Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off with a Soul


Stacey AbbottDavid Lavery - 2005
    Recast in L.A., Angel developed its own preoccupations, exploring a darker vision of alienation, atonement and the fight for redemption. The series ended in 2004, but its legion of loyal fans continues to petition the WB network for a new spin-off or motion picture on the "Save Angel" website and other online fansites. This book covers all five seasons, discussing the cinematic aesthetics of Angel, its music, shifting portrayals of masculinity, the noir Los Angeles setting, the superhero, and horror. A complete episode guide is included.

Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars


Rob ThomasLawrence Watt-Evans - 2007
    The show is so snarky, so smart, and so savvy, that the detective show’s biggest mystery is why more people aren’t watching.This collection of essays on the show’s first two seasons explores the noir roots of Veronica’s blond locks, and the sharp writing and killer plot twists that have catapulted Veronica Mars to the top of smart viewers’ must-watch lists.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Omnibus, Vol. 1


Christopher GoldenCliff Richards - 2007
    This first massive volume begins at the beginning--The Origin, a "faithful" adaptation of creator Joss Whedon's original screenplay for the film that started it all. The newly chosen Slayer's road to Sunnydale continues in Viva Las Buffy and Slayer, Interrupted. Next, Sunnydale, the Scoobies, and an English librarian lead the way into Season 1 continuity. Plus, "The Goon" creator Eric Powell provides pencils to All's Fair, featuring Spike and Drusilla at the 1933 World's Fair. The smash TV hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer led to nearly a decade of comics at Dark Horse--including multiple specials, one-shots, and guest miniseries. This omnibus series is the ultimate compilation of the Buffy comics Dark Horse has published, and runs along the TV series' timeline. A fitting companion to Whedon's comics-based relaunch of the show.

Blood and Fog


Nancy Holder - 2003
    Anything's better than his moping around. But Spike -- as usual -- has his own agenda, and it involves something the demon is carrying: a vial of pure magickal power. Spike knows plenty of people and demons who will pay top dollar for this vial: Doc, Rack...and an ancient evil known as The First.Spike has encountered The First before. In the good old days in Victorian London, when Spike, Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla ran through the night in pursuit of dark fun, another evil being was stalking the streets, dispatching young women with brutal efficiency. But when the so-called "Jack the Ripper" struck too close to their twisted "family," the vampires found themselves on the same side as the Slayer of that time. Working to bring down Jack, and running afoul of The First, Spike and the Slayer formed an uneasy alliance, which followed Spike all through the twentieth century to present day Sunnydale, now blanketed in a mysterious fog....

Wicked Willow I: The Darkening


Yvonne Navarro - 2004
    Buffy and Xander arrive too late to stop Willow from taking revenge on Warren for the murder of Tara, and now they stand helpless as Willow determines to use whatever magick it takes to bring her lover back from the grave.

The Existential Joss Whedon: Evil and Human Freedom in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Serenity


J. Michael Richardson - 2006
    The authors argue that these works are part of an existentialist tradition that stretches back from the French atheistic existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, through the Danish Christian existentialist Soren Kierkegaard, to the Russian novelist and existentialist Fyodor Dostoevsky. Whedon and Dostoevsky, for example, seem preoccupied with the problem of evil and human freedom. Both argue that in each and every one of us a demon lies hidden. Whedon personifies these demons and has them wandering about and causing havoc. Dostoevsky treats the subject only slightly more seriously. Chapters cover such topics as Russian existentialism and vampire slayage; moral choices; ethics; Faith and bad faith; constructing reality through existential choice; some limitations of science and technology; love and self-sacrifice; love, witchcraft, and vengeance; soul mates and moral responsibility; love and moral choice; forms of freedom; and Whedon as moral philosopher.

Spike: A Dark Place


Victor Gischler - 2012
    His trip leads him to a group of dangerous demons and a rude awakening from his reverie, which in turn leads him on an unexpected adventure to . . . Sunnydale! Collecting Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike—A Dark Place #1–#5.

The Quotable Slayer


Micol Ostow - 2003
    'Writing as good as that for Hill Street Blues, The Simpsons or...Alan Bleasdale at his best' said the Guardian as far back as season one. 'The only show outside Larry Sanders where you rewind to confirm that the wit was that dark' said the style gurus on Uncut four seasons later. 'Wittier than The West Wing' affirmed Time magazine. On the internet, fan sites abound with choice quotes painstakingly culled from favourite episodes, and no episode review is complete without a 'best dialogue' postcript. THE QUOTABLE SLAYER collects of hundreds of quotes from all seven seasons of the show, categorised by character and by subject and illustrated in both black and white and colour. Whether pithy or moving, funny or profound: the complete range of this remarkable drama is here for fans to refer to again and again.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Rules


Christos GageKarl Moline - 2014
    While the crew attempts to find out exactly what this means and restore the status quo, Xander is the victim of a haunting as his relationship with Dawn crumbles.Collects Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #1-#5.* Executive produced by Joss Whedon!“Highest possible recommendation.”—SciFiPulse

Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe


Jane EspensonKen Wharton - 2007
    We learned River’s secret; Mal took on the Alliance. Our favorite crew became Big Damn Heroes. And the Browncoats proved that hard work, passion and a little fan coordination can do the impossible. Serenity Found takes the contents of Finding Serenity even further, exploring not just the show but the events of the film as well, to create an anthology that’s even more thought-provoking, fascinating and far-thinking than its predecessor.* Acclaimed science fiction author Orson Scott Card lauds “Serenity” as film sci-fi finally done right* Writer and comedian Natalie Haynes reveals the real feminist savvy of the “Firefly” universe: the girls get the guns and the gags* Pop culture critic Michael Marano connects damaged, ass-kicking River to the other weaponized women of the Whedonverse* Multiverse executive producer Corey Bridges explains why the world of “Firefly” is the perfect setting for an MMORPG* Mutant Enemy’s visual effects wizard Loni Peristere relates what he’s learned from Joss about telling stories, and tells a story of his own about Serenity’s design* Television Without Pity recapper Jacob Clifton frames “Serenity” as a parable about media: how it controls us, how we can control it and how to separate the signal from the noise* And Nathan Fillion, “Firefly” and “Serenity’s” Captain Malcolm Reynolds, shares his affinity for Mal and his love of Mal’s ship and crew.

Whedonistas: A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon by the Women Who Love Them


Lynne M. ThomasKelly Hale - 2011
    By discussing the impact of Whedon's work, their involvement with his shows' fandoms and why they adore the worlds he's created, these essayists aim to misbehave in Whedon's rich, fantastical worlds. Essay topics include Sharon Shinn (Samaria series) and Emma Bull (Territory) elaborating on the perfection of Firefly, Jeanne Stein (the Anna Strong Chronicles) revealing Buffy's influence on Anna Strong, and Nancy Holder (October Rain, The Watcher's Guide) relating on-the-set tales of Spike menacing her baby daughter while Riley made her hot chocolate.Other contributors include Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Elizabeth Bear (Chill), Catherynne M. Valente (Palimpsest), Maria Lima (Blood Lines), Jackie Kessler (Black and White), Mariah Huehner (IDW Comics), Sarah Monette (Corambis), and Lyda Morehouse (AngeLINK Series). Also featured is an exclusive interview with television writer and producer Jane Espenson.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1


John Vornholt - 2010
    A slayer destined to protect the human race. She alone must fight the demons of hell. She alone must risk her life to stop the spread of evil. Buffy is the Chosen One. In Coyote Moon, a typical night at the carnival becomes deadly as shape shifters turn the amusement park into their own house of horrors. Buffy starts having past-life nightmares in Night of the Living Rerun, and must face her historic counterpart before the events of the past repeat in the present. In Portal through Time, Slayers over the centuries are in danger, and Buffy must protect them in order to save her own life and legacy.

Cursed


Mel Odom - 2003
    SPIKE Sulking around the Slayer in Sunnydale, the vampire Spike has often run into demons intent on punishing him for throwing in with the White Hats. But when there are hints of a more organized campaign dedicated to vanquishing the vampire with a chip in his head, Spike sets off on the trail of whoever's put a hit out on him. Meanwhile, in the City of Angels, the vampire with a soul finds that the search for a mystical object is tied to his days as the vicious Angelus. Then Spike -- his former partner in carnage -- arrives in L.A. Each nursing a grudge, and with the specter of Buffy in both of their (cold, dead) hearts, the two vampires reluctantly work together...until their torturous past catches up with them!

Blackout


Keith R.A. DeCandido - 2005
    . . .New York City in 1977 is vampire heaven. Serial killer Son of Sam is often blamed for their hits, and a citywide blackout gives them free reign of the streets, allowing them to get away with murder. Spike and his beloved Drusilla are in the Big Apple taking advantage of the situation, as is Vampire Slayer Nikki Wood, who has hunkered down with her son, Robin, in a Times Square apartment where she thinks they'll be safe.But no matter where she goes, Nikki has to watch her back. Spike has only one thing on his mind: to slay a slayer. Adding to Spike's list of challenges is a corrupt local vampire community that catches wind of his presence, and when they start messing with him, things get bloody interesting.

These Our Actors


Ashley McConnell - 2002
    Willow decides to stick with the class on her own, however, and this once-shy wallflower is pleased to find herself way bitten with the acting bug.It's no surprise to Buffy and the Scoobs, then, when Willow decides to pitch in with the drama club's latest production. Of course, Sunnydale being Hellmouth Central, Willow soon discovers a link between drama and magick; in fact, many ancient Greek performances were actually invocations to the Gods. Spike, who in his pre-vamp days had been a great patron of the arts, confirms this fact. He "also" takes an unusual level of interest in Willow's extracurricular activities. When strange paranormal occurrences -- and the appearance of a ghost or two -- threaten Willow's safety, the witch starts to wonder if it isn't time to exit, stage left....