Fray by Joss Whedon Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Fray
Book Review: A Brief Buffyverse Diversion
Summary: 3 Stars
I will admit to knowing crap-all about comics, so don't look to me for any kind of informed or constructive thought vis a vis the artwork; I came to "Fray" only because the name Joss Whedon was attatched -- and it appears I'm not alone among the comic's readers.
I enjoyed "Fray" -- it came complete with the Whedon wit and strong woman at the center of the story that I found entertaining about his "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" -- but, in the end, found it somehow lacking. Some of this, I suspect, has to do with the fact that the words lie inert on the page, unread by an actor; Whedon has always written dialogue to be spoken, and it's difficult to put the inflection one is used to into words floating in bubbles over people's heads. That may just be a mental block on my part, and I found it to be less distracting as I settled in with the characters and got a better idea of what they (particularly Mel Fray herself) talked like, but at first it was a little strange to see lines that felt designed to becoming out of the mouths of Eliza Dushku or David Boreanaz emanating from the mouth of some unmoving chick with blue hair. If you know what I mean.
The real problem was that it was just too short. I read the whole thing in the space of about an hour, I think, and when I was done with it, I found myself feeling like there ought to be more just about to happen. Instead, there were a lot of concept drawings and stuff, which were interesting to a certain degree, but not as much as a continuation of the actual story would have been. It felt oddly truncated, and pieces felt left out: we see Mel chop into a demon's skull, but never see what happens inside. It becomes clear that some characters are guilty of various kinds of treachery, and they are dead within a few panels -- and it's kind of hard to figure out exactly what's happening in those panels to boot.
That said, the book certainly has its pleasures, not least of which is a central character who seems to have the promise to own up to the complexity and humor of her spiritual ancestor. Mel Fray is essentially one step up from a street kid, and seems to have been living on her own for years, and as a result seems to be more of an adult than past slayers when we first make their acquaintance; her learning curve is sharper than Buffy's or Faith's. She dresses in a colorful, futuristic form of risque punk chic, and seems to have more hair than she really knows what to do with, at least at first. In fact, I have occasionally seen reference to her physically "maturing" over the course of the story, but the only real manifestation of that that I spotted in an admittedly cursory reperusal was the fact that she started putting her hair up. Mostly, I noticed her progression of ever-more-luridly-colored outfits, which don't really "mature" in any particular way.
At any rate, this was an amusing diversion, and I guess it did its job in that it left me wanting another one, but in the end I felt it was a little stunted and incomplete.
Book Review: A brilliant alternate take on the Slayer mythology
Summary: 5 Stars
I was really impressed by this superb graphic novel written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon. While I was expecting a fun and interesting addition to the Slayerverse mythology, I wasn't expecting such a surprisingly nifty take on the mythology that Whedon had established in Buffy and Angel. The story takes place at some indeterminate place in the future a couple of hundreds years in the future. No Slayer had been called in ages because magic had moved out of earth's dimension. But the vampires have returned, and for the first time in generations a new slayer has been called. The trouble is, apart from being a thief, she doesn't have many of the marks of a slayer--no dreams, no instincts, only the raw physical fighting ability. She is a slayer, but a flawed one.
FRAY is filled with great graphic designs, a fine central storyline, a remarkably complex set of character relations, and some quite stunning plot reversals. I love the conceit of a not-quite-complete-slayer. The fighting skills are clearly the most important part of being a slayer, but Fray has no sense of her heritage, of her destiny, of her vocation. If Buffy at least struggled against her fate, Fray hasn't a hint of what her fate is. When tells the demon who would train her that she really hasn't had the dreams or visions of previous slayers, she is telling the truth. This makes her even more isolated than other slayers, more a loner.
I think anyone who enjoys either graphic novels or any of the work of Joss Whedon is going to love this. Hopefully there will be a follow up. The story ends with things definitely open to future development. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Book Review: A look into the future....
Summary: 5 Stars
I initially started out reading Buffy: Season 8 and Angel: After The Fall due to wanting to see what happened after my beloved tv shows ended. This was recommended to me and i'm so glad i decided to go out on a whim and actually order this. Its a FANTASTIC read. It doesnt take that long to finish it (it is a comic after all) but that doesnt make it a negative experience in my eyes. It just means i can finish it faster when i want to read it again!
Great original story, fantastic art, personally i enjoyed this more than what i've read of the Buffy and Angel comics. I also heard Joss will continue with this story and i can't wait to see what happens next.
Book Review: ATTENTION BUFFY FANS! Read this!
Summary: 5 Stars
Calling all fans of Buffy---READ THIS BOOK. You will enjoy it. Fray is a futuristic vampire (or lurks as they call them) slayer. This graphic novel shows Fray's "coming to terms" with being the slayer much like the story line Buffy followed in the beginning, but the setting is much different than Buffy as this is set in the future (flying cars and all). Joss fans and Buffy fans will eat this up (no vamp-pun intended). Its a great read and I want to know how I can get some of these art pages in poster-size for my walls!Book Review: Amazing Artwork
Summary: 5 Stars
This comic TBP is amazing. Joss Does a great job of twisting the vampire lore yet again. Buy this product. You won't be disapointed. The artwork and story are amazing.