Even though the comics don't work for me (I gave up on them a while ago), I still care about what happens to the characters I've loved for more than a decade.

This is exactly how I feel! And why I can get a little shirty if people imply I shouldn't care just because I don't invest my time very heavily (/really at all) in the comics - because I still invest (and have invested over the past twelve years) so much of my time in BtVS and care a lot about the characters.