Angel: After the Fall

My descent into comic book geekdom began in late 2007, when Joss Whedon decided to continue the Buffy and Angel series in comic book form. I jumped on board, and have quite enjoyed them both. I'm posting today about Angel: After the Fall; though the series will be ongoing, Whedon's writing streak is done for the time being.

The comic books pick up a short time after the events of the last episode of the television series, and this run continues for 17 issues. I thought the story was great, though the end did leave me a little cold. Angel (the television series) played with turning back the time - "Oops, folks! That never happened!" - a couple of times, and I wasn't a huge fan then, either. Anyway, this run ends with a similar twist.

Moments after the end of the television series, the evil law firm of Wolfram and Hart had thrown Los Angeles into Hell. Not into "a hell dimension", but rather the full-on fire-and-brimstone Hell itself. When we rejoin Angel and Company, one had become a ghost, another had been turned into a vampire, a couple had been scattered as lords of various LA neighborhoods, et cetera. Needless to say, there were many demons (and demon lords) who wanted a piece of Angel for this turn of events. Pressure on, he managed to find a way to help his friends and save the world - with major assistance from said friends - and the series ends with Angel's future as unsure as ever (Shanshu, anyone?), struggling with atonement from prior deeds and saving the world from the bad guys in the mean time.

A few issues in, I thought this series hit its stride. The artwork had come around, the storylines were excellent, the dialogue rang true, and several months I found it to be stronger than the Buffy comics. Unless you're a total comic book fan, you won't dig it if you didn't dig Angel. But I would definitely recommend it to any fan of the show.

Jessie, Aldina: this means you!