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Date Posted: 09:22:03 09/10/07 Mon
Author: Age
Subject: Another Look at S8 Comic Books 1-3 Spoilers Part 1

Hi Everyone,

It looks like I’m somewhat still in the past by posting another look at comic books 1-3.

Well, I guess it’s appropriate then to say that the insane fit of nostalgia continues.

What follows is a look at the first three comic books of season eight. The first couple of postings are a bit disjointed because I retrieved the items from where I’d placed them amid the other material that I had intended to post about the TV series itself. But, the analysis of the comic books becomes coherent soon after as the second half of the original series of postings was devoted solely to the comics.

As I said, I had intended to post a review of the series along with the following but it got much too long and even more pompous. However, there are concrete examples from the omitted material that are worth a look see. So, at a future time I’ll post them.

Spoiler Warning: there are spoilers for the series, Angel, the comic books 1-3 and for X-Files, Heroes and Harry Potter, the latter two in the final posting.

The metaphor for Heroes is explored in some detail in the final posting.

Here goes:

Okay, let’s get to the theme of the comic books 1-3:

If citizens of a free society attempt to get back the feeling of safety they had before a terrorist attack by using might only, the traditionally labeled male approach, and not getting emotional support, the traditionally labeled female approach, to help them with their pain, fear, and anger, the latter requiring openness and risk, i.e. using might to prevent a future attack now that the menace of attack is firmly in their minds, as symbolized by the dark shadow behind Amy at the end of comic book one, it would be the equivalent of their trying to get above the dangers of the world, as if gods, like Glory’s tower of season five, by resurrecting the equivalent of a male top down parental governing structure they had when they were young to protect them against future attack thereby making themselves powerless children for the sake of security, where the metaphorical movement above the dangers of the world, the resurr-erection (resurrection metaphor like a vampire) of the metaphorical tower to take them above, would actually put them down under, like Xander in his father’s basement, authoritarian governing.

Amongst other things, the depiction of the new slayers’ training in issue two of the comic books is a metaphor for the transformation of adults to children, sitting down in a ring as if at summer camp, with the male (might) top down government rising above them, as depicted by Andrew. Note that the process is begun on Giles’ page of issue two as the slayers, who are standing on their feet, represent the public who look up to their government to protect them, and end with them all sitting down like children in a ring on Andrew’s training pages. Note that in this instance the government is represented by the male watcher, Giles, symbolizing the public’s desire to have the pain and fear caused by the terrorist attack dealt with in a male (might) dominated way by instituting measures to stop another attack from occurring, with Andrew, another male, symbolizing one who will rise above them as watcher in the bottom panel on his pages. In this way, the ring of slayers on Andrew’s pages represents the population all wanting to be safe on the sidelines. (I should mention here however that the circle of slayers does symbolize involvement of a different kind; it’s just that when there’s no threat because everyone is peacefully coexisting as symbolized by the circle, then everyone can be on the sideline as no one needs to step up to the plate for defensive purposes. The involvement is peaceful and will be illustrated when I get to the Women’s Movement metaphor.)

*************************************

Note that the citizen as adolescent who cannot be trusted is depicted metaphorically in the comic books 1-3 by Dawn. Dawn portrays the public in a free society that because of a terrorist attack is seen as a BIG target, hence the metaphor behind her size. But, that size is gained through her lack of judgement in regards to the Thricewise who made her big.

Now, this can be interpreted a couple of ways:

she deliberately made herself big because Buffy, symbolizing citizens of a free society in authority, began to isolate her emotionally as any might only strategy would due to the training of the slayers to stop a future terrorist attack. Dawn has made herself big to show Buffy, those in power, that she is still an emotional individual and isn’t just something to be protected and mistrusted as a possible danger; her size meaning the exact opposite to those in power: she actually should be protected and kept in a castle because of her (big target) size, and watched over as if an adolescent who cannot get to her feet and go off, like an adult, to Berkeley, because that would mean allowing individual freedom and the possibility of future attack (Note Berkeley is in the US and stands for freedom therefore, i.e. land of the free and the home of the brave.)

Or, Dawn is the public as untrustworthy adolescents who look to government to be made safe, and get their wish as metaphorically portrayed in issue one by her being isolated inside the castle, to keep her safe and to watch over her, just in case, because she, the public, can’t be trusted and is unable to get going with her adult life, i.e. get up and going on her own two feet, because she’s made herself a perpetual adolescent. In issue one, Buffy, who represents those in government, in her conversation with Dawn starts level with her, but then goes over her and talks from the TOP DOWN to represent the creation of the authoritative government that cannot trust its citizens because they have proven themselves to be adolescent or are to be treated as such to keep them safe.



*************************************

Anything that would put the top down government’s citizens at risk would not be in the society’s best interest, but just as General Voll believes that the feminizing emotionally empowering (which needs trust) movement has changed men into women and left his society vulnerable to attack as depicted by Andrew’s joining the circle of women in issue two, what Buffy represents, the emotional development of the individual that takes place in a climate of trust, opening to others, must be stamped out and replaced solely with a society based on might alone within a culture of mistrust. Such a society would view anything to do with the emotional development of the individual as promoting risk and going against that society’s best interests as Voll says Buffy does, because it opens the society up to the very risk that a top down Big Brother authoritarian government is mandated to eliminate. This is why Amy as Voll’s agent attempts to assassinate Buffy both as an emotional individual and as the icon of the emotionally empowering culture. In fact Voll brings in the resurrection symbolism of the male, i.e. the erection of the top down government to get the citizens back UP in the air metaphorically (see the plane in his office) to keep them from harm.

His view that the feminine culture, the emotionally empowering culture that requires trust has actually made men into women and left his society’s citizens BIG targets, as Dawn is big, is metaphorically depicted in the first few pages of issue two.

The set of statements goes like this:

title page, everyone was protected and safe in a male (might) dominated society; turn the page, then the liberal left (communist as symbolized by Russian cityscape) women revolted as symbolized by the slayers fighting the ninja costumed slayers, i.e. revolted against their being unseen and having no public value as people or as a feminizing culture just as the ninjas are clothed from head to toe; turn the page, got organized; turn the page, turned men into women as symbolized by Andrew’s joining the slayer circle in the top panel; turn the page, and made the public, as symbolized by Dawn, into huge vulnerable naked, out in the open, come and attack me, targets because men were made weak, as symbolized by little Xander, and acted more like women talking to one another about their feelings, with the holstered cell phone symbolizing the change to women also, than looking out for trouble like men just as Xander is facing away from Dawn, talking to her about her feelings, leading to what Joss Whedon has recast the Sunnydale crater from Voll’s perspective, a massive terrorist attack.

From Voll’s perspective, the public were naively caught with their pants down, their defenses down. Note that on the next page showing Xander’s being splashed with feminizing water and bending as if a phallus going limp, the first two panels at the top that finish Xander’s and Dawn’s segment also begin Voll’s as premise for his activity underground whose motivation gets revealed as the scar on his chest. In other words, the two panels of Xander getting splashed and going limp, so to speak, are the conclusion (the panels side-to-side symbolize a sisterly society) which form the premise for what Voll is aiming to do: resurrect male dominated society, and get men to be men again to keep everyone safe.

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