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January 17, 2004
Fray
I picked up the trade paperback of Joss Whedon's Fray on my way home from work yesterday. I'd only read the brief Fray story in the Tales of the Slayers collection prior to this, so I didn't really know what to expect.
Setting the story a couple of centuries after the era depicted in the TV show was a good move; as Jon Pollard noted in his review, setting the story in a very different era makes it much easier for readers to discard any assumptions derived from the TV series. (The same approach worked out pretty well in the Tales of the Slayers comics and short stories, which I'd recommend to anyone looking for a Slayer fix.)
Melaka Fray is by no means a typical Slayer. Someone whose first question on being informed that she is the Chosen One who will lead the fight against vampires is "What's a vampire?" was always going to be a very different proposition to Faith or Buffy or any of the Potentials. Especially given that this Chosen One doesn't have a Watcher to guide her and lives in a world apparently lacking any magical or demonic presence. Living in the slums, Melaka has been working as a thief, making good use of her enhanced strength, speed and healing powers. Soon she's faced with unimpeachable proof that vampires are back in the world, and the story of how Melaka takes up her calling fits nicely into eight action-packed episodes.
Joss Whedon delivers a nicely paced storyline, one which only hints at some of the motivations of the major players and frequently wrong-foots the reader. The trademarked Whedon drollery is firmly in place, along with the occasional subversion of genre cliches which he does so well. The artwork by Karl Moline and Andy Owens does a fine job of portraying the futuristic, run down city where the story is set and rendering the many fight scenes comprehensible. Equally importantly, they do an excellent job of portraying Melaka Fray herself; a gangly young woman who was nevertheless comfortable with her enhanced physical abilities.
Fray is a worthy successor to seven years of televised Slaying. I'd certainly be happy to read more stories about Melaka Fray, though I don't suppose Joss will have time to write more stories any time soon. As for the rumour that he might take over New X-Men from Grant Morrison, I think that the only possible downside of what scenario is that putting out a monthly comic would get in the way of his efforts to bring more stories to the big or small screen. If someone would just pay Joss to sit down and crank out an entire storyline for a run on New X-Men in one go then I for one would be happy to read it.
Posted by John at January 17, 2004 10:50 PM
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