Customer Reviews

Fray

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If the pivotal moment in the original story of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was when the blonde walked down the alley and kicked the butt of the monster that attacked her, thereby reversing generations of horror movie stereotypes, then the key moment in the story of "Fray" is when her Watcher shows up to train her in the fight against the vampires and our heroine pauses a beat (i.e., a frame with no dialogue) before asking "What is a vampire?" This is because Joss Whedon's story is set in the 23rd century, some two hundred years after "a Slayer, possibly with some mystical allies, faced an apocalyptic army of demons. And when it was done...they were all gone. All demons, all magics, banished from this earthly dimension." What happened to that particular Slayer? The chronicles do not say, apparently, but we learn that she was the last to be called. That is, until Melaka Fray.

Fray is a grabber, who works for Gunther, a guy who has been mutated into a fish (this is a future where apparently a hole in the ozone and other ecological problems create mutations on a Stan Lee-like level), grabbing artifacts and sundry items of value, all the way trying to avoid her sister, Erin, a copy. In an interesting parallel to "BtVS," Melaka develops a relationship with and is trained by her second Watcher, the demon Urkonn of the D'avvrus, who looks like a demon with the lower half of his face ripped off, and who is frequently enraged by the young woman he is trying to teach to be a Slayer. This is because Fray has no frame of reference regarding why anybody should want to fight the lurks. If Urkonn cannot get Fray to accept her calling, then (altogether now) it could be the end of this futuristic world as we are learning to know it. The result is interesting and can certainly help to fill the void left by the end of Whedon's cult classic television show.

Ultimately, the eight issue of Dark Horse Comics' "Fray" are about the calling of a Slayer. After all, there has to be something pretty interesting going on if a Slayer has finally been called after two centuries, and there are several familial entanglements with which Fray has to contend. Besides, you should not be surprised when you get to Fray's final battle to learn that once again Whedon is playing with our expectations, albeit this time within the context of his own Slayer mythos. He is also obviously setting us up for a sequel that should have more of a payoff than this first effort. Working with Whedon on this project are penciller Karl Moline, who created Fray's look, inker Andy Owens, and colorists Dave Stewart and Michelle Madsen. The artwork is growing on me, because while the backgrounds are a lot sparser than I would like to see in a futuristic setting, Fray's face has some nice qualities and you can actually see how she matures over the course of the mini-series. The back of the book has an extended sketchbook by Moline showing the development of the characters and alternative cover ideas.

Fray is a new chapter in the history of the Slayer. Buffy is long gone and so is the vampire menace. But as the years have gone by, the demons are slowly managing to get back into our world.

Fray is thief, plain and simple. But she does have a good heart and tries to take care of others. But years ago her antics resulted in the death of her twin brother. Little does she know she is about to be tapped for something greater.

First a man tells her she is the chosen one (then he sets himself on fire). Next, a huge demon tells her the same thing. But Fray has not been experiencing the signs the demon tells her about; there are no dreams. The demon must convince her of her heritage and train her before another power can open a gateway that will let all of demonkind ravage the Earth once more.

This is a very-well crafted tale and shows the Joss Whedon's genius. One can only hope that there will be more tales of Fray in some form or another. If you like Buffy, you will love Fray.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon wrote this eight issue mini-series for Dark Horse Comics. Taking place in the 23rd century in a Blade Runner-esque world; young "grabber" (pretty much a thief) Melaka Fray finds her world turned upside down when a mysterious demon named Urkonn tells her that she is the Slayer. Faced with a newfound destiny, a tragic past, and plot twists and turns galore; Joss Whedon's Fray is pure brilliance from beginning to end. Whedon's interpretation of future dialogue is amusing to say the least, and his quirky humor which has always been apparent throughout his various television shows is here as well. The art by Karl Moline and Andy Owens is amazing stuff indeed; bringing a surreal look to the dark and gritty future world while showing Mel mature more and more as each chapter passes. The only problem with Fray is in it's pacing. From the time that Mel accepts her destiny to the end of the book, the war against the vampires happens too quickly. If you can get past that though, you'll find some pure comic genius here, Joss Whedon style. Hopefully, Joss will do a much requested follow up to Fray after his current run on Marvel's Astonishing X-Men (also highly recommended).

I was really impressed by this superb graphic novel written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon. While I was expecting a fun and interesting addition to the Slayerverse mythology, I wasn't expecting such a surprisingly nifty take on the mythology that Whedon had established in Buffy and Angel.

The story takes place at some indeterminate place in the future a couple of hundreds years in the future. No Slayer had been called in ages because magic had moved out of earth's dimension. But the vampires have returned, and for the first time in generations a new slayer has been called. The trouble is, apart from being a thief, she doesn't have many of the marks of a slayer--no dreams, no instincts, only the raw physical fighting ability. She is a slayer, but a flawed one.

FRAY is filled with great graphic designs, a fine central storyline, a remarkably complex set of character relations, and some quite stunning plot reversals. I love the conceit of a not-quite-complete-slayer. The fighting skills are clearly the most important part of being a slayer, but Fray has no sense of her heritage, of her destiny, of her vocation. If Buffy at least struggled against her fate, Fray hasn't a hint of what her fate is. When tells the demon who would train her that she really hasn't had the dreams or visions of previous slayers, she is telling the truth. This makes her even more isolated than other slayers, more a loner.

I think anyone who enjoys either graphic novels or any of the work of Joss Whedon is going to love this. Hopefully there will be a follow up. The story ends with things definitely open to future development. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

With big success with big-buget movie scripts, and the critically acclaimed "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Angel," Joss Whedon brings us one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've ever seen. Something about it makes it so beautiful. The artwork, the writing, all of it down to the last pencil outline was awe-dropping. "Fray" is set in the far future where Manhattan has become a mutant disease in which no one notcies the monsters that roam the streets of Manhattan. Then comes along Fray. A street girl, not so different than Buffy, discovered the power to slay the vampires. And with her trusty demon watcher, Urkon, together they begin training and getting ready until the battle begins. The future never looked so good. Fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel" must obtain this graphic novel for their collection. I know I did.

Comic books are a recent addition to my life. Until recently, I had always assumed that they were kids stuff, a medium for preteens. While I realized that the stories had potential (thanks largely to movies like Spider-man 1 and 2, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Begins, and X-Men 1 and 2), I thought that the comic versions were out of my league. I was wrong. After reading the first six issues of Joss Whedon's (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) Astonishing X-Men, I knew that the man could translate his genius to the comic medium. After reccomendations for Fray, I finally picked it up and read it. I could not have been more pleased.
Set in an unknown year in the future (a couple centuries have passed), Melaka Fray lives in the slums of Manhattan. The world is a scary place to live in; even the dirtiest and most run-down of neighborhoods in America today have nothing on the sheer desolation of Melaka's world. Dirt and darkness are everywhere, and due to holes in the ozone layer, many people have mutated. Unlike Buffy and Angel, the source material for Fray, there is no magic in the world, it has all disappeared from the world due to some events in the 21st century. Also, there are very few actual demons, however, there are creatures known as lurks. Not much is known about them, but it is assumed that they are screwed up steroid junkies who, for some reason, crave human blood.
Anyway, Melaka Fray is a runner/grabber (read: thief) for a mutated fish creature. She is fast, agile, and strong, which come in handy when pulling jobs. Turns out that she's a vampire slayer. Trouble is that she doesn't know what a vampire is. A demon known as Urkonn is forced to come back to Earth and explain to Fray about vampires/lurks, slayers, and her destiny.
As the story unfolds, we learn about the twisted home life of the Frays, involving sister Erin and (twin) brother Harth. Melaka must train to fight off an impending war against the undead, and must rally the support of a population of humans that has grown apathetic towards most things.
As usual, Whedon gives us a great story, fleshed-out characters, and tons of witty dialogue. The scenes of action are great, the scenes of emotion are powerful, and the humor is on par with Whedon's work. Also, this book introduces the slayer axe (that was later brought into Buffy's final season).
This book will appeal to so many people. If you are a Whedon fan (especially if you enjoy the Buffyverse), you will like this book. If you are a comic book fan, you will like this book. If you are a person who enjoys a good story, you will like this book.

Joss Whedon really is a wonderful writer and Fray just proves it further. It's the story of a slayer being called a few hundred years in the future. It's a great futuristic story and has all of the elements and strengths of Buffy but in a such a new way that it is definitely its own story, so you definitely don't have to know a single thing about the Buffy universe to follow and love this graphic novel. I highly recommend it, I could not put it down until I had finished it.

What does Joss Whedon do when he wants to write about a vampire slayer who's not Buffy? He taps into the past, of course -- or looks into the future.

Fray, written by Whedon and illustrated by Karl Moline, leaps a couple of centuries down the road to a time where flying cars are commonplace and demons roam the Earth. It's a time when people no longer believe in vampires -- a 21st-century slayer, possibly Buffy, vanquished all demons and half-demons from our dimension, we're told -- but now the vampires, or "lurks," are back. And, with a few hundred years of peace in their wake, they find a world without a slayer, a world where the council of Watchers has fallen into disarray and madness, a world where no one is prepared to face or resist them.

At least, not until young thief Melaka Fray is suddenly flooded with power. And a demon, for reasons of his own, takes the place of a Watcher and begins her training.

Fray collects an eight-issue miniseries that is too short by far to tell the full story of Melaka's adventures. After all, Buffy had a feature film, seven seasons of television and a host of comic-book yarns to work with, and she still has storytelling potential to spare. But this book does a great job of introducing an exciting new character, defining her futuristic world (did I mention the flying cars?) and populating it with an interesting array of allies, sidekicks and adversaries. I hope there's more to come.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

I have officially been converted. I can now say that I'm a Joss Whedon fan. I never watched his previous vampire sagas, Buffy and Angel, however, I did catch his excellent series Firefly, his sci-fi series which was more up my alley.

Fray is also a futuristic tale, taking place 200 years into the future of the Buffy universe. It has been a very long time since the last slayer, and the time has come when one has to be called upon. Enter Melaka Fray, a thief with a complicated history. While she's a crook her older sister, Erin, is a police sergeant. To top it off, four years ago her twin brother Harth was killed by a vampire when he was helping her steal and she has never forgiven herself for it. A demon named Urkonn finds Mel and reveals to her that it's her destiny to become a slayer.

That is the set up, and the pay off is quite enjoyable. The story moves along at such a rapid pace that it was impossible for me to get bored. Whedon's writing is very cinematic with plenty of conflict, twists, and surprises. We're introduced to Mel plummeting from a skyscraper and hitting every flying car she can on the way to break her fall. There's a lot of action in every chapter, but plenty of humor, drama and witty dialog in between to balance it out and keep me satisfied.

The artwork by Karl Moline works really well. I had never seen anything he worked on prior to this. I always took the time to appreciate the landscapes of this alternate future, and he's just as adept at illustrating a good fight scene as he is at getting across a character's emotions through facial expressions and body language. Inker Andy Owens, does well and the colors are provided by Dave Stewart whose work I'm very familiar with who is joined by Michelle Madsen here.

A very enjoyable read all the way through. And if you need proof that you don't have to be a Buffy fan prior to reading this to appreciate it, then consider this it. Bring on the sequel!

If you're like me, you want to take the Buffy and Angel DVD boxed sets to your grave, and you MUST read the "Buffy: Season 8" comic that Joss Whedon and company are releasing in March, '07 from Darkhorse. I ordered "Fray" to prepare myself for this extraveganza, and found myself pleasantly surprised and absorbed by the graphic novel style (in spite of a few disconcerting moments of, "wait, who the heck is thinking in the yellow box?" or "Which speech bubble do I read first?", etc.) This was a wonderful short story told in Joss's characteristically fantabulous voice. And the artwork was really fun to interact with - especially the characterization of the characters (and the non-male-gazedness of the female body (less TNA and more facial expressions!)).

The reason for 4 stars (and not 5) is, surprisingly, a weakness in characterization (usually Joss's strong suit). The portrayal of Fray's brother in the past is not nearly sympathetic enough to cause the hurt later on, and he's incredibly difficult to connect with (I think maybe the eyeglasses were a poor choice.) Otherwise, though, the characters are as strong as you might hope!