8.15 "Wolves at the Gate" Cover

[Weredog]

Okay, so this is interesting. They (sorta/not really) released a rough draft of Jeanty's cover for the last issue of Drew Goddard's arc.

Dark Horse Link

I already have a few thoughts about it already

• Yes, the Scythe is back!
• That is definitely Dracula between Buffy and Xander. Although, it's not like we didn't figure it out with issue 13.
• Is that Dawn at Xander's left? Human sized? Or is that Renee? I need the ink!
• I guess Satsu isn't biting the dust in 8.11 anymore. Isn't that her in the far right?

[KingofCretins]

I'm not sure... I don't need the ink, I just need it bigger. The hair, specifically. It doesn't look *quite* curly enough to be Renee, but if you can tell if its short, it must be. Otherwise (and preferably!) it's a regular-size Dawn.

I like that cover a lot. I'm also pretty amused by the idea that, heh, is Dracula joining the effin' team?

[Heather]

That looks like Renee to Xander's left. I can see short-short hair. Unless Dawn pulls a GI Jane... And I think that that is Satsu on the far right, too.

Interesting cover, though. I kinda like it. But now I'm curious about what the Jon Foster cover will look like...

[Weredog]

I think it's Dawn pulling a similar hairdo as Buffy's (since Xander is blocking the back end of her head)
That's why I wish the cover was inked so that we could tell by this girl in question's skin colour, if it's Dawn or Renne.

And does anyone else see this as a pseudo-cover of "The Long Way Home" TPB? With Japanese garments?
Should look great once it's inked. I'm assuming it'll be taken place at night with Drac out and about and all.

[KingofCretins]

Probably it will take place at... uh, what's the word? Dusk? Something like that

I can't pick out Willow, either. I feel good that we've got Buffy, Drac, Satsu, and Xander, but the three that frame Buffy are hardest to place. It might be Renee and the other two Alpha Team members, or the one by Satsu might be Willow with the one to her right being Kennedy.

I've gotta say, I would love for it to be regular-sized Dawn, Kennedy, and Willow.

[Heather]

I'm not so sure about that. To me, at least, it looks like it's Renee - the hair is really wavy and we only can't see the top of her head in the picture. Here, I'll blow it up...Err, I'll make the picture bigger.

Sorry for the pixelation but that's the price you pay when blowing up an image...err...making it bigger. Oy vey, I need to shut up: I keep making things sound dirtier and dirtier...

Anyway, I'm almost 80% sure it's Renee. If it was Dawn with a hairdo similar to Buffy's, we'd either see: A) The top of the bun on the top of her head or B) The sticks coming out of bun on the top of her head.

But, I might be wrong. It could very well be Dawn. I, personally, don't think it looks like her.

[sueworld]

Both of them are very nice covers, although I think the first has the edge for me. It's richer and has quite an exotic feel to it somehow.

[KingofCretins]

By the face, I'd say Dawn, but the hair is Renee. It doesn't help that we haven't seen either Dawn or Renee in Georges' cover art before, and cover art is always a little different.

If it is Renee, I'm not liking Xander between her and Dracula, two figures of which we are generally pretty suspicious.

Am I alone in hoping Kennedy is coming aboard the team? I like her now more than I did in Season 7.

[Heather]

Am I alone in hoping Kennedy is coming aboard the team? I like her now more than I did in Season 7.

Definitely not. I think bringing Kennedy on would be a great idea. It'd start to resolve the quasi-estrangement between Willow, Buffy, and Xander. Plus, it'd start to phase out the brand new characters and keep the important ones. If you bring on Kennedy, you don't need to have a character like Leah or Rowena popping up on rare occasions. It'll give us a newbie-Slayer perspective but through a character we already know.

And, surprisingly, a lot of us are starting to like her...a lot.

Though, might I just say that the character after ReneeDawn (the one we're wondering whether it's Kennedy or not) looks like a man. It has a man-face.

[KingofCretins]

Shortish, short hair... wolves at the gate... hmmm... any takers?

Because that would be so awesome.

[Maggie]

Shortish, short hair... wolves at the gate... hmmm... any takers?

Because that would be so awesome.

That was my first thought.

[redrevo]

I don't think that's it. The hair is all wrong. (Funny we are judging everyone by the hair...) Should be spiky. I don't think Dawn/Renee is either but it might just be ambiguous drawing; if it has to be one all my bets are on Renee, which like KoC said is casting a pretty deep shadow on the Xan-man. The person on the far right is undoubtedly Satsu and the two to her left could be anybody IMO.

Definitely an affirmative for Kennedy back in. Willow and she have both been too quiet this season.

[Thomas]

I think the person next to Buffy (her right) is Andrew. So, who's the girl next him?

[Dorian's Kitten]

Whoa...so glad that other people think that it's Dracula. I thought I was imagining things. I'm really excited about the return of Dracula. There's been a shortage of vamps and I find fangs an important part of the atmosphere. So are people thinking that he's an ally?

[KingofCretins]

The 8.13 variant shows Xander and Dracula riding into battle together, and the 8.15 variant shows him standing shoulder to shoulder as one of what looks like a Buffyverse shoutout to Kurosawa. I'd say he's an ally.

[Phoenix]

Cool cover, bit hard to spot who's who though. Awesome that the scythe is back! And yay for Drac!

[KingofCretins]

Were people concerned that the scythe had gone? We know it's Buffy's personal weapon of choice from "The Long way Home".

[stormwreath]

We know it's Buffy's personal weapon of choice from "The Long way Home".

I'd say that she considers it the nuclear option that she only breaks out when it's a real crisis, myself. We saw her taking out of a cupboard when she had to go and rescue Willow - but in every other combat, including the attack on the demons at the start of TLWH and the fight in 'ABH' she didn't bring it.

Maybe she's afraid of dropping it and it getting lost.

[KingofCretins]

Holy crap, someone tell Nikki to put that scythe smiley in the list!

I think she thought the thing in 8.01 was probably a milk run, or she'd have brought it.

Here's what I wonder -- I have no problem with the idea that it's Buffy's weapon, but do you think she feels almost obliged to share the love with it sometimes?

[Wolfie Gilmore]

Here's what I wonder -- I have no problem with the idea that it's Buffy's weapon, but do you think she feels almost obliged to share the love with it sometimes?

Girls don't like to share their toys. It's just not sanitary.

(Sorry. Just. Sorry. What can I say? It's "hump day", as tangent put it...)