Spike: After The Fall #2 – Review

By: Brian Lynch (writer), Franco Urru (art), Art Lyon, Tom Smith (colors), Robbie Robbins (letters)

While Spike remains the highlight of the book (rightfully so), this series isn’t without its problems. The book in many ways requires you to both watch Angel and have read the post-television comics. So while this is probably great for people who have, it’s going to be a tough sell for the “have nots”.

In true Angel form, the dialogue and character relationships remain consistent with the show, so that’s definitely on Brian Lynch’s side. And while Spike is a very engaging character as is the post-television world of Angel, the trouble is how much you need to know about both to get what’s going on. We learn in Angel: After The Fall that Illyria is losing control over her body and is now switching back and forth between herself and Fred. I’m not saying there needs to be a huge recap but making the assumption that the readers of this comic will have read the others and watched the show is a mistake.

My complaints remain the same for Franco Urru’s artwork. The backgrounds still lack detail as do the characters. Even though his close-ups look nice, he rarely uses them because there’s so much action. The extreme close-up of Spike in vampire-mode is probably the best example of this. There aren’t many more details here than any other panel, but Urru really makes them count. The last panel is my favorite, I can’t imagine a worse situation for a protector than being chained up in a room with the zombified bodies of their flock.

Though prior experience with Spike and his world are a plus, issue two is better than issue one. Lynch does a good job of keeping things interesting with great little moments, even though it can be confusing at times. I just wish we could get a flashback or something to bridge the gap between the show and the comic for those of us who haven’t been following it. (Grade: B-)

– Ben Berger

Spike: After The Fall #1 – Review

By Brian Lynch (writer), Franco Urru (art), Art Lyon, Tom Smith (colors), Robbie Robbins (letters)

The problem with Joss Whedon’s properties being continued in comics is that he can’t write all of them. The result is like Coke Zero… almost, but not quite. Spike was one of the most popular characters on Angel and Buffy so it’s no surprise that his story has been continued. I just wish we could get a better setup of his world.

Brian Lynch’s writing of Spike is on point with Whedon’s. Most of the dialogue comes from Spike, and he feels just as cynical as always. Unfortunately, the people he’s protecting are so annoying it’s unclear if they’re just around to annoy him. If you were living in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles would you venture out into the wasteland without a champion to protect you? Me either. My biggest criticism, however, is the lack of setup. If I hadn’t seen the finale of Angel I would’ve been totally lost. Even still, there’s a lot of unanswered questions: Why is LA still in ruins? Is it a global epidemic? I don’t need a lot, but a flashback or two would go a long way in making this book more accessible.

Franco Urru’s artwork is inconsistent and the “effects” are heightened by Art Lyon’s coloring. With the exception of Spike, every character blends into the buildings, which blend into the sky. It all looks very muddy. This gives a good, albeit standard post-apocalyptic feel, so I understand the heavy use of reds and earth tones. I know part of it is because Spike needs to move around at dusk or later to avoid direct sunlight, but there’s gotta be a better way. That being said, there are a few good panels of the devastation, which give a great sense of loneliness; Spike’s group may be the last human survivors in LA.

Spike: After The Fall may turn out to be very good. Maybe Lynch is a slow starter, and we’ve yet to really see where this is going. I’m finding it tough though, and I watched the show! So I can only imagine how it would be for a newcomer. One thing’s for sure: without some clarity as to what’s going on this series is in danger of losing readership. (Grade C+)

– Ben Berger

Angel: After the Fall #6 – Review

By Joss Whedon (plot), Brian Lynch (plot & script), Tim Kane, David Messina, Stephen Mooney & John Byrne (illustrators) & Ilaria Traversi, Lisa Jackson & Leonard O’grady (colors)

There are ways of doing a good anthologies comic and there are ways of doing it awful. The way done for Angel #6, sadly, is the latter. It’s weird because the previous Tales from Buffy were pretty good. The stories here are inconclusive or just non-interesting at all.

The tales told in this issue are gathered by the telepathic fish. It’s a nice decent resource, I give them that. The first has Spike meeting with Fred who turns again into Illyria – in hell anything can happen. Connor’s story deals with him remembering who he really is, and what happened to him in the previous years. Eventually, he gets caught by some nasty demons, and it leaves us with a big cliffhanger! Damn. Serialized short stories? Not good for a montly book like this. Sorry!

Finally, there’s a Lorne story – which is complete – but so boring and tedious, that it’s pointless. It’s written in rhyme (it feels more like a song that Lorne sings), recapping what happened to him before.

I really just wanted to read and see what happened after the last episode of Angel on season 5, like they promised, but I’ll just have to keep on waiting for the payoff. Sigh. (Grade: D)

-Daniel Yanez

Angel: After the Fall #5 – Review

By Joss Whedon (plot), Brian Lynch (plot & script), Franco Urru (art) & Jason Jensen & Art Lyon (colors)

This issue redeems the previous one; every character makes an appearance, and they deal with a battle of epic proportions. Woo!
After Wesley’s disappearance, Lorne realizes he needs to get everybody together for the big fight. Angel is preparing for the battle like he has never seen. What he goes through is very fun, while lots of people gather to watch. The odds of winning are completely against Angel, and it seems as though he’s very unlikely to survive (being human and all). But there’s a lot at stake, and if he succeeds, L.A. belongs to him.

Soon enough, his friends join the battle, making it more interesting and less lob sided. Yes, I know that Angel’s really supposed to fight this one alone, but remember that cheating in hell is supposed to be allowed! The cliffhanger we get is great and awful at the same time, because we have to wait three more issues to find out how this whole thing concludes, and well, that sucks!

IDW plans on releasing another three issue series, retelling the story of what happened “the night of the battle that changed everything”. And while this mini-series may cheat some fans out of a proper story, I’ve got faith that we’ll be very entertained. Regarding the art on the series, Urru’s work either improved or I grew to like it. Either way, I’m very satisfied with how this maxi-series is shaping up. (Grade: A-)

-Daniel Yanez

Angel: After the Fall #4 – Review

By Joss Whedon (plot), Brian Lynch (plot & script), Franco Urru (illustrator) & Jason Jensen (colored)

Connor is in great danger because Angel killed the son of a ruling Lord of Los Angeles. Angel is forced to use a magic book to heal himself (looks like the Book of the Dead), since we learned last issue that he’s human again. He hasn’t seen Gunn for a long time and he knows he’s probably in danger. So, Angel and Wesley go to meet Lorne (Lord of Silver Lake) and get a bit of assistance to prepare them for the big fight that looming. Gunn tries to get inside Wolfram & Hart to retrieve something that he wants but does not need. Sorry for being so vague, but this is very cryptic. Giving up on the search, Gunn and his gang destroy the remains of W&H, along with whatever held Wesley’s spirit!

I wouldn’t recommend this book for non-fans of the TV series – it just has too many references to it. While there isn’t much action happening this issue, we do get a lot of character development and the return of Lorne, which I consider one of the weakest characters of the series. (Grade: C+)

-Daniel Yanez

Angel: After The Fall #1-3 – Review

By: Joss Whedon & Brian Lynch (Plot), Brian Lynch (Scripts), Franco Urru (Illustrations)

Following the success of Buffy: Season 8 on comics, comes Angel: After the Fall (or the Season 6 we never got). Joss Whedon plotted the series with Brian Lynch. I don’t think it would have the same success if Whedon hadn’t contributed (heck, I wouldn’t buy it).

While Buffy: S8 stayed true to its roots, Angel seems to be quite the opposite: characters had changed dramatically from the end of season 5. Only a few months have passed. Everything is bigger and more dangerous, and the hero has a lot of more problems now (since Hell has come to L.A. Gunn is fighting against Angel). What happened?! I won’t spoil it, but there are a lot of surprises along with many plot twists. It also has great cliff hangers at the end of the chapters.

The only detriment in the series is the art of Frank Urru (Spike: Asylum & Shadow Puppets). I don’t like it. It’s undefined, almost incomplete, and missing details. The price is another thing I don’t like. $3.99 for a cardstock cover? I’ll have a regular one, thanks. I can recommend Buffy S8 to my friends, but I’m urging them to pick Angel with fury. (Grade: B+)

-Daniel Yanez