Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #21

• Script by Christos Gage
• Art by Rebekah Isaacs
• Colors by Dan Jackson
• Letters by Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
• Cover by Steve Morris
• Published by Dark Horse Comics

This issue keeps going back and forth between being something I read before, and something that I forgot happened. It's at a point in the series that it feels like they're waiting for Angel and Faith to wrap up so that this can pick up full force when that ends. Until then, this issue is mostly just here, moving the story only incrementally forward and repeating character beats we've seen before.

Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #20

• Script by Christos Gage
• Art by Megan Levens
• Colors by Dan Jackson
• Letters by Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
• Published by Dark Horse Comics

Even after reading it a couple times and thinking about it, this issue feels a little strange. Beyond just my completionism, I was drawn into it when I saw that they would be bringing back the ghost of Anya, a character that they seemed to have abandoned after bringing her into the early part of the season. The rest of it didn't strike me as being all that interesting or important, but it took up just as much of the issue as the Anya part of the story.

Comic Review: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #19

• Script by Christos Gage and Nicholas Brendon
• Art by Rebekah Isaacs
• Colors by Dan Jackson
• Letters by Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
• Published by Dark Horse Comics

This is a particularly weird issue of Buffy. It has gotten a lot of positive reception, which I understand and don't completely disagree with, but it is also a weirdly flawed story that doesn't work for nearly the entire issue. Somehow, the ending pulls it together, even though the rest of the issue doesn't really work.

Don't be so down on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. yet

Recently, my life has been pretty dominated by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (expect to see a lot about that on here), which I guess I should have expected. My current obsessions are the Marvel movies and Joss Whedon TV shows, and there's no way I'd miss one or the other, no less something that combines both of them. Unfortunately, like with every other time I've been a large fan of something, I can't be part of the fandom. There are many reasons, but really, this is about expectations.

No, the show's not perfect. Far from it, in fact. Each of the two (only two!) episodes that have aired so far have their points where they don't work. I'm not trying to say that they're perfect, but there's something to keep in mind: they're still finding their feet. Look at the other Joss Whedon shows - Buffy was nearly halfway through its second season when it found its groove, Angel was almost at the end of the first season, Firefly found it right at the point where it was cancelled, and Dollhouse found it about halfway through the first season. The purpose of the beginning of the show, the pilot especially, is to get people interested in seeing more. The writers and directors are often trying to figure out the show in the early parts as well. Find your favorite show and watch the first episode again - is that anything like what it ends up being?

Look, I'm not saying to blindly watch everything. If the pilot episode doesn't make you want to watch more, then don't. But TV shows, especially now, are made to play out over the long term. The characters will have storylines that play out over the course of multiple seasons, not just a few episodes, and since JJ Abrams isn't executive producer, I have faith that the questions that are asked and the mysteries that are set up will pay off. Just don't expect everything right away.

Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) is the creator of Ravenous Badger Media and finds it really odd that he's telling other people to tone down the negativity. Follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings for when he decides that he has short thoughts to share with the world.