The Big Disappointment I read "After the Fall" yesterday and I have just one word for it: disappointing. The credits list Joss Whedon--but after Joss's name is one word: "Watcher." So, I'm thinking Joss had very little to do with it. The book had the first five chapters of "After the Fall" along with an art gallery of other comic book art interpretations of the characters.
The artwork is okay, except for the scantily clad women in the ridiculous contortionist poses. Completely useless to the plot but I'm sure enjoyed by pre-pubescent males. But the dialogue just flat out stinks. The things the characters say, do not sound like the characters--except Lorne.
In the alley at the end of Season Five, I THINK Angel is magicked out of the alley--I think by Wolfram & Hart. Anyway, Angel is turned into a human and every time he fights, if he receives mortal wounds, he gets back to W & H and these little mechanical doo-dahs fix him back to keep him alive. They also have a glamour thrown over him so everyone thinks he is still a vampire. (So, my question here is why turn him into human if you still want everyone to think he is a vampire?)
Scenario: LA is now a hell with different demon lords for the different suburbs of LA.
Wesley is now a ghost and he has sold his soul to either the devil or W&H so must do W&H's bidding. He has a contract with whoever--like Lilah did. I just cannot see that happening--unless it did happen and I missed it. He is their contact in the white room and we don't know if he is working for them or really helping Angel.
In the alley fight, Gunn was turned into a vampire. He is acting like a real jerk and for some reason is out to kill Angel.
Poor Spike--he now one of the demon lords (I think) of a section of LA. They have him dressed as a gay Elvis Presley and he has a group of scantily clad women hanging on him. Illyria has declared him her pet and when Angel shows up, Illyria, for no apparent reason, attacks Angel and tries to kill him. The people who did the comic do not understand Spike.
Connor is helping out humans and the writers have turned him into a retard. No edgy anger--which, I understand he left that behind during Season 5, but the writers have really made him into an idiot 15-year-old. His dialogue: "Like, really, I don't know."
Poor Nina--she is only in two or three panels and bahaves just like Bad Willow in "Doppelganger. " Not at all like Nina.
Gwen shows up, zaps somebody, mouths off a little, then disappears.
As for the Whedon humor we all adore--definitely not there. The writers try to rework some of the funnier things Whedon has done but you know that is so not funny. Lame.
Lorne is also one of the lords of a section of LA--I think. He has turned his section into a La-La Land that is so Lorne. I think he is the only character the writers got right. You know Lorne takes a hike after the shooting in the last episode of "Angel" and in the comic they ask him why he came back and he gives some lame excuse.
The whole thing is just sad. I don't think the writers truly knew or understood the Angel characters or they wouldn't have done to them what they did. I wish Joss had turned this into a movie or a book (with ANY author but Nancy Holder.)
Pathetic and sad. So much potential for so much fun.
A wonderfully promising continuation of ANGEL Warning! Spoilers ahead!
By any standard BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was one of the most innovative, influential television series in the history of the medium, while ANGEL was one of the finest spin offs ever. Not content with helping to rewrite what was possible in television, Joss Whedon has now played what is certain to be a major role in establishing new rules for what is possible in the comic book. Before continuing BUFFY in his comic version of Season Eight, there had never been a canonical (i.e., written and produced by the original creative force) continuation of any major television series. (In contrast, while there is currently a BATTLESTAR GALACTICA comic book series, it in no way involves the work of Ron Moore, without whose involvement the series could not be considered canonical.) BUFFY Season Eight has been a tremendous success, both in terms of critical acclaim and in sales. As a result, there has been talk of other critically acclaimed series (if not always widely viewed) being continued as a comic book. Rob Thomas, for instance, is currently talking with DC about continuing VERONICA MARS as a comic.
But as great as it has been for BUFFY to continue as a comic, in many ways there was more of a need for an ANGEL comic. Joss Whedon had largely been able to end BUFFY as a TV series when he had wanted. There was no especial need for it to continue, though fans of the show certainly are glad that it did. But ANGEL was a different matter. It ended well before Joss Whedon was finished spinning stories about our favorite vampire (vampires, when you add in Spike) with a soul.
We knew something about how they planned on proceeding in Season Six. Joss and other writers and producers like David Fury and Jeffrey Bell had indicated that Angel, Spike, and Illyria would have survived the huge final battle that ended the series, albeit offstage. We were told that Fred would have returned when Willow, in a guest role, would have cast a spell that would have brought back Fred, while leaving Illyria alive as well (and providing Amy Acker with a tantalizing dual role). We were told that there was talk of an episode in which Angel and Spike would have dressed in drag. And we were told that Gunn would have become a vampire, a victim of the final battle of Season Five. So far it isn't clear what if any of the preceding will be used in the new ANGEL comic. But it does seem so far that they are moving in completely different directions.
This first issue in the series does not try to answer all the questions we had at the end of the TV series. There is, for instance, very little said about the big battle. We do see that Angel, instead of killing the dragon he said he wanted to slay at the end of the finale, has adopted it as a sort of pet. But mainly what we see are the mystical and spiritual consequences of defying Wolfram and Hart. Instead of bringing down the evil law firm from hell for good, they instead have asserted their legal rights over Angel. And their agent in enforcing their contract is none other than Wesley, who had, of course, died in the finale. But as we learned in the series, death is hardly a hindrance to fulfilling the claims that Wolfram and Hart has on anyone.
We learn just a smidgen about some of the other characters. Like the horrid Connor (why couldn't he just have died? -- though I must admit that some of my hatred of Connor has dissipated through the excellent work of Vincent Kartheiser on the great AMC series MAD MEN) and Gunn. Did I mention that Wesley is now a ghost? There was no mention of either Spike or Illyria, but since Spike is on the cover of issue #2 we'll catch up on him shortly.
All in all, I couldn't be happier with the first issue. There are, by the way, a bewildering number of covers. I opted for what I believe is one of the alternative covers, a beautiful photo of David Boreanaz dressed largely in black against a solid black background. I'm not a comic collector so I don't care much for covers, but I liked this.
Joss Whedon will very shortly be ending his stint as writer of THE RUNAWAYS (my favorite Marvel comic series). He will continue work on BUFFY Season Eight, ANGEL Six, and will begin work on a comic version of FIREFLY. And with his new series with Eliza Dushku (DOLLHOUSE), he will be one very busy man.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
