Book Description: A huntress is stalking demons in L.A. Normally this would be a good thing, except she`s leaving survivors and telling them Angel sent her. Now Angel has an army of demons on his tail, hell-bent on revenge. What`s a vampire to do? And how long can his human companions, Cordelia and Wesley, remain safe? Meanwhile, monsters are fleeing the carnage in L.A. and seeking refuge in Sunnydale, where they`re being dealt with by the Slayer. Buffy, Giles, and the gang learn about the havoc, and Buffy determines that she must go to Angel`s side to lend a hand; a decision that does not sit at all well with Buffy`s vampire-hunting boyfriend, Riley. Collecting issues #15-16 of Angel and issues #29-30 from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
A Demon Under Every Stone Backk in the days when comics were 25 cents I used to read a lot of them. Now that they come out for over 10 dollars, they are actually a rare treat. Of course, the production qualities are way better than what I used to read. When I read the description of 'Past Lives' and discovered it was an Angel/Buffy special, I decided it was one I had to get, and I am please to say that I was not disappointed.
Angel finds himself under attack from not one, two, or even a small group of demons, but a continuous stream of the very meanest in Los Angeles. Every single one of them mad at him because an unknown woman was cutting a swath through the underworld claming that she worked for Angel. This is serious bad news. In no time at all Cordelia and Wesley are among the wounded and Angel looks like the before picture in a plastic surgeon's office. The scent of badness reaches all the way to Sunnydale, and soon Buffy, Giles, and the entire Scooby Gang are on their way to help.
The team quickly discovers that the freelance lady demon killer is actually an agent of the Watchers, who has convinced them to arm her with whatever she wants from their armory of magic weapons. Smarting from the embarrassment of having two Slayers who are ignoring them, they seized the chance to restore their waning reputation. Unfortunately they failed to look deeply enough into the motivations of the beautiful Alexa Landry and they wind up unleashing a nightmare. She is hell bent on destroying Angel and anyone who is his friend. Alexa has a past with both Giles and Wesley, but with Angel her hatred extends back centuries. Back to the time that Angel, as Angelus, destroyed first the mind and than the life of Sir Andrew Landry.
As you can tell, this is going to be one titanic struggle. Thanks to the fact that comic books have an unlimited special effects budget, the visuals are out standing. Great fight scenes and moody returns to Angel's past are the work of veteran pencillers Christian Zanier and Cliff Richards. The story line is another barn burner from the pens of Chris Golden and Tom Sniegoski, who also need no introduction. Dialog is as good as it can get in this kind of writing and even Anya manages to get some great lines. If you've wondering which one of the Buffy and company graphic novels to get, this is the one.
Raise your hand if you can't stand Riley. . . Okay, all of you that can't stand Riley will be pleased to know he only makes a minor appearance in this trade! Yay! Ahem. This trade features issues 29-30 of Buffy and 15-16 of Angel. The story begins with Angel being attacked by all sorts of demons because they believe he sent some lady after them. Turns out she, a former flame of Giles', is in league with the watcher's counsel but is rogue (they have no luck, do they?). She has a grudge against Angel because she is a descendant of a man who was tortured by him. The flashbacks to his torture are pretty scary, the way Angelus messed with his mind I can see why Alexa would want revenge. However, Giles is right in his reason for breaking it off with her -- she really enjoys the visceral aspects of killing way too much, the blood and gore and violence. Buffy has to go to LA after Weasly and Cordy get hurt, AND she leaves Riley behind! One star off for his small, annoying appearance. At any rate, the story is fast paced and a good crossover. The artwork is clean and easy to follow and there is a really funny part with Anya and her lack of tact. All in all this trade is worth it for Buffy or Angel fans.
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