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Scott Allie Issue 21 Slayalive Q/A.
SlayAlive: A Buffy Forum - Scott Allie Q&A for #21 *In-Progress*
Happy New Year Slayalivers and Buffy fandom! Dark Horse Editor, Scott Allie, is back for another Q&A to celebrate the release of Buffy Season 8 #21 Harmonic Divergence and the MDHP (MySpace Dark Horse Presents) Harmony Bites.
The rules of the game remain the same (...as the rain falls on the plains in Spain): one question per post and do not submit another question til the pending one has been answered. Remember, Scott will not be giving away spoilers so keep that in mind when you're posting - i.e. avoid asking spoiler-filled questions. Every 5 or so questions I'll be sending along in a group for Scott who will drop in to answer them. The Q&A will last as long as it's fruitful, so let's make it a great one. Don't be shy to join in and if you're not a member yet, this is a great time to join and submit a question. Everyone is welcome.
If you want to participate but you're not interested in registering at this time, you can e-mail me your questions at [email protected] and I'll submit them for you with credit. Again, we'd really love people to actively join in, but I'm just hoping to encourage any fan out there with a great question to feel free to share it.
And I'll get the ball rollin'!
1. queeroid: Seeing Georges' cover for Living Doll got me thinking... do the artists come up with the cover concepts, are they given by the issue writers/Joss/PTB? And is there any interaction between the two artists? Jo likes this cover idea, so she gets to draw it/Georges likes that cover idea, so he gets to draw it?
Scott Allie: It varies. This one was Joss's idea. I think. It may have been Doug's. At one point the idea was to have Jo do this one, because she'd done the cover to Buffy #4 that it was based on. But Doug pitched the Dawn and Thricewise cover, the romance-novel cover, and we figured that would be better for Jo. Often we don't pitch an idea to Georges; we tell him what the story is, and he gives us ten or twenty cover sketches to choose from. Then we pick a few of them, and tell him to do whichever one he likes best. With Jo, we almost always pitch a specific idea, but it might come from me, Sierra, Joss, or the writer.
2. sosalola: There are a lot of complaints about the Scoobies' lack of interest in Dawn's situation from the fans. Everybody thinks that the Scoobies, especially Buffy, are being insensitive jerks that only joke about Dawn's situation instead of trying to help her, like confronting Kenny for example and forcing him to undo the curse. It seems like the first thing Buffy would do, but she doesn't seem to bother when it comes to her sister.
Is this part of the plot? Is Buffy ignoring Dawn on purpose? And where's Kenny? Why didn't anyone try to talk him into changing Dawn back?
Scott Allie: Xander's been giving Buffy a hard time about how much she ignores Dawn. It's part of the story. And they've talked about solving the problem, and about why they can't. I hadn't heard the complaints.
3. trunktheslayer: Can you give us any insight into the other hinted-at promotions for the current arc? And, in connection and more importantly, will said promos (like the MDHP "Harmony Bites" special) be collected in the trade paperback for the arc?
Scott Allie: There's the MDHP thing, Harmony's got a blog on MTV.com, and check out the back cover of other DH books this month. And yes, Harmony Bites will be in the Predators and Prey collection.
4. iloveromy: This may be too grand of a question and maybe even a little bit cosmic, but for 2009 what is in store for the Buffyverse and its readers? Obviously specifics aren't important but sometimes I think we need a little reconfirmation that the story we have been following for so long is still going in unique and amazing places.
Scott Allie: 2009 will bring you Buffy #21-31, and some other stuff. Jane Espenson takes over the writing with #26. Oz will make an appearance. Slayers will have an increasingly hard time in the world.
5. bamph: After reading issue 21 and the Harmony Bites online tie-in, it appears Harmony is based in L.A. still so my question is this - does this now confirm season 8 and specifically this issue as taking place after the conclusion of Angel: After The Fall (which actually only has two issues left) and the events of L.A. being sent to hell or is it a part of the glamour that has been hiding Hell-A from the rest of the world (as revealed was happening in Angel:After The Fall #10)? Sorry to ask since the question of how season 8 and After The Fall comes up a lot but this issue added a new wrinkle in regards to that continuity question.
Scott Allie: The exact relationship between Season Eight and After the Fall won't be apparent for quite a while yet. Sorry, I can't say more than that.
6.tiewashere: In order to prepare for Season Eight, did Joss, you, or anyone else have to re-watch the entire series? Do people need to have background knowledge on the show's character's and premise in order to write a comic for Season Eight?
Scott Allie: I rewatched it. I think Sierra did. Georges has. I don't know about anyone else. And most of the writers on the comic were writers from the TV series, so they came to it with the knowledge. Those who were not on the TV series were big fans, and saw it all at the time.
7. patxshand: Figure I'll go a bit off topic. Of all the movies that came out in 2008, which did you like the best and which would you like to write a comic adaptation or continuation of?
Scott Allie: Like the best: Let the Right One In. Want to write ...? Does it have to be a movie?
8. Emmie: A recent interview "New Media Guru" by the WGA quoted Joss Whedon describing his writing process as something he works out completely in his head and commits to the page once it is in its final draft format.
I was hoping you could articulate the creative relationship between Whedon as Executive Producer, the other writers for their sole arcs and you as the editor. How does the editing and collaborative process conform and adapt to Whedon's self-proclaimed writing style? He gives the impression that his draft is the final draft, so to speak.
Scott Allie: Well, Joss certainly makes revisions to his stuff-I don't think you should take the quote to mean that he perfects it in his head, types it, and it never changes. With the writers, though, there are definitely revisions, multiple drafts. They work out the stories with Joss through conversation, sometimes through emails; sometimes I'm in on that, sometimes not. He gives a lot of feedback before it's written, and then he always gives some after it's written, requiring second or third or more drafts. With Jane, on the upcoming arc (#26-30), she and Joss talked a lot, on the set of Dollhouse, then she wrote an outline that we both replied to, she revised the outline, then the script showed up days later. Jane is a force of nature, she really is a uniquely disciplined and fast writer. There were notes, but the main note on that first draft of the script was, literally, "AWESOME."
9. smashed: Is there still no hope in the Buffy tarot cards being released?
Scott Allie: None. Sad ...
10. bamph: This is probably a dumb question but I wasn't real clear and I read the issue over again and I'm still not clear. At the end of the issue, did Harmony actually kill the slayer on live T.V. or did she just stab her and feed on her but not kill her?
Scott Allie: What do other people think? I'd hate it if this were universally unclear ...
11. Vamp Slayer: What issue has been your favorite(1-21), and why?
Scott Allie: I don't know. Hard to say. The first one that comes to mind is #5, and frankly #10 is the next one. It's like asking what's your favorite chapter of a novel. I just love the book. My favorite arc so far is a toss up between the first and third, but the fifth, Jane's, could easily come out in front, based on the first scripts and the outline.
12. patxshand: "Let the Right One In" is one of the few movies this year I didn't catch, so I'll definitely have to check that out. As for, "What comic do you want to write?" does it have to be a movie? Nah, I guess just my next question is "If you could write any comic that you haven't already (Solomon Kane), what would it be?"
Scott Allie: Well, the TV show I'm most into right now is Dexter, and that's sort of where I was going with my answer. I actually have no ambition to write any other comics that exist right now. If I love the book, it's probably because I love what the writer is doing on it, and I wouldn't want to just get on there to imitate someone. My favorite book right now is Ex Machina, and I have absolutely no interest in writing it. My favorite book of all time is Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, and I have no interest in writing that. Those guys have done it to perfection. I don't want to wrte Buffy, because while I think I've got a great feel for the story structure, I couldn't do the dialogue without some sort of immersion program. The nice thing about Solomon Kane for me was that I wasn't really following anyone. I was looking at what Howard did in prose, in scattered and unfinished short stories that were never meant to tie together, and I've had to figure out how to do graphic-novel length stories, which will tie together over time. I'm taking something existing and doing something very different with it, in a medium I understand better than I do prose (or TV or movies). Like Joss has done on Buffy. That's a fun challenge. Aside from that, the comics I'd most want to write are ones I make up. The sequel to Devil's Footprints is finally coming out this fall, and I have another original thing slated for the fall. Those are the comics I'm most excited about writing. And they're already written ...
13. buffycomic: If I remember correctly, you had mentioned that the Faith arc (#6-10) would be the only arc to deviate from Buffy's story in order to focus more specifically on other characters. "Harmonic Divergence" focused pretty much on Harmony and the Latino Slayer (does she have a name?)... so my question is, will the other issues of this arc also focus predominantly on other characters with Buffy on the sidelines, and similarly, Jane Espenson had mentioned somewhere that Oz would be the main character of the following arc. DOes that mean that Buffy is going to be on the sidelines again like in the Faith arc?
Scott Allie: I'm not ready to spill more on Jane's arc, but for the present arc, we never get far from Buffy for more than a couple issues. She's backseat in #21 and #22, but she comes all the way back in #23, vanishes entirely for #24, and is front and center in #25.
14. sla: You know why Joss (I guess) chose the word Twilight like the name of the character? Is there really a reason? Maybe because of its meaning or something like that?
Scott Allie: Sorry, I can't tell you much here except Yes.
15. sosalola: I'm wondering about how the public know about vampires - will that be revealed in the future?
Scott Allie: It was the photo of Harmony and Andy Dick. That spilled the beans to the public, and her star rose from there.
16. pablo: I've got a simple question for you - does the Senorita Slayer have a name? I really liked her character in Harmonic Divergence, was wondering if you could help me on this.
Scott Allie: Soledad. Jeez, did we never address her by name in the comic? Sloppy, sorry.
17. Simon: Should we expect any major Buffy announcements at the Dark Horse panel at New York's Comic Con next month?
Scott Allie: No major ones, but some good bits of news. We met today to plan it, and you'll hear about a new comic coming soon, and some news about Jane's arc, the first real info about it you're gonna be hearing. And you'll see some covers for the first time, either at the show or on the web coverage of the show.
18. narflet: Actually, I would confess to being a little confused about the slayers fate. I assumed dead (also, Andy Dick I assumed...not dead?), but then I thought that wouldn't really be plausible would it?
If someone was killed on a reality tv show (as in dead, passed on, ceased to be, expired and gone to meet their maker...) then the public wouldn't go for that, right? After all Buffy is meant to be an alternate to this reality and I can't think that we're living in a climate where someone being killed on a tv show would make it cool. So I therefore have to assume that the episode of harmony bites was spun as a scripted piece (i.e she's not really dead, haha, good hoax yes?), but even so surely that wouldn't pass with the extras who were there, and even some of the crew, who'd witnessed the event? Also, a couple of times it was mentioned how people could be bitten and not die, and there was all the people with plasters on necks so that added to my though that perhaps Harm is having enough savvy here to realise that killing people - celebrities, even her 'villians' (the slayers) - to promoter her brand won't do her any favours.
Scott Allie: I think our ability to accept violence on TV is pretty inhuman in this day and age. So I don't know. Soledad attacked the heroine of the show. It's a stretch-I genuinely hope it's a stretch-but I think it's fair for fiction.
19. Trey: In "Anywhere But Here," Robin mentions something about "rescuing the prince". Will "rescuing the prince" play an important part in a future issue?
Scott Allie: Yeah, Trey, nice catch. I haven't had anyone ask about that, I don't think. But there is something to that ...
20. bamph: I'm not sure if you can answer this since it might be spoilerish but will Harmony be appearing in more issues beyond just # 21? What I mean is will she have an ongoing presence in Season 8 throughout the rest of the season?
Scott Allie: You will see her again in the comics, but that's all I'm gonna give you.
21. Skytteflickan88: On darkhorse's website, it says that the Spike & Dry story "Who made who" is in both Omnibus 3&4. Is that true or did someone screw up the descriptions?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 4 :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 3 :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics
Scott Allie: I don't have this info handy, but it's certainly just in one of the volumes. Can someone who has a copy of the book handy answer this ...?
22. cheryl: Are we supposed to believe that "After these messages" was a 4 second dream? Or a trip to the past, somehow?
Scott Allie: It definitely was a dream, but that's not to say it wasn't also a trip back in time. We can have pretty elaborate dream in just a moment's time ...
23. Witchy: Can we expect more Scoobies sweet moments, like the end of "After..."?? because we've seen the characters grow apart form each other, less in the Xander / Buffy relationship, but Willow and Dawn... I think that's really sad.
Scott Allie: We will see more of that. We'll definitely be getting in to the emotions and the connections between the characters.
24. Enisy: Which of the main characters (Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, etc.) do you think has the juiciest arc this season? Just your opinion.
Scott Allie: Buffy. Xander will probably be a close second, but it might be Willow.
25. michellebuffyfest: Just wondering if you were going to be at the New York ComiCon? If not, the San Diego one? Buffyfest will be at both and we were hoping to get to see you speak.
Scott Allie: I will be at both shows. I'll be doing a Dark Horse panel with Jeremy Atkins, the thing we were planning today. What's Buffyfest?
26. bishopcruz: You mentioned that #25 would be a Buffy centric issue, I had heard that it would be a Dawn and Xander focused issue. Is there then going to be a Xander focused issue/arc? Or has that changed?
Scott Allie: #25 involves Buffy heavily. She's not off stage, even though there is a lot of Dawn, as the covers, both of which I think are now up, reveal. Buffy's not out of the story, the way she is in #24.
27. sosalola: I have to say "Great job" on what you guys, especially Jane, did with this issue. People believing the media, even though they're aware it usually twists the truth, is a bitter fact in our world. Especially with the current events that are going now in real world. The part about the public accepting Harmony as a victimized hero is so true to what's happening nowadays it hurts. I just hope some people in Buffy's world will be smart enough to realize who's evil and who's not.
Scott Allie: Oh, that's not a question. Well ... yes.
28. Jay: Will Rowena's and Leah's past be explored?
Scott Allie: I don't think there'll be much if any more insight into the past of those Slayers; they're gonna remain pretty sidelined by the characters that you've seen more development with.
29.Witchy:Hi!!
Can we expect to see more of Fray in future issues? Or something that clears the air about her reality and Buffy's... after "Time of Your Life"?
Scott Allie: You won't see Fray again in this Season, but hopefully another Fray series down the road sometime will answer some questions.
30.Notaviking: Hi Scott, thanks for answering all these questions.
I'm afraid this issue is my least favourite of S8 (which has been great), but I'll spare you my analysis.
The new slayer, Soledad, was activated in the present timeframe, rather than at the time of "Chosen". How has this happened? What's the trigger? I think the general assumption was that Willow's spell had turned all the potentials in the world into slayers (including those under 16 ? i.e. the young girl playing baseball).
Scott Allie: Hm. You didn't like Jane's issue. Maybe you ARE a Viking. But we talked about this, and girls continue to be activated as they come of age. I'm trying to remember what issue that baseball girl was in; but was she definitely a little kid? Whatever the unique case with her may have been, there continues to be new potentials coming to light.
31.michellebuffyfest: Scott,
Thanks so much for answering our question. You've done a great job with Season 8 so far. To answer your question, Buffyfest is a collaboration of three writers, artists and activists based in New York, who have created a place to share news and our thoughts about the Whedonverse.
Thanks again,
Michelle
Scott Allie: Maybe I'll see you at NY. I'll be in the booth, and on the panel.
32. Rowan Hawthorn: Scott,
I noticed in the tie-in article in the back of "Kull" that Kennedy is on the "Most Wanted" list of Slayers - looks like she's been making something of a name for herself in the vamp community. Will we be getting any background on her and what she's been doing this season? By the way, thanks for taking the time to do these Q & As.
Scott Allie: Kennedy is definitely one of the more active and independent Slayers. But the way the story is stacking up as we approach the conclusion, after #22 I doubt we'll see a lot of her efforts away from the core group.
33. dane5by5: After we check back in with Faith & Giles in #24, are they going to be featured in the rest of the season, or will this be the last we'll see of them?
Scott Allie: there will be more of Faith and Giles after #24.
34. xmadxscientistx: Hi Scott! Killing a Slayer is a pretty big achievement in the vampire community, as we know from Spike's experiences. Has Harmony gained some street cred with other vampires, or do they have a problem with the whole outing them to the whole world thing?
Scott Allie: The idea of Harmony attaining street cred is horrifying. The way the vampires feel about being outed will be a story point to deal with later, but considering how it's going so far, one would have to assume they're okay with it.
And this brings me to an idea that sort of addresses one or more of the questions down the list. There are things that haven't been addressed in the story either because we haven't had time, or because they're not important yet. That's the sort of ambiguity that serial fiction requires in order to stay fluid and alive. We're not writing a novel here, where the package arrives at your doorstep complete. With serial fiction, you work it out as you go-that's the point, that's the fun. Part of the advantage to that is that you don't work things out before you have to, and then you have the opportunity to adjust the things you once left ambiguous.
For fifteen years I've been working on Hellboy. When Mike wrote the first miniseries, he didn't know that Hellboy was the Beast of the Apocalypse. Hellboy had a big right hand, mostly because Mike liked how it looked. Mike knew there was something to the hand, but he didn't know what it was. In the second series, near the end, he needed something big to come up between Hellboy and a major mythological figure. That's how the notion of the Beast of the Apocalypse was born. And the hand was the key to the Beast-why? Because it was just lying around as something to be built upon. Abe Sapien, another character from Hellboy-his origin, as it were, wasn't revealed for about twelve years after his first appearance. I can tell you, in those twelve years, his origin changed a dozen times. No one but me and Mike knew that, because no one had to know. You leave those things open, ambiguous, so that they can be what the story needs them to be when the story gets to that point. Last year we did something called the Hellboy Companion, the most pointless exercise in the history of our publishing. We worked out details heretofore undetermined. We nailed down dates. We spelled out exact sequences of events that had previously been a bit vague. It was a mistake. Now, rather than being able to adjust past ambiguities to fit the development of the story, we're stuck to certain things ... and we did this so that we could answer questions the story itself had not yet asked.
So the feelings of the vampires toward Harmony is unknown right now. We haven't see it; nothing yet requires us to know it yet. Although the end of Season Eight is all worked out, the road to the end is still being determined. If we need a Queen of the Vampires to rise up against Buffy, maybe they'll nominate Harmony, their liberator and the Killer of Slayers. That means they loved that she outed them. But maybe we'll need to get Harmony out of the way, and Buffy won't have time to do it; well, then maybe she gets whacked by a bunch of vamps as revenge for her public displays. In that case, they hated that she outed them. I don't think that's what you call a retcon. That's just how a story develops, within the unique needs of serial fiction.
I'll get back to that-
35. sosaloala: Will the issues between Buffy and Giles be adressed in the future?
Scott Allie: The issues with Buffy and Giles will be addressed to some degree, yes. In response to the rest of the discussion about this-which, by the way, I think is cool. It's not exactly what the Q&A was intended for, but I think your discussion makes it more interesting. Buffy was mad in part because Giles set up a deal with Faith without telling Buffy, and then, when confronted, Giles still wouldn't spill the beans. I don't think it was a small thing, and I don't think it was petty; however, maybe Buffy overreacted, but I think that's in character for Buffy, and it's also in keeping with her history with Giles. However, it's not like Giles that's gonna make Giles reveal himself as Twilight (unless he is); in keeping with their history, this rift will not be a permanent one, or a crushing one. When they need to deal with each other again, they'll be able to.
36. Whedon Fan: Good question "sosalola". I don't really get what Buffy and Giles even fell out over? The 'little' argument in No Future For You seems very petty and not even that big a deal. Not enough for them to not speak for the length of time that has passed. Buffy and Giles relationship is and should be stronger than what is being portrayed in season eight.
Anyway Scott I have a question regarding the Serenity comics. When is "A Shepards Tale" going to be released? Is there any further news on it at all. Has it been written, comic covers been done? There has been no new news since it was announced last summer, so anything at all would be great. Thanks.
Scott Allie: sorry, no news on Serenity. Joss is real crushed on Dolhouse, and keeping up with that workload, with Season Eight, and his other stuff is all he could manage. He still hasn't given us the full outline for Shepherd's Tale, so we wait.
37. NotaViking: Scott Allie - "I'm trying to remember what issue that baseball girl was in; but was she definitely a little kid?"
Yes, definitely. She's in 7.22 "Chosen" and looks about 9 or 10 years old. The montage of potentials elsewhere in the world being activated features her the most prominently - being at both the beginning and the end. Buffy's dialogue when the girl is on-screen is "From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, will be a slayer".
She's also on the first page on issue 11 "A Beautiful Sunset" (picked presumably because it was such a defining image). Writing her off as unique just seems like covering up a mistake. Sorry, but it looks like a retcon to me. I know I'm being harsh, but I'm trying to be fair in posting here, rather than elsewhere, and giving you the chance to show I'm wrong (and a Viking ;-).
Scott Allie: the note about serial fiction and not revealing things before they need to be revealed-or not even determining before they need to be revealed-was in response to your question about Slayer activation. We don't know. We don't need to know yet. I know fans of this sort of story want that stuff spelled out, but I firmly believe that it's for the best for the story to leave it fluid. And in terms of what we've shown and what we've said, there's PLENTY of room for ambiguity. "From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, WILL BE a slayer." [Emphasis added.] Soledad became a Slayer when she was ready to be activated. Just in the nick of time, from the look of things. El Diablo lists precisely the details which, when and if we do need to determine this for a future plotline, we will look back and say, Well, maybe this is what was really happening.
38. Giant Michael: Boring legal question ahoy! There are a couple of cameos in 'Harmonic Divergence' - how did they come about? When you use a celebrities image in such an overt way, do you have to have their permission?
MB x
Scott Allie: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
39. Skytteflickan88: I also have legal question. Say that I were wanted to get a tattoo that's buffy-comic related, is that illegal?
I heard that as long as you don't make any money out of it or the company that owns the picture doesn't lose money, it's legal.
Scott Allie: Totally within your rights. Tattoos are fine.
40. cheungcheung: when a slayer dies now, does a new one get activated? could that explain the 'live' activation?
Scott Allie: see above, re: how new slayers are activated. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
41. bishopcruz: Scott, just so we're clear, did Harmony KILL Andy Dick, or just feed off of him? If she killed him, that might account for her popularity.
Thanks again.
Scott Allie: Whoever that celebrity was, be it Andy Dick or someone else (see above), we left it intentionally ambiguous. It makes more sense that she killed him, but that would open up a huge can of worms, so probably she just bled him. Or maybe she turned him. That would explain a LOT.
42. Jay: Would you guys ever consider producing an audio drama featuring original cast members and/or professional voice actors to go along with the Season Eight comics?
Scott Allie: we've talked about audio dramas, but there are no plans. So yes, we would and we have considered it, but readers of this Q&A should not go getting all excited like when I mentioned that we had talked about animation. I talked about marrying my sixth-grade girlfriend, but fortunately that didn't go anywhere.
43. hitnrun017: I know Jane's probably got her hands full with Dollhouse and the Oz arc, but are there any plans for another episode of Harmony Bites?
Scott Allie: No plans for more episodes of Harmony bites, but her blog will continue on her Myspace page, and possibly on MTV.com.
44. bishopcruz: Ok, talking about the way that the story flows when writing serial fiction and stuff like that, have there been any big changes in the plot or back story that you can tell us about? Or perhaps better said any plot points or story lines that have changed from their original conception?
Scott Allie: No big changes. Lots of times where we've had to clarify things, and some of the plotting for Jane's upcoming arc came about from our feeling that we needed to more clearly establish some themes and situations before heading into the climax. Things evolve, but I can't think of a plan that we significantly changed from the initial plan.
45. sla: Wow, this Q&A is awsome, you're great, Mr. Allie!
Another question, you said: "but readers of this Q&A should not go getting all excited like when I mentioned that we had talked about animation."
I'm excited, I know that maybe this animation it's nothing like Buffy, the animated series, but still, I'm very curious about it. soooo...there are some news about the animation...like a "Yes, we're going to do it and this gonna blew up your minds..." or "of course, we're doing an animated movie of it" lol that would be great! There're a lot of people in south America that would like to watch season 8 in an animated way. actually, we would like to watch Buffy the animated series too...but that is a too big dream, right?
Thanks!
Sla, from Chile
Scott Allie: Sorry, my point is that like me marrying my sixth-grade girlfriend, animation for Season Eight is something that's been talked about, but no more than that. We spend all day, every day, talking about stuff we could do, and only a small fraction of that ever happens. It's the tip of a creative iceberg. Animation of Season Eight might never rise above the waterline.
SlayAlive: A Buffy Forum - Scott Allie Q&A for #21 *In-Progress*
Happy New Year Slayalivers and Buffy fandom! Dark Horse Editor, Scott Allie, is back for another Q&A to celebrate the release of Buffy Season 8 #21 Harmonic Divergence and the MDHP (MySpace Dark Horse Presents) Harmony Bites.
The rules of the game remain the same (...as the rain falls on the plains in Spain): one question per post and do not submit another question til the pending one has been answered. Remember, Scott will not be giving away spoilers so keep that in mind when you're posting - i.e. avoid asking spoiler-filled questions. Every 5 or so questions I'll be sending along in a group for Scott who will drop in to answer them. The Q&A will last as long as it's fruitful, so let's make it a great one. Don't be shy to join in and if you're not a member yet, this is a great time to join and submit a question. Everyone is welcome.
If you want to participate but you're not interested in registering at this time, you can e-mail me your questions at [email protected] and I'll submit them for you with credit. Again, we'd really love people to actively join in, but I'm just hoping to encourage any fan out there with a great question to feel free to share it.
And I'll get the ball rollin'!
1. queeroid: Seeing Georges' cover for Living Doll got me thinking... do the artists come up with the cover concepts, are they given by the issue writers/Joss/PTB? And is there any interaction between the two artists? Jo likes this cover idea, so she gets to draw it/Georges likes that cover idea, so he gets to draw it?
Scott Allie: It varies. This one was Joss's idea. I think. It may have been Doug's. At one point the idea was to have Jo do this one, because she'd done the cover to Buffy #4 that it was based on. But Doug pitched the Dawn and Thricewise cover, the romance-novel cover, and we figured that would be better for Jo. Often we don't pitch an idea to Georges; we tell him what the story is, and he gives us ten or twenty cover sketches to choose from. Then we pick a few of them, and tell him to do whichever one he likes best. With Jo, we almost always pitch a specific idea, but it might come from me, Sierra, Joss, or the writer.
2. sosalola: There are a lot of complaints about the Scoobies' lack of interest in Dawn's situation from the fans. Everybody thinks that the Scoobies, especially Buffy, are being insensitive jerks that only joke about Dawn's situation instead of trying to help her, like confronting Kenny for example and forcing him to undo the curse. It seems like the first thing Buffy would do, but she doesn't seem to bother when it comes to her sister.
Is this part of the plot? Is Buffy ignoring Dawn on purpose? And where's Kenny? Why didn't anyone try to talk him into changing Dawn back?
Scott Allie: Xander's been giving Buffy a hard time about how much she ignores Dawn. It's part of the story. And they've talked about solving the problem, and about why they can't. I hadn't heard the complaints.
3. trunktheslayer: Can you give us any insight into the other hinted-at promotions for the current arc? And, in connection and more importantly, will said promos (like the MDHP "Harmony Bites" special) be collected in the trade paperback for the arc?
Scott Allie: There's the MDHP thing, Harmony's got a blog on MTV.com, and check out the back cover of other DH books this month. And yes, Harmony Bites will be in the Predators and Prey collection.
4. iloveromy: This may be too grand of a question and maybe even a little bit cosmic, but for 2009 what is in store for the Buffyverse and its readers? Obviously specifics aren't important but sometimes I think we need a little reconfirmation that the story we have been following for so long is still going in unique and amazing places.
Scott Allie: 2009 will bring you Buffy #21-31, and some other stuff. Jane Espenson takes over the writing with #26. Oz will make an appearance. Slayers will have an increasingly hard time in the world.
5. bamph: After reading issue 21 and the Harmony Bites online tie-in, it appears Harmony is based in L.A. still so my question is this - does this now confirm season 8 and specifically this issue as taking place after the conclusion of Angel: After The Fall (which actually only has two issues left) and the events of L.A. being sent to hell or is it a part of the glamour that has been hiding Hell-A from the rest of the world (as revealed was happening in Angel:After The Fall #10)? Sorry to ask since the question of how season 8 and After The Fall comes up a lot but this issue added a new wrinkle in regards to that continuity question.
Scott Allie: The exact relationship between Season Eight and After the Fall won't be apparent for quite a while yet. Sorry, I can't say more than that.
6.tiewashere: In order to prepare for Season Eight, did Joss, you, or anyone else have to re-watch the entire series? Do people need to have background knowledge on the show's character's and premise in order to write a comic for Season Eight?
Scott Allie: I rewatched it. I think Sierra did. Georges has. I don't know about anyone else. And most of the writers on the comic were writers from the TV series, so they came to it with the knowledge. Those who were not on the TV series were big fans, and saw it all at the time.
7. patxshand: Figure I'll go a bit off topic. Of all the movies that came out in 2008, which did you like the best and which would you like to write a comic adaptation or continuation of?
Scott Allie: Like the best: Let the Right One In. Want to write ...? Does it have to be a movie?
8. Emmie: A recent interview "New Media Guru" by the WGA quoted Joss Whedon describing his writing process as something he works out completely in his head and commits to the page once it is in its final draft format.
I was hoping you could articulate the creative relationship between Whedon as Executive Producer, the other writers for their sole arcs and you as the editor. How does the editing and collaborative process conform and adapt to Whedon's self-proclaimed writing style? He gives the impression that his draft is the final draft, so to speak.
Scott Allie: Well, Joss certainly makes revisions to his stuff-I don't think you should take the quote to mean that he perfects it in his head, types it, and it never changes. With the writers, though, there are definitely revisions, multiple drafts. They work out the stories with Joss through conversation, sometimes through emails; sometimes I'm in on that, sometimes not. He gives a lot of feedback before it's written, and then he always gives some after it's written, requiring second or third or more drafts. With Jane, on the upcoming arc (#26-30), she and Joss talked a lot, on the set of Dollhouse, then she wrote an outline that we both replied to, she revised the outline, then the script showed up days later. Jane is a force of nature, she really is a uniquely disciplined and fast writer. There were notes, but the main note on that first draft of the script was, literally, "AWESOME."
9. smashed: Is there still no hope in the Buffy tarot cards being released?
Scott Allie: None. Sad ...
10. bamph: This is probably a dumb question but I wasn't real clear and I read the issue over again and I'm still not clear. At the end of the issue, did Harmony actually kill the slayer on live T.V. or did she just stab her and feed on her but not kill her?
Scott Allie: What do other people think? I'd hate it if this were universally unclear ...
11. Vamp Slayer: What issue has been your favorite(1-21), and why?
Scott Allie: I don't know. Hard to say. The first one that comes to mind is #5, and frankly #10 is the next one. It's like asking what's your favorite chapter of a novel. I just love the book. My favorite arc so far is a toss up between the first and third, but the fifth, Jane's, could easily come out in front, based on the first scripts and the outline.
12. patxshand: "Let the Right One In" is one of the few movies this year I didn't catch, so I'll definitely have to check that out. As for, "What comic do you want to write?" does it have to be a movie? Nah, I guess just my next question is "If you could write any comic that you haven't already (Solomon Kane), what would it be?"
Scott Allie: Well, the TV show I'm most into right now is Dexter, and that's sort of where I was going with my answer. I actually have no ambition to write any other comics that exist right now. If I love the book, it's probably because I love what the writer is doing on it, and I wouldn't want to just get on there to imitate someone. My favorite book right now is Ex Machina, and I have absolutely no interest in writing it. My favorite book of all time is Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, and I have no interest in writing that. Those guys have done it to perfection. I don't want to wrte Buffy, because while I think I've got a great feel for the story structure, I couldn't do the dialogue without some sort of immersion program. The nice thing about Solomon Kane for me was that I wasn't really following anyone. I was looking at what Howard did in prose, in scattered and unfinished short stories that were never meant to tie together, and I've had to figure out how to do graphic-novel length stories, which will tie together over time. I'm taking something existing and doing something very different with it, in a medium I understand better than I do prose (or TV or movies). Like Joss has done on Buffy. That's a fun challenge. Aside from that, the comics I'd most want to write are ones I make up. The sequel to Devil's Footprints is finally coming out this fall, and I have another original thing slated for the fall. Those are the comics I'm most excited about writing. And they're already written ...
13. buffycomic: If I remember correctly, you had mentioned that the Faith arc (#6-10) would be the only arc to deviate from Buffy's story in order to focus more specifically on other characters. "Harmonic Divergence" focused pretty much on Harmony and the Latino Slayer (does she have a name?)... so my question is, will the other issues of this arc also focus predominantly on other characters with Buffy on the sidelines, and similarly, Jane Espenson had mentioned somewhere that Oz would be the main character of the following arc. DOes that mean that Buffy is going to be on the sidelines again like in the Faith arc?
Scott Allie: I'm not ready to spill more on Jane's arc, but for the present arc, we never get far from Buffy for more than a couple issues. She's backseat in #21 and #22, but she comes all the way back in #23, vanishes entirely for #24, and is front and center in #25.
14. sla: You know why Joss (I guess) chose the word Twilight like the name of the character? Is there really a reason? Maybe because of its meaning or something like that?
Scott Allie: Sorry, I can't tell you much here except Yes.
15. sosalola: I'm wondering about how the public know about vampires - will that be revealed in the future?
Scott Allie: It was the photo of Harmony and Andy Dick. That spilled the beans to the public, and her star rose from there.
16. pablo: I've got a simple question for you - does the Senorita Slayer have a name? I really liked her character in Harmonic Divergence, was wondering if you could help me on this.
Scott Allie: Soledad. Jeez, did we never address her by name in the comic? Sloppy, sorry.
17. Simon: Should we expect any major Buffy announcements at the Dark Horse panel at New York's Comic Con next month?
Scott Allie: No major ones, but some good bits of news. We met today to plan it, and you'll hear about a new comic coming soon, and some news about Jane's arc, the first real info about it you're gonna be hearing. And you'll see some covers for the first time, either at the show or on the web coverage of the show.
18. narflet: Actually, I would confess to being a little confused about the slayers fate. I assumed dead (also, Andy Dick I assumed...not dead?), but then I thought that wouldn't really be plausible would it?
If someone was killed on a reality tv show (as in dead, passed on, ceased to be, expired and gone to meet their maker...) then the public wouldn't go for that, right? After all Buffy is meant to be an alternate to this reality and I can't think that we're living in a climate where someone being killed on a tv show would make it cool. So I therefore have to assume that the episode of harmony bites was spun as a scripted piece (i.e she's not really dead, haha, good hoax yes?), but even so surely that wouldn't pass with the extras who were there, and even some of the crew, who'd witnessed the event? Also, a couple of times it was mentioned how people could be bitten and not die, and there was all the people with plasters on necks so that added to my though that perhaps Harm is having enough savvy here to realise that killing people - celebrities, even her 'villians' (the slayers) - to promoter her brand won't do her any favours.
Scott Allie: I think our ability to accept violence on TV is pretty inhuman in this day and age. So I don't know. Soledad attacked the heroine of the show. It's a stretch-I genuinely hope it's a stretch-but I think it's fair for fiction.
19. Trey: In "Anywhere But Here," Robin mentions something about "rescuing the prince". Will "rescuing the prince" play an important part in a future issue?
Scott Allie: Yeah, Trey, nice catch. I haven't had anyone ask about that, I don't think. But there is something to that ...
20. bamph: I'm not sure if you can answer this since it might be spoilerish but will Harmony be appearing in more issues beyond just # 21? What I mean is will she have an ongoing presence in Season 8 throughout the rest of the season?
Scott Allie: You will see her again in the comics, but that's all I'm gonna give you.
21. Skytteflickan88: On darkhorse's website, it says that the Spike & Dry story "Who made who" is in both Omnibus 3&4. Is that true or did someone screw up the descriptions?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 4 :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 3 :: Profile :: Dark Horse Comics
Scott Allie: I don't have this info handy, but it's certainly just in one of the volumes. Can someone who has a copy of the book handy answer this ...?
22. cheryl: Are we supposed to believe that "After these messages" was a 4 second dream? Or a trip to the past, somehow?
Scott Allie: It definitely was a dream, but that's not to say it wasn't also a trip back in time. We can have pretty elaborate dream in just a moment's time ...
23. Witchy: Can we expect more Scoobies sweet moments, like the end of "After..."?? because we've seen the characters grow apart form each other, less in the Xander / Buffy relationship, but Willow and Dawn... I think that's really sad.
Scott Allie: We will see more of that. We'll definitely be getting in to the emotions and the connections between the characters.
24. Enisy: Which of the main characters (Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, etc.) do you think has the juiciest arc this season? Just your opinion.
Scott Allie: Buffy. Xander will probably be a close second, but it might be Willow.
25. michellebuffyfest: Just wondering if you were going to be at the New York ComiCon? If not, the San Diego one? Buffyfest will be at both and we were hoping to get to see you speak.
Scott Allie: I will be at both shows. I'll be doing a Dark Horse panel with Jeremy Atkins, the thing we were planning today. What's Buffyfest?
26. bishopcruz: You mentioned that #25 would be a Buffy centric issue, I had heard that it would be a Dawn and Xander focused issue. Is there then going to be a Xander focused issue/arc? Or has that changed?
Scott Allie: #25 involves Buffy heavily. She's not off stage, even though there is a lot of Dawn, as the covers, both of which I think are now up, reveal. Buffy's not out of the story, the way she is in #24.
27. sosalola: I have to say "Great job" on what you guys, especially Jane, did with this issue. People believing the media, even though they're aware it usually twists the truth, is a bitter fact in our world. Especially with the current events that are going now in real world. The part about the public accepting Harmony as a victimized hero is so true to what's happening nowadays it hurts. I just hope some people in Buffy's world will be smart enough to realize who's evil and who's not.
Scott Allie: Oh, that's not a question. Well ... yes.
28. Jay: Will Rowena's and Leah's past be explored?
Scott Allie: I don't think there'll be much if any more insight into the past of those Slayers; they're gonna remain pretty sidelined by the characters that you've seen more development with.
29.Witchy:Hi!!
Can we expect to see more of Fray in future issues? Or something that clears the air about her reality and Buffy's... after "Time of Your Life"?
Scott Allie: You won't see Fray again in this Season, but hopefully another Fray series down the road sometime will answer some questions.
30.Notaviking: Hi Scott, thanks for answering all these questions.
I'm afraid this issue is my least favourite of S8 (which has been great), but I'll spare you my analysis.
The new slayer, Soledad, was activated in the present timeframe, rather than at the time of "Chosen". How has this happened? What's the trigger? I think the general assumption was that Willow's spell had turned all the potentials in the world into slayers (including those under 16 ? i.e. the young girl playing baseball).
Scott Allie: Hm. You didn't like Jane's issue. Maybe you ARE a Viking. But we talked about this, and girls continue to be activated as they come of age. I'm trying to remember what issue that baseball girl was in; but was she definitely a little kid? Whatever the unique case with her may have been, there continues to be new potentials coming to light.
31.michellebuffyfest: Scott,
Thanks so much for answering our question. You've done a great job with Season 8 so far. To answer your question, Buffyfest is a collaboration of three writers, artists and activists based in New York, who have created a place to share news and our thoughts about the Whedonverse.
Thanks again,
Michelle
Scott Allie: Maybe I'll see you at NY. I'll be in the booth, and on the panel.
32. Rowan Hawthorn: Scott,
I noticed in the tie-in article in the back of "Kull" that Kennedy is on the "Most Wanted" list of Slayers - looks like she's been making something of a name for herself in the vamp community. Will we be getting any background on her and what she's been doing this season? By the way, thanks for taking the time to do these Q & As.
Scott Allie: Kennedy is definitely one of the more active and independent Slayers. But the way the story is stacking up as we approach the conclusion, after #22 I doubt we'll see a lot of her efforts away from the core group.
33. dane5by5: After we check back in with Faith & Giles in #24, are they going to be featured in the rest of the season, or will this be the last we'll see of them?
Scott Allie: there will be more of Faith and Giles after #24.
34. xmadxscientistx: Hi Scott! Killing a Slayer is a pretty big achievement in the vampire community, as we know from Spike's experiences. Has Harmony gained some street cred with other vampires, or do they have a problem with the whole outing them to the whole world thing?
Scott Allie: The idea of Harmony attaining street cred is horrifying. The way the vampires feel about being outed will be a story point to deal with later, but considering how it's going so far, one would have to assume they're okay with it.
And this brings me to an idea that sort of addresses one or more of the questions down the list. There are things that haven't been addressed in the story either because we haven't had time, or because they're not important yet. That's the sort of ambiguity that serial fiction requires in order to stay fluid and alive. We're not writing a novel here, where the package arrives at your doorstep complete. With serial fiction, you work it out as you go-that's the point, that's the fun. Part of the advantage to that is that you don't work things out before you have to, and then you have the opportunity to adjust the things you once left ambiguous.
For fifteen years I've been working on Hellboy. When Mike wrote the first miniseries, he didn't know that Hellboy was the Beast of the Apocalypse. Hellboy had a big right hand, mostly because Mike liked how it looked. Mike knew there was something to the hand, but he didn't know what it was. In the second series, near the end, he needed something big to come up between Hellboy and a major mythological figure. That's how the notion of the Beast of the Apocalypse was born. And the hand was the key to the Beast-why? Because it was just lying around as something to be built upon. Abe Sapien, another character from Hellboy-his origin, as it were, wasn't revealed for about twelve years after his first appearance. I can tell you, in those twelve years, his origin changed a dozen times. No one but me and Mike knew that, because no one had to know. You leave those things open, ambiguous, so that they can be what the story needs them to be when the story gets to that point. Last year we did something called the Hellboy Companion, the most pointless exercise in the history of our publishing. We worked out details heretofore undetermined. We nailed down dates. We spelled out exact sequences of events that had previously been a bit vague. It was a mistake. Now, rather than being able to adjust past ambiguities to fit the development of the story, we're stuck to certain things ... and we did this so that we could answer questions the story itself had not yet asked.
So the feelings of the vampires toward Harmony is unknown right now. We haven't see it; nothing yet requires us to know it yet. Although the end of Season Eight is all worked out, the road to the end is still being determined. If we need a Queen of the Vampires to rise up against Buffy, maybe they'll nominate Harmony, their liberator and the Killer of Slayers. That means they loved that she outed them. But maybe we'll need to get Harmony out of the way, and Buffy won't have time to do it; well, then maybe she gets whacked by a bunch of vamps as revenge for her public displays. In that case, they hated that she outed them. I don't think that's what you call a retcon. That's just how a story develops, within the unique needs of serial fiction.
I'll get back to that-
35. sosaloala: Will the issues between Buffy and Giles be adressed in the future?
Scott Allie: The issues with Buffy and Giles will be addressed to some degree, yes. In response to the rest of the discussion about this-which, by the way, I think is cool. It's not exactly what the Q&A was intended for, but I think your discussion makes it more interesting. Buffy was mad in part because Giles set up a deal with Faith without telling Buffy, and then, when confronted, Giles still wouldn't spill the beans. I don't think it was a small thing, and I don't think it was petty; however, maybe Buffy overreacted, but I think that's in character for Buffy, and it's also in keeping with her history with Giles. However, it's not like Giles that's gonna make Giles reveal himself as Twilight (unless he is); in keeping with their history, this rift will not be a permanent one, or a crushing one. When they need to deal with each other again, they'll be able to.
36. Whedon Fan: Good question "sosalola". I don't really get what Buffy and Giles even fell out over? The 'little' argument in No Future For You seems very petty and not even that big a deal. Not enough for them to not speak for the length of time that has passed. Buffy and Giles relationship is and should be stronger than what is being portrayed in season eight.
Anyway Scott I have a question regarding the Serenity comics. When is "A Shepards Tale" going to be released? Is there any further news on it at all. Has it been written, comic covers been done? There has been no new news since it was announced last summer, so anything at all would be great. Thanks.
Scott Allie: sorry, no news on Serenity. Joss is real crushed on Dolhouse, and keeping up with that workload, with Season Eight, and his other stuff is all he could manage. He still hasn't given us the full outline for Shepherd's Tale, so we wait.
37. NotaViking: Scott Allie - "I'm trying to remember what issue that baseball girl was in; but was she definitely a little kid?"
Yes, definitely. She's in 7.22 "Chosen" and looks about 9 or 10 years old. The montage of potentials elsewhere in the world being activated features her the most prominently - being at both the beginning and the end. Buffy's dialogue when the girl is on-screen is "From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, will be a slayer".
She's also on the first page on issue 11 "A Beautiful Sunset" (picked presumably because it was such a defining image). Writing her off as unique just seems like covering up a mistake. Sorry, but it looks like a retcon to me. I know I'm being harsh, but I'm trying to be fair in posting here, rather than elsewhere, and giving you the chance to show I'm wrong (and a Viking ;-).
Scott Allie: the note about serial fiction and not revealing things before they need to be revealed-or not even determining before they need to be revealed-was in response to your question about Slayer activation. We don't know. We don't need to know yet. I know fans of this sort of story want that stuff spelled out, but I firmly believe that it's for the best for the story to leave it fluid. And in terms of what we've shown and what we've said, there's PLENTY of room for ambiguity. "From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, WILL BE a slayer." [Emphasis added.] Soledad became a Slayer when she was ready to be activated. Just in the nick of time, from the look of things. El Diablo lists precisely the details which, when and if we do need to determine this for a future plotline, we will look back and say, Well, maybe this is what was really happening.
38. Giant Michael: Boring legal question ahoy! There are a couple of cameos in 'Harmonic Divergence' - how did they come about? When you use a celebrities image in such an overt way, do you have to have their permission?
MB x
Scott Allie: Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
39. Skytteflickan88: I also have legal question. Say that I were wanted to get a tattoo that's buffy-comic related, is that illegal?
I heard that as long as you don't make any money out of it or the company that owns the picture doesn't lose money, it's legal.
Scott Allie: Totally within your rights. Tattoos are fine.
40. cheungcheung: when a slayer dies now, does a new one get activated? could that explain the 'live' activation?
Scott Allie: see above, re: how new slayers are activated. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
41. bishopcruz: Scott, just so we're clear, did Harmony KILL Andy Dick, or just feed off of him? If she killed him, that might account for her popularity.
Thanks again.
Scott Allie: Whoever that celebrity was, be it Andy Dick or someone else (see above), we left it intentionally ambiguous. It makes more sense that she killed him, but that would open up a huge can of worms, so probably she just bled him. Or maybe she turned him. That would explain a LOT.
42. Jay: Would you guys ever consider producing an audio drama featuring original cast members and/or professional voice actors to go along with the Season Eight comics?
Scott Allie: we've talked about audio dramas, but there are no plans. So yes, we would and we have considered it, but readers of this Q&A should not go getting all excited like when I mentioned that we had talked about animation. I talked about marrying my sixth-grade girlfriend, but fortunately that didn't go anywhere.
43. hitnrun017: I know Jane's probably got her hands full with Dollhouse and the Oz arc, but are there any plans for another episode of Harmony Bites?
Scott Allie: No plans for more episodes of Harmony bites, but her blog will continue on her Myspace page, and possibly on MTV.com.
44. bishopcruz: Ok, talking about the way that the story flows when writing serial fiction and stuff like that, have there been any big changes in the plot or back story that you can tell us about? Or perhaps better said any plot points or story lines that have changed from their original conception?
Scott Allie: No big changes. Lots of times where we've had to clarify things, and some of the plotting for Jane's upcoming arc came about from our feeling that we needed to more clearly establish some themes and situations before heading into the climax. Things evolve, but I can't think of a plan that we significantly changed from the initial plan.
45. sla: Wow, this Q&A is awsome, you're great, Mr. Allie!
Another question, you said: "but readers of this Q&A should not go getting all excited like when I mentioned that we had talked about animation."
I'm excited, I know that maybe this animation it's nothing like Buffy, the animated series, but still, I'm very curious about it. soooo...there are some news about the animation...like a "Yes, we're going to do it and this gonna blew up your minds..." or "of course, we're doing an animated movie of it" lol that would be great! There're a lot of people in south America that would like to watch season 8 in an animated way. actually, we would like to watch Buffy the animated series too...but that is a too big dream, right?
Thanks!
Sla, from Chile
Scott Allie: Sorry, my point is that like me marrying my sixth-grade girlfriend, animation for Season Eight is something that's been talked about, but no more than that. We spend all day, every day, talking about stuff we could do, and only a small fraction of that ever happens. It's the tip of a creative iceberg. Animation of Season Eight might never rise above the waterline.
Mistake how?
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