The 8th Annual Whedonverse Ornament Swap!

Ho ho ho! The Holidays are finally here and we're proud to once again announce our 8th annual Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap. Eight years, can you even believe it!!

We looove this event and every year we are reminded of the wonderful creativity of this fandom. Check out the several hundred photos of coolness from years past: http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffyfestholidayswap/

If you've never heard of this swap then let us do a little explainy: The purpose of the swap is to give and receive a little festive Whedonverse joy. Basically, you will create ornaments with a Whedonverse theme (Buffy, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, Avengers, etc.) and send them to 4-6 different recipients. In return you will receive 4-6 completely different handmade ornaments from around the world. As you can see from the photos, you really can make them out of anything: Wood, knit, sew, paint, draw, sculpt, paper craft, recycle old ornaments (earth friendly!) Have fun with it! There are not rules. (Actually there are some rules, see below.)

If you'd like to join us, sign-ups begin right now and will end next Monday, November 16th at 11:59 PM U.S. EST. And pretty please make super sure you're willing to go through with this entire process before signing up! Deadbeats ruin the holiday fun for everyone. Here are the guidelines in 6 easy steps:

1. Sign up by sending an email with the subject "MERRY WHEDON" and the following information to buffyfest@aim.com by Monday, November 16th.
- name
- address
- whether your are willing to ship overseas* (US and Canada will be mixed together)

2. On November 17th you'll receive an email from us containing the addresses and email addresses of 4-6 swap participants for you to send your ornaments to. Since you'll have each other's personal info, please contact each other with any questions, disputes or praise.

3. Create the multiple Whedon themed ornaments! You'll have 3 weeks to make them.

4. Package your ornaments well (especially if you create something fragile) and send one ornament to each person on the list of swap participants in your group by Tuesday, December 8th.

5. Sit back and relax as you wait to receive 4-6 lovely Whedonverse ornaments in the mail!

6. Then don't forget to share photos of the ornaments you make and receive by uploading to the swap flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffyfestholidayswap. You will need a flickr account to upload photos, which is easy to set up.

*A note on international shipping: Please only select international shipping if you are willing to ship at least 2-3 of your ornaments overseas. Take timing and the cost of shipping into account when you design your ornament. Lighter and more compact ornaments are cheaper to ship.

Any questions? Email us at buffyfest@aim.com

'Buffy: The High School Years - Freaks & Geeks' Announced at #NYCC

Just a short time ago, Dark Horse Comics announced a new Buffyverse graphic novel that will be released in June 2016 titled Buffy: The High School Years - Freaks & Geeks. The Dark Horse peeps told us this story will be set in season one (Yay Buffy, Angel & the Scoobs!) and have more of a YA angle. This story is executive produced by Joss Whedon himself. It will be written by Faith Erin Hicks with illustration by Yishan Li and the cover art will be done by Buffyverse veteran Scott Fischer. Check out the cover below, SO 90's!!:

Apparently, this idea was sparked all the way back in SDCC 2013! Long time Buffy fan Faith Erin Hicks had this to say on Twitter:

That was why this happened back at SDCC in 2013, lol. pic.twitter.com/hKkzZy3b85

— Faith Erin Hicks (@FaithErinHicks) October 9, 2015

The Mary Sue has an interview with Faith Erin Hicks. We'll have something from her too as we get closer to the release. Do you know she lives in Nova Scotia? Nova Scotia in the house!

In the mean time, check out some of the adorable sketches by Yishan Li:

And here are some of the preview pages of the book (click to enlarge). Really looking forward to this!

Dark Horse Panel at #NYCC Currently Underway!

Check out our live blog below for the Whedoverse biggest announcement of #NYCC 2015! NEW BUFFY BOOK ANNOUNCED! (see below for more info).


11:04 Dark Horse PR dude Steve Suno takes the stage! Welcome to the "Dark Horse: CLASSIFIED!" Panel of New York Comic Con 2015.

11:08 On stage is writer Brian Wood, Writer Matt Kindt & new Editor-In-Chief Dave Marshall...so far.

11:12 Announcing "Aliens: Defiance" by Brian Wood and Tristan Jones. "Aliens: Defiance" drops April 2016.

11:16 Matt talks "DEPT.H" his upcoming series created with his wife set underwater.

11:20 Brittney Williams announced as "Legends of Korra" artist and signing at the DH booth Sunday!

11:22 I think to myself "get to the "Whedonverse stuff OMG the suspense is killing me!!"

11:25 Nope, not yet. Next up: "How to Train Your Dragon!" books coming soon. Cute! Love that movie.

11:35 Here we go!!  New Buffy Book announced!!

11:37 The graphic novel will be set in Season 1 called "Buffy: The High School Years". To be written by Faith Erin Hicks, drawn by manga artist Yishan Li. Release Date June 2016! Whew! So glad that's out in the open now...

We'll have an updated high-res of this cover and more deets later today.

11:43 Dark Horse president Mike Richardson then takes the stage to deliver a message from James Cameron, who announces a ten year partnership with DH for the world of Avatar. Big stuff at this panel!

New York Comic Con - Day 1

Dr. Horrible Cosplayer

I think this is our 8th year covering NYCC as press and it truly gets better and better every year. It's grown so much since our first time attending - between the awesome fans in costumes, kick-ass panels and cute interactive branded things, like the vid made above at the Nickelodeon booth (located right when you walk in). They did facial recognition of my face and morphed it into Spongebob! So fun! If you're attending, definitely do that and also check out the amazing "Cafe 80's" - set to look like the spot from Back to the Future 2 where you can also pick up the coveted, real world version of "Pepsi Perfect". Sooooo good. This convention is the place to be for brands right now.

Now that NYCC is open to con-goers on Thursday (instead of just professionals as in the past) it's totally cray. I mean look at the crowds at 11am on a workday! I'd be shocked if they don't add a Wednesday "Preview Night" to the convention very soon ala SDCC. Maybe even next year?

Instead of waiting on long-ass lines to attend panels in the underbelly of the Javits center, this year Nerdist and Wikia decided to plop a stage right in the front hallway where the proceeded to conduct interviews all day. The same goes for the NYCC Live stage in "The Block" area. These are the easiest panels to get in ever! See our coverage of the panel with Eliza Dushku here.

 

Speaking of the Buffyverse, Sarah Michelle Gellar made a rare convention appearance at NYCC today. Out of all the conventions we've been to all over the country, we've only ever seen her one time at SDCC, so this was a real treat!

She was there, of course, to appear in the Star War Rebels panel to chat a bit about her new character in Season 2 named The Seventh Sister. During the panel she said her character is “a thinking man’s villain. She’ll toy with you and then kill you.” When asked who her favorite character in the Star Wars universe was she replied she "of course loves Han Solo" but if she could play any character it would be Anakin around the time of the Clone Wars. Sounds like she really is a fan! Finally, during the Q&A someone said to SMG "I’ve been waiting for 15 years. I’ve gone through so much struggle to be independent, and I'll ask myself “What would Buffy do?” In response, Sarah Michelle Gellar gave the girl a hug. 

The Dark Horse booth has the usual fantastic Whedonverse display.

More to come!

Big Whedonverse Announcement at #NYCC tomorrow!!

A little birdie told me that there is a big Whedonverse related announcement happening at New York Comic Con tomorrow. That little birdie is named Aub Driver, PR Guru Extraoidinaire at Dark Horse Comics, of course and the announcement is a really nice one. I mean just look how excited we are below, we can't even contain ourselves. Stay tuned!

Eliza Dushku Panel #NYCC 2015 - Full Video

The gorgeous Eliza Dushku took stage just a few hours ago at New York Comic Con 2015 totally rocking Buffy's Red Leather Pants. I'd like to think it was on purpose, especially with Sarah Michelle Gellar showing up at NYCC as a surprise guest in the Star Wars: Rebels panel. Surprise guest to Eliza too! I imagine a conversation that went like "Hey! Are those my pants? I knew I lent them to you and you never gave them back!!" Oopsie!!

Ahem.

Anyway Eliza, along with Ivana Milicevic, spoke quite a bit...mostly about "Banshee: The Final Season", but also some "Buffy" and "Dollhouse" with Nerdist. See the full video below.



Edited to add this photo Eliza with her mother after the panel was over. Mrs. Dushku sat there right across and watched the whole thing...what a supportive mom!

Buffyfest's Whedonverse Schedule for #NYCC !!

New York Comic Con 2015 is upon us! Tomorrow is day one and we will be there on the ground, in the thick of it, tussling with the geeky masses!

This year proves to be a pretty good one for any loyal Whedon fan. We got an epic Firefly reunion panel, Slayer Faith a.k.a the gorgeous Eliza Dushku, Dr. Horrible's Geek Queen Felicia Day and more! And if you're a little confused as to when and where everything is, as usual Buffyfest has you covered. See our very necessary event schedule below.

Right Click the image below>Open in new tab to enlarge or print the high-res version! Good luck fellow NYCC attendee!

The 'Buffy' and 'Star Wars' Universes Collide in More Ways Than One!

First of all, I feel the need to spread the knowledge of this fun fact: Yoda was originally named Buffy.

Totally not kidding at all.

In the earliest outlines for The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker meets a supernatural entity named Buffy, or Bunden Debannen. Here's how George Lucas described it in the rough script:

Buffy very old — three or four thousand years. Kiber crystal in sword? Buffy shows Luke? Buffy the guardian. 'Feel not think.'"

Then Lucas says Luke will become the chosen one, "the human Buffy." LOL! The human Buffy! It's giggle worthy.

Moving on to the present, as you may know by now, the TRUE Buffy has officially infiltrated that universe. Sarah Michelle Gellar is going to be playing a villain in 'Star Wars Rebels' when the second season premieres on Oct. 14.

Smidge's character is named the "Seventh Sister Inquisitor". She'll be joining her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., who currently voices Kanan Jarrus.

I think I see the resemble #forcefriday It's my official character reveal #seventhsister #inquisitor #starwars #starwarsrebels What do you guys think? #worththewait

A photo posted by Sarah Michelle (@sarahmgellar) on Oct 2, 2015 at 8:06am PDT

Nicholas Brendon, You So Crazy (Part 5).

Nicholas Brendon, our dear Xander Harris, has been arrested 5 times in a not very long period of time and we think he needs some help, love and support!

On Wednesday night, Police charged Nicky with third-degree robbery, a felony, two counts of criminal mischief and one count of obstruction of breathing in Wednesday's arrest in Saratoga Springs, NY. This is all after an apparent altercation with his girlfriend.

From AP:
The girlfriend told police officers who were called to a downtown hotel on Wednesday night that she had gone to return property to Brendon and told him she intended to leave, Jillson said. But Brendon objected, grabbed her car keys and then threw her cellphone into the street when she tried to call for help, a police report said. 

"It sounds like it went downhill from there," Jillson said. "He allegedly grabbed her by the throat and started choking her." Brendon, who has been arrested multiple times over the past year, was gone when officers arrived but was arrested a short while later a few blocks away. Jillson said alcohol was involved but he didn't know if Brendon was intoxicated. 

Brendon, who's from Sherman Oaks, California, was released from jail Thursday after posting a $20,000 bond. It was unclear if he had a lawyer who could comment for him, and no telephone number for his booking agent could be found. 

Brendon posted bail and is due back in court on Tuesday. Good luck, dude!

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan Insta-crafting.

Smidge posted this Buffy/Willow pic on her Instagram and it's adorbs.

SMG writes:
So this girl (#AlysonHannigan) and her husband (#AlexisDenisof) know how to throw a party. I thought I was good with the crafts, till I went to this party #CraftMaster Thanks for having the #PrinzeFamily I've never seen a farm and pony rides in Santa Monica before #NowIveSeenItAll

Apparently they ran into each other at a Michael's store recently...which perhaps prompted this crafting play date? Who knows, but it seems they have buried any rumored hatchet that may or may not have existed from back in the day. They really look great and can very clearly play the late 20's/early 30's version of their characters! Who says they can't make a Buffy movie? Oh yeah, that's right…it was Smidge who said that. Damn :(

Sarah Michelle Gellar Raps as Cinderella? Stop What You're Doing Right Now and Watch!

Our SMG and Whitney Avalon recently faced off in a Princess Rap Battle on YouTube!! You decide who ran off with the crown (you know what we think)!

Cray Cray!!

SEASON 10: THE ROMANTIC COMEDY // ISSUE 11

Issue 11, FOLKS!!! It's been almost a year since Buffy Season 10 started. How insane how fast times goes. I remember being a kid microwaving popcorn and 3minutes seemed eternal. 

Anyways ---- 

This issue has a guest artist by the name of Megan Levens. Her style is a bit looser than Rebekah Isaacs and perhaps a couple touches cartoonier. I thought of a couple other artists: Don Simpson and Hilary Barta, namely. Megan's touch on this issue gives a more happy go-lucky vibe. There's still an air of drama, but the thicker curvier lines lighten the drama.

Megan Levens - art extraordinaire

Don Simpson - example 

Hilary Barta - example

So let's get to the story. The issue kicks off with us visiting all the characters with a loved one. Buffy goes "speed-dating," which is so 00s. Xander and Dawn try to recreate what they once had. Willow is with Aluwyn (the snake mermaid witch). Spike is getting some female attention while on patrol with Officer Dowling. Giles is with an ex-girlfriend that cannot stomach the current form of Giles (read: Kid Giles). Anya revists Xander. Andrew goes to a party and finally embraces what we've all been saying FOR YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually...He's a hero and he's into...

This particular episode ends with the Ross and Rachel (uhhh.....) struggle we've been struggling with FOR YEARS!!! WILL THEY / WON'T THEY???? Truths are spoken.

There is something relevant about this particular issue ....episode....whatever you call it....whatever works for you. It's about relationships. What stops them. What keeps them going. What makes it hard to go back. Why should you go back. Do you even want to go back?

So how's your relationship going with the Buffyverse???

SEASON 10: THE GIRL THAT WANTED EVERYTHING // ISSUE 10

So do you guys hate me??? I am a month late on this review. The Holiday Season was uber busy and I just could not focus my shit to write a review. But I'm back!!! Also --- Happy New Year!!



Ok onto the review --- Issue 10 features the return of a (maybe) beloved character --- Harmony. Harmony was played by the child actress Mercedes McNab featured in The Addams Family movies. In Addams Family 1, she played the unnamed girl scout. In Addams Family Values (part 2, really) she played the same role, which is the object of Wednesday Addams' hatred --- Amanda Buckman. Do you remember Wednesday and Pugsley hijacking their camp's production of the First Thanksgiving? Mercedes McNab gets burned at the stake. Mercedes was really memorable playing a ditzy, oblivious, yet very fortunate waspy white girl. She was the girl you had fun hating. I was really happy to see her have a role on Buffy and I was glad the character was not far off.

In this issue, Buffy, Willow, and Dawn take a spa day. The girls leave the Book of Vampyr in the hands of Joey and Chandler....errrr...Spike and Xander. While Spike and Xander are babysitting said Book, Harmony comes over for a visit. Really, Harmony wants to rewrite the Book of Vampyr HER WAY.

Uhhh ...great!

The jokes are funny. The art is really wonderful. I feel that Rebekah Isaacs' art is in great form. Her drawings have a suave fluidity to them. I felt that she has really grown in her role as the artist for this book. In some ways, I feel that the artist of this or any book always plays the director of the story. She has a great sense of the look and vibe.

The story is fun. It's a good issue to have right around the Holidays. (I know this be so late). This issue kind of reminded me of that classic Alan Moore penned story for Superman --- "For The Man Who Has Everything." In that story, Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman go over to Superman's Fortress of Solitude - to find Superman in (as the wiki puts it) a vegetative state. Superman has a plant on him that keeps him in a dream state. In the dream, Superman envisions life had he not ever left Krypton and how life might've been different.

This story is not as heavy-handed, but we do get to see the inner life of someone like Harmony and a bit of Spike's at the end too. It's fun and sweet. Not the greatest most profound Buffy tale ever told, but enjoyable nonetheless. Those moments are just as important too.

See you soon for Issue 11!!!!

FLASHBACK FRIDAY: THE MISS JENNY CALENDAR EDITION!!!!

 Before Robia LaMorte was Jenny Calendar (computer teacher, Giles' S.O., gypsy descendant, and murdered by Angel) - she was a PRINCE Protege. Robia LaMorte was known as PEARL to me. I was a big fan of Prince & The New Power Generation's album, "Diamonds & Pearls" back then. Remember all the sex noises to the intro of "Cream" (get on top, cream shaboogie bop).......

FOLKS!!! HERE'S YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN.

YOU GOT HER NAME WRONG, MTV!!! 

Her? On the left? Why that's no other than ROBIA LAMORTE!!!!!

TO THE LEFT. MISS CALENDAR?

10/10 FACIAL BEAUTY

BEFORE SHE R.I.P.'d

ONE LAST MOMENT OF PASSION WITH GILES

Nowadays according to Robia LaMorte's wiki:
Since her role ended on Buffy, LaMorte has periodically accepted guest starring roles on various television shows. More recently she has retired from acting, focusing her efforts on other priorities such as Christian counseling, although she occasionally can be seen in commercials and smaller roles. She also spends some of her time preaching Christianity and selling audio CDs on her website that give accounts of her religious conversion and beliefs. In an FAQ on that site, LaMorte writes that while she was once a proponent of New Age beliefs, she rejected them after her conversion to Christianity. She criticizes these beliefs as a form of "earth worship" and characterizes the practice of witchcraft a dangerous opening for demonic influence.

 NO COMIC CON APPEARANCES EVER, I IMAGINE. BUT ALL THE BEST. WE LOVE YOU, ROBIA LAMORTE!!!! THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!!!

 Editors Note: I actually wanted to embed some of her funnier commercials but ended up finding this:

   

 You're welcome. - Tara

SEASON 10: THE TEARJERK FACTOR (or TARA'S APART) // ISSUE 9 (SPOILER ALERT)

Hey Buffheads!!! ISSUE 9!!! SPOILERS AHEAD, MATEY!!!!

Last month's issue ended on something that I couldn't and didn't want to talk about. Other places such as (news-breaking) Bleeding Cool leaked it the day of. I will say it now: TARA's tombstone made an appearance at the end of the last issue. Also at the end of the issue, Andrew casting a resurrection spell. So if you see a tombstone in a comic, obviously There is a COMEBACK scheduled!!! Also no one can stay dead in comics. Let's just say I got super-psyched. SUPER PUH-SYCHED.

I really enjoyed Tara and Willow's relationship. Tara always keeping Willow's "magic problems" in check was very "When A Man Loves a Woman." Charming. While watching the show unfold season to season, I felt like I had seen the birth and death of Tara and Willow's relationship.  I was there from when they were curious college girls. I was there to see Tara & the Scoobies face her bigot family with Amy Adams. I was there to see Tara and Willow have their personal conflicts. Finally, I was there to see Tara's demise. She meant a lot to Willow and by watching all this - Tara meant a lot to ME!!

We lived through Kennedy. I personally found her to be abrasive. They didn't last. But Kennedy still exists out there in the Buffyverse. I will say that it doesn't feel as important to have Kennedy make a comeback. Tara has been gone for so long - it only elevates her importance.

As for this issue, the Buffy / Spike storyline is rather simple. Dealing with killing the Soul-Eater Monster from the previous issue. However, the monster is not really important to what is really going on. The storyline is about Buffy and Spike's "will they / won't they?" Are they going to fall back in love? Where are they at? I'm not exactly sure myself. Are they going to kill that monster they're fighting?  I mean of course. Wait - how did they wrap up Dowling?

What I want to see is Tara's "Will she / Won't she come back / And How Will This Go?" Willow comes just in the nick of time. A fight ensues. There is a struggle. Willow feels several different emotions. Andrew's reason for wanting to bring back Tara is heartbreaking. Willow's reaction is doubly heartbreaking. I sat there with some puffy fuckin' eyes.

This is where the tearjerk factor comes in.

I think what's so great about this issue is not so much about what it says out loud. It's great in what it doesn't say. There's a strength in the characters and their relationships that we can fill in the blanks.

The issue ends with some redemption and some resurrection. It was great. I really want to see where this all goes.

At this point, I feel like I would like to see some more Buffy-centered storylines. I would like to see where are they going with Spike and Buffy more. What is up with Xander? What's up with Dawn? How do we feel about Kid Giles? So many questions.