Customer Reviews

Angel: After The Fall Volume 1

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The series finale of Angel was the most brilliant episode of television I've ever seen. It was just a poignant, sad, and epic send-off to the characters I'd been following for so many years. It ended in the middle of a fight, because the point was that Angel would always be fighting to make things right. It was the perfect way to end the show. So needless to say, I wanted more. I mean, it's "Angel." When the day came that "Angel: After the Fall #1" was released, I held it in my hand for a second and realized that I would probably be disappointed. How could this book live up to my expectations. So again, needless to say... it didn't. It exceeded them.

Brian Lynch understands the story and world of Angel in a way that only we passionate few--the fans--do. He takes what was great about Season Five and continues it, starting us off with an Angel who is broken and half the man he was, but still--as always--trying to make things right. The environment is different, because LA has been sent to Hell. Angel's situation is different, because... well, you'll have to read that to find out, because it's one of many revelations that will shock you with just how ballsy Joss and Brian are... because they take it to THAT level.

These are literally the best comics I've ever read. The story is clear, so large scale, and really tugs hard at the heartstrings. The art is stylized but always beautiful. Artist Franco Urru is great with character moments and facial expressions, but his true appeal is in his action sequences, which bust with life. I've read these five issues about fifteen times each. So last night, when I sat down to read them in the hardcover collection format, I thought I'd just read the first issue and falls asleep. But I read the entire book in the one sitting, after already having read each issue so many times. And I was still utterly captivated. Such is the power of Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, Franco Urru, and Angel.

The book itself is beautiful and has a gorgeous cover and nice thick pages that will stand up to many readings. There is a nice design to the inside of this hardcover, which really shows that IDW put their all into this product. I've had complaints about IDW's Angel TPBS in the past, because some of the books have very weak spines, but this is simply a very handsome book that really stands out on your shelf. And unlike the Buffy: Season Eight collections, this book is packed with extras. There is an introduction by Brian Lynch, chapter page, a cover gallery, the original series proposal by Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch, the script to the first issue with commentary by Brian Lynch, and even a cloth bookmark for you to mark your place.

10/10 Classic.

The story takes off sometime after the end of the last television season of Angel. Some of what has happened is explained early, some in flash backs and some along the way. Without spoiling things I just want to say that I think this is good as a comic but would have been even better as another season of the show. It certainly maintains the momentum of twists, turns, action and some very bad happenings that the television show busted out in it's last two seasons.

If you loved the last season of "Angel" I'm fairly certain that you'll at least like this book.

Things for our heroes are both better and worse than I was epecting. :-)

I should have known Wolfram & Hart had more up its sleave than just a supernatural army...with a giant, a dragon and what looked like a whole mess of demons. :-)

As a devoted Buffy/Angel fanatic, I figured that after the launch of Buffy: Season Eight at Dark Horse that it wouldn't be long before Joss Whedon let loose some new adventures for Angel as well. Well, here we are with Angel: After the Fall from IDW, which is basically what season six could have been. Picking up shortly after the series ended, Los Angeles has pretty much been turned into Hell on earth, and we soon learn just what has happened to Angel and his crew. In this first storyarc, we learn the fates of Angel, Spike, Gunn, Ilyria, Connor, Lorne, and even wolf-girl Nina and lightning-girl Gwen. There are a number of absolutely delicious twists and turns that will catch you by surprise as well. Co-plotted by Whedon and veteran Angel and Spike comics writer Brian Lynch; Angel: After the Fall isn't as engrossing as Dark Horse's Buffy series, but it is an entertaining ride regardless, even if the story becomes a little incomprehensible during all the big action. Franco Urru provides some great artwork as well, and IDW has done a fine job assembling the storyarc in a very handsome hardcover edition. All in all, Angel: After the Fall is a great new direction for the heroic vamp, and is a more than worthwhile trip for fans of the series.

I actually couldn't connect to this at all...felt pretty superficial. Made me miss the actors a lot! I didn't have the same reaction to the continuation of the Buffy series...to me the personalities of the characters and the plot still engaged me. This just felt dead to me. Angel always had a dark side to it, but it was contrasted with an element of light that I just couldn't find here at all. It just felt flat, dead, depressing and pointless.

Sorry to all of the Joss fans out there (of which I am one) would have loved to be able to give a better review! I loved Fray and Buffy season 8, so I'm hoping the next segment is better...

this is the first time i have read a graphic novel and it was a bit difficult to get used to at first. in books imagination is used for the imagery and in film visuals and sounds are given by complex shots and actors portrayals. graphic novels are stuck in between these mediums and the emotion and nuances can get lost in the crossfire. it's possible that graphic novel veterans will find it as gripping and meaningful as the show. however unfortunately i have mixed feelings.

pros:

my first impression of the book was that it was very good quality. it's very sturdy and not at all flimsy like most comic books I've seen. the cover is sleek with embossed designs on the back and there is a very useful ribbon bookmark embedded in the spine. the pages are crisp and smells great. overall it has the appearance of a high grade, tall and thin book.

the story is on a par with season five, many of the lines have a similar flow and verbage to the show. there are plot twists that are as big as the Fred-Illria arc or the revelation of Cordy being the villain in season 4. I was able to place myself in the world; in the perspective of the characters. it's not quite as powerful or poignant as the series but much of it it's still there.


the artwork is very beautiful, the colors are rich and the contrasts are well done. some of the character designs are uncanny and is really great. the level of detail and dedication is exceptional.

last but not least there is bonus material in the back portion of the book. it contains a good 15-30 artwork and pen ink photos and the script with added notes. some of them would be great for posters. the Wesley and Illyria is one of the best ones; it's powerful and moving.



Cons:

the length of the book is about as long as one disc on one of the angel seasons. at $16.18 per volume and a season usually having about 6 discs. the price of a season would rough be around $100



some of the plot is hard to follow the first time. you might have to reread some parts over. (particularly with the plot twists) some parts have to be inferred rather than be understood right away.

some of the characters designs seem too much like generic comic book characters rather than close depictions. nina is the worst. nina doesn't really look like the actor on the show and her outfit is a little over the top for her character.

roughly 10%-15% of the book is bonus content which makes the length of story misleading and it seems to end sooner than it should seem.

a picture is usually worth a thousand words but the pictures in this book contain much more. unfortunately no matter how well drawn they are it's still not going to be as good as the actors performances. the book lacks sound and movement and many of the subtleties of tone and mannerisms the show had. the people that worked on this did a very good job; it's not their fault. the medium just falls short.


In short buy the book if you have the money and want some closure. expect to be at least a bit disappointed. there are a lot of good things to look forward to though.

thanks for reading and being part of the Angel/Buffyverse. : )

I was very excited when I heard that Angel was going to continue in comic book form. I liked Lynch's work on some projects about Spike. The opening revelation that LA had been sent to hell seemed like exactly the right place to go after the Alley Way scene that ended the series.

But the series has become a big disappointment. It's cluttered with too many characters and too much plot which means we don't really learn much about where these characters are. Lynch is the sort of writer who has to tell what's going on, very often, sometimes in messages on fan boards because the point still wasn't clear. And he doesn't seem to have a feel for the series itself. Angel and Spike are thrown back to their dynamic at the beginning of season 5; characters bounce back from emotionally dark places without consequence -- something that NEVER happened on the show; there are shocking reveals that OUGHT to carry a huge amount of dramatic weight but which end up adding nothing to the story other than a plot point, etc. etc. In other words, a far cry from the quality and depth of writing one would expect from anything that Joss Whedon was associated with.

But, if you miss the gang and you want to just know what happens next and you don't care if there's not much to the story beyond the plot, there's plenty here to enjoy. As entertainment it's ducky; it just doesn't provide anything like the food for thought that the series routinely delivered. At least Buffy season 8 has the structure and complexity that made the 'verse so special. So if you are looking for quality go there.

This contains Chapters 1-5 of the canonical continuation of Angel. I read them for the first time when I got this book, all in one sitting, and I was deeply disappointed. I didn't feel an emotional connection to the characters, couldn't quite "grasp" what was going on with them, thought events were rushed and characters' actions didn't make sense. Where was all that plot and character development time I'm used to in the TV series, not to mention the nuanced expressions and gestures that I didn't even realize were guiding my interpretation of the dialogue? All this and I do read comics.

But the book was so beautiful that I kept flipping through it, reading the author's notes, thinking about it. And I started re-reading more slowly, and I realized that the sparse writing was a benefit. You can't watch episodes of Angel over and over again without wasting a lot of time, but you can reread the comic in sections however long it takes you to catch the wit, to understand the action, and to develop empathy for the characters. And there's more to the After the Fall world than that.

There are promising, intriguing new characters and plenty of space for those that didn't realize their full potential previously. The idea of camaraderie in fighting against evil is expanded as a few refuges for "good" in the middle of hell attract both demons and humans. Capable Connor shines, Wesley's in a gray area, one of our own is lost to evil again, and Angel's stubbornly holding onto why he fights after the last disastrous result.

This comic's strengths are in the world it creates through large, gorgeous panels and a wide cast; the Buffyverse and Angelverse traditions of struggle, redemption, and interaction; and the requirement that the reader tap into his or her imagination. Because, after all, hasn't Angel's strength always been that it makes us think, feel, confront our own problems, and feel strong? After the Fall is in many places dark, hopeless, and painful, but you'll also get that warm, fuzzy feeling of family and the determination to fight your demons no matter how many dragons and super-powered friends you need to help you do it.

Gotta say, i just received my copy of ATF today (much faster than i expected to) and i am hooked. I am halfway into it and i can honestly say i will definately be getting the next volume aswell. Reading it in comic format does take some getting used to but its Angel, and thats all i really need.

Visually it also looks great, maybe the characters could have been drawn a bit better but i really love the colours and they way the artwork flows.

My rating. 4/5

I bought this book.

Buffy took season eight to the pages of the comic book world and now Angel's done the same. The pluses--well lets face it both Angel and Spike have faces made for being drawn.

In the last televised episode of Angel the broody vampire with a soul managed to kill the inner circle of demons at the earthly head of Wolfram & Hart (a demonic law firm, as in made up of demons, run by demons and specializing in demon/supernatural based dealings) and to put it mildly the senior partners were a little peeved. So peeved that they sent all of Los Angeles to Hell, literally. After the Fall starts there, with Angel doing his superhero bit, albeit with a few surprises, like Wesley's ghostly self being trapped in a contract with Wolfram & Hart, Illyria and Spike being lords of their own demonic territory and Gunn...well I should stop there. But the surprises don't stop there, and the whole gang is back, having been tried by fire (and fire-breathing dragons) and found who they are, even if their physical shapes and social presences have been significantly changed.

If you hated Angel and you've had more than enough of the Twilight broody pretty-boy vampire, skip this one. But if you loved the show, or love noir-paranormal-action you'll find this graphic novel to be full of great art, killer pacing and one of the best vampire heroes to be found.

I don't think I liked Angel as much as I like Buffy, not because of the noir-mystery feel (which I adore) but because of the cast. (I never did like Cordelia and Angel's obsession and the second to last season's "Cordy becomes a higher being" plot annoyed me.) But I have to say I'm glad to see them all here (plus some) cast in fantastic art with the same dry, sarcastic wit and the same jumbled mess of problems. This is definitely one series I'll be following.

This, unlike the beginning of the Buffy Season 8 series, doesn't feel or sound like Joss Whedon's voice. Its sad as the cliffhanger from the TV show was so open-ended the possibilities were endless. Sadly, this characters all slightly change but all are present in one way or another. Second, there was so much introduced that it was hard to keep track of what was happening and to whom. Lastly, the art. It was okay. Just okay. Characters were not easily recognized at times which made reveals that much less impactful. Its too bad cover artist Tony Harris didn't do the interiors. All that being said, enough is here for me to want to check out the next volume.