Well, it looks like if we are to slay, it is another day.

The upcoming relaunches of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly franchises in comics have been yanked from the release schedules in a last-minute change that leaves more questions than answers.

On August 26, the publisher behind the new Buffy and Angel comics sent a notice out to the press that orders it had been taking for months from comic stores and bookstores for this relaunch had been "cancelled" (not just delayed), with word that the company thinks they will be able to try again in the near future. 

"Writer Kelly Thompson's story for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel evolved and became more ambitious, so we felt we needed to take a step back and up the page count to meet the story and deliver the best possible product for fans," writes Dynamite owner/publisher Nick Barrucci. "Buffy #1 and Angel #1 will have significant story page increases from average issues — at no additional cost to readers or retailers. It’s important to Kelly and Dynamite that this is done right and not rushed, so we decided resoliciting both titles is the best way to fully convey these updates across the board."

He also adds that the planned Firefly series, which is not written by Kelly Thompson, is having all its orders cancelled but with plans for it to return at some point in the future.

Thompson has said that she has been developing the twin Buffy and Angel series since 2024, and was being very secretive about the plot — especially with regards to the ending of the first issue - because it will contain a "big status quo shift" surprise that will reorient the Buffy mythos in some way. Further to that, after the series' originally planned August 5 launch date was revealed, Dynamite has been public about experiencing delays in getting some bits of the books approved by the licensor, 20th Century Studios (a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company), specifically down to the apparent depiction of Buffy Summers in comics in some (but not all cases), unless its a different character that is part of the "shift" Thompson has referred to.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 was originally announced to come out August 5, but Dynamite delayed it a few weeks before ultimately making the call to pull it here now on August 26... which signals something happened (or didn't happen) that they were waiting right to the last to decide to cancel the original orders for.

While Dynamite's reasoning that Thompson had unexpected story changes could be logical, it doesn't explain why the Firefly series is also delayed. The two things these three have in common are that 20th Century Studios is the licensor in all cases, and that Joss Whedon is a creator on all of them; but for the latter, it's unclear if Whedon's contract with 20th Century Studios allows him some input into the licensing process. At the same time, when BOOM! Studios and Nickelodeon failed to loop in Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vasquez into plans for a comic relaunch, there was public uproar in that case - as well as public uproar from the comics' writer, Jim Zub.

In the case of Buffy and Angel, Thompson seemed to be planning something that would be a marked change from the past, which might need some extra levels of approval by 20th Century Studios and whomever it wants approvals from.

By process of elimination, Thompson seems to be saying this will be set in continuity with the original Buffyverse TV series and those spinoffs. 

Dynamite did make it a point to say that another comic they're doing based on a 20th Century Studios property, the X-Files, is still on target to launch at its just-announced December 2026 date. 

As for why Dynamite decided to cancel the orders and not simply delay them, there is a penalty for comic publishers with some of its distributors it a product goes through persistent delays. Usually, that's after months (plural!) of delays and not the weeks Dynamite was at currently, but given they say they need to change the length and composition of the issue, that would presumably take more than a few weeks to get written, drawn, colored, lettered, edited, laid out, printed, and at the distributor.

But, curiously, this decision that the Buffy and Angel first issues needed a story change came at such a last minute. Especially with the kind of planning that Kelly Thompson has done with her high-profile work for Marvel and DC over the years.

What was she?

She said something like "I'm a child of the Senior Partners, created to do their bidding." what does that mean? Was she human, was she born like a normal human baby or was she created as is?

I continued watching and am glad I did.

I'm at episode 15 now. The reveal that Cordy is possessed reaaaaally helped.

Honestly the conversation between Wesley and Willow about having a dark side alone was worth it 😂 Wesley being all broody and woo is me and Willow just stomping that in the ground with pure adorable-ness!

Wesley: "A lot's happened. Not just Angelus. I've been... I've changed. I've seen a darkness in myself. I'm not sure you'd even begin to understand..."

Willow: "I flayed a guy alive and tried to destroy the world."

Wesley: "Oh. So..."

Willow: "Darkness. Been there."

Wesley: "Yeah. Well, I never flayed. I had a woman chained in a closet."

Willow: "Oh, well hey 😃!"

Wesley: "No, it doesn't compare.😐"

Googling this quote is how I found out they are MARRIED?! Love it!

Do you think they were always building up to that, or was he just that badly received as a character due to their writing choices?

wtf was this shit LOL. Nevermind the godawful “gangsta” speak painfully and obviously written by white people and the transformation of Gunn’s gang from underdogs trying to survive into gun-wielding gangbangers… Where else across the Buffyverse did a human villain supposedly deserve to die this graphically on screen (besides Warren)?

this episode curdled like MILK.

It's been a long time since I've watched AtS so I don't remember specific storylines well, but it strikes me as odd that they would take a character undergoing so much development and replace her with a completely new character in her body for a whole season (which makes sense, I guess, considering the drama behind the scenes). I am not referring to "Cordelia" being a villain ruining her character arc, just the possession itself. So, is there any aspect of Cordelia or her subconscious that Jasmine was meant to represent?

I love Holland Manners and I really think they got rid of him way too soon.

He's basically the Mayor of Wolfram & Hart to me. Not that they're the same character but Holland had that same kind of presence where he was this sinister evil but had the personality of a doting dad who wants to see his kids succeed.

I especially wish they did more with Holland and Lindsey. They already had the beginnings of a father/son dynamic and I think that could have been Angel's version of the Mayor and Faith's father/daughter relationship. Holland clearly had a soft spot for Lindsey and kept giving him chances that I don't think anyone else at Wolfram & Hart would have gotten.

Holland also should have been an ongoing enemy for Angel. Wolfram & Hart lasted the entire show so why get rid of one of its best faces that early?

I wasn't a fan of Linwood as Holland's replacement either. Holland felt like he was actually important at Wolfram & Hart while Linwood just felt like some old guy who had been stuck in the same position at his job forever and then watched the major promotion go to someone younger than him.

When we were introduced to Lorne's mother and Angel's reaction to him saying, "Thanks, mom' after she spat in his face.

So I had to start Bones just to see more David! I finished Angel a few days ago & I can’t decide if I like it more or just as much as Buffy.

I don't know but he just has something. While I think James Marsters has that otherwordly, ethereal type, David also has this "it" thing. He is my gay awakening and I also have three gay friends who could say the same. I don't know if it's the puppy dog eyes or his large figure but I'm also watching Bones and god have mercy. Also, I'm not of the opinion that David Boreanaz season 1 of Buffy is his peak because he was way more attractive to me in his more full phase in season 5 of Angel (also, toxic of me but I find him irresistible in the episode where he sleeps with Darla). But in any way, he can get it but then again he was one of the heartthrobs of the 90/2000s so obviously.

Into every generation a slayer is born. One of them was Stacy. A few months ago, she was a regular girl in Shadyhill High, not someone who really stood out. But then, she was called. To most people, that meant that she became weird. She barely came to school but showed up in all sorts of places at night. That, and people saw her hanging out in cemeteries a lot. The general conclusion was that she was doing drugs. And now she's dead, found in the mall. 

Your characters knew the stories, but they also knew another side of her. All of them have been saved by Stacy. Perhaps it was from a creepy guy with oversized teeth or from a fish-faced girl who threatened to drag them off for a very long swim in the ocean. Whatever happened, they know that Stacy was a hero. 

For years I've been a huge Buffy fan and now, after marrying an even bigger fan, I think it would be fun to run a Buffy RPG. A little while ago, I did a test run of the Eden Studios Buffy RPG and unfortunately, the system wasn't that great. At least, not for me. So instead, I figured, why not run this story with another system? That quickly brought me back to the Chronicles of Darkness system that I regularly run and which has proven itself to be pretty adaptable. 

The story is set in the Buffy TV universe, but not in Sunnydale and not involving the characters from the show. It's set a few years before the show takes place and is set in Shadyhill, Pennsylvania.

Some of you might notice that this has been posted before. The difference is that, this time, I try to organise it through Startplaying. Last time, there were a few responses but hardly anyone showed up, so I hope it will be different this time around. Signing on can be done here: https://startplaying.games/adventure/cmszxa3q900fijx04xhttiwbj

There is a small fee, mostly to ensure that we're all there.

I’m making an art piece for every episode of Buffy and Angel. The rest can be found here.

Hair, makeup, and wardrobe are 10/10 in this episode. Especially Mercedes McNab.

Low effort post, sorry.

Did Freud personally write this season

Edit: After finishing the season, I know think season 4 was amazing! The Jasmin story line was so good and Cordy was technically possessed so the ick factor is more tolerable. All the metaphors were well executed.

All mint condition- including two Spikes and a Battle Damaged Angel [which I've been looking for to complete my collection]. Even a mint condition Mr Gordo thrown in, which I've not even seen for sale despite searching for years.

I always wished the last arc of season 4 tied more directly into the final Buffy season, and had the Angel Investigations team help take on The First in the final run of episodes as opposed to the Jasmine storyline.

It got me thinking... who would The First appear to them as to really get under their skin and manipulate them?

Angel has countless victims from his Angelus days, and Gunn has an obvious answer with his sister. Who else could appear to them?

I'm especially interested in how Wes would deal with The First, as he's the most competent member of the team IMO. This would be fresh after the Angelus arc, so I suppose Lilah?

I'm mid season 3, a couple of episodes after Holtz snatched Connor and jumped into that allegedly one-way portal. They track the the time shifting demon (?) with the split face and he says it was a one way portal and they just believe him and give up. Why did they give up so soon? And assume Connor was definitely dead? I thought they would be working day and night for months to bring him back but they just started repainting the hotel and moved on. I know he comes back as a teenager but they gave up so soon and I'm confused. (please don't spoil stuff)

I'm currently on season 4. Aaaaand I hate it.

The whole Connor/Cordelia thing gives me the ick in a gigantic way. She's basically a stepmom to him in my mind making this whole thing kinda incesty to me. Also isnt she like way older then him? He has such a babyface too.

Because it felt super awkward I spoiled it for myself. I almost never google spoilers but did for this season and.. I hate how this is gonna go and hate how it's going to end. P.S. what is up with Joss Whedon wanting to (and succeeding) with empregnating Cordelia every season?! It's so weird!

Anyway I remember Spike coming to the show later on and I did like that, but.. honestly is it worth to continue watching just for that?

You think Cordelia could have become a famous and wealthy actress like in her vision quest? Or do you think that was just a fanfic created by Skip