Customer Reviews

Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I, like many was sadden when Angel was canceled before its time. The series finale was a truly epic finished that left every Angel fan wanting more and a bitter sweet taste in their mouth. Then walks in Angel After the Fall, graphic novel, continuing Angel's tale. All three volumes are well done and always leave the reading wanting more. This volume in particular had me wishing volume 4 was already out and in my hands. Vol. 3 takes part where the first one ended and takes you on one hell of a ride. Reveals take place that the reader all ready new but the characters didn't and it was interesting to see how they reacted to finding out Angel was human and Gunn was a vampire. The big cliffhanger at the end will leave you in aww. Until volume 4 I will be rereading volumes 1-3 in anticipation!! This is a must buy for anyone who calls themselves a fan of Angel.

The content of this book is somewhat a mixed bag. Well, the art, more than the story. In general, it has some of the best and worst stuff of Angel: After the Fall, but the good definitely out weighs the bad by a lot. Nick Runge's art is really hit and miss in the first two issues. The majority of his art is very sketchy here. After seeing his wonderful covers for After the Fall and Aftermath, as well as his art for the Wesley section of First Night, I figure that it has to be a time issue. Given the time, Runge is among the best in the business, and is able to make his art look just like the characters. But here, a lot of the characters--females especially--look very distorted. Backgrounds are almost completely neglected, which is really jolting after seeing Franco's detailed backgrounds for the same scenery in #5. The only other thing that really bothers me about the collection is Art Lyon's coloring. He has a penchant for coloring entire panels grey, brown, or red for an effect, but his style constantly tries to overpower the story and the writing.

Mooney hops on art duties for #12, the final chapter of the book, and really knocks it out of the park. His art is great in this, but it gets even better in the later issues. As fantastic as he is at drawing Angel (and especially Cordelia), he is a force of nature when he draws Spike, who he spends a lot of time with in the next issue (to be included in the next Angel hardcover). Wonderful work on that front.

As the writing goes... reading this book is sort of like walking on a minefield. Every page you turn, there's an explosive climax. The first chapter resolves the plot that the first arc set up: Angel's battle with the lords. Cleverly playing off what was set up in the fourth issue, the lords are taken down by a secret plan that Angel concocted, which reveals both that Angel is still a force to be reckoned with. What follows is Illyria and Wesley's emotional reunion, the gang's reaction to Angel being human, Angel's confrontation with Gunn (oh, man), the reveal of how Gunn is getting inside info, a betrayal, information on what the Eye of Ramras really is, the reveal of the dragon's name, a "return" of a really truly dead character, and... if you can believe it... the true meaning of the Shanshu Prophecy, finally revealed. And it's game changing.

With this arc, Brian Lynch has not only paid off all of the plot threads he set up in the first five issues (and First Night), he's completely changed the status quo of Angel. The meaning of everything that happened up until this point, and certainly everything that follows, is changed forever. My favorite arcs of After the Fall are still the first five and final five issues, but these four are also very much a worthy addition into the Angel canon.

9/10

All the story lines that were building through the first couple of volumes of After the Fall come to fruition in this third volume. There is still somewhere to go from here; however, and I am excited to see where Joss and Brian are taking us!

The writing is strong, but the art isn't always clear enough to adequately convey the story to the reader. The supplemental materials in the volume go a long way towards rectifying that.

In spite of these criticisms, would recommend highly to any fan.

The series just keeps getting better. Not really sure if they could ever have done a season like this on television and perhaps that's the silver lining of the series being continued in ink. Fantastic art and story and a must-buy for any fan of Angel.

And I thought they would all just die. Still, for some of the crew, maybe Death would have been better. I cried at Wesley's death scene, in the final TV episode, and after reading the first 3 volumes of Angel: After the Fall, my heart is breaking again for the Fates of some of the crew, and the rest of me is fascinated by the depths of this ongoing saga. I will keep reading about Angel's (& Buffy's aftermaths) it's just to hard not to know.

If you love Angel, you will enjoy these graphic novels. I was angry with the way the tv series was ended, feeling that it was never finished properly. Brian Lynch and company have gone above and beyond, definitely redeeming Whedon's ideas.

Let me just start off this review by saying you MUST get this if your an angel fan, this is finally the volume where we see what happens with a bunch of different story lines and it definately makes for some very interesting scenes. Theres also a return of a familiar face that i was very happy with and the cliffhanger at the end is great as well. I also prefer David Messina's art more than Urru's and while some of it wasnt that best you can definately see how well he draws each of the characters faces.

In summary, a great addition to the After The Fall arc and i can't for volume 4!

I received this earlier than the expected publish date (Kudos to Amazon & the publisher)

I was unable to put down the first 2 volumes but this one seemed to drag. I felt like I was missing a chunk of time. Maybe the length of time between reading Vol 2 & 3.

The first 2 Volumes made me feel like the show was continuing on.. this volume not so much.