Customer Reviews

Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 4

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

 

 

What can I say about Angel: After the Fall that hasn't been said already by countless fans (myself included)? Brian Lynch crafted an epic, tragic, hilarious, and smart tale that was true to the characters and the story that had already been established. It referenced, ran with, and paid off plot threads that have been part of the mythology since the first season of the show. It kept the momentum of the series finale, "Not Fade Away," which I consider to be the best hour of television ever produced. It's by far my favorite comic (and this, specifically, is my favorite volume of the series).

I'll start with the art. Stephen Mooney does the first two issues and Franco Urru does the last three, and their styles are so utterly different, but the different styles here don't clash. They're both crazy good in their own right, with Stephen getting the likenesses and the dark tone of the series across in his pencils, and Franco getting the fluid action and the raw emotion across in his. Both of them are fine artists, and I'm glad that they got a chance to work on this series. They did Joss Whedon's world and Brian Lynch's words justice.

And speaking of those words. Brian Lynch manages to bring his own quirky writing style to the world of Angel without it being intrusive. His style completely compliments these established characters, and he has come to know them so well over these seventeen issues that they wouldn't sound more in-character if we had the actors themselves reading the lines. His writing is at its most emotional here, giving us both the saddest of tragedy and the happiest eucatastrophe of an ending. Like any Buffyverse finale, there is triumph, there is loss, there are tears, and there are a whole load of epic fights. Brian Lynch has given added a beautiful chapter to Angel that sums up everything great about the series, gives it a great ending, and sets up everything that is to come. Since Spike: Asylum, the first comic I ever loved and the first time I realized this medium can be as exciting as television, Brian Lynch has become my favorite comic writer, and if you don't think he's one of the best in the business, well... I don't know, you're wrong. And you smell.

In short, I love this story. It's my favorite book, and it makes me laugh out loud, feel all tense, and even tear up every time I read it.

10/10 Classic... and beyond.

The After the Fall arc is brought to a satisfying end with Angel defeating Wolfram & Hart and restoring Los Angeles and its inhabitants back from the hell dimension it found itself thrown into at the beginning of the arc by a W&H wanting to punish Angel for his murder of all of the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn in the final episode "Not Fade Away" of Season 5. Josh Whedon has been reluctant to call this a Season 6. It is really an extended conclusion to Season 5, showing what would have happened during that climactic fight in the alley behind the Hyperion hotel between the remains of Team Angel against the army of W&H had the WB network changed its mind about cancelling the series.

This number kept up with the TV serie and previous graphic novel. It is thriling and makes justice to all the characters. I just didn't care much for the end... seemed pointless to me. But it was worth reading.

Angel and his friends continue to deal with having been sent to hell following the battle against Wolfram & Hart. Writing continues to be spot on, though there weren't as many cool extras at the end, just an original treatment of the entire series that was largely scrapped. Disappointing considering what the previous volumes contained. My eyes continued to be completely overwhelmed by the graphic illustrations, but as I am not a general reader of graphic novels, I don't have much to compare them to. As ever, I completely rejoice in anything Whedon is involved with.

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.

This volume is essentially a conclusion to the storyline. Some may not like how it ends, but I found it satisfactory.

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

WARNING--Volume 5 is nothing like the previous 4 volumes. Beware. Volume 6 continues nicely in the tradition set by volumes 1-4. At this time, I am unable to comment past the Volume 6 stories.

I was waiting for this book! It was in great shape and at a terrific price. Thank you, Amazon!

This is an overpriced, short, poorly written, obnoxious, self-indulgent means of delivering the plot point that would have taken 20 minutes in an episode.

I don't want to waste your time since the other reviews say much, but I want to reiterate that this Angel series is AWESOME...

Let's hear it for the writing, and let's be glad we even have these little gems.....

Thanks Joss Whedon, and all the others... thanks so much!!

Highly recommended... Superb!

5 stars....

I didn't care for the way they wrapped up this story arc -- very disappointing and too facile. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT:

At the end, Angel gets himself killed so that the entire storyline so far can be negated. Poof! All is well -- no more Gunn as vampire (didn't see that one coming), Angel as human, Spike as harem-leader, Connor skewered.... just revert back in time and you don't have to deal with the consequences of the storyline you've put the characters and readers through, except for the memories. It did make it seem like Gunn's visions had some truth to them - just not the way he envisioned.

I don't believe that Wesley and Fred are really gone, either.

Artwork was amazing, and I like the way they've maintained the characters' personalities. I was just really disappointed at the way they wrapped this up. (no, I don't have a better idea, I just had that "gypped" feeling after reading the last page.)

Hope the next book is better -- I bought it already.