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, Drew Goddard (who all wrote for the shows), Brian K. Vaughn (Runaways, Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina), and Jeph Loeb (Batman: The Long Halloween).

So far, about 13 issues have been released, with a plan of about 40 or 50 (the original plan was around 25), and the situation has changed for Buffy and her friends. With Sunnydale gone, and every potential now a full-fledged Slayer, Buffy serves as a general to the Slayer army, with Xander running tactical. Now based in Scotland, they run missions worldwide to try and fight the forces of evil. Giles is a sort of diplomat, while Willow is doing various things around the world for the cause. And Dawn? Well, she should be in college, but when she lost her virginity, she gained about 50 feet of height (the Summers girls tend to have strange experiences their first times). And the Big Bad of Season 8? A strange being known as Twilight who has convinced government leaders that the Slayer army will eventually attack humanity.

Although that is the main storyline, there have been some other plotlines, including a rogue Slayer who is using her powers for personal gain (maybe humanity isn't wrong in their fears). The current storyline blew my mind when the villains found a way to remove a Slayer's powers.

As for Angel, it turns out that Los Angeles suffered a comparable fate to Sunnydale, except it didn't occur until after the final shot of the television series. LA wasn't destroyed, but the Senior Partners banished the entire city to a hell dimension to punish Angel for attempting to bring them down. The comic series is called, "Angel: After the Fall", and is put out by IDW Comics (Dark Horse sold the rights to Angel comics a few years ago). For this series, Whedon only serves as "executive producer", while a writer named Brian Lynch actually writes the series. However, Lynch and Whedon work closely together, and this series is considered canon.

As of now, the first 5 or so issues have been released, out of a total of 12 (it seems that Angel will always be slightly short-changed when compared to Buffy). The upcoming three issues will be subtitled, "First Night", and will show the events that happened directly after the final fade to black of the show. But so far, we've seen that Angel, Connor, and two other characters who appeared from time to time on the show are running a kind of underground railroad to keep humans safe. Spike, Illyria, and Lorne are acting as demon lords and set up their domains as safe havens for humans. Gunn is a vampire (a plot twist Whedon said would have occurred in a televised Season 6), and Wes, still bound to work for Wolfram and Hart, is a ghostly adviser to Angel. And if all of this weren't crazy enough, there was one little twist that came out of nowhere, and was incredible, but you'll have to read up for that one...

As long as Whedon's alive, it seems like the Buffyverse will never fully die, and that is a great thought. Even after he dies, I'm sure that the non-canonical comics will continue to sell, but for now, it's great to know that our love for this universe is what keeps it going.

Up next: All frakked up...