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117-541: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. It serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , and follows the events of that show's final televised season . It is produced by Joss Whedon , who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series

234-675: A tabloid form. Underground comics and "small press" titles have also appeared in the UK, notably Oz and Escape Magazine . The content of Action , another title aimed at children and launched in the mid-1970s, became the subject of discussion in the House of Commons . Although on a smaller scale than similar investigations in the US, such concerns led to a moderation of content published within British comics. Such moderation never became formalized to

351-512: A "normal" romantic relationship. However, Riley also leads a double life: he is both teaching assistant at UC Sunnydale and a member of The Initiative, a government-sponsored special operations team which both researches and combats the demons which roam Sunnydale. This allows him to interact with Buffy both in her civilian life and assist her with her duties as a Slayer ; while Buffy has supernatural powers associated with her role, Riley must rely instead on his extensive military training. In

468-444: A Slayer named Satsu , and Xander to Slayer Renée ; Willow's relationship with the core group is more estranged, while she protectively withholds Kennedy from her friends. Kennedy is unaware of the sexual aspect of Willow's relationship with Saga Vasuki. Giles and Buffy, at odds, stop speaking with one another. Giles works with Faith to prevent more Slayers from going rogue. Although Buffy comes to feel that her only compatible mate

585-636: A black artist or writer allowed in a major comics company." Asian characters within comic books encountered similar prejudiced treatment as black characters did. They were subjected to dehumanizing depictions, with narratives often portraying them as "incompetent and subhuman." In a 1944 edition of the publication United States Marines , there was a story titled The Smell of the Monkeymen . This narrative portrayed Japanese soldiers as brutish simians, and it depicted their concealed positions being betrayed by their repugnant body odor. Chinese characters received

702-548: A character that was the anti-Angel and to have Buffy go through something very different, part of which was the question, 'How do I get over Angel?' That was the same thing the audience was going through. We knew it wasn't going to be easy and it was very hard trying to find somebody. But Marc [Blucas] has a quality that I love very much: he has sort of an un-David-like, firm, strong, trustworthy quality. I always think of him as Gary Cooper ." During Season Five, writer/co-executive producer, Marti Noxon, noted that they were making Riley

819-404: A comic book and not on television." Mark Stoddard of Comix Nexus also approached the series "with some trepidation, unsure of whether there would be more great stories that really needed to be told, and wondering whether the magic of TV could be replicated in the medium of comics." TV Squad 's Keith McDuffee expressed that reading Buffy as a comic book after seeing it on television for seven years

936-473: A company named Comics Guaranty (CGC) initiated the practice of "slabbing" comics, which involves encasing them within thick plastic cases and assigning them a numerical grade. This approach inspired the emergence of Comic Book Certification Service . Given the significance of condition in determining the value of rare comics, the concept of grading by an impartial company, one that does not engage in buying or selling comics, seemed promising. Nevertheless, there

1053-472: A demon about to hatch eggs that could wipe out Sunnydale. When Riley learns that Buffy has been sleeping with Spike, he consoles her on her struggles with her life, and forgives her after she apologizes for what happened between them. The battle done, Riley leaves Sunnydale, never to return again. He is, however, mentioned in the season seven episode " The Killer in Me " where Buffy attempts to contact him for advice on

1170-529: A depiction of Buffy's terrible nightmares, and Espenson teamed up with Moline again to produce "Harmony Comes to the Nation", a fictional interview for The Colbert Report where Harmony lays out her ambitions, both tying in with Jane Espenson's "Retreat" arc. Jackie Kessler wrote "Tales of the Vampires: Carpe Noctem", a two-part ministory with the previously unseen characters Ash and Cyn, about

1287-458: A famous example of the British comic annual. DC Thomson also repackages The Broons and Oor Wullie strips in softcover A4-size books for the holiday season. On 19 March 2012, the British postal service, the Royal Mail , released a set of stamps depicting British comic book characters and series. The collection featured The Beano , The Dandy , Eagle , The Topper , Roy of

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1404-586: A five chapter spy genre tale written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Carreno. It is readable online in the Digital Comic Museum . The magazine never reached a second issue. In 1950, St. John Publications produced the digest-sized , adult-oriented "picture novel" It Rhymes with Lust , a 128-page digest by pseudonymous writer "Drake Waller" ( Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller ), penciler Matt Baker and inker Ray Osrin , touted as "an original full-length novel" on its cover. "It Rhymes with Lust"

1521-628: A government ran program, the Writers' War Board, became heavily involved in what would be published in comics. "The Writers' War Board used comic books to shape popular perceptions of race and ethnicity..." Not only were they using comic books as a means of recruiting all Americans, they were also using it as propaganda to "[construct] a justification for race-based hatred of America's foreign enemies." The Writers' War Board created comics books that were meant to "[promote] domestic racial harmony". However, "these pro-tolerance narratives struggled to overcome

1638-412: A houseguest at Dawn and Xander's apartment, and resumes her former duties as Slayer: patrolling at night for vampires. Joss Whedon serves as "executive producer" for the series across every issue, giving his other writers notes on characterization, continuity and his overall concept as he would when overseeing Buffy as a television series. Whedon wrote the first story arc (" The Long Way Home ", #1–4),

1755-465: A humorous tone; however, this practice was replaced by featuring stories of all genres, usually not humorous in tone. The largest comic book market is Japan. By 1995, the manga market in Japan was valued at ¥ 586.4 billion ( $ 6–7 billion ), with annual sales of 1.9   billion manga books ( tankōbon volumes and manga magazines ) in Japan, equivalent to 15   issues per person. In 2020

1872-427: A less superior race and cannot believe they bested his men."The Tuskegee Airmen, and images of black aviators appear in just three of the fifty three panels... the pilots of the 99th Squadron have no dialogue and interact with neither Hop Harrigan nor his Nazi captive." During this time, they also used black characters in comic books as a means to invalidate the militant black groups that were fighting for equality within

1989-412: A lifelong passion for the stories within comics, often focusing on specific superheroes and striving to gather a complete collection of a particular series. Comics are assigned sequential numbers, and the initial issue of a long-lasting comic book series tends to be both the scarcest and the most coveted among collectors. The introduction of a new character might occur within an existing title. For instance,

2106-513: A more tortured complex character, "He's starting to fray around the edges. That's very compelling to me – that this straight guy is starting to get a little strange." Actor Christian Kane also auditioned for Riley Finn. Kane went on to play the role of Lindsey McDonald on the spin-off show Angel . Kane says he played his audition for Riley "perhaps a little less than wholesome", which he feels resulted in Joss Whedon later casting him as

2223-443: A new pro-vampire, anti-Slayer world order. Under attack from Twilight and other demons as well as militaries across the world, the various Slayer squads (including Faith) reconvene in retreat from their enemy. Because Twilight can now track the group through their use of magic, Buffy and her friends relocate to Tibet to learn from Oz how to suppress magical natures for witches and Slayers alike. Giles and Buffy are both concerned with

2340-403: A one-shot about Riley. Joss Whedon returned to write two one-shots, "Willow: Goddesses and Monsters" and issue #31, "Turbulence". Brad Meltzer , author of several New York Times best-selling books and later both Identity Crisis and Justice League for DC Comics wrote the penultimate story arc of Season Eight , " Twilight ", which is issues #32–35. Whedon himself resumes authorship for

2457-497: A surge of creativity emerged in what became known as underground comix . Published and distributed independently of the established comics industry, most of such comics reflected the youth counterculture and drug culture of the time. Underground comix "reflected and commented on the social divisions and tensions of American society". Many had an uninhibited, often irreverent style; their frank depictions of nudity, sex, profanity, and politics had no parallel outside their precursors,

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2574-875: A wide array of psychics, seers, witches, and Slayers , along with a vast amount of technology, revealed to be the result of Buffy robbing a Swiss bank to acquire the funds. There are 1,800 Slayers worldwide according to Buffy, almost 500 of whom are working with the Scoobies, separated into 10 squads. Squads include Andrew 's in Southern Italy , Giles ' in England , Vi 's in New York City , Robin 's in Cleveland, Ohio , and another led by Rona in Chicago, Illinois . For Buffy's protection and because her name

2691-414: Is Xander, and is upset to learn that he truly loves Dawn, she and Angel succumb to their desires for one another upon their reunion, though the extent to which they were in control of their actions is uncertain. In the series' penultimate arc, Twilight is revealed to be Buffy's former lover, Angel . Angel attempts to explain that his Twilight persona was used to unify the anti-Slayer movement, thus limiting

2808-429: Is a single arc told from a number of different perspectives. These one-shots follow the perspectives of Harmony (#21, Espenson), Satsu/Kennedy (#22, DeKnight), Buffy/Andrew (#23, Greenberg), Giles/Faith (#24, Krueger) and a Xander/Dawn issue which will also reveal more about Twilight (#25, Petrie). Jane Espenson returned for a five-issue arc involving the character of Oz for issues #26–30, titled " Retreat " and also wrote

2925-502: Is also available to read online in the Digital Comic Museum. In 1971, writer-artist Gil Kane and collaborators applied a paperback format to their "comics novel" Blackmark . Will Eisner popularized the term "graphic novel" when he used it on the cover of the paperback edition of his work A Contract with God, and Other Tenement Stories in 1978 and, subsequently, the usage of the term began to increase. In 2017,

3042-458: Is an ongoing debate regarding whether the relatively high cost of this grading service is justified and whether it serves the interests of collectors or mainly caters to speculators seeking rapid profits, akin to trading in stocks or fine art. Comic grading has played a role in establishing standards for valuation, which online price guides such as GoCollect and GPAnalysis utilize to provide real-time market value information. Collectors also seek out

3159-795: Is discovered that the drugs that Professor Walsh had secretly fed him are causing Riley's pain receptors to shut down and his heartbeat to spike, and could eventually have killed him. Even with this knowledge, Riley initially refuses to accept medical treatment from the government out of paranoia , though Buffy eventually convinces him to do so. Rendered a normal human by the procedure, Riley's insecurities and feelings of weakness only increase, and he becomes increasingly frustrated with Buffy's seeming inability to open up to and be honest with him. Seeking thrills, and wondering what Buffy seems to find so appealing about vampires – Buffy having allowed both Angel and Dracula to drink from her – Riley begins to let vampires feed from him, which Buffy discovers in

3276-495: Is feared worldwide, two decoys are put in place: one partying in Rome and one on a mission in demonic caverns. Buffy now relies heavily on Willow , whose character arc sees her under the tutelage of a powerful demon called Saga Vasuki. Under Saga Vasuki, Willow's power has grown phenomenally; for example, she can now fly and cast extremely complicated and large-scale spells. In the wake of Sunnydale 's destruction, elements within

3393-504: Is first introduced as Professor Walsh's TA in a psych class Buffy and Willow are in. Riley realizes his feelings for Buffy after punching Parker Abrahams for an inappropriate comment Parker makes regarding their night together. Even though he leads a double life as part of a secret government organization known as The Initiative, Buffy finds some normalcy in Riley as a regular college guy and someone to whom she could relate. Initially, each keeps

3510-662: Is generally considered the beginning of the modern comic book as it is known today. The Silver Age of Comic Books is generally considered to date from the first successful revival of the then-dormant superhero form, with the debut of the Flash in Showcase #4 (Oct. 1956). The Silver Age lasted through the late 1960s or early 1970s, during which time Marvel Comics revolutionized the medium with such naturalistic superheroes as Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 's Fantastic Four and Lee and Steve Ditko 's Spider-Man . The demarcation between

3627-625: Is largely set in Britain and starring the magician John Constantine , paved the way for British writers such as Jamie Delano . The English musician Peter Gabriel issued in 2000 The Story of OVO which was released in a CD-booklet-shaped comic book as part of the CD edition with the title " OVO The Millennium Show ". The 2000 Millennium Dome Show based on it. At Christmas, publishers repackage and commission material for comic annuals , printed and bound as hardcover A4 -size books; "Rupert" supplies

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight - Misplaced Pages Continue

3744-709: Is one of villain Twilight 's followers, as he is present in the laboratory with Warren Mears , Amy Madison , and Twilight, and bears his mark. Samantha Finn did not appear in Season Eight. Pretending to be Buffy's "inside man", he arranged for their rendezvous in New York City. Later, seen in "Retreat, Part II" , Riley is with Twilight and his other followers as they try and track the Scooby Gang through their use of magic; Riley tries to convince Twilight that

3861-597: Is used in South Korea to refer to both comics and cartooning in general. Outside South Korea, the term usually refers to comics originally published in the country. Manhwa is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics though it differs from manga and manhua with its own distinct features. Webtoons have become popular in South Korea as a new way to read comics. Thanks in part to different censorship rules, color and unique visual effects, and optimization for easier reading on smartphones and computers. More manhwa have made

3978-563: The Angel television series, titled Angel: After the Fall , and a Spike comic book series, which bridges some aspects of continuity between After the Fall and Season Eight . A motion comic version of the series debuted in 2010. A year after the end of the television series, Buffy and Xander now lead command-central, which is situated at a citadel in Scotland . At their disposal are

4095-578: The Angel episode " The Girl in Question ", which itself obliquely hints at the life of Buffy post-season seven. Goddard went on to become a writer for the movie Cloverfield and acclaimed American dramas Lost and Alias (all working alongside producer J. J. Abrams ) while also penning the story "Antique" for canonical Buffy comic book Tales of the Vampires , which he references in "Wolves at

4212-505: The U.S. government view the expanded Slayers and the Scooby Gang as international terrorists and characterize Buffy as a "charismatic, uncompromising and completely destructive" leader. General Voll, a member of a mystically aware Initiative-like government project, describes fear of their resources, power, and ideology. The government has teamed with Sunnydale survivor/powerful witch Amy Madison and Season 6 villain Warren Mears in

4329-586: The archetype of the superhero . According to historian Michael A. Amundson , appealing comic-book characters helped ease young readers' fear of nuclear war and neutralize anxiety about the questions posed by atomic power. Historians generally divide the timeline of the American comic book into eras. The Golden Age of Comic Books began in 1938, with the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1, published by Detective Comics (predecessor of DC Comics), which

4446-418: The canonical comic book continuation to the series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight (2007–11). In Season Eight , the precise nature of Riley's role in the storyline is unclear for much of the story; writer Jane Espenson , however, wrote a Riley one-shot comic book focusing on Riley and his wife. A native of Huxley, Iowa , Riley is Buffy Summers ' boyfriend for parts of seasons four and five. He

4563-554: The 1930s – and through really to the 1950s and 60s – these comics were almost the only entertainment available to children." Dennis the Menace was created in the 1950s, which saw sales for The Beano soar. He features in the cover of The Beano , with the BBC referring to him as the "definitive naughty boy of the comic world." In 1954, Tiger comics introduced Roy of the Rovers ,

4680-422: The 1940s there was a change in portrayal of black characters. "A cursory glance...might give the impression that situations had improved for African Americans in comics." In many comics being produced in this time there was a major push for tolerance between races. "These equality minded heroes began to spring to action just as African Americans were being asked to participate in the war effort." During this time,

4797-560: The 1990s, changed the format and distribution of their comics to more closely resemble non-comics publishing. The " minicomics " form, an extremely informal version of self-publishing , arose in the 1980s and became increasingly popular among artists in the 1990s, despite reaching an even more limited audience than the small press. Small publishers regularly releasing titles include Avatar Press , Hyperwerks , Raytoons, and Terminal Press , buoyed by such advances in printing technology as digital print-on-demand . In 1964, Richard Kyle coined

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight - Misplaced Pages Continue

4914-399: The 20th century, with the first comic standard-sized comic being Funnies on Parade . Funnies on Parades was the first book that established the size, duration, and format of the modern comic book. Following this was, Dell Publishing 's 36-page Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics as the first true newsstand American comic book; Goulart, for example, calls it "the cornerstone for one of

5031-459: The 21st century and which Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini adapted into a 2003 film . Some independent comics continued in the tradition of underground comics. While their content generally remained less explicit, others resembled the output of mainstream publishers in format and genre but were published by smaller artist-owned companies or by single artists. A few (notably RAW ) represented experimental attempts to bring comics closer to

5148-688: The Comics Magazine Association of America. The CMAA instilled the Comics Code Authority in 1954 and drafted the self-censorship Comics Code that year, which required all comic books to go through a process of approval. It was not until the 1970s that comic books could be published without passing through the inspection of the CMAA. The Code was made formally defunct in November 2011. In the late 1960s and early 1970s,

5265-629: The Gate". Film, comics and television writer-producer Jeph Loeb wrote issue #20 of the series (" After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back! ". Loeb had previously been involved with Whedon in the conception of Buffy the Animated Series , which never came to be. Following Loeb are Buffyverse alumni Jane Espenson , Doug Petrie , Drew Z. Greenberg , and Steven S. DeKnight as well as comic book writer Jim Krueger , who each wrote an issue between issues #21 and #25 (" Predators and Prey "), which

5382-658: The Incredible Hulk and the X-Men . The best-selling comic book categories in the US as of 2019 are juvenile children's fiction at 41%, manga at 28% and superhero comics at 10% of the market. Another major comic book market is France , where Franco-Belgian comics and Japanese manga each represent 40% of the market, followed by American comics at 10% market share. Comic books heavily rely on their organization and visual presentation. Authors dedicate significant attention to aspects like page layout, size, orientation, and

5499-639: The Initiative complex. Having been torn between the Scooby Gang and the Initiative for some time, Riley decides to leave the Initiative upon discovering the extent of its corruption, and spends the remainder of the season in hiding within the ruins of Sunnydale High . The Initiative was destroyed at the end of Season Four, and Riley is relieved of his military standing. He is left at loose ends, and his behavior becomes reckless. Over time, Riley begins to see himself as below Buffy in strength, and begins to push his body well past its limits. In " Out of My Mind ", it

5616-565: The Innocent (1954). This critique led to the involvement of the American Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency , which launched an investigation into comic books. Wertham argued that comic books were accountable for a surge in juvenile delinquency and posed a potential impact on a child's sexuality and moral values. In response to attention from the government and from the media, the US comic book industry set up

5733-661: The Magician , and the Phantom . Several reprint companies became involved in repackaging American material for the British market, notably the importer and distributor Thorpe & Porter . Marvel Comics established a UK office in 1972. DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics also opened offices in the 1990s. The repackaging of European material has occurred less frequently, although The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix serials have been successfully translated and repackaged in softcover books. The number of European comics available in

5850-417: The Rovers , Bunty , Buster , Valiant , Twinkle and 2000 AD . Riley Finn Whedon intended Riley to be the antithesis of Buffy's boyfriend of the past three seasons, Angel ( David Boreanaz ), who now headed his own spin-off show . In stark contrast to broody, often pensive Angel, Riley is optimistic, trustworthy and reliable, and in theory presents Buffy with her first opportunity for

5967-597: The Silver Age and the following era, the Bronze Age of Comic Books , is less well-defined, with the Bronze Age running from the very early 1970s through the mid-1980s. The Modern Age of Comic Books runs from the mid-1980s to the present day. A significant event in the timeline of American comic books occurred when psychiatrist Fredric Wertham voiced his criticisms of the medium through his book Seduction of

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6084-426: The U.S. "Spider-Man 'made it clear that militant black power was not the remedy for racial injustice'." "The Falcon openly criticized black behavior stating' maybe it's important fo [ sic ] us to cool things down-so we can protect the rights we been fightin' for'." This portrayal and character development of black characters can be partially blamed on the fact that, during this time, "there had rarely been

6201-507: The UK has increased in the last two decades. The British company Cinebook , founded in 2005, has released English translated versions of many European series. In the 1980s, a resurgence of British writers and artists gained prominence in mainstream comic books, which was dubbed the " British Invasion " in comic book history. These writers and artists brought with them their own mature themes and philosophy such as anarchy, controversy and politics common in British media. These elements would pave

6318-506: The United States. They were the ones painted as intolerant and disrespectful of the dominant concerns of white America". Manga (漫画) are comic books or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, though the art form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art . The term manga is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning in general. Outside Japan,

6435-595: The Vampire Slayer Season Eight: ". The series has been collected into four deluxe, oversized, hardcover editions under the title "Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight Library Edition", each containing ten issues and extra features. Fox Home Entertainment produced motion comics based on the first 19 issues of Season Eight . The first motion comic was released on Amazon Video on Demand and iTunes on July 19, 2010, with new motion comics being released every Monday. The Region-1 Blu-ray and DVD of

6552-529: The appearances of the characters they originated for the TV series in the Season 8 comics. Comic book A comic book , comic-magazine or simply ' comic' , is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and written narrative, usually dialogue contained in word balloons emblematic of

6669-405: The book, saying, "His layouts and storytelling are clear, he handles the action sequences pretty well, and the character likenesses are excellent, retaining a sense of artistic individuality, rather than simply generating portraits or rehashing television stills." However, Keith McDuffee criticized Jeanty's work, feeling, "The cover images...are amazingly detailed and truly capture what we remember of

6786-417: The character of Faith) and Joss Whedon himself was a fan of Vaughan's Marvel Comics series Runaways , on which he served as writer during the period Vaughan wrote "No Future for You." Former Buffy and Angel writer Drew Goddard wrote the series' third arc, " Wolves at the Gate " (#12–15). Goddard first became a Buffy writer in its final season, starting with the episode " Selfless " and finishing with

6903-442: The characters, but the inside pages have a bit to be desired." Richard George of IGN described Jeanty's work as bringing "a mixture of real life practicality and zany cartoons," but warned readers not to compare it to the "immaculate" covers by Jo Chen, explaining, "Do not expect the art inside to be what it is on the outside, and don't hold one against the other. Both styles have their place." Multiple cast members have commented on

7020-687: The comic book market size for North America was just over $ 1 billion with digital sales being flat, book stores having a 1 percent decline, and comic book stores having a 10 percent decline over 2016. The global comic book market saw a substantial 12% growth in 2020, reaching a total worth of US$ 8.49 billion. This positive trajectory continued in 2021, with the market's annual valuation surging to US$ 9.21 billion. The rising popularity of comic books can be attributed to heightened global interest, driven significantly by collaborative efforts among diverse brands. These collaborations are geared towards producing more engaging and appealing comic content, contributing to

7137-463: The comic book market. The rarest modern comic books include the original press run of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #5, which DC executive Paul Levitz recalled and pulped due to the appearance of a vintage Victorian era advertisement for "Marvel Douche ", which the publisher considered offensive; only 100 copies exist, most of which have been CGC graded. (See Recalled comics for more pulped, recalled, and erroneous comics.) In 2000,

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7254-545: The comics all together. There was a comic created about the 99th Squadron, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen , an all-black air force unit. Instead of making the comic about their story, the comic was about Hop Harrigan. A white pilot who captures a Nazi, shows him videos of the 99th Squadron defeating his men and then reveals to the Nazi that his men were defeated by African Americans which infuriated him as he sees them as

7371-415: The comics art form. Comic Cuts was a British comic published from 1890 to 1953. It was preceded by Ally Sloper's Half Holiday (1884), which is notable for its use of sequential cartoons to unfold narrative. These British comics existed alongside the popular lurid " penny dreadfuls " (such as Spring-heeled Jack ), boys' " story papers " and the humorous Punch magazine, which was the first to use

7488-687: The consequences of Harmony Kendall's television series from a vampire's point of view. The issues were collected together into trade paperbacks : The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: The reprinted material is, in whole or in part, from: Note: The full title of all volumes listed here start with " Buffy

7605-433: The coon stereotype but had some subtle differences. They are both a derogatory way of portraying black characters. "The name itself, an abbreviation of raccoon, is dehumanizing. As with Sambo, the coon was portrayed as a lazy, easily frightened, chronically idle, inarticulate, buffoon." This portrayal "was of course another attempt to solidify the intellectual inferiority of the black race through popular culture." However, in

7722-637: The debut appearances of iconic characters such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman , the Flash , Captain Marvel , Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk , Iron Man , Captain America and the Mighty Thor are regarded as priceless treasures within the comic book world. Many early iterations of black characters in comics "became variations on the 'single stereotypical image of Sambo'." Sambo was closely related to

7839-507: The episode " Into the Woods " when Spike reveals Riley at the vampire's nest. His behavior, as well as Spike's manipulations and a sense that Buffy would never truly love him, lead to their breakup. Riley leaves Sunnydale to join another black ops army unit fighting demons elsewhere. Riley returns in the season six episode " As You Were ", in which he shows up unexpectedly with his new wife, fellow demon hunter Sam ( Ivana Miličević ), tracking

7956-420: The eradication of Asian invaders." There was "a constant relay race in which one Asian culture merely handed off the baton of hatred to another with no perceptible changes in the manner in which the characters would be portrayed." "The only specific depiction of a Hispanic superhero did not end well. In 1975, Marvel gave us Hector Ayala (a.k.a. The White Tiger)." "Although he fought for several years alongside

8073-406: The expanded ranks of Slayers as a threat to humanity and wants to destroy them, and bring about an end to all magic on Earth. It later transpires that like Amy and Warren, Buffy's ex-boyfriend Riley Finn is also loyal to Twilight, though Riley turns out to have been Buffy's double agent . Halfway through the season, ditzy vampire Harmony Kendall rises to fame as a reality TV star and ushers in

8190-413: The extent of promulgating a code, nor did it last long. The UK has also established a healthy market in the reprinting and repackaging of material, notably material originating in the US. The lack of reliable supplies of American comic books led to a variety of black-and-white reprints, including Marvel's monster comics of the 1950s, Fawcett's Captain Marvel , and other characters such as Sheena , Mandrake

8307-515: The extent to which they rely on Willow, worried she may go overboard again as in Season Six; Buffy's fears are in part justified by her visit to the future (a crossover with the Whedon miniseries Fray ) where she was forced to kill a future Dark Willow. Following the fray with Twilight, in which many Slayers were killed, Buffy developed abilities similar to those of Twilight. A subplot involves

8424-531: The final five issues (#36–40, "Last Gleaming") of the series, bringing Season Eight to an end. Dark Horse Presents has also offered several short, canonical side stories to the mix. "Harmony Bites" by Espenson and Moline is a fictional episode of Harmony Kendall's television series, tying into issue #21. "Vampy Cat Play Friend" is a fictional television commercial tying in with issue #22, written by Steven S. DeKnight and illustrated by Camilla d'Errico. Joss Whedon teamed up with Jo Chen to produce "Always Darkest",

8541-501: The first appearance of Spider-Man took place in Amazing Fantasy #15. New characters were frequently introduced in this manner, waiting for an established audience before launching their own titles. Consequently, comics featuring the debut appearance of a significant character can sometimes be even more challenging to locate than the inaugural issue of that character's standalone series. Some rare comic books include copies of

8658-508: The first appearance of Superman , both sold privately through online dealer ComicConnect.com in 2010, and Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of Batman , via public auction. Updating the above price obtained for Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman , the highest sale on record for this book is $ 3.2 million, for a 9.0 copy. Misprints, promotional comic-dealer incentive printings, and issues with exceptionally low distribution tend to possess scarcity value in

8775-419: The fourth (" Time of Your Life ", #16–19), the final story arc (" Last Gleaming ", #36–40), and several intermediary one-shot stories ( #5 , #10 , #11 , "Willow", and #31). Comic and television writer Brian K. Vaughan became the first guest writer on the series, writing the second story arc " No Future for You " (#6–9). While Vaughan was not a "Buffyverse" staff member, he was a fan of both series (particularly

8892-469: The hopes of bringing Buffy down. Simultaneously, an evil British socialite Slayer called Lady Genevieve Savidge plots to usurp Buffy's place in the Slayer hierarchy, and a shrewd cabal of Japanese vampires scheme to reverse the global activation of Potential Slayers in "Chosen". The appearances of these villains are connected to " Twilight ", the enigmatic Big Bad of the season, a masked person who views

9009-590: The hugely popular football based strip recounting the life of Roy Race and the team he played for, Melchester Rovers . The stock media phrase "real 'Roy of the Rovers' stuff" is often used by football writers, commentators and fans when describing displays of great skill, or surprising results that go against the odds, in reference to the dramatic storylines that were the strip's trademark. Other comic books such as Eagle , Valiant , Warrior , Viz and 2000 AD also flourished. Some comics, such as Judge Dredd and other 2000 AD titles, have been published in

9126-426: The industry's continued growth. The 1970s saw the advent of specialty comic book stores . Initially, comic books were marketed by publishers to children because comic books were perceived as children's entertainment. However, with increasing recognition of comics as an art form and the growing pop culture presence of comic book conventions , they are now embraced by many adults. Comic book collectors often exhibit

9243-471: The influence of the Francophone "Franco-Belgian" comics but have their own distinct style. Although Ally Sloper's Half Holiday (1884) was aimed at an adult market, publishers quickly targeted a younger demographic, which has led to most publications being for children and has created an association in the public's mind of comics as somewhat juvenile. The Guardian refers to Ally Sloper as "one of

9360-437: The likes of much more popular heroes such as Spider-Man and Daredevil, he only lasted six years before sales of comics featuring him got so bad that Marvel had him retire. The most famous Hispanic character is Bane, a villain from Batman." The Native American representation in comic books "can be summed up in the noble savage stereotype" " a recurring theme...urged American indians to abandon their traditional hostility towards

9477-471: The malfunctioning chip in Spike's head. Riley then contacts soldiers from the Initiative, who help diagnose Spike's condition and then discuss with Buffy that per Riley's instruction, it is her decision to remove or repair the chip in order to save Spike's life. Buffy has them remove the chip. In canonical comic book continuation Season Eight issue "Time of Your Life, Part IV" , it is revealed that Riley

9594-560: The manga market in Japan reached a new record value of ¥612.5 billion due to a fast growth of digital manga sales as well as an increase in print sales. The comic book market in the United States and Canada was valued at $ 1.09 billion in 2016. As of 2017 , the largest comic book publisher in the United States is manga distributor Viz Media , followed by DC Comics and Marvel Comics featuring superhero comics franchises such as Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , Spider-Man ,

9711-501: The most lucrative branches of magazine publishing". In 1905 G.W. Dillingham Company published 24 select strips by the cartoonist Gustave Verbeek in an anthology book called 'The Incredible Upside-Downs of Little Lady Lovekins and Old Man Muffaroo'. The introduction of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster 's Superman in 1938 turned comic books into a major industry and ushered in the Golden Age of Comic Books . The Golden Age originated

9828-427: The motion comic series was released on January 4, 2011, and includes limited edition Jo Chen packaging and a collectible reprint of Dark Horse Comic's first book in the series. The Region-2 DVD was released on October 3, 2011. Initial reaction to Season Eight was generally positive, despite the switch in medium leading to comparison between the television series and the comic. Mathew Springer of The Comicbloc described

9945-556: The name Foolbert Sturgeon, has been credited as the first underground comix; while R. Crumb and the crew of cartoonists who worked on Zap Comix popularized the form. The rise of comic book specialty stores in the late 1970s created and paralleled a dedicated market for "independent" or " alternative comics " in the US. The first such comics included the anthology series Star Reach , published by comic book writer Mike Friedrich from 1974 to 1979, and Harvey Pekar 's American Splendor , which continued sporadic publication into

10062-448: The old universe. At the last moment, Buffy's other love, Spike , arrives in a futuristic ship to announce he has a solution to the problem at hand. In the final arc, " Last Gleaming ", Spike's information leads them to the source both of magic and of Twilight's power, a mystical "seed" buried beneath Sunnydale. Giles plans to destroy it, but Twilight possesses Angel and compels him to kill Giles by snapping his neck. Distraught, Buffy smashes

10179-408: The original artwork pages from comic books, which are perhaps the most rarefied items in the realm of comic book collecting. These pages hold unparalleled scarcity due to the fact that there exists only one unique page of artwork for every page that was printed and published. The creation of these original artwork pages involves a collaborative effort: a writer crafts the story, a pencil artist designs

10296-522: The other from knowing their respective secret lives, but the truth comes out during the events in the Emmy -nominated episode " Hush ". Buffy and Riley fight demons together and continue saving each other's lives and the world, although Riley is never quite let into Buffy's inner circle. Initially, Riley automatically assumes that all demons are evil, but discovers that demons are capable of both good and evil just as humans are after assisting in saving Oz from

10413-499: The popular and widely understood negative tropes used for decades in American mass culture...". However, they were not accomplishing this agenda within all of their comics. In the comic series Captain Marvel Adventures , there was a character named Steamboat who embodied a collection of highly negative stereotypes prevalent during that period. The Writers' War Board did not request any alterations to this character despite

10530-428: The pornographic and even more obscure " Tijuana bibles ". Underground comics were almost never sold at newsstands, but rather in such youth-oriented outlets as head shops and record stores, as well as by mail order . The underground comics encouraged creators to publish their work independently so that they would have full ownership rights to their characters. Frank Stack 's The Adventures of Jesus , published under

10647-736: The positioning of panels. These characteristics are crucial for effectively conveying the content and messages within the comic book. Key components of comic books encompass panels, speech bubbles (also known as balloons), text lines, and characters. Speech balloons generally take the form of convex containers that hold character dialogue and are connected to the character via a tail element. The tail comprises an origin, path, tip, and directional point. The creation of comic books involves several essential steps: writing, drawing, and coloring. Various technological tools and methods are employed to craft comic books, incorporating concepts such as directions, axes, data, and metrics. Following these formatting guidelines,

10764-429: The potential destruction they could have caused working independently. His secondary goal was to push Buffy's development so that the two of them could reunite romantically and ascend to a higher plane of existence, itself called Twilight. However, whatever magical effect Angel was under seemed to wane after Buffy realised she was needed back on Earth to assist her friends as demons poured in from other dimensions to destroy

10881-554: The problematic portrayal. The removal of Steamboat from the series only came about due to the persistent advocacy of a black youth group based in New York City." Originally their request was refused by individuals working on the comic stating, " Captain Marvel Adventures included many kinds of caricatures 'for the sake of humor'." The black youth group responded with "this is not the Negro race, but your one-and-a-half millions readers will think it so." Afterwards, Steamboat disappeared from

10998-488: The process unfolds with writing, drawing, and coloring. In the United States, the term "comic book", is generally used for comics periodicals and trade paperbacks while " graphic novel " is the term used for standalone books. Comics as a print medium have existed in the United States since the printing of The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck in 1842 in hardcover, making it the first known American prototype comic book. Proto-comics periodicals began appearing early in

11115-422: The repercussions of Dawn 's college relationship with a boy named Kenny (described as a "thricewise"), whom she cheated on, losing her virginity to his roommate. Consequently, Dawn has been cursed with mystical transformations: first into a giant, then a centaur, and finally a living doll until she apologizes to Kenny and breaks the spell. Among the core group, Buffy is for a time romantically drawn to another woman:

11232-564: The rest of the season. Concurrent with Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten , in Angel & Faith #4 (2014), Faith attempts to leave San Francisco but is contacted by her boss, the Slayer Kennedy , with a mission to find Riley, who has been reported missing in a South American jungle. In the next arc "Lost & Found" Faith finds both Sam and Riley. Riley is willing to forgive her after she saved his life from

11349-500: The results could be a mistake of the scanning technology. He is also intrigued by Twilight's remark that he "knows" Buffy. During a large battle between the Slayers and Twilight's forces, Buffy recovers an injured Riley, revealing to the other characters that Riley was a double agent for her in an attempt to figure out Twilight's plans and identity. Riley also appears in the first issue of the follow-up series Season Nine (2011–2013);

11466-452: The same for Asian people. However, "Japanese and Filipino characters were visually indistinguishable. Both groups have grotesque buckteeth, tattered clothing, and bright yellow skin." "Publishers depicted America's Asian allies through derogatory images and language honed over the preceding decades." Asian characters were previously portrayed as, "ghastly yellow demons". During WWII, "[every] major superhero worth his spandex devoted himself to

11583-455: The same treatment. "By the time the United States entered WWII, negative perceptions of Chinese were an established part of mass culture...." However, concerned that the Japanese could use America's anti-Chinese material as propaganda they began "to present a more positive image of America's Chinese allies..." Just as they tried to show better representation for Black people in comics they did

11700-460: The seed herself. Twilight is stopped but magic is also removed from the universe. Though Slayers and vampires retain their powers, witches for example are left entirely powerless. Subsequently, Willow breaks up with Kennedy and Faith inherits Giles' estate and attempts to begin Angel's rehabilitation. A pariah in the community of Slayers and former witches, Buffy moves to San Francisco where she lives as

11817-551: The sequential panels on the page, an ink artist goes over the pencil with pen and ink, a letterer provides the dialogue and narration through hand-lettering, and finally, a colorist adds color as the final touch before the pages are sent to the printer. When the printer returns the original artwork pages, they are typically returned to the artists themselves. These artists sometimes opt to sell these pages at comic book conventions, in galleries, and at art shows centered around comic book art. The original pages from DC and Marvel, featuring

11934-426: The series as "very good ... and slightly strange." He praised Whedon's writing in the opening issue, claiming, "The humor, pop culture references and spot-on quirky characterizations are all on vibrant display," and looked forward to the direction the book was going in. However, he admitted that it was hard for him to accept the comic as canon, claiming "there’s something subtly undermining this effort simply because it’s

12051-516: The show's fifth season, writers experimented with making Riley a more complex character, and so depicted Riley beginning to "fray around the edges". This storyline culminated in Riley being written out of the series in 2000. In 2002, Blucas returned for a final televised appearance in the show's sixth season, where he is seen to have moved on from Buffy and married. Subsequently, the character appears in Expanded Universe material such as

12168-452: The status of fine art . During the 1970s the " small press " culture grew and diversified. By the 1980s, several independent publishers – such as Pacific , Eclipse , First , Comico , and Fantagraphics – had started releasing a wide range of styles and formats—from color-superhero, detective , and science-fiction comic books to black-and-white magazine-format stories of Latin American magical realism . A number of small publishers in

12285-501: The structure of "Freefall, Part I" suggests that Riley—like Spike, Xander, Willow and others—could have been Buffy's possible one-night stand after the party she hosts at her apartment in San Francisco . Riley remains married to Sam. With the end of magic, Riley now uses his military resources to watch for ordinary terrorists. It is later revealed in "Apart (of Me)" that Buffy did not have sex with anyone. Riley does not appear for

12402-750: The switch from traditional print manhwa to online webtoons thanks to better pay and more freedom than traditional print manhwa. The webtoon format has also expanded to other countries outside of Korea like China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Western countries. Major webtoon distributors include Lezhin , Naver , and Kakao . France and Belgium have a long tradition in comics and comic books, often called BDs (an abbreviation of bandes dessinées , meaning literally "drawn strips") in French, and strips in Dutch or Flemish . Belgian comic books originally written in Dutch show

12519-406: The term " graphic novel ". Precursors of the form existed by the 1920s, which saw a revival of the medieval woodcut tradition by Belgian Frans Masereel , American Lynd Ward and others, including Stan Lee. In 1947, Fawcett Publications published "Comics Novel No. 1", as the first in an intended series of these "comics novels". The story in the first issue was "Anarcho, Dictator of Death",

12636-423: The term "cartoon" in its modern sense of a humorous drawing. The first modern American-style comic book , Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics , was released in the U.S. in 1933 and was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor comic strips , which had established many of the story-telling devices used in comics. The term comic book derives from American comic books once being a compilation of comic strips of

12753-487: The tribal vampires in the jungle and says she should stop focusing on seeking forgiveness to make herself feel better and just be the kind of person who would not do those things anymore. He also suggests she talk over the past with Buffy. Marc Blucas was asked how the character was described to him during the audition process, he replied that "They said that Riley is a nice, charming guy, and there's going to be some kind of dichotomy, some kind of double role going on. But that

12870-496: The unreleased Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 from 1939. Eight copies, plus one without a cover, emerged in the estate of the deceased publisher in 1974. The "Pay Copy" of this book sold for $ 43,125 in a 2005 Heritage auction. The most valuable American comics have combined rarity and quality with the first appearances of popular and enduring characters. Four comic books have sold for over US$ 1 million as of December 2010 , including two examples of Action Comics #1,

12987-584: The way for mature and "darker and edgier" comic books and jump start the Modern Age of Comics . Writers included Alan Moore , famous for his V for Vendetta , From Hell , Watchmen , Marvelman , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ; Neil Gaiman with The Sandman mythos and Books of Magic ; Warren Ellis , creator of Transmetropolitan and Planetary ; and others such as Mark Millar , creator of Wanted and Kick-Ass . The comic book series John Constantine, Hellblazer , which

13104-417: The word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in the country. Dōjinshi ( 同人誌 , fan magazine ) , fan-made Japanese comics, operate in a far larger market in Japan than the American "underground comix" market; the largest dōjinshi fair, Comiket , attracts 500,000 visitors twice a year. Manhwa (만화) are comic books or graphic novels originating from South Korea . The term manhwa

13221-609: The world's first iconic cartoon characters", and "as famous in Victorian Britain as Dennis the Menace would be a century later." British comics in the early 20th century typically evolved from illustrated penny dreadfuls of the Victorian era (featuring Sweeney Todd , Dick Turpin and Varney the Vampire ). First published in the 1830s, penny dreadfuls were "Britain's first taste of mass-produced popular culture for

13338-457: The young." The two most popular British comic books, The Beano and The Dandy , were first published by DC Thomson in the 1930s. By 1950 the weekly circulation of both reached two million. Explaining the enormous popularity of comics in the UK during this period, Anita O'Brien, director curator at London's Cartoon Museum, states: "When comics like the Beano and Dandy were invented back in

13455-408: Was followed by Season Nine in 2011. Season Eight was originally supposed to consist of about 25 issues, but eventually expanded to a 40-issue run. The series also spawned a handful of spin-off titles, including a Tales of the Vampires follow-up and one-shots focusing on Willow and Riley. The success of the series prompted IDW Publishing and Whedon to publish a concurrent continuation of

13572-457: Was never really specified." In contrast to both Angel and Spike , Riley held out the possibility of normality in Buffy's life. He is also notable in that he is the only boyfriend of Buffy who was accepted by and developed a friendship with Xander Harris , who usually displayed jealousy of the males in her life. Whedon defended the character of Riley Finn, "The important thing for us was to find

13689-656: Was strange, but the new format was a good thing because, "You don't have ugly casting problems and the special effects budget isn't a concern at all." In a later review, he reaffirmed this opinion, stating, "Thank God for a medium that lets creativity go completely wild without budget worries." Georges Jeanty's artwork received praise for being dynamic and true to the characters, rather than trying to appear photo-realistic. According to Mathew Springer, "He brings these people to life not as drawings of actors and actresses, but as fully realized comic book characters in their own right." Mark Stoddard complimented Whedon's choice of Jeanty for

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