Before you get too excited let me say that this post is not about a new Buffy TV series or about the movie that others are making without Joss Whedon’s participation. No, this particular bit of news concerns yet another way in which the characters we all know and love from Buffy can live on in another form. In this case, it is via a series of motion comic webisodes based on Whedon’s highly successful series of Buffy Season Eight comics from Dark Horse.

Based on casting notices highlighted by Sci-Fi Wire, we know that the series will be based on the comics and feature the characters Twilight, the Big Bad of Season Eight, and evil British socialite Slayer Lady Genevieve Savidge, who wants to take Buffy’s place atop the Slayer food chain. The webisodes are also looking for actors to voice some other more familiar Buffy TV series characters as well including Faith, Kennedy and Robin Wood. Plus, they’re looking for a bunch of other new characters including a James Bond type.

Over at the Sci-Fi Wire site, they’ve got the full breakdown of exactly what the producers of this project are looking for. So, if you’re interested in getting involved and pursuing those voice acting aspirations, better get your headshots and tapes ready. Or, if you just want to watch, these webisodes go live sometime early next year.

If you’ve been a fan of Joss Whedon and his various creations such as Firefly, Angel, Dollhouse and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, you’re most likely aware that several of these creations have lived on in comic book form after their untimely demise on television. One of the ost popular of these comic book continuations is Buffy: Season Eight, Exec. Produced and occasionally written by Whedon and published by Dark Horse Comics.

With Season Eight scheduled to conclude its run with issue 40, fans are growing concerned that this could be the end of Buffy in comic form. Well don’t worry because Whedon has got you covered. In a recent interview, the creator assured fans of Buffy comics everywhere that he will, indeed, be doing a Season Nine. Although, it might not run quite as long as Season Eight.

“I have had for a long time a conception for Season Nine that is very different from Season Eight,” said Whedon. “It may not run as long, because 40 issues sounds great until you realize that it’s four or five years.” Feel better? Good.

Buffy Season Eight is is comic book stores now.

On Thursday, I had the privilege of sitting down and speaking with Scott Allie, Senior Managing Editor of Dark Horse Comics. The full interview with details on Buffy, the Umbrella Academy and other Dark Horse comics will be up this week, but here are two exclusive insights Scott gave us here at The Flickcast that won’t be announced until today’s Dark Horse panel at Comic-Con in San Diego.

In December, the Buffy comic will take a month break from the main story arc to allow for a Willow one-shot issue. The issue will focus on Willow pre-season eight and on her power greatly increased from the end of the television show and the start of the comic run. During that time span Willow became intimately involved with a snakewoman and that relationship will be intimately explored in the issue. The issue will be written by Buffy creator Joss Weadon, drawn by Fray artist Carl Meline and feature one cover from Jo Chen.

Dark Horse is also announcing today that they will be doing a series of exclusive graphic novels with Janet Evanovich, one of the best selling authors in America with a focus on girl / woman adventures. She will be working with Dark Horse to bring some of her own previously established characters in to their own comic series. The character Dark Horse will be dealing with is Alexander Barnaby, the heroine from Motor Mouth and Metrogirl.

Janet is known for taking young, identifiable female characters who aren’t meant to be detectives and putting them in that role. “The kind of stories she does is what works in a lot of Manga stuff.” Using this, Dark Horse hopes to help bring in the young women who gravitate towards Manga in to the American comics world.