Status
Available
Publication
Dark Horse Books (2009), Edition: Original, 160 pages
Description
Buffy's world goes awry when former-classmate-turned-vampire Harmony Kendall lands her own reality TV show, Harmony Bites, bolstering bloodsucking fiends in the mainstream. Humans line up to have their blood consumed, and Slayers, through a series of missteps, misfortunes, and anti-Slayer propaganda driven by the mysterious Twilight, are forced into hiding. In Germany, Faith and Giles discover a town where Slayers retreat from a world that has turned against them, only to find themselves in the arms of something far worse. A rogue-Slayer faction displaces an entire Italian village, living up to their tarnished reputation as power-hungry thieves. And finally, with the help of a would-be demon lover, Dawn addresses her unfaltering insecurities.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Girl_Detective
For Buffy and Joss fans, especially those disappointed in the likely-to-be canceled Dollhouse, the Buffy “Season 8” comic series from Dark Horse is pretty good. The stories, for better and sometimes worse, are true to the series, while the art looks not only like real people but like the
Predators and Prey collects five stories that can stand alone, but which also interconnect. Harmony, Buffy, insidious but cute kitty-cat toys, Andrew, Faith, Giles and Dawn all feature prominently. There’s finally resolution in Dawn’s shape-shifting curse.
This collection continues to portray a world with armies of slayers, and shifts things as well. As many superhero comics have done, the villains turn the tables and get the public to fear the heroes, the slayers. It sets things up nicely for the ongoing series. The comic is nowhere near as entertaining as the show was at its zenith, but it’s frequently good, which is good enough for me.
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original actors. Best of all is the Whedon-esque banter–witty, fast and of the moment.Predators and Prey collects five stories that can stand alone, but which also interconnect. Harmony, Buffy, insidious but cute kitty-cat toys, Andrew, Faith, Giles and Dawn all feature prominently. There’s finally resolution in Dawn’s shape-shifting curse.
This collection continues to portray a world with armies of slayers, and shifts things as well. As many superhero comics have done, the villains turn the tables and get the public to fear the heroes, the slayers. It sets things up nicely for the ongoing series. The comic is nowhere near as entertaining as the show was at its zenith, but it’s frequently good, which is good enough for me.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: Predators and Prey is more of a collection of stand-alone issues than it is a single cohesive story arc. However, they're all tied together by the fallout of the events of "Harmonic Divergence", the first issue, in which Harmony gets her own MTV reality show, sparking a new pop-culture
Review: I was initially a little bit disappointed when I realized that this wasn't a single arc - I wanted a good solid story. But then I realized that multiple short pieces allow more time to check in with multiple characters, and *then* I realized that one of those short pieces starred Giles and Faith, so I was a happy camper again. Perhaps the downside to spending so much time with Harmony, Satsu, Kennedy, Andrew, Giles, Faith, and Dawn is that there's an unfortunate scarcity of Xander, and zero Willow. Still, each of the stories (except maybe "Harmonic Divergence" - Harmony gets old *real* fast) was very entertaining, moved the various pieces of the story along nicely, and was full of Buffy-style banter. (I particularly liked watching Andrew and Buffy team up.) The art continues to be good, although there were a few places where I couldn't always tell who a character was supposed to be at first glance. But, overall, it was a fun, fast read; made me giggle at more than a few places; and has at least temporarily sated my Buffyverse cravings. Now when's the next one coming out? 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Don't read this series unless you've seen the show, and don't read this volume until you've read the other four first. "Harmonic Divergence" would probably make sense on its own, but all of the rest of them build pretty heavily on what's come before.
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trend for vampires... and sparking a flame of outrage and fear towards the Slayers who are preying on the new celebrities. In "Swell", Satsu and Kennedy intercept a monster bearing a terrible cargo - a vamped-out Hello Kitty-esque doll, who's not nearly as cute and cuddly as he appears. "Predators and Prey" involves Buffy and Andrew tracking down a group of slayers who've gone rogue in Italy. "Safe" checks in with Giles and Faith as they visit a Slayer Sanctuary that is not all that it claims to be. In "Living Doll", Dawn gets her turn in the spotlight as we finally get an end to - and an explanation of - the thricewise business. There are also some short stories (3-4 pages) included at the end, featuring a day on set with Harmony, and an ad campaign for Vampy Cat.Review: I was initially a little bit disappointed when I realized that this wasn't a single arc - I wanted a good solid story. But then I realized that multiple short pieces allow more time to check in with multiple characters, and *then* I realized that one of those short pieces starred Giles and Faith, so I was a happy camper again. Perhaps the downside to spending so much time with Harmony, Satsu, Kennedy, Andrew, Giles, Faith, and Dawn is that there's an unfortunate scarcity of Xander, and zero Willow. Still, each of the stories (except maybe "Harmonic Divergence" - Harmony gets old *real* fast) was very entertaining, moved the various pieces of the story along nicely, and was full of Buffy-style banter. (I particularly liked watching Andrew and Buffy team up.) The art continues to be good, although there were a few places where I couldn't always tell who a character was supposed to be at first glance. But, overall, it was a fun, fast read; made me giggle at more than a few places; and has at least temporarily sated my Buffyverse cravings. Now when's the next one coming out? 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Don't read this series unless you've seen the show, and don't read this volume until you've read the other four first. "Harmonic Divergence" would probably make sense on its own, but all of the rest of them build pretty heavily on what's come before.
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LibraryThing member lithicbee
A just-okay collection of a few disconnected stories. We finally reach the end of Dawnie's transformations in this one, which is nice. I am looking forward to more world-shaking, long-arc stories after this (fingers crossed).
LibraryThing member Rhinoa
Harmony is back and is gaining support for vampires. She has her own reality television show and is turning the human population against Slayers. She claims they are abusing their power and all they want to do is kill. Doesn't help that some Slayers have gone rogue and Buffy had been raising money
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to support her operation through less than above board means. Now humanity is against the Slayers as well as Twilight and the other demons/vampires. Show Less
LibraryThing member burnit99
Harmony gets her own reality show, and the fallout from that turns most of humanity against the slayers. Go figure. Andrew screws up, but earns Buffy's trust. Faith and Giles have an adventure of their own, and Dawn undergoes one more, final transmogrification. Some good stuff here, although the
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crisp humorous irony of prior issues (and the show) is a tad lacking. Show Less
LibraryThing member savageknight
Not too strong a collection here - even with the inclusion of a Faith/ Giles story - as I'm definitely not a fan of Harmony. Also, there are some stories which don't necessarily help the whole "thousand slayer" storyline and make things feel like they're just dragging. This was the first time in
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the S8 collections that I found myself wondering how soon before it gets wrapped up. Mid-season slump? :) Show Less
LibraryThing member BookSpot
Predators and Prey: Buffy Season 8 Volume 5 was probably the least realistic, strangest, and most out-there volume so far . . . and also the one I enjoyed most. Go figure. Without giving too much away, Harmony gets a The Hills-esque reality show, Slayers become hated, evil robotic toy vampires are
See, kind of crazy – and I left some stuff out.
This volume is definitely not trying to do things that could be on a show, it’s taking full advantage of it’s medium. And for this instance, at least, it works.
Both Harmony and Kennedy (who I didn’t recognize for a bit – again I’m having some trouble recognizing characters in their comic form) were much less annoying than I found them on the show. I think my reaction to Harmony was due to her different location, etc. Kennedy however might have been different than on the show.
The evil robot vamps cats wanting to eat the girls’ ovaries (seriously) brings me back to the girl power thing (the lack thereof), though. I don’t know if this is supposed to be some reverse girl power thing. But having one of your ‘villains’ want to eat the Slayers’ ovaries is … I don’t even know.
Buffy and Andrew’s trip seemed to be back to Slayer Buffy and I really liked that. The story with Faith once again required you to know Faith’s back-story to really understand and enjoy it.
“Living Doll” was a bit creepy and didn’t do that much, but it was a nice resolution for Dawn. I also enjoyed the artwork there.
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discovered, a haven for Slayers may or may not be what it seems, Buffy and Andrew have to work together to find a group of rogue Slayers, and Buffy has to help Dawn (again). See, kind of crazy – and I left some stuff out.
This volume is definitely not trying to do things that could be on a show, it’s taking full advantage of it’s medium. And for this instance, at least, it works.
Both Harmony and Kennedy (who I didn’t recognize for a bit – again I’m having some trouble recognizing characters in their comic form) were much less annoying than I found them on the show. I think my reaction to Harmony was due to her different location, etc. Kennedy however might have been different than on the show.
The evil robot vamps cats wanting to eat the girls’ ovaries (seriously) brings me back to the girl power thing (the lack thereof), though. I don’t know if this is supposed to be some reverse girl power thing. But having one of your ‘villains’ want to eat the Slayers’ ovaries is … I don’t even know.
Buffy and Andrew’s trip seemed to be back to Slayer Buffy and I really liked that. The story with Faith once again required you to know Faith’s back-story to really understand and enjoy it.
“Living Doll” was a bit creepy and didn’t do that much, but it was a nice resolution for Dawn. I also enjoyed the artwork there.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I have to admit I really enjoyed this, and I wonder if that's almost a sign of Stockholm Syndrome, or at least getting more used to the comic book form, than it's to the merits of this particular volume. Spoilers below, so don't jump on me if you continue reading the review--you've been warned.
It's
Next up in "Swell" we get demonic stuffed vampkitties. Yes, really. And on a side note, I wasn't thrilled with the Buffy lesbian storyline, because among other things, it seemed more male fantasy than character development. But I'm even more annoyed at the insistence here that Buffy is absolutely, positively straight no matter how much she liked having sex with a woman! As one reviewer pointed out, it's a bit reminiscent of the annoying Willow is absolutely, positively 100 percent lesbian even though she was obviously very attracted and very much in love with both Xander and Oz (and admitted to having had a crush on Giles.)
"Predators and Prey" featured some bonding between Buffy and Andrew. Andrew has never been even remotely a favorite character of mine. Yet I have to admit, I liked this segment and the last scene between them at the end. That may be because I felt throughout this series I haven't felt there's been enough of the characters connecting this way.
"Safe" features two of my favorite Buffy characters--Faith and Giles. I don't see enough of Giles in this series to make me happy--I'm rather sorry he's been set aside and isn't more involved with Buffy and the potentials.
"Living Doll" finally gives us some resolution with Dawn. And like "Predators and Prey" I liked it because at the end we get a sense of connection--between Buffy and Dawn I've rarely seen between the characters in the Season Eight comics that seem so focused on monsters and action scenes over character development.
On the other hand, not much here advanced the whole Twilight story arc.
It's
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rather scattered and choppy actually. In "Harmonic Divergence" Harmony has a reality show, making vampires popular and making it possible to frame Slayers as the enemy. I liked Harmony on Angel; she was always good for comic relief, and I did like the idea that swelling the ranks of the "Chosen One"--or two into thousands means both that vampires and Slayers are outed--and that it has consequences. It's also nice that we finally have a Latina character in the Buffyverse beyond Mummy Girl, but sheesh, she has to be a gang member?Next up in "Swell" we get demonic stuffed vampkitties. Yes, really. And on a side note, I wasn't thrilled with the Buffy lesbian storyline, because among other things, it seemed more male fantasy than character development. But I'm even more annoyed at the insistence here that Buffy is absolutely, positively straight no matter how much she liked having sex with a woman! As one reviewer pointed out, it's a bit reminiscent of the annoying Willow is absolutely, positively 100 percent lesbian even though she was obviously very attracted and very much in love with both Xander and Oz (and admitted to having had a crush on Giles.)
"Predators and Prey" featured some bonding between Buffy and Andrew. Andrew has never been even remotely a favorite character of mine. Yet I have to admit, I liked this segment and the last scene between them at the end. That may be because I felt throughout this series I haven't felt there's been enough of the characters connecting this way.
"Safe" features two of my favorite Buffy characters--Faith and Giles. I don't see enough of Giles in this series to make me happy--I'm rather sorry he's been set aside and isn't more involved with Buffy and the potentials.
"Living Doll" finally gives us some resolution with Dawn. And like "Predators and Prey" I liked it because at the end we get a sense of connection--between Buffy and Dawn I've rarely seen between the characters in the Season Eight comics that seem so focused on monsters and action scenes over character development.
On the other hand, not much here advanced the whole Twilight story arc.
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LibraryThing member EmScape
This volume is made up of several singular issues, instead of a continued storyline like the last few volumes. The main theme is the paradigm shift caused by the popularity of Harmony's reality show and the adulation of vampires, making Buffy and her crew the "bad guys." Compounding matters are a
The art and writing are done by several different folks in this volume and I continue to like Jeanty's art the best. His characters are the most recognizable and realistic-looking. Harmony doesn't look a lot different from Buffy in a lot of the panels which can be confusing. I also welcomed the return of the Faith and Giles subplot. Oh, and Dawn's adventure with the thricewise, Kenny, is resolved.
Overall, a decent issue, but not the best.
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couple of rogue slayer groups acting as though they are above the law and built to rule the world. It's saddening, and even I found the stuffed vampire cats a little adorable. I've never really liked Harmony, just as I despise the Kardashians, but it's entirely believable that the nation would go crazy over her. The art and writing are done by several different folks in this volume and I continue to like Jeanty's art the best. His characters are the most recognizable and realistic-looking. Harmony doesn't look a lot different from Buffy in a lot of the panels which can be confusing. I also welcomed the return of the Faith and Giles subplot. Oh, and Dawn's adventure with the thricewise, Kenny, is resolved.
Overall, a decent issue, but not the best.
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LibraryThing member karinnekarinne
Predators and Prey . . . still good, but not as consistently likeable for me as the first four volumes.
I don't like Harmony. I have never found her as funny as the writers apparently do. The reality teevee show thing feels overdone; I just wish they could have found another way to get the
I don't like Harmony. I have never found her as funny as the writers apparently do. The reality teevee show thing feels overdone; I just wish they could have found another way to get the
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anti-Slayer sentiment going. However, the non-Harmony-centric issues were pretty good, especially Safe and titular issue. Show Less
LibraryThing member A_Reader_of_Fictions
Harmony (remember her?) gets her own reality television show. Twilight, the evil organization trying to stop the slayers, creates some seriously creepy vampire cat toys and uses Harmony's show to turn people against slayers and pro-vampire. Buffy and Andrew take on an evil sect of slayers. Giles
First of all, let's talk about Harmony. I never liked her, which I suppose is how you are supposed to feel. However, I would have been totally happy with her not coming back at all, as I am mostly just annoyed by her. If she had to come back, though, this was a good way to do it. She definitely is reality show material. I'm guessing Harmony Bites would air on MTV. No, I would not watch it.
These Twilight plot lines were pretty great, much better than the previous, to me anyway. The evil toys were just funny, in the same way that the giant Stay Puft marshmallow man at the end of Ghostbusters is. The other prong of their attack, making slayers into the bad guys in the eyes of the public, was pretty nifty as well. It definitely plays nicely off of the vampire craze, suggesting that humans are dumb enough to want to become vamps even in the Buffy-verse with the nasty forehead wrinkles and the gruesome shots of Harmony eating folks on television. Yeah, humanity!
The slayers that are out for their own profit and kicked folks off an island so they can live there do not interest me much. What saved this section was definitely Andrew. His speeches about nerdy things, while boring to Buffy and most everyone else in the comic, are almost all delightful to me. Plus, he did the classic Andrew thing where he tries to be helpful, but does so using his talent with demons, which...yeah, oops.
Giles and Faith's section was pretty boring. They didn't really accomplish anything and they don't quite seem to have a dynamic down. I am all for odd pairings, like when Buffy and Andrew went on a car drive and bonded over Daniel Craig as Bond, but Giles and Faith just are not working out.
Dawn's new incarnation is not nearly as awesome as her previous ones. A doll is just not as funny or intense as a giant or a centaur. She also does some more of the "I don't get enough attention from my sister, so I act out" stuff, which I can't stand. This ends (somewhat of a spoiler here) with her turned back to a human. Everyone knew it had to happen eventually. I'm not really sure how to feel about this, since her crazy forms were some of the best parts of this series for me. However, I am sure she can still get into ridiculous antics (and from some of the spoilers my dear friends have mentioned, she will) as a human.
Good volume overall. A couple of the sections dragged, but there were some hilarious moments and most of the plot lines were solid.
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and Faith are doing their thing, trying to help slayer outcasts. Dawn is now a doll and in the hands of some creepy guy. Volume 5 is like the middle of a season where there might be an episode here and there related to the big bad, but most of them are off the wall crazy things caused by other folks.First of all, let's talk about Harmony. I never liked her, which I suppose is how you are supposed to feel. However, I would have been totally happy with her not coming back at all, as I am mostly just annoyed by her. If she had to come back, though, this was a good way to do it. She definitely is reality show material. I'm guessing Harmony Bites would air on MTV. No, I would not watch it.
These Twilight plot lines were pretty great, much better than the previous, to me anyway. The evil toys were just funny, in the same way that the giant Stay Puft marshmallow man at the end of Ghostbusters is. The other prong of their attack, making slayers into the bad guys in the eyes of the public, was pretty nifty as well. It definitely plays nicely off of the vampire craze, suggesting that humans are dumb enough to want to become vamps even in the Buffy-verse with the nasty forehead wrinkles and the gruesome shots of Harmony eating folks on television. Yeah, humanity!
The slayers that are out for their own profit and kicked folks off an island so they can live there do not interest me much. What saved this section was definitely Andrew. His speeches about nerdy things, while boring to Buffy and most everyone else in the comic, are almost all delightful to me. Plus, he did the classic Andrew thing where he tries to be helpful, but does so using his talent with demons, which...yeah, oops.
Giles and Faith's section was pretty boring. They didn't really accomplish anything and they don't quite seem to have a dynamic down. I am all for odd pairings, like when Buffy and Andrew went on a car drive and bonded over Daniel Craig as Bond, but Giles and Faith just are not working out.
Dawn's new incarnation is not nearly as awesome as her previous ones. A doll is just not as funny or intense as a giant or a centaur. She also does some more of the "I don't get enough attention from my sister, so I act out" stuff, which I can't stand. This ends (somewhat of a spoiler here) with her turned back to a human. Everyone knew it had to happen eventually. I'm not really sure how to feel about this, since her crazy forms were some of the best parts of this series for me. However, I am sure she can still get into ridiculous antics (and from some of the spoilers my dear friends have mentioned, she will) as a human.
Good volume overall. A couple of the sections dragged, but there were some hilarious moments and most of the plot lines were solid.
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LibraryThing member alwright1
This volume was pretty uneven. I don't really enjoy Harmony and her reality tv show. I did enjoy the Buffy/Andrew and Giles/Faith issues. There wasn't really an overarching theme to this volume. I wish it felt like the Slayer organization had more of a plan instead of just reacting to the big
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baddies related to Twilight as they pop-up Show Less
LibraryThing member AVoraciousReader
*Book source ~ Library
Contains 5 stories in the continuing Season 8 of the Buffyverse, where vampires are suddenly the hot new thing because of the ditz Harmony getting her own reality tv show and propaganda against the slayers have forced them into hiding.
Harmonic Divergence~ Ok, somehow stupid
Swell ~ Stuffed vampire kitties used to take out the slayers. Really, Twilight? How lame ass can you get? And leave it to Harmony to put a different spin on it. I’m serious. Can’t someone just stake her already and make it look like she tripped and fell on a fence or something? Great and, at times, gross illustrations. Not something I’d like translated to the big or little screen anytime soon.
Predators and Prey ~ Ah! An Andrew story. I gotta admit that I kinda love Andrew. He’s so…such a…well, he provides much needed comic relief. And he’s come a long way since being Warren’s bitch. Not a bad story, but the illustrations are weak.
Safe ~ This Giles and Faith story about a Slayer sanctuary where girls who were Chosen, but don’t want to be can go and be safe is a decent one. The illustrations are pretty good, too.
Living Doll ~ Thank goodness the Dawn storyline gets wrapped up in this one. I loved Dawn’s look as a doll, but the rest of the illustrations are so-so.
Super Short Shorts at the end of the graphic novel
Harmony Bites ~ Again with that dumbass Harmony. And now Clem is hanging with her? I thought he had better taste than that. Gah! I’m not overly fond of the illustrations.
Vampy Cat Play Friend ~ Well, that escalated quickly. I like the illustrations for this one.
Advertisements at the back of the book
Q&A with Harmony Kendall ~ Dumb as a box of rocks. When the hell will this end?!
Slayers: Why they hate America ~ Man, bad PR sucks for the slayers.
Contains 5 stories in the continuing Season 8 of the Buffyverse, where vampires are suddenly the hot new thing because of the ditz Harmony getting her own reality tv show and propaganda against the slayers have forced them into hiding.
Harmonic Divergence~ Ok, somehow stupid
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Harmony has ended up on television with her own reality show and she’s outted vampires. Seriously? Not only that, she’s singlehandedly yanked the slayers into the limelight and made them look like the bad guys. Someone stake her already. I really wish she had died at the end of Angel Season 5. She’s like a cockroach that can’t be killed. It’s a nightmare. The illustrations are excellent though.Swell ~ Stuffed vampire kitties used to take out the slayers. Really, Twilight? How lame ass can you get? And leave it to Harmony to put a different spin on it. I’m serious. Can’t someone just stake her already and make it look like she tripped and fell on a fence or something? Great and, at times, gross illustrations. Not something I’d like translated to the big or little screen anytime soon.
Predators and Prey ~ Ah! An Andrew story. I gotta admit that I kinda love Andrew. He’s so…such a…well, he provides much needed comic relief. And he’s come a long way since being Warren’s bitch. Not a bad story, but the illustrations are weak.
Safe ~ This Giles and Faith story about a Slayer sanctuary where girls who were Chosen, but don’t want to be can go and be safe is a decent one. The illustrations are pretty good, too.
Living Doll ~ Thank goodness the Dawn storyline gets wrapped up in this one. I loved Dawn’s look as a doll, but the rest of the illustrations are so-so.
Super Short Shorts at the end of the graphic novel
Harmony Bites ~ Again with that dumbass Harmony. And now Clem is hanging with her? I thought he had better taste than that. Gah! I’m not overly fond of the illustrations.
Vampy Cat Play Friend ~ Well, that escalated quickly. I like the illustrations for this one.
Advertisements at the back of the book
Q&A with Harmony Kendall ~ Dumb as a box of rocks. When the hell will this end?!
Slayers: Why they hate America ~ Man, bad PR sucks for the slayers.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
160 p.; 6.62 inches
ISBN
1595823425 / 9781595823427