Product Description: Angel searches for a kidnapped child and stumbles upon a force of unspeakable evil and unimaginable power. It seems some insidious character has an old bone to pick with L.A.'s resident vampire detective. Now Angel must go toe to toe with some of the toughest monsters around. Artist Mel Rubi takes us from the darkened mean streets of Los Angeles, to the dizzying heights of the city's skyscrapers, and face to face with some of the strangest, most grotesque, and most unsettlingly seductive creatures Angel has ever faced. Brett Matthews and Angel creator Joss Whedon have retooled and reinvented Angel, giving us a story that is much too big for the small screen.
Angel, As A Superhero Joss Whedon helped plot the script, so it's a given that it can't be bad. It's just essential that, before you buy, you know what you're getting into. This trade paperback is an obvious attempt at making Angel a more traditional superhero by including epic fights, big two-page action spreads, and action oriented plots. It was risky, seeing how "Angel the Series" is character--not action--driven, but I do think it worked well.
The dialogue is the best you'll get out of an Angel comic (other than "After The Fall," which is in a whole different league), so Whedonites will be glad to know that Cordy's snappy sarcasm and Angel's stoic-yet-slick banter is alive and well in this book. The pace is too fast and they could have easily stretched the story to five issues, but I'm confident that fans of Angel--especially the early years--will love this comic. That's if they can get their hands on it, as it is very difficult to come across these days.
Artwise, there was some stuff I loved, some I liked, some I didn't like, some I hated. Hated the inconsistency of Cordy's face. Wes looks about fifty, which is really strange. Also, the colorist really messed up in the last issue. The Big Bad of the comic, an ancient vampire named Perfect Zheng, had a fang knocked out by Angel in the 1920s. In the first issues, he's depicted as wearing a really cool metal fang. Then, in the final issue, both fangs are colored white again as if the whole "metal fang" thing never happened. But overall, the art is really dynamic and carries out the action well.
I liked that the themes of the series remains in tact, but I didn't like how much tinkering was done with the mythology. The whole concept of how Angel got cursed with his soul was changed, and that would be fine--if it was elaborated on. It's kind of introduced and then dropped before Angel--or readers--can even give it another thought. Another few minor things that bothered me was that (1) I didn't buy the idea that Gunn would carjack someone just because they were honking at him, (2) the "snake lady" twist at the end was really contrived and not built up to at all, and (3) this isn't the fault of the story at all, but the last page gives the idea that there's going to be a continuation, but... the comic was cancelled by Dark Horse after this series. Thank God IDW picked it up.
7/10
Kind of a let down As a huge fan of "Mr.Tall Dark and Broody" I was overjoyed to learn that Joss Whedon wanted to take a more active role in the comic series. The series was amazing - this could only make it better! Right? Apparently not. I love Angel, so the book wasn't a total loss. There were a few laughs, but overall I was confused by the practically non-existent plot and the countless loose ends it left trailing in its wake. In addition the action sequences lacked the requisite frames that would allow readers to follow the fights. Overall, the book was a disappointment. I recommend Joss stick to the small screen and let the old staff get back to producing an extraordinary comic series.
The Perfect End to a Perfect Mess It seems that whenever Angel isn't leaping out of the woodwork to slaughter the bad guys, the bad guys line up to leap out of the woodwork at him. Small wonder the vampire with a soul is as broody as he is. Take this night. Angel has to do some serious carjacking to break the truth out of a really ugly gang of Kryll demons. Which truth we never quite find out, because Angel finds a child in the car's trunk and takes a time out to return young Jacob to his father.
On his way back, Angel finds himself waylaid by a beautiful but green Silthe, then by a truly oversized fire creature. Think that's enough. Stay tuned, the knight from nowhere with the sword from hell is right behind them. Even with Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia working overtime they are barely able to discover that someone new has moved into town. Someone who thinks Angel has something that belongs to him. A strange Chinese symbol finally gives Angel the clue he needs. However, all that does is help him jump out of the frying pan and into the holy water. Our uncapped crusader may finally have met his match.
Brett Matthews and Joss Whedon cooperated on the story, which is a perfect essay in perpetual action. This is the first time I have had a close look at Mel Rubi's pencil style, which, in combination with Chris Dreier's inking makes this illustrated paperback well worth the price of admission. The last section of the book is a set of Rubi's sketches, with commentary by Scott Alie and Brett Matthews. The reason for their enthusiasm will quickly become obvious. I predict that you will want to track down more of his work.
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