Interview with Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 artist Georges' Jeanty
If you were a fan of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer tv show, and God knows there are lost of you out there, then you absolutely MUST read the latest Buffy comic book series by Dark Horse Comics. entitled Season 8, the book literally picks up right where the tv series left off and is the official continuation of the Buffy franchise. It's even written by series creator Joss Whedon! Issues 1-4, which contain the first storyarc, have already shipped but you can still catch up by visiting your local comic shop and grabbing thiose issues while they last (issue's 1 and 2 are already in second printings). To give you the inside scoop on the series i went to the Charlotte, NC Heroes Convention and talked with Buffy artist Georges' Jeanty about his work on the book and what's coming up in future issues. Georges' is an awesome guy and we definitely appreciate this look into the series.
Anarchy Music: How did you get involved with Buffy: Season 8? Is that something that you chased after?
Georges' Jeanty: No, actually they came to me. (laughs) I know that sounds all pompous. I'm sure they had a list of people that they were wanting to get in touch with and I just happened to besomewhere on that list. They got in touch with me and of course i didn't believe it because it was the equivilant of someone just calling you up out of the blue and saying "hey, would you like to do Buffy The Vampire Slayer?". In all honesty I had never seen an episode of the tv show beforehand. I was aware obviously everybody is aware of it iconically, but I'd never really seen it. Of course I didn't believe the editor when he sent me an email saying "yeah, Joss Whedon really loves your work and he wants you to do this book". I wrote him back saying "dude, that's such an awful trick to say that a big celebrity likes your work because you think it will make you more agreeable to doing it". The very next email I got was Joss saying "dude, i really love your work, that's not a lie. We would really love for you to do this book". of course I responded back to Scott, "I'm so sorry I disbelieved you" and "Hi Mr Whedon, how you doing? I love your work, guy". It basically took off from there. They gave me a couple of the seasons, 6 and 7. I watched it, got caught up and all that and I became a fan because of the exposure. I consider myself a fan even though I am doing the book. This is a show that I'm sorry I missed because it was really, really good.
Anarchy: Obviously you used photo reference for the look of the characters...
Georges': I have photo reference. Its not like tracing a picture. I draw out what I'm going to do. Just recently I had to draw Dawn throwing apples in her mouth. I basically drew that image and then looked for pictures of Dawn that could some way assimilate that and then draw from that. I think that sometimes artists let the picture dictate the image. I try to create the image and then use the picture as reference to make her more accurate.
Anarchy: One thing I noticed is that especially some of the facial expressions are so spot on...
Georges': Yeah, I think that you have to watch the tv show and you kind of understand what Willow would do, or how Willow would look in a case like that. I don't want to necessarily give myself credit, but anybody who is doing a merchandising project should be aquainted with that property because those little nuances do come through and people who know will pick it up and go "oh, that's exactly what buffy would do" or "that's exactly what Xander would stand when he's not saying anything at all or when he's nervous".
Anarchy: These fans are so devoted to Joss and his creation. How have they reacted to your work on the book?
Georges': I am scared every time I go to a show because, like you said, they are so devoted. This is cannon. this is going directly from Joss to me to the reader. I do feel like somebody will come up to me and say "this is shit, you don't know what the hell you're doing. Who said you could be in charge of this and I don't know why Whedon ever did this". It's been nothing like that. everyone has been "oh, this is so good". Honestly, I have a theory on that. I think people are just more grateful to have new Buffy out that they are willing to overlook any misgivings about artwork or inaccuracies or anything like that. i think they are so grateful that Joss id doing this that I sort of get to go in that door sort of unnoticed.
Anarchy: Well, youre being noticed now in a positive light!
Georges': It's a nice thing too, sure!
Anarchy: You come from a background of superhero work like some X-Men related titles. That stuff tends to have a more exaggerated sense of anatomy than real life. One thing i dig about the Buffy book is that even though there's action, it never loses a reallistic sense of anatomy and movement. It still looks like what people would do, if they were fighting demons.
Georges': (laughs) That's a conscious effort. That's actually one level where Joss was very specific. He actually said, "hey look, we're doing this in a comic version. i don't want you to do a photo realistic portrayal. this isn't Sarah Michelle Gellar, it's Buffy Summers. Also, consider that Buffy Summers doesn't have huge breasts. Buffy Summers isn't all ripped and defined. She's just this girl". The only specifics he really gave me were "just stay true to what she really looks like and you can manipulate that within any genre you want". Obviously the demons are over-sized. Stuff that they could never do on the tv show, at least get the consistancy of the character and at least i feel that the believability will follow through.
Anarchy: How has it been working with Dark Horse?
Georges': This is my first time, never had any dealings with them before. Scott Allie is my point guy, he's the editor of the book and Kate Moody was until recently the assistant editor and they have been absolutely stand-up people. They have been great. Katie has told me herself, "I'm such a Buffy fan so it's such a great thrill to work on this" and Joss was working on all the Buffy stories beforehand. So, everybody is very well informed, they are very involved with it. Nothing really goes that they don't catch in the sense of staying true to the genre. This is a universe, Buffy is, obviously and i think they are well-versed enough to catch something that wouldn't fit in, if that were the case.
Anarchy: Originally you were scheduled to do the art on just the first storyarc, but now that's been extended, right?
Georges': Sadly, that was my ignorance. When Scott first approahed me he said 'I want you to do the whole thing. we don't know how many issues we're going to do yet, but we want you to do all of it". I was the hesitant one. I had never seen any Buffy stuff, I'd never done anything like this, so I said, "Why don't we just do the first 4 issues and then we'll see because I don't know". This is my ignorance, having never watched an episode and not really knowing what the impact would be. as we progressed he'd come to me and say "dude, you've got to stay on, we want you to stay on". He was always about that. Finally, I think that after the first issue...(laughs)
Anarchy: Which immediately sold out!
Georges': I was like "okay, I think i will! You're right, I think i will stay on. i didn't know what the hell I was talking about. Disregard my concern." I totally credit Scott for keeping me on the book. He was right there from day 1 saying "this is going to be huge and you should stay with this because you're going to thank me later". And I thank him.
Anarchy: So, this isn't like an 18 episode season?
Georges': No, this is going to be Season 8, but I'm told that the number now is I believe 40 issues overall. It'll run just like the tv show did. This whole "Big Bad", as it were, that used to run every season through a Buffy series is the Twilight issue that they're running in the comic right now. that's the thing that will be dealt with off and on as the series progresses.
Anarchy: The first storyarc is finished with number 4. What's coming up in the next storyarc that you can reveal?
Georges': The fifth issue is actually very interesting and it's actually written by Joss. Again, this is probably my own stupidity. i only said that i wanted to do the 4 issues and then I was ready to leave. At that point they needed to get somebody to do the fifth issue and I believe that I'm not doing the fifth issue because I said 'oh, i don't think that this little Buffy thing that you've got is going to go anywhere". The fifth issue deals with one of the Slayers who was impersonating Buffy. They make mention of that in the last season of Angel, that Buffy has some impersonators so that anybody who is trying to take her out would hopefully be confused and not get the real Buffy. this deals with one of these Slayers. Joss had told me that this is a very personal story to him that he wrote and was very proud of. he didn't necessarily concieve of it when he first started out, but it presented itself and they put it in as a fifth issue. The next arc, which will be another 4 issues will be 6, 7 8 and 9 and they will deal with faith primarily. Buffy will be in it, or course, and all the other Scooby Gang, but this will show you where Faith has been, what she's been up to, Principal Wood, what he's been doing, and Giles has a little more play in this arc.
Anarchy: Any guest stars coming up?
Georges': Aside from the regular cast, i can't think of anybody, but this is the Buffy Universe, so...
Anarchy: I think there's some issues with having Angel in it, right?
Georges': Well, IDW, which is another publishing company, has the rights to publish Angel and therefore has the rights to publish any characters that was in the Angel tv show. Spike obviously went over there and is now under contract with them, as is Cordelia and Fred and Gunn and all these other characters. So, it's a very slippery slope to use them, but I think where Joss himself asks IDW "can i do this?", they are a little more lenient to go "okay, we'll let you use it".
Anarchy: You don't say "no" to Joss...
Georges': Right, and I think they are real smart businessmen to say "we might need him at some point, so let's be nice".
Anarchy: I think that Whedon kid has a future!
Georges': Yeah
Anarchy: Obviously this is going to increse your standing in the comic book community...
Georges': That would be nice! That's what we all aspire to theoretically.
Anarchy: What else do you have coming up?
Georges': That's it. I am committed to this for at least the next couple of years. I'm the kind of guy that I put all of my effort into something. There's some possiblities of doing some outside covers here and there, but this is my main gig and I can only do one book a month and keep any semblance of art per se' on a one book basis. i don't really have much else going on.
Anarchy: One last question, and this is very important...
Georges': Sure...
Anarchy: Who is the hottest chick in the Buffy universe?
Georges': They're all hot!
Anarchy: But who is the hottest?
Georges': You know what's funny? I actually talked to Joss about that. When I first met him I said "dude, I have to so compliment you because I used to watch Firefly, and that girl, the prostitute, that's my future wife. You have just introduced me to my future wife. She is incredible". He would joke with me, "oh, I had dinner with her the other night". She's not in the Buffy Universe though. I'd have to say Eliza Dushku. I just have a thing for brunettes. Eliza Dushku is all that. I also have to say that they all are. Allyson Hannigan in her own way is so incredibly cute and Sarah Michelle and Michelle Trachtenberg are so cute. Julie Benz, who played Darla, was on Buffy a little but was more of a player on Angel, which is what I'm watching now. You really look at her and just say "this girl is really, really attractive". It would be hard for me to choose and I'd hate to do it..
Anarchy: So the answer is all of them for a weekend...
Georges': (laughs) All of them, sure. I gotta say that I look at Eliza and we'd probably get on the best for some reason. i don't know that for sure, but she seems to me like somebody I'd like to hang out with.
Anarchy: You're willing to put it to the test...
Georges': I don't know, and rub her toes or something, whatever she wants.
Anarchy: And your future wife from Serenity, Joss can actually hook you up!
Georges': Morena Baccarin... You know, that's the sad thing, I'm sitting there kind of worried. If he really took me seriously he coud be like, "you're going to be in San Diego? Yeah, she's coming down, so wear somthing nice!" Yeah, that'd be nice.
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I'd like to thank George's once again for taking the time to speak with us, as well as Heroes Aren't Hard To Find for helping us out with the convention and Dark Horse Comics for setting us up with Georges' and getting us the comics!