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Angel Issue 38 - Can Two Walk Together, unless they disagree?
Odd heading I know. But bear with me. Today, I listened to a moving sermon...so moving a good portion of the congregation was in tears. It was more a story than a sermon. A story about a family who was split apart by disagreement, and had not spoken in 20 years, but when the parents learned their son was sick and dying, they came as if by miracle. They put aside their differences. And the storyteller began the story simply with these words from a Biblical text - Amos 03 - "Can two walk together, unless they disagree?"
[Disclaimer: Please note that everything in this review is opinion only. I do not consider myself or the writers of this series an authority on any of the characters inside it. The people who created the characters to my knowledge have neither read these comics nor had a hand in creating them. These comics have no more weight on how the characters should be perceived than meta, fanfic, or drabbles written by fans. They are in my opinion - published fanfic much like The Wide Sagasso Sea is published fanfic or Ahab's Wife...albeit in a different medium. Nor do these comics in any way reflect my own views of the characters - of which I've written countless meta that can be found elsewhere on my lj - if you care to look. Arguments stating the words "authority" or "fact" or "canon" continue to bewilder me dear reader. This is basically a review of how I see the comic, take it as you will.]
Angel Issue 38 is not a bad comic book. It's actually an interesting read. It's about family. A family that disagrees and is contentious. When they are fighting the big bad, they are all on the same team, it's when they aren't in the midst of a physical battle that things...well they fall apart and the team drifts apart to go in separate directions. This issue examines from Angel's point of view, the relationships between Angel and Connor, and Angel and Spike - that's the main focus, which may explain why I sort of liked it - because those were my favorite relationships for Angel in the series, that and Darla.
From a completely objective point of view - this comic does everything it sets out to do. And you don't really have to have read all the other issues to get it. I've only read three of this particular arc, with a bit of scanning of other issues in a comic book store that permitted me to scan (may explain why it's no longer in existence).
The narrative structure is fairly straight-forward, as is the artwork - well orchestrated by the team of Mariah, David and Elena. Also kudos for the first female writer/artist team that I've seen to date. I'm aware there are others out there, just not that many. Elena Casagrande is quite adept at drawing these characters and depicting emotion. In some respects I prefer Casagrande to Jeanty and Urru in how she depicts female characters - Illyria, Kate, and the Watcher woman are all drawn like adult women - neither as adolescent girls nor overly sexualized pinups. I'm beginning to think male comic book artists in this specific field can't draw women realistically.
How is the narrative straight-forward? It tells us three things in the first panel, one - who's point of view we are in - Angel's ( we know this by the thought boxes which appear on the page),
two - when the action takes place (Now, and in the past), and three - where it is taking place (LA). You can also follow the action, even though we get a jagged time line - go from present day to the past, and back again.
The story is told by Angel. We are in his point of view. And it takes place in a noir universe.
This is set up in the first paragraph.
Angel: "Now. I think I'm Tired. No matter what I do, it's not enough. I love Connor but it's never...how did things end up like this."
Teases us to find out what happened. Did Connor die? Why is Angel tired? Angel is drawn with blood dripping down one side of his face, and ragged, then we get what can best be described as a broken mirror framing style - splinters of Angel's memories with Connor. On one page - the writer tells us who Angel is, who is the love of his life, and his own uncertainty.
As previously stated this story is not hard to follow if you haven't read the rest of Bill Willingham's arc. I don't know if that is a criticism or an attribute, perhaps a little bit of both? It is a bit hard for me not to compare Issue 38 Angel to Issue 38 Buffy for a lot of reasons, but the main one's being the obvious similarities. Both issues carry the name of a "big-name" writer - Willingham is to comics what Joss Whedon is to cult tv shows. However, both are actually written by the editor, not the writer who had been hired and paid to write the comics. Also, they are both issue 38. Add to this - both arcs - Willingham and Whedon's have received criticism from the fan/reader base - some of which has been blistering. I admittedly didn't bother with Willingham's but in retrospect, I'm starting to think his arc makes more sense and is less OCC in regards to the main characters than Whedon's - which I guess is saying something, not quite sure what exactly. It also is unfortunately, less offensive, well unless you're a Spike fan. Oh.. Wait. I'm a Spike fan. But going too far down this road of criticism is going to lead to the precisely the type of debate that I stated above I want to avoid. Instead I'll state this - the similarity between Willingham and Whedon ends with the fact that both writer's works are now being written mainly by their editors, while they continue to get credit for the plot arc - for good or ill (mostly ill in both cases). The difference is that I think Willingham's arc got better the moment he stopped writing it and Mariah and David took over, along with Elena Casagrande - stepping in for the ill-fitting Andrew Denham (who was the main reason I couldn't read the Willingham comics - Denham's art gave me a headache.) While Whedon's arc got worse the moment he jumped ship to direct the Avengers. I can't really blame Whedon for doing that - since I'd have done the same thing. (Let's see a choice between continuing a comic book on a series that was canceled five years ago, and I'm getting paid next to nothing for, and no one cares about outside of a few thousand fans and is dropping in subscriptions ---or directing the Avengers flick starring Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johanssen, and Jeremy Renner - A-List talent, A-list budget, and top producers? And...a 200 million budget? Plus the prestige of doing so?? Hmmm... Let me think. ) No, Whedon's mistake, I suspect, was giving in to Dark Horse and making what at best should have been a 20 issue series into a 40 issue one. Willingham kept his arc to about 20 issues - but left in midstream for undisclosed reasons (yes, I've heard the rumors, I'm trying not to spread contentious gossip for once, not that I think anyone cares but still.)
If you read any of the preceding issues in this arc - you'll realize that the writers had their work cut out for them. Willingham's arc was a mess. He was taking a lot of liberties with the verse that threw the reader out of the story. To be fair, Kelley Armstrong did the same thing. Part of the reason for this is neither writer understood the noir verse of the Angel series all that well. The other reason is like many writers - Willingham and Armstrong both went back to the worlds they were comfortable in. For Armstrong - it was angels. She basically writers gothic tales with a lot of religious imagery and angels in them. Or so I've been told. She's not my cup of coco, so I don't tend to read her. Willingham - in contrast, it was satirical fables. He tried to turn Spike into Jack of Fables, and Angel into some sort of noble knight errant who was constantly being pulled this way and that...it did not work. Plus his take on female characters...was borderline offensive to the readers - a problem he apparently had in regards to a Neil Gaiman series he took over. In short - IDW's attempts to use big-name or well-known cult authors from other mediums or genres to boost sales - backfired on them in a huge way, resulting most likely in the loss of rights to the series. (Although I'm not sure of that either. And yes, I've heard the rumors, let's not go down that path again, shall we?)
What Mariah and David had to do was clean it up. This involved a lot of bandaids in the form of retcons. The first retcon - was James as a demon not a fallen Angel, who had bought Angel's world from his sister - another demonic god. James sent a soul-sucking demon after Angel's crew, and
it apparently couldn't do a thing to Spike. It was assumed for a bit that Spike was acting out of character because he had no soul. But as many a reader could attest he was acting out of character even for Soulless Spike. Although to be fair, the same could be said for Angelus - after he lost the curse. A soul may well change the demon inside, for all we know. It's not like Whedon and company have ever been that consistent or even that clear on the whole soul thing - possibly because Whedon himself seems to be a bit confused and possibly ambivalent as to what it means or represents. He's contradicted himself quite a few times in interviews on the topic, serving to confuse fans and add fodder to many an online debate on the topic. I've seen it interpreted every which way in meta and fanfic - so, my guess is the writers could play with it without too much danger of contradicting established canon.
That said, it was problematic. So they came up with the Soul Flu - a contamination that caused Spike to do some less than nice and somewhat immoral things. (I honestly don't think they were that bad...Angel's done far worse without any Soul Flu...in the tv series. But whatever.) The Soul Flu plot arc like it or not is canon to the comics. They are keeping it. But - it doesn't really bug me. I actually find it sort of interesting..and just wish a better writer were playing with it. What the soul flu arc and Spike's actions during it - specifically his asking folks to write up prophecies for him so that he too could have a destiny - opens up a whole new character specific storyline for Spike. Lynch played with this concept earlier - in Boys with Their Toys - where he depicted Spike envisioning Angel as a noble hero, a leader, the older more successful brother that he could never hope to be. A lot of people interpret this as the writer stating that Angel is noble and heroic and better than Spike, but I don't think that interpretation works and to be blunt? I find it bewildering. It would be one thing if we were in an ominiscent pov or general pov or a writer's pov (like the vast majority of the Buffy arc) but we aren't. We are in Angel and then Spike's pov. Angel, who definitely has a monsterous ego - it's always been one of his fatal flaws even more so when he's Angelus, doesn't quite see himself that way - he wants to, but he knows he's not the noble champion that Spike or even Connor see him as.
Spike a creature in part of Angelus' making as well as Angel's - has an inferiority complex that is fairly massive - demonstrated by his ceaseless snark and bravado. And if you consider that not one but both of his true loves - preferred Angel or wanted Angel or chose Angel over him and did not let him forget it ...I mean think about it, if your significant other was constantly comparing you and not in a favorable light to their ex - how would you feel? And the fact that Spike stays with these women as long as he does - says a lot about Spike's self-esteem or lack thereof. He talks a good game but as he's incredibly insecure about who he is - always has been. As Darla stated to Angel ages ago (Dear Boy), who we were in life effects who we are in death. William was an insecure man in life, desperate to be loved and appreciated, but not sure he was worthy of it.
He's a good man, but he's insecurities are what drives him into Dru's arms, just as it is his insecurities that cause him to feel rejected and flattened by Cecily. If he'd been more secure in himself - Cecily's words and the words of his peers would not have hurt so badly.
When William meets Angelus - Spike is born out of that interaction. It is in part both a defense mechanism and a means of obtaining approval - both of which he accomplishes. What he never quite accomplishes though is stepping out of Angel's shadow. At least not entirely. Yes, I know not everyone online agrees with this perspective, but I think that is the perspective the writers who are exploring. It's worth keeping in mind that they, like most writers, are exploring an aspect that interests them. And it interests me as well, because I can identify with the character's struggles on a certain level and I am curious to see where they decide to go with it.
In no way do I think this is an insult to the character or a statement about how much better Angel is. Angel - as this issue shows - has his own flaws and issues. They just are vastly different than Spike's - which is what makes both Spike and Angel interesting characters.
While fighting back to back to save Connor from the weird demon women who have captured Connor as a sort of weird sacrifice - Spike and Angel exchange this bit of dialogue:
Angel: You sure you don't want to tell me more about the Soul thing? I have some experience with it.
Spike: Not with this. It was never gone. Just...tainted. Feels like I need a Soul Shower...That sounds wrong.
Angel doesn't quite understand - he is once again projecting his knowledge and experience on to Spike. It's a theme that exists throughout the issue with other characters, particularly Connor.
Connor oddly saves himself from the weird demon women, who we thankfully see very little of - apparently just cutting Connor is enough to turn them all to dust. Handy that.
And Spike makes the speech that more or less explains that controversial picture in Lynch's Spike comics.
Spike: I think I need a break (he mutters - it's in small letters). Angel, maybe I'm not really fine.
Angel: If this is about the whole "Soul" thing Spike, I-
Spike: I mean soul flue or not, I was ready to start creating prophecies so I would have a destiny. I thought I was past that. Past feeling second to you.
[There it is. Spike has for a very long time felt second to Angel. Ever since he arrived in Sunnydale back in S2...and it has not let up. First Dru, then Buffy, then Angel's friends and teammates. He needs to sort that out. And that's what Lynch and Urru explain fairly quickly with the use of a somewhat comic evolutionary drawing in Spike issue 1 - which clearly and obviously takes place after this issue.]
Angel: I understand.
Spike: You wouldn't be you if you didn't. (He clearly doesn't. Angel or rather Liam has never had to get the approval of peers - no, it's Dad that he wants that from. Angel is both prodigal son and prodigal father. But Spike for that matter clearly doesn't understand Angel either. Here's the thing - we don't understand one another. We can't. Not entirely. We are strangers no matter how well you know another person - you are strangers. They will always surprise you. Even if you are married to them, especially if you are.)
Angel tells Spike he'll be back. He most likely doesn't hear Spike's muttered, see you soon, you'll need me. (This is in tiny letters.)
And we're back on the rooftop overlooking the city of LA (at least I think it's a roof top. Check. No, a rooftop.). Angel has a conversation with his son - which also explains Illyria's leaving.
This issue sets up Angel, Illyria and Spike's separate arcs fairly neatly.
I want to focus a bit on this conversation between Angel and Connor - which in some respects underlines my issue with how Angel is portrayed in the Buffy comics, while I do not see this comic as an authority on the characters any more than I see the other one for that matter - it may explain why the Buffy comics do not work for me as a reader - why I can't suspend my disbelief in relation to the character of Angel.
Connor: Dad we need to talk.
Angel: Are you okay.
Connor: Yeah, I'm fine...you can put the sword down.
Angel: Right.
Connor: I need..I don't know what I need. I don't even know what I am right now. Son of two vampires? Some kind of chosen one? How can I suddenly do whatever it is I can do? They're all just ideas. What matters is the fight. And I'm ready for that.
Angel: I'm holding you back.
Connor: It's not...well...kind of.
Angel: When you were born a lot of things became clearer for me. I know what it's like to find yourself with responsibilities you never expected. And we're only starting to see what you're capable of. I missed your childhood. And then I tried to do what I thought was best.
Connor: You gave me a loving family. Considering what happened before..
Angel: Nevermind. None of that matters. What matters is you and me and the people in this city.
The city needs you. And maybe you'll find you need it too. So...maybe it's time I stepped back for a while and let you find each other.
Connor: Spike's right. You really don't get it.
Angel: What?
Connor hugs him.
Angel voice-over: I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. Both before and after I was a vampire. But somehow this young man came out of something that never should have been possible. And I'm more than grateful for that than I can ever tell him.
And they stand together looking out over the city of lights.
[The end bit sets up the Wolf Ram and Hart arc which continues in the Spike comics as well.]
The Connor/Angel scene and Spike/Angel scene echo each other. Both are in a way Angel's apprentices, his students, robins to his batman. OR if you prefer Nightwing. They've grown up in his shadow, and they wish to step out of it. But at the same time, they both look up to him, they both love him. They disagree with him, but they've established a bond of family, friendship and brotherhood in a dark world. In the world of Angel - we are all we have and the fight always continues. There's no shanshu. And there's no end to the fighting. Angel here as in the series yearns for the family, yearns for his father's respect, and by being a father - oddly and ironically obtains some semblance of it - yet is unable to quite see it. You Don't Get it.
He's shocked by how Spike views him in Boys With Their Toys, and he's a bit taken aback here with Connor. This doesn't make him noble necessarily except perhaps within his own universe, and it doesn't make him better than anyone else...he's still dark, still prone to make huge mistakes, but
his grounding force..is Connor.
Overall, not a bad read, as I stated above. It is a bit dull in places and repetitive in others. The dialogue lacks the sharpness and wit of Lynch or Whedon for that matter. It feels dulled.
And Spike as a result lacks some of his charm, he's more whiny than snarky - but not everyone can do snark well. If you don't do it normally - it's harder to write, I suspect. I don't know.
But overall..it's not bad. The plot while a bit convoluted in places (the whole Connor/demon warrior gal arc never made sense), is at least coherent. And you do know when and where you are.
As for how the characters are portrayed? Reasonably well. Spike - like I said above is a bit off, but not horrifically so. And I rather like the angle they are pursuing - it is the one aspect that I haven't seen anyone else resolve to date - and it does lead into the Buffy comics well. Angel comes off as well Angel. I don't think he comes across any more heroic or noble than he did in the tv series, to be honest. Nor do I think you can claim he is a noble hero, except within the boundaries of the noir universe which isn't quite the same thing.
But that's my opinion...and well how I personally view it.
Grade? B-
[Disclaimer: Please note that everything in this review is opinion only. I do not consider myself or the writers of this series an authority on any of the characters inside it. The people who created the characters to my knowledge have neither read these comics nor had a hand in creating them. These comics have no more weight on how the characters should be perceived than meta, fanfic, or drabbles written by fans. They are in my opinion - published fanfic much like The Wide Sagasso Sea is published fanfic or Ahab's Wife...albeit in a different medium. Nor do these comics in any way reflect my own views of the characters - of which I've written countless meta that can be found elsewhere on my lj - if you care to look. Arguments stating the words "authority" or "fact" or "canon" continue to bewilder me dear reader. This is basically a review of how I see the comic, take it as you will.]
Angel Issue 38 is not a bad comic book. It's actually an interesting read. It's about family. A family that disagrees and is contentious. When they are fighting the big bad, they are all on the same team, it's when they aren't in the midst of a physical battle that things...well they fall apart and the team drifts apart to go in separate directions. This issue examines from Angel's point of view, the relationships between Angel and Connor, and Angel and Spike - that's the main focus, which may explain why I sort of liked it - because those were my favorite relationships for Angel in the series, that and Darla.
From a completely objective point of view - this comic does everything it sets out to do. And you don't really have to have read all the other issues to get it. I've only read three of this particular arc, with a bit of scanning of other issues in a comic book store that permitted me to scan (may explain why it's no longer in existence).
The narrative structure is fairly straight-forward, as is the artwork - well orchestrated by the team of Mariah, David and Elena. Also kudos for the first female writer/artist team that I've seen to date. I'm aware there are others out there, just not that many. Elena Casagrande is quite adept at drawing these characters and depicting emotion. In some respects I prefer Casagrande to Jeanty and Urru in how she depicts female characters - Illyria, Kate, and the Watcher woman are all drawn like adult women - neither as adolescent girls nor overly sexualized pinups. I'm beginning to think male comic book artists in this specific field can't draw women realistically.
How is the narrative straight-forward? It tells us three things in the first panel, one - who's point of view we are in - Angel's ( we know this by the thought boxes which appear on the page),
two - when the action takes place (Now, and in the past), and three - where it is taking place (LA). You can also follow the action, even though we get a jagged time line - go from present day to the past, and back again.
The story is told by Angel. We are in his point of view. And it takes place in a noir universe.
This is set up in the first paragraph.
Angel: "Now. I think I'm Tired. No matter what I do, it's not enough. I love Connor but it's never...how did things end up like this."
Teases us to find out what happened. Did Connor die? Why is Angel tired? Angel is drawn with blood dripping down one side of his face, and ragged, then we get what can best be described as a broken mirror framing style - splinters of Angel's memories with Connor. On one page - the writer tells us who Angel is, who is the love of his life, and his own uncertainty.
As previously stated this story is not hard to follow if you haven't read the rest of Bill Willingham's arc. I don't know if that is a criticism or an attribute, perhaps a little bit of both? It is a bit hard for me not to compare Issue 38 Angel to Issue 38 Buffy for a lot of reasons, but the main one's being the obvious similarities. Both issues carry the name of a "big-name" writer - Willingham is to comics what Joss Whedon is to cult tv shows. However, both are actually written by the editor, not the writer who had been hired and paid to write the comics. Also, they are both issue 38. Add to this - both arcs - Willingham and Whedon's have received criticism from the fan/reader base - some of which has been blistering. I admittedly didn't bother with Willingham's but in retrospect, I'm starting to think his arc makes more sense and is less OCC in regards to the main characters than Whedon's - which I guess is saying something, not quite sure what exactly. It also is unfortunately, less offensive, well unless you're a Spike fan. Oh.. Wait. I'm a Spike fan. But going too far down this road of criticism is going to lead to the precisely the type of debate that I stated above I want to avoid. Instead I'll state this - the similarity between Willingham and Whedon ends with the fact that both writer's works are now being written mainly by their editors, while they continue to get credit for the plot arc - for good or ill (mostly ill in both cases). The difference is that I think Willingham's arc got better the moment he stopped writing it and Mariah and David took over, along with Elena Casagrande - stepping in for the ill-fitting Andrew Denham (who was the main reason I couldn't read the Willingham comics - Denham's art gave me a headache.) While Whedon's arc got worse the moment he jumped ship to direct the Avengers. I can't really blame Whedon for doing that - since I'd have done the same thing. (Let's see a choice between continuing a comic book on a series that was canceled five years ago, and I'm getting paid next to nothing for, and no one cares about outside of a few thousand fans and is dropping in subscriptions ---or directing the Avengers flick starring Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johanssen, and Jeremy Renner - A-List talent, A-list budget, and top producers? And...a 200 million budget? Plus the prestige of doing so?? Hmmm... Let me think. ) No, Whedon's mistake, I suspect, was giving in to Dark Horse and making what at best should have been a 20 issue series into a 40 issue one. Willingham kept his arc to about 20 issues - but left in midstream for undisclosed reasons (yes, I've heard the rumors, I'm trying not to spread contentious gossip for once, not that I think anyone cares but still.)
If you read any of the preceding issues in this arc - you'll realize that the writers had their work cut out for them. Willingham's arc was a mess. He was taking a lot of liberties with the verse that threw the reader out of the story. To be fair, Kelley Armstrong did the same thing. Part of the reason for this is neither writer understood the noir verse of the Angel series all that well. The other reason is like many writers - Willingham and Armstrong both went back to the worlds they were comfortable in. For Armstrong - it was angels. She basically writers gothic tales with a lot of religious imagery and angels in them. Or so I've been told. She's not my cup of coco, so I don't tend to read her. Willingham - in contrast, it was satirical fables. He tried to turn Spike into Jack of Fables, and Angel into some sort of noble knight errant who was constantly being pulled this way and that...it did not work. Plus his take on female characters...was borderline offensive to the readers - a problem he apparently had in regards to a Neil Gaiman series he took over. In short - IDW's attempts to use big-name or well-known cult authors from other mediums or genres to boost sales - backfired on them in a huge way, resulting most likely in the loss of rights to the series. (Although I'm not sure of that either. And yes, I've heard the rumors, let's not go down that path again, shall we?)
What Mariah and David had to do was clean it up. This involved a lot of bandaids in the form of retcons. The first retcon - was James as a demon not a fallen Angel, who had bought Angel's world from his sister - another demonic god. James sent a soul-sucking demon after Angel's crew, and
it apparently couldn't do a thing to Spike. It was assumed for a bit that Spike was acting out of character because he had no soul. But as many a reader could attest he was acting out of character even for Soulless Spike. Although to be fair, the same could be said for Angelus - after he lost the curse. A soul may well change the demon inside, for all we know. It's not like Whedon and company have ever been that consistent or even that clear on the whole soul thing - possibly because Whedon himself seems to be a bit confused and possibly ambivalent as to what it means or represents. He's contradicted himself quite a few times in interviews on the topic, serving to confuse fans and add fodder to many an online debate on the topic. I've seen it interpreted every which way in meta and fanfic - so, my guess is the writers could play with it without too much danger of contradicting established canon.
That said, it was problematic. So they came up with the Soul Flu - a contamination that caused Spike to do some less than nice and somewhat immoral things. (I honestly don't think they were that bad...Angel's done far worse without any Soul Flu...in the tv series. But whatever.) The Soul Flu plot arc like it or not is canon to the comics. They are keeping it. But - it doesn't really bug me. I actually find it sort of interesting..and just wish a better writer were playing with it. What the soul flu arc and Spike's actions during it - specifically his asking folks to write up prophecies for him so that he too could have a destiny - opens up a whole new character specific storyline for Spike. Lynch played with this concept earlier - in Boys with Their Toys - where he depicted Spike envisioning Angel as a noble hero, a leader, the older more successful brother that he could never hope to be. A lot of people interpret this as the writer stating that Angel is noble and heroic and better than Spike, but I don't think that interpretation works and to be blunt? I find it bewildering. It would be one thing if we were in an ominiscent pov or general pov or a writer's pov (like the vast majority of the Buffy arc) but we aren't. We are in Angel and then Spike's pov. Angel, who definitely has a monsterous ego - it's always been one of his fatal flaws even more so when he's Angelus, doesn't quite see himself that way - he wants to, but he knows he's not the noble champion that Spike or even Connor see him as.
Spike a creature in part of Angelus' making as well as Angel's - has an inferiority complex that is fairly massive - demonstrated by his ceaseless snark and bravado. And if you consider that not one but both of his true loves - preferred Angel or wanted Angel or chose Angel over him and did not let him forget it ...I mean think about it, if your significant other was constantly comparing you and not in a favorable light to their ex - how would you feel? And the fact that Spike stays with these women as long as he does - says a lot about Spike's self-esteem or lack thereof. He talks a good game but as he's incredibly insecure about who he is - always has been. As Darla stated to Angel ages ago (Dear Boy), who we were in life effects who we are in death. William was an insecure man in life, desperate to be loved and appreciated, but not sure he was worthy of it.
He's a good man, but he's insecurities are what drives him into Dru's arms, just as it is his insecurities that cause him to feel rejected and flattened by Cecily. If he'd been more secure in himself - Cecily's words and the words of his peers would not have hurt so badly.
When William meets Angelus - Spike is born out of that interaction. It is in part both a defense mechanism and a means of obtaining approval - both of which he accomplishes. What he never quite accomplishes though is stepping out of Angel's shadow. At least not entirely. Yes, I know not everyone online agrees with this perspective, but I think that is the perspective the writers who are exploring. It's worth keeping in mind that they, like most writers, are exploring an aspect that interests them. And it interests me as well, because I can identify with the character's struggles on a certain level and I am curious to see where they decide to go with it.
In no way do I think this is an insult to the character or a statement about how much better Angel is. Angel - as this issue shows - has his own flaws and issues. They just are vastly different than Spike's - which is what makes both Spike and Angel interesting characters.
While fighting back to back to save Connor from the weird demon women who have captured Connor as a sort of weird sacrifice - Spike and Angel exchange this bit of dialogue:
Angel: You sure you don't want to tell me more about the Soul thing? I have some experience with it.
Spike: Not with this. It was never gone. Just...tainted. Feels like I need a Soul Shower...That sounds wrong.
Angel doesn't quite understand - he is once again projecting his knowledge and experience on to Spike. It's a theme that exists throughout the issue with other characters, particularly Connor.
Connor oddly saves himself from the weird demon women, who we thankfully see very little of - apparently just cutting Connor is enough to turn them all to dust. Handy that.
And Spike makes the speech that more or less explains that controversial picture in Lynch's Spike comics.
Spike: I think I need a break (he mutters - it's in small letters). Angel, maybe I'm not really fine.
Angel: If this is about the whole "Soul" thing Spike, I-
Spike: I mean soul flue or not, I was ready to start creating prophecies so I would have a destiny. I thought I was past that. Past feeling second to you.
[There it is. Spike has for a very long time felt second to Angel. Ever since he arrived in Sunnydale back in S2...and it has not let up. First Dru, then Buffy, then Angel's friends and teammates. He needs to sort that out. And that's what Lynch and Urru explain fairly quickly with the use of a somewhat comic evolutionary drawing in Spike issue 1 - which clearly and obviously takes place after this issue.]
Angel: I understand.
Spike: You wouldn't be you if you didn't. (He clearly doesn't. Angel or rather Liam has never had to get the approval of peers - no, it's Dad that he wants that from. Angel is both prodigal son and prodigal father. But Spike for that matter clearly doesn't understand Angel either. Here's the thing - we don't understand one another. We can't. Not entirely. We are strangers no matter how well you know another person - you are strangers. They will always surprise you. Even if you are married to them, especially if you are.)
Angel tells Spike he'll be back. He most likely doesn't hear Spike's muttered, see you soon, you'll need me. (This is in tiny letters.)
And we're back on the rooftop overlooking the city of LA (at least I think it's a roof top. Check. No, a rooftop.). Angel has a conversation with his son - which also explains Illyria's leaving.
This issue sets up Angel, Illyria and Spike's separate arcs fairly neatly.
I want to focus a bit on this conversation between Angel and Connor - which in some respects underlines my issue with how Angel is portrayed in the Buffy comics, while I do not see this comic as an authority on the characters any more than I see the other one for that matter - it may explain why the Buffy comics do not work for me as a reader - why I can't suspend my disbelief in relation to the character of Angel.
Connor: Dad we need to talk.
Angel: Are you okay.
Connor: Yeah, I'm fine...you can put the sword down.
Angel: Right.
Connor: I need..I don't know what I need. I don't even know what I am right now. Son of two vampires? Some kind of chosen one? How can I suddenly do whatever it is I can do? They're all just ideas. What matters is the fight. And I'm ready for that.
Angel: I'm holding you back.
Connor: It's not...well...kind of.
Angel: When you were born a lot of things became clearer for me. I know what it's like to find yourself with responsibilities you never expected. And we're only starting to see what you're capable of. I missed your childhood. And then I tried to do what I thought was best.
Connor: You gave me a loving family. Considering what happened before..
Angel: Nevermind. None of that matters. What matters is you and me and the people in this city.
The city needs you. And maybe you'll find you need it too. So...maybe it's time I stepped back for a while and let you find each other.
Connor: Spike's right. You really don't get it.
Angel: What?
Connor hugs him.
Angel voice-over: I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. Both before and after I was a vampire. But somehow this young man came out of something that never should have been possible. And I'm more than grateful for that than I can ever tell him.
And they stand together looking out over the city of lights.
[The end bit sets up the Wolf Ram and Hart arc which continues in the Spike comics as well.]
The Connor/Angel scene and Spike/Angel scene echo each other. Both are in a way Angel's apprentices, his students, robins to his batman. OR if you prefer Nightwing. They've grown up in his shadow, and they wish to step out of it. But at the same time, they both look up to him, they both love him. They disagree with him, but they've established a bond of family, friendship and brotherhood in a dark world. In the world of Angel - we are all we have and the fight always continues. There's no shanshu. And there's no end to the fighting. Angel here as in the series yearns for the family, yearns for his father's respect, and by being a father - oddly and ironically obtains some semblance of it - yet is unable to quite see it. You Don't Get it.
He's shocked by how Spike views him in Boys With Their Toys, and he's a bit taken aback here with Connor. This doesn't make him noble necessarily except perhaps within his own universe, and it doesn't make him better than anyone else...he's still dark, still prone to make huge mistakes, but
his grounding force..is Connor.
Overall, not a bad read, as I stated above. It is a bit dull in places and repetitive in others. The dialogue lacks the sharpness and wit of Lynch or Whedon for that matter. It feels dulled.
And Spike as a result lacks some of his charm, he's more whiny than snarky - but not everyone can do snark well. If you don't do it normally - it's harder to write, I suspect. I don't know.
But overall..it's not bad. The plot while a bit convoluted in places (the whole Connor/demon warrior gal arc never made sense), is at least coherent. And you do know when and where you are.
As for how the characters are portrayed? Reasonably well. Spike - like I said above is a bit off, but not horrifically so. And I rather like the angle they are pursuing - it is the one aspect that I haven't seen anyone else resolve to date - and it does lead into the Buffy comics well. Angel comes off as well Angel. I don't think he comes across any more heroic or noble than he did in the tv series, to be honest. Nor do I think you can claim he is a noble hero, except within the boundaries of the noir universe which isn't quite the same thing.
But that's my opinion...and well how I personally view it.
Grade? B-