Graphic Fiction Review: Buffy Season Eight - Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon, Jeph Loeb, Karl Moline, Eric Wight and Georges Jeanty

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended a seven year television run in 2003 with an open ending. Since then fans have wanted to know what has happened to the characters from the series. Buffy returned in new stories from Dark Horse Comics in 2007 with the launch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, which is slated to run 40 issues with the season plotted by Joss Whedon and Whedon writing a good number of arcs or single issue stories. “Time of Your Life” is the fourth arc of season eight that ran from issues 16 thru 19 and was written by Joss Whedon and drawn by Karl Moline.  Dark Horse has been collecting each arc and publishing them in trade paperbacks, Time of Your Life is the fourth collected edition of Season Eight.

Whedon’s first comic ever was the 2002 Dark Horse mini-series Fray, which told the tale of Maleka Fray, the slayer from the 23rd Century. It also introduced the mystical scythe which Whedon loved so much it made it into season seven of Buffy. Following the events of Wolves at The Gate (Volume Three), Buffy, Willow and Xander are discussing the visions Willow received and what to do about them, when Buffy is transported to the 23rd century and is caught in battle with Fray who must then help Buffy find a way home.

Back in the present, Willow and Xander are also trying to find a way to retrieve Buffy, deal with Dawn’s curse which first had her as a giant and has now transformed her into a topless centaur which gets some great lines from Xander — as well as deal with the season’s “big bad” Twilight and his lackey Warren destroying the slayers' base.

Things get more complicated for Buffy when Dark Willow returns in the 23rd century and a battle through the centuries between Willow and Dark Willow to keep Buffy rages on.

Article Author: Blake Matthews

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