Retreat by Jane Esperson and Joss Whedon
Paperback, 144 Pages
2010, Dark Horse
ISBN: 1595824154
Series: Book 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8
Synopsis
Buffy Season Eight Volume 6 showcases the first failure of the Slayer legion. Vampires have solid footing at the top of the totem and Slayers have been crushed to the bottom - in short, no one likes Buffy anymore... least of all this season's mysterious Big Bad, Twilight, who is hot on her magical trail! Now that it's the world against Slayers, Buffy must find a way to return the status quo to... status quo - and keep her girls alive long enough to do it! Enter Oz, the only person/werewolf Buffy knows who is down with the suppression of magic, and can take the Slayer army off of Twilight's magic-specific radar. With Oz's assistance the Slayers and Wiccans try to become "normal" through meditation and hard labor - although, not everyone sees the advantage of being magicless, namely, Willow, Giles, and Andrew. And they could be right; after all, is a peaceful life for a Slayer even possible?
Review
Retreat, the 6th volume in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, returns the series to what it always should have been. The last book, Predators and Prey, mainly consisted of side stories that did nothing to further the overall story line. The writers seem to have gotten that completely out of their systems now as Retreat is all plot progression all the time. And it's perfect.
Many old favorites return in Retreat. Andrew, Faith and Giles remain prominent in the story. Warren and Amy get back into the story. Even Riley and Oz play their parts, although while I recognized Riley well before it was confirmed to be him, I had a lot of trouble seeing Oz as the character drawn here. I needed it to be spelled out that he was in fact Oz and even then I had trouble accepting it. He just looked off.
Funny looking Oz aside, Retreat is the very best of season 8 thus far. I found my self shocked at things that I should have seen coming. As a long time fan of the series, I have certain ideas in my head of things I'd love to see make it into the series and things I hope never, ever happen. One of those never, ever things happens in Retreat and it's kind of mind blowing. It's right, but it's wrong. It's sadly disappointing, but kind of fantastic too. It's one of those decisions in a series that kind of haunts you, much like the original TV show often did with its totally obvious but somehow still completely unexpected plot twists. I sort of hate myself for loving it, but wow.
In a effort to avoid being magically tracked by the slayers many enemies, the group gives up all of their magic - including their slayer powers. This is obviously a bad idea, and plays out much like you'd expect. The outcome of this battle is much less important that what it seems to hint about the future - a change in Buffy herself. And from the looks of it, a pretty impressive one.
Retreat is nothing short of amazing. It sets the series back on track and heading towards the big final showdown of the season. I desperately miss the TV show, but the season 8 graphic novels are filling the void well. Maybe a little too well, as I find myself even more excited about each new volume than I ever did over the show itself. If I had my way, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novels would continue indefinitely.
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