The Buffy comics seem to cut in some time after the end of Season 7... so, by then the psychological hangover from the events of the finale is a long-past memory...
That being said - some of the characters seem to have lingering issues with past events, and for some, it's like it never happened...
The "Season 8" comics are very uneven...
I really can't say whether or not you need to read ahead for your presentation or not, because I don't know how you want to define "mourning"... There are lots of places where individual characters have "moments" - e.g. Xander remembering Anya - but it's not a theme or plot arc at all... what's there are offhand comments or references to "off camera action" that the reader is not (yet?) privy to.
no subject
That being said - some of the characters seem to have lingering issues with past events, and for some, it's like it never happened...
The "Season 8" comics are very uneven...
I really can't say whether or not you need to read ahead for your presentation or not, because I don't know how you want to define "mourning"... There are lots of places where individual characters have "moments" - e.g. Xander remembering Anya - but it's not a theme or plot arc at all... what's there are offhand comments or references to "off camera action" that the reader is not (yet?) privy to.