Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion – Review

“The essential unofficial guide to the Whedonverse” is what the back cover headline calls Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion.  Trufax, I say.  Trufax.

Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion (hereafter the Companion) is a hefty trade paperback: 485 pages of scholarly essays, actor and writer interviews, and more.  It covers Whedon’s work from the Buffy feature film through the many TV series, to comics, Dr. Horrible, and beyond. The last essay in the book (before appendices such as “Mapping the Whedonverses: Whedon Studies 1999 and Beyond by Alysa Hornick) is entitled “Six Reasons Why Joss Whedon is the Perfect Director for the Avengers” written by Matthew Hurd.  I, for one, am anxious to see the proof of those reasons myself!

Having done the butterfly bit (flitting and sipping) with the Companion, I sat down to really get to the meat of the matter over the weekend, and I’ve found myself astounded by the depth of thought and research put into the book itself, not just the individual essays.  The book is arranged into sections, arranged consecutively by publication/broadcast dates, except for the movies, which are reserved to the last section (except Serenity, always a special case – in this case, sharing a section with Firefly.)  Each TV series has a section of its own, weighted (of course) heavily towards the Buffy monument, but with Firefly/Serenity a close second, and even Dr. Horrible has his moment on the metaphorical couch, being psychoanalytically dissected.

Some essays that I particularly enjoyed:

• Note to Self, Religion Freaky: When Buffy Met Biblical Studies by Ronald Helfrich. A deconstruction of scholarly criticism on Buffy, and a comparison to Biblical criticism, interpretation, and exegesis.
• Lindsey and Angel: Reflecting Masculinity by Lorna Jowett. Examines the way that Lindsey is the dark mirror to Angel, and how his repeated reinvention of himself echoes Angel’s shifts of focus.  Also an intriguing commentary on themes of the body as a transitory and changeable vessel in Angel.
• “The Strength and Conviction to Lose So Relentlessly”: Heroism in Angel by Ian Mathers. Six pages expounding one of my favorite lines from Angel: “If there’s no great, glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do, because that’s all there is.”
• The Ethics of Malcolm Reynolds by Mike Bailey. Exactly what it says on the tin, with added Emmanuel Kant.
• Nathan Fillion Misbehaves All Across the Whedonverse by Lynnette Porter.  Fillion, people.  In all his, um, selfness.  If you don’t know what I mean, check out @NathanFillion on Twitter.  If you still don’t get it, read this essay, and then go back to @NathanFillion.

Interviews with Jane Espenson, Alexis Denisof, and Tim Minear highlight the sections on Buffy, Angel, and Firefly/Serenity respectively, and really bring the immersive feel of the book home to the reader.  I feel like I’ve just finished a six-week intensive course, and am just stepping back out into daylight.

The Companion is not recommended for the faint of heart, the non-Whedon enthusiast, or those with limits on weight-lifting.  Ok, it’s probably not more than two pounds, but I don’t recommend trying to read it in bed.

The Companion is unequivocally recommended for fans and academics who want to know what the fuss is all about.  With solid research, well-constructed arguments, and a witty turn of phrase, these essays will delight scholars of media and fandom.