// July 22nd, 2011 // // Misc
The first “real” day of Comic-Con after Preview Night was capped off with the opportunity to chat with some of the most fun and interesting people involved with Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, including Dark Horse editor Scott Allie, writer extraordinaire Jane Espenson, and Andrew himself, Tom Lenk.
I had worked up a bunch of starter questions to get the ball rolling, and roll, it did! We talked about how the feminist core of the series spurs writers involved with it to be more inclusive of other sexualities. We talked about Andrew’s character and how it grew organically once Tom was cast and the writers started writing the part for him. Scott talked about the non-reaction that the powers that be at Fox had to Buffy’s tryst with fellow female Slayer Satsu in the comics series. In response to a question about who from the Buffy series would have been a good choice to be an LGBT character, the response from Jane was, essentially, anyone. There isn’t anything to prevent a character from evolving and changing or revealing things about her or himself, and it wouldn’t be any more or less surprising or out-of-the-ordinary than the way things work in real life.
There were some great questions from the audience, including one about trans inclusivity in the Buffyverse (currently none, as far as the panelists were aware.) I mused about whether a person whose soul was female but whose body was male could be chosen as a Slayer?
A few questions touched on vampire sexuality, and how likely it would be that most vampires had experienced same-sex relationships and sex, given that they have hundreds of years to kill. Jane recalled a quote from Joss Whedon that was meant to be attributed to Spike or Angel (not sure which) that went something like, “I’ve lived for over a hundred years, don’t you think I’ve tried just about everything?” So all those fantasies about Spike and Angel pairings might not be completely out of the question!
Tom’s comedic chops were on full display, and he brought the house down several times. He’s currently filming a documentary about the making of his one-person show, Nerdgasm, and about bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe Fest this August. If you see the show’s headed to your neck of the woods, you should check it out!
The panelists were great, the audience was fantastic, and it was a really great way to spend an hour at Comic-Con. Thanks to everyone who came and shared the experience with us!
Northwest Press is returning to Comic-Con International in San Diego again this year, to team up with the fantastic Prism Comics and appear at their deluxe convention booth. Come and see NWP artists Jon Macy (Teleny and Camille), Justin Hall (Glamazonia: The Uncanny Super-Tranny), Dylan Edwards (Transposes), Charles “Zan” Christensen (The Power Within), and Leia Weathington (The Legend of Bold Riley)
