BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 10Media Release -- Since 2007, Dark Horse Comics has provided readers with the canonical continuation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's trials and tribulations in the fight against the forces of evil. "Buffy" is about to begin its tenth season adventures, with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10" launching in March 2014 by previous "Angel & Faith" creative team Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs, while a new volume of "Angel & Faith" hits in April 2014 helmed by writer Victor Gischler with art by Will Conrad.

Following on the success of its "Buffy" line, Dark Horse will expanded their stable of Whedonverse properties with the January 2014 launch of "Serenity," a canonical continuation of the fan-beloved space-western, written by Zack Whedon and featuring art by former "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" interior artist Georges Jeanty.

Ahead of the publisher's NYCC panel -- to be held Friday at 6:30 PM ET in room 1a06 -- Comic Book Resources spoke with Gage, Gischler and Dark Horse Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie for an exclusive look at "Buffy Season 10," "Serenity" and the coming of a new breed of Vampire.

As "Buffy Season 9" and "Angel & Faith" came to a close, readers saw certain story points and characters return to status quo: Dawn was saved and (mostly) everyone survived their respective battles. On the other hand, there were a couple radical changes to the world as the Scoobies know it: London was suddenly flooded by magic-mutated residents, and the rules of Vampirism seemed to be drastically altered.

"Somewhere near the end of 'Season 9,' Sierra [Hahn] or Freddye [Lins] proposed a tagline for issue #16: 'Back to Basics,'" said Allie. "It was a particular turn in the plot, and the fact was it was a red herring. Buffy was trying to turn her attention to slaying -- to basics -- when everything was actually about to go to hell: get very high level and kind of cosmic, with Illyria coming into it. But when we saw that ad, we thought, 'Hey, that is what we want to do.'

"'Season 9' was different than 'Season 8' in that we got it focused on the core characters, eliminating a lot of the big world-shaking, army stuff," Allie continued. "We focused on the characters, but we also split the characters apart. 'Season 10' won't just be about us bringing them back together -- it'll be about them actively bringing themselves back together. The outcome of 'Season 9,' both in 'Angel & Faith' and in 'Buffy,' brings magic back, but it takes it all down a notch, and messes with the vampire thing in a way that makes it all a challenge again, but a challenge they can engage with on a very personal level."

With "Season 10" comes shifts in the creative teams behind the books. Gage and Isaacs have stepped over from "Angel & Faith" to take the helm on "Buffy," while Victor Gischler, who penned the "Season 9" spin-off "Spike: A Dark Place," takes over "Angel & Faith" with artist Will Conrad. While "Buffy Season 9" writer Andrew Chambliss was in attendance at the "Season 10" writer's summit, Allie said he's now focused primarily on his television writing, and if he pens anything for "Season 10," it will be something small.

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