Comic Vs TV what do you prefer?

[lady_windermere]

sueworld2003 said "Trouble is as beautifully done as they are, they mainly served to push home to me how much I miss seeing those characters in a live action format." I was wondering how many others felt the same. Two polls under the cut.


[Poll #1129330]

Comments

[shapinglight]

Interesting. I would honestly be very surprised if anyone said the comics would take over from the show in terms of enjoyment, even though I've seen people say that season 8 is the best BtVS season since 5. Lot of late season haters out there.

Also, I could have done with another category in the section for are you enjoying the comics or not. I'm not enjoying season 8 that much but I don't altogether hate it either.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I would be surprised as well. I think most of us are used to the TV series format, and prefer it. I am back reading comics after a long break, so prefer the Series and what the actors bring to the parts!

*headdesk* yes should've included that!

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Just a quick observation before I'm out the door: part of what the comics lack, IMO, is the density of information that moving pictures can communicate. For a quick comparison, take two similar scenes: Spike's face dropping at the end of 5.14 "Crush", and Buffy's face dropping at the end of "Season 8" #9; James Marsters sells that scene without any words, Jeanty just makes me wonder if he forgot to draw the internal monologue thought bubble explaining why she reacts that way.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Yes, the moving image does convey a scene so much better than a static one. I do think Season 8 needs some more internal dialgue to put the story over better.

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

This is so very true. Every scene had multiple things going on. Numfar's dance of joy, secondary characters facial reactions, small prop details that would be important later.

None of this is really getting relayed in the comics, although I've seen it done, and done well, in comic form.

[gillo]

It takes about four months to cover the ground a single episode did, which is a big drawback for me. I'm not buying the comics buy downloading them when available, and I'm a total spoiler whore, so I know what's going on mostly, but they can never replace the sheer intensity of the TV show. I've been rewatching S3 and realising again how much I miss this show.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Yes, the time gap is a big drawback with Comics. I do get them, I will continue to get Angel: After the Fall, but not sure about Buffy Season 8. I'm just losing interest in it. still haven't read the last one yet!

[aschicca.livejournal.com]

In the last question I chose "both". I accept the comics as canon because they are, but I'd like to point out it's a bit forced to me. I'd much rather canon had stopped with season 7 of Btvs and season 5 of Ats.... the comics are canon but I don't have to like it do I? *sighs*

By the way hon, I think the cut hasn't worked... or at least the polls are not behind a cut on my f-list. No biggie though since it's not a huge post :)

*huggles* I love these polls of yours!

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

*huggles* glad you enjoyed the polls!

I am beginning to wonder about the canon question myself. I acept they are Joss canon. Just not sure I will be using it as my canon. Well apart from the Spike Connor friendship. Will wait and see.

I put the cut code in the poll, and it just doesn't seem to have taken! *sigh*.....just have to hope it is ok for peoples friends list!

[dark-amia.livejournal.com]

In my mind there’s canon and comic canon. I like to keep them separate.

I haven't read either comic but I did finally get Spike Shadow Puppets. I don't actually feel like reading it though at the moment, seeing James on the telly (even playing a different role) has muted my enthusiasm for the comics.

I'll probably get round to reading the angel ones eventually but it can never be the same as watching the characters on tv.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

it can never be the same as watching the characters on tv.

So very true! Just so much more can be conveyed in such a shorter time span. Also the actors add so much!

[erin-starlight.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's not as big a thing for me since I normally read comic books. Sure it's different but if the comic is true to the feel of the show (like I feel Angel ATF is) then there is no problem. As for canon...it's the same thing. Angel FEELS canon to me while Buffy doesn't. Buffy feels like fanfic to me. Too many "you think this happened but this is what REALLY happened" moments that are fan wank-ish. I'm wondering why I should care about it since I don't care for the characters because of how they are written.

Should I feel bad for example that Buffy is going to be betrayed? Given how dismissive she is of her morals taking a dive (even though her people gave Angel crap for his gray thinking)and her behavior to most of her friends I'm not sure I care. Maybe it's a good thing, a wake up call that she needs. In ATF I feel for all the characters. I feel awful for Angel, Gunn and Wes. I feel proud of Connor and Spike who rose to the occasion without anyone to be their moral guide. Even lesser characters like Nina, Gwen and the lords of L.A. hold my interests. I can't wait to find out how it all happened. That feels like the show to me.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Yes, in my flist it does seem that Angel: After the Fall is the most popular. Maybe the characters do seem more in keeping with the tv show.

Good point about being used to comics. I think a few people in the Buffy verse have come to comics "new" and are not used to them. Even so, the characters had been going on for years, if you are going to continue canon, you should know what has gone before. Which I think Brian Lynch has done.....moreso than Joss at this stage.

Not sure I will continue with season 8, will give it a bit more time to decide.

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

TV every time I'm afraid, better in every possible dept and this is coming from someone who's collected comics for 25 years or more.

Thing is both these series are basically TV tie ins, always referring back to the original live action source material, always being held up to the yardstick that was the originals.

Even though unlike season 8 I'm actually enjoying ATF it still can't compare to the 'real deal'. Sorry Brian and Joss.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

TV every time I'm afraid, better in every possible dept and this is coming from someone who's collected comics for 25 years or more.
Totally agree. So much is missed out with not having the live action and actors, the on-screen interaction. Just the comics look onek-dimensional in comparison

Thing is both these series are basically TV tie ins, always referring back to the original live action source material, always being held up to the yardstick that was the originals.

Very true

Even though unlike season 8 I'm actually enjoying ATF it still can't compare to the 'real deal'. Sorry Brian and Joss.

Brian has done things in the past I have not been sure of (breaking down the 4th wall, TOO many puppets) and made it work. Willing to wait and see now.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Even though I'm enjoying that AtS comic (not so much the BtVS one) I don't know that in my heart that I'll ever accept either of them as canon no matter what Joss says to me. They seem a thing apart to me, sort of like fanfic, but with the cache of it being Joss approved fanfic (by now even the BtVS stuff is being written by others with Joss's approval) thus it carries a bit more weight. But it doesn't feel like a continuation of what was on screen, just a tie-in.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I went in feeling strongly that Joss said they are canon, so they are....it is just that I am increasing finding that it is not a canon I accept. I might play with it for a drabble or two, but I prefer where we left everyone post NFA, and, indeed fanfic writen with that storyline.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Comic Vs TV what do you prefer?

Isn't that rather like asking 'death or cake?' Or, 'the rations given to prisoners in Burmese labour camps versus an eat-what-you-like banquet at Britain's most highly rated Chinese restaurant, which do you prefer?'

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I think the Season 8 comic could be a lot richer. I lacks so many items. Angel: After the Fall has more for me, but yes, both lack the involvement of a TV series.

I do think it depends what came first, comic or film action. Such as with Batman, Superman or Spiderman. They all live successfully in comics

[owenthurman.livejournal.com]

eat-what-you-like

Is that some kind of poncy Euro thing? Here in the States we have only all-you-can-eat. We ne'er shirk on our duty by eating only what we like when we are able to eat more.

[enisy.livejournal.com]

I don't think the comics will ever be able to replace the TV series for me, although I'm enjoying Angel: After the Fall, and I'm not hating Buffy: Season 8 (yet). What drove it home for me was... James Marsters choking up over Spike/Buffy in the 2004 Halloween convention, really. The continuations could never cut that close to the bone -- I mean, Joss can say he cried while writing the Willow/Kennedy scene in Issue 10, but he knows and we know it was Alyson Hannigan and Iyari Limon he had in his mind when he was writing that script, not their two-dimensional drawings on a paper. (Besides, he also said that people who don't want to accept the comics don't have to, so he obviously realizes the change in medium renders them "apocryphal".)

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I've got the impression that Joss realises perfectly that with the change of the medium his audience will also change. Today he's servicing fanboys who love hot chics with criminal minds.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I don't think the comics will ever be able to replace the TV series

I watched the Batman series on TV before I bought the comics. I did like the series, but loved the comics. He had more of a history in them. I think that could be part of what is wrong with the comics. Buffy (and Angel) had a history with the TV series. Unless the comics respect that history, they will be dismissed by a lot of people.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I suppose my main problem is that I'm not used to comics. BtVS season 8 is the first comic I ever read. Spike Shadow Puppets and AtF are # 2 and 3. My experience is so limited I don't have a frame of reference and I'm often confused. I'm still clinging to Jossverse so I read fanfics and comics to feed my interest.

I enjoy AtF more than BtVS season 8. I'm trying to figure out if it's because of Spike who has always been my favorite character. His absence on BtVS is a big factor, sure.

Also, I suppose that my frustration regarding season 8 is partly due to its narrative structure. A lot of crucial events happened and we don't know anything about them. And God knows when we'll find out.

Just yesterday I was following a discussion on a Russian BtVS community - about Buffy lusting after Daniel Craig being a hint of her following in The Trio's footsteps, because Warren, Jonathan and Andrew were also dreaming about James Bond actors. And I caught myself on the thought that now the show is about the game with the audience, about making fans paranoid about the characters, thus fueling their interest.

But, again, I'm very unexperienced with comics and I may be wrong.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I read comics when I was young, from about 6 to about 8, but my father disapproved strongly. I lost them all when he threw them out. I bought two TPB in the 90's, but they were complete stories. So I am finding the time-gap from a to b quite frustrating. I accept the characters have changed, I would just like more information on why they have.

Also, I suppose that my frustration regarding season 8 is partly due to its narrative structure. A lot of crucial events happened and we don't know anything about them. And God knows when we'll find out.

I agree the narritive structure is lacking. I did a poll on this a long time ago, and, mostly, people do not think that comic format is a strength of Joss. I tend to agree. He likes the special effects he can have, but doen't make use of the ability to look into peoples heads. Also I think the artwork is lacking expression as well. It is too bland to carry emotion.

These forums need to have something to talk about!