![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat[Made it to the gym finally - which killed a good percentage of the irritability and made me feel a lot better.]
Finally read Angel:After The Fall by Brian Lynch, Joss Whedon, and Frank Urruh. [Got one of the *variant* covers - the one with Tony Harris' art sans the credits at the top, and on the back no ad - just a photo of David Boreanze as Angel with the title below it. This is pretty rare - there's only one of these in each box of 25. There are two other variant covers - one with the whole team (Gunn, Angel, Illyria, and Spike) in the alley. And one with Angel and a bunch of skulls behind him (which I would have preferred -since I prefer that painting of Angel- you can find it at www.grahamcrackers.com) I find it incredibly amusing that I got a variant cover with a pic of DB - because a) I honestly don't care and b) I no longer consider David Boreanze all that physically attractive so much as sorta funny looking. (I know people's mileage differs on this.)]
Will you like the comic? Ah that depends on a couple of factors.
1. Did you like Season 5 of Angel?
2. Do you like noir?
3. Do you like Brian Lynch and Frank Urru?
4. Are you a fan of the Angel Universe?
5. Were you at all curious about what might have happened after the season finale of Angel S5, even if you liked the idea that they all died in the ally?
Not surprised I enjoyed this comic, since Lynch and I are pretty much on the same page regarding which season of Angel that was the most enjoyable. (We both loved Season 5 the most.) I've discovered that it helps a great deal when the writer perceives the characters and world the same way you do in your head. Also helps if their writing style is either similar to your own or one that you find enjoyable. Lynch's writing style is not only enjoyable but makes me laugh.
In a comic book - it is imperative that you like the art or that the art clicks for you on some level. It's like any visual medium or style - if you don't like a cinematographer or an actor - you will have a hard time liking the film or tv show regardless of how well it is written. Novels that are not dependent on graphics do not have this problem. Graphic novels or comic books on the other hand...do. If you don't like the artist, you aren't going to like the comic book. If you do like the artist but hate the writing, you are likely to at least enjoy it a bit. Luckily for me, Frank Urruh is amongst my favorite comic book artists. I adore his style. It resonates for me and in some ways fits how I'd draw the characters in my own head. He doesn't so much draw the characters as paint them, with long flowing strokes. They move across the page in my head. I see the layers in their characterization through his brush strokes. And he manages to reproduce the pulp noir feel of the old Raymond Chandler dime novel covers with their dark blacks, brilliant navy's and blood reds.
As an aside, from the smattering of reviews I've read regarding the book, the people who love Georges Jeanty's style aren't crazy about Urruh's and make the same complaints about Urruh's art that those of us who aren't crazy about Jeanty's artwork make about Jeanty. The two styles are VERY different. So - IT is highly unlikely that if you love one, you'll like the other, although I know people who like both. I'm ambivalent about Jeanty's. It is growing on me and reminds me a great deal of the female line of Japanese Magna - where all the women have very round faces and big eyes. Urru's art, which I obviously prefer, reminds me more of Frank Miller's, Jai Lee (Gunslinger), Alex Ross, and to some extent the artist who does Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise books. It's contemporary yet also somewhat traditional.
The only thing that bugged me about the comic was my favorite character won't turn up until the second issue - but that makes sense, since he is a splashy character and you really can't introduce him too early...you have to set up the main or lead character's position first. If you introduce Spike in the first issue, he might steal the limelight away from the lead - Spike was good at doing that. And it is Angel's book afterall. (*grin*) Seriously, all joking aside (sorry couldn't resist doing that), what Lynch gets from the outset is the story centers on Angel - he's at the core - everyone we come into contact should in some way or other reflect on Angel, either be a choice he hadn't taken, a price he's paying, someone who he condemned, etc. When you write from that perspective, you start with the guys Angel would be closest too. I'm not saying he doesn't care about Spike. But hey you're in a fracas with you estranged kid brother, your girlfriend, your son, your best friends...who are you going to think about first? The annoying, estranged kid brother, thorn in your side - who you wish would go away? Anyhow, don't worry Spike fans - Lynch adores the character and has a great arc planned for him. I trust him - after reading his take in both Asylum and Shadow Puppets.
The plot and its surprises, and there are a few, worked for me. I'd heard about some of them before the issue came out - so was not that surprised. Lynch also does an excellent job of reintroducing key characters from Angel's life in the comic. I'm an odd fan, I actually liked all the characters in Angel. One of the hazards of posting online about a tv show, film series or series of novels is you have to deal with people who like to bash characters or tell you how much they hate your favorite character and why you are (fill in the blank) for liking it. I got a confession - I honestly don't care if you hate a character. It's fictional and liking/hating is highly subjective. You aren't writing it. You don't control that character's fate (thank heavens). And if you hate characters in a series I'm into, I got news for you - it is highly unlikely I'll ever wast my time reading any fanfic you write about that series. I know you can't write a good representation because you don't appreciate the universe or the characters fully. The writers who created it - on the other hand - adore all the characters - so I can trust them to do a good job. (Or they usually do. The one's they dislike or hate usually disappear pretty quickly.) End of the spoiler-free part of the review.
Lynch starts out the tale with whatever happened between Angel and that dragon. Apparently instead of slaying each other or being saved by jumping into a portal leading to an alternate dimension, they teamed up. Kudos to Whedon. That's the one option I haven't read anywhere else. Not only did they team up - but Angel has been using the dragon to help him take motor vehicles to innocent civilians to aid them in getting away from the center of Hell LA. He doesn't just send them out of town, he sends them to someone in Santa Monica.
Back at WRH - apparently Angel can't get away from the place. WRH won't let him. He's learned that if you break all of WRH's rules they might send you somewhere worse than Hell. They not only have access to worse dimensions, they own timeshares there. (Hmmm, maybe Angel should have thought the whole joining and overturning the evil corp thing through a bit more thoroughly. Having been a member of few evil or crazy corporations myself, I can identify.)
At the gutted out and crumbling shell of WRH headquarters - Angel is saved from a bunch of nasty demons by WRH's new rep - who turns out to be, you guessed it, Wesely Wyndom-Price, who apparently did not listen to Lilah when she told him that once you sign on with WRH - you're in for life. He does make a far more interesting rep than Eve or Adam did. But I sort of miss Lilah. Not too worried though, they can always bring her back. Wes basically tells Angel that he needs to behave and back off. He also puts a parasite on Angel's chest to heal him, which Angel tolerates sort of. From Wes, we learn where Angel's been sending his civilians.
"Since you can't take out each of the Lords, you've been rescuing civilians and tossing them to your son? You sure he has room?"
Off we go to Santa Monica and discover Connor has set up camp in an old Hotel with Nina and Gwen and a huge group of good demons and civilians. Connor looks pretty cool. Alot like he did in Orgin. Lynch was a huge fan of the S5 Connor.
Wes admits he'd do anything to get out of his contract with WRH and move on, but he tells Angel - "you'd better start taking little baby steps towards your former self/position before someone else takes it over."
As to who that person is? We are given two possibilities. First is Lord Westwood - a skeleton covered with blue glowing jello who has co-opted a telepathic demonic fish named Betta George (who is actually a good demon, rehabitalitated by the Asylum folks. (Long story - go find Spike:Asylum for details)). Anywho...just as Betta George is being forced to make former cops and security guards attack each other for the demon's sport (where have we seen this before? Wait that horrendous episode in Angel S1 or was that Angel S2, I forget), Gunn jumps into the fray with his gang. They defeat the demon, take Betta George (possibly save him after knocking him unconscious) and save a bunch of slave girls.
Back to Angel...who decides to kill the demons who invaded WRH even though Wes told him not to. He's not leaving the building, which technically was the only thing they told him not to do. Not leave the building. He stands on the ledge of one of the gutted out rooms and spikes a demon with a metal desk. Then another with a stake. Stating that he hasn't changed that much. WRH hasn't changed him...
The voice over is...unfortunately on top of a pic of Gunn, fanged out, and killing all the people he allegedly rescued.
TBC.
Angel S6 is sticking with its noir thematic structure. No matter how hard Angel, the hero, attempts to climb out of the abyss, his choices throw him back into it. It's not the desire that dooms him, but his means or method. The doing evil to fight evil. And everyone Angel touchs, he inadvertently corrupts...they take on his sins. Except of course for his son, who has managed to set up shop on the outskirts of hell. It's been said that Connor may well be Angel's second-chance, his shanshu, his life as a hero. And his means towards redemption. Ironic, considering Angel's own unresolved relationship with his father was to a degree what did him in to begin with.
The fact that it is Connor who has created a family with Angel's former paramours - Nina (the werewolf) and Gwen (electroshock girl) both women hampered by nature and both women who reflect Angel's own fears of intimacy in their monsterous aspects, is equally ironic. Nina in some ways is very similar in physique to Darla/Buffy (mother), while Gwen is similar to Dru/Faith (daughter/sister). They bookmark Connor, much as in times past, Fred and Cordy may have. Meanwhile - Angel lives in a world devoid of women and surrounded by former male colleagues who have become either monsters like himself or unwilling representatives of WRH. Wes and Gunn flank Angel. Wes now the rep of the white room and the people they are fighting. Wes the brains. Gunn now the vampire...brainless and hungry.
Angel's only ally in this hell? A dragon. Who much like Angel - is one of a kind. Alone in the bleak landscape.
Angel is at rock bottom more or less. Yet he strives to crawl upwards. Doesn't give up. Which is what I love most about the character. Lynch has managed to get us back to what makes Angel despite his flaws, likeable, his desire to try. To go after the impossible. The vampire cursed with a soul who seeks the impossible goal of redeemption. The former serial killer who wants to be a hero. He's the antihero. Gruff. Tired. Sarcastic. Old. Yet at the same time optimistic. It's an interesting contrast. (End spoilers and analysis)
Lynch does a marvelous job of capturing these characters voices and attitudes. Reading the comic reminded me of watching the show, in some ways I preferred it. Because they can do so much more.
I look forward to the next issue. And will definitely continue reading.
My Rating? A
Finally read Angel:After The Fall by Brian Lynch, Joss Whedon, and Frank Urruh. [Got one of the *variant* covers - the one with Tony Harris' art sans the credits at the top, and on the back no ad - just a photo of David Boreanze as Angel with the title below it. This is pretty rare - there's only one of these in each box of 25. There are two other variant covers - one with the whole team (Gunn, Angel, Illyria, and Spike) in the alley. And one with Angel and a bunch of skulls behind him (which I would have preferred -since I prefer that painting of Angel- you can find it at www.grahamcrackers.com) I find it incredibly amusing that I got a variant cover with a pic of DB - because a) I honestly don't care and b) I no longer consider David Boreanze all that physically attractive so much as sorta funny looking. (I know people's mileage differs on this.)]
Will you like the comic? Ah that depends on a couple of factors.
1. Did you like Season 5 of Angel?
2. Do you like noir?
3. Do you like Brian Lynch and Frank Urru?
4. Are you a fan of the Angel Universe?
5. Were you at all curious about what might have happened after the season finale of Angel S5, even if you liked the idea that they all died in the ally?
Not surprised I enjoyed this comic, since Lynch and I are pretty much on the same page regarding which season of Angel that was the most enjoyable. (We both loved Season 5 the most.) I've discovered that it helps a great deal when the writer perceives the characters and world the same way you do in your head. Also helps if their writing style is either similar to your own or one that you find enjoyable. Lynch's writing style is not only enjoyable but makes me laugh.
In a comic book - it is imperative that you like the art or that the art clicks for you on some level. It's like any visual medium or style - if you don't like a cinematographer or an actor - you will have a hard time liking the film or tv show regardless of how well it is written. Novels that are not dependent on graphics do not have this problem. Graphic novels or comic books on the other hand...do. If you don't like the artist, you aren't going to like the comic book. If you do like the artist but hate the writing, you are likely to at least enjoy it a bit. Luckily for me, Frank Urruh is amongst my favorite comic book artists. I adore his style. It resonates for me and in some ways fits how I'd draw the characters in my own head. He doesn't so much draw the characters as paint them, with long flowing strokes. They move across the page in my head. I see the layers in their characterization through his brush strokes. And he manages to reproduce the pulp noir feel of the old Raymond Chandler dime novel covers with their dark blacks, brilliant navy's and blood reds.
As an aside, from the smattering of reviews I've read regarding the book, the people who love Georges Jeanty's style aren't crazy about Urruh's and make the same complaints about Urruh's art that those of us who aren't crazy about Jeanty's artwork make about Jeanty. The two styles are VERY different. So - IT is highly unlikely that if you love one, you'll like the other, although I know people who like both. I'm ambivalent about Jeanty's. It is growing on me and reminds me a great deal of the female line of Japanese Magna - where all the women have very round faces and big eyes. Urru's art, which I obviously prefer, reminds me more of Frank Miller's, Jai Lee (Gunslinger), Alex Ross, and to some extent the artist who does Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise books. It's contemporary yet also somewhat traditional.
The only thing that bugged me about the comic was my favorite character won't turn up until the second issue - but that makes sense, since he is a splashy character and you really can't introduce him too early...you have to set up the main or lead character's position first. If you introduce Spike in the first issue, he might steal the limelight away from the lead - Spike was good at doing that. And it is Angel's book afterall. (*grin*) Seriously, all joking aside (sorry couldn't resist doing that), what Lynch gets from the outset is the story centers on Angel - he's at the core - everyone we come into contact should in some way or other reflect on Angel, either be a choice he hadn't taken, a price he's paying, someone who he condemned, etc. When you write from that perspective, you start with the guys Angel would be closest too. I'm not saying he doesn't care about Spike. But hey you're in a fracas with you estranged kid brother, your girlfriend, your son, your best friends...who are you going to think about first? The annoying, estranged kid brother, thorn in your side - who you wish would go away? Anyhow, don't worry Spike fans - Lynch adores the character and has a great arc planned for him. I trust him - after reading his take in both Asylum and Shadow Puppets.
The plot and its surprises, and there are a few, worked for me. I'd heard about some of them before the issue came out - so was not that surprised. Lynch also does an excellent job of reintroducing key characters from Angel's life in the comic. I'm an odd fan, I actually liked all the characters in Angel. One of the hazards of posting online about a tv show, film series or series of novels is you have to deal with people who like to bash characters or tell you how much they hate your favorite character and why you are (fill in the blank) for liking it. I got a confession - I honestly don't care if you hate a character. It's fictional and liking/hating is highly subjective. You aren't writing it. You don't control that character's fate (thank heavens). And if you hate characters in a series I'm into, I got news for you - it is highly unlikely I'll ever wast my time reading any fanfic you write about that series. I know you can't write a good representation because you don't appreciate the universe or the characters fully. The writers who created it - on the other hand - adore all the characters - so I can trust them to do a good job. (Or they usually do. The one's they dislike or hate usually disappear pretty quickly.) End of the spoiler-free part of the review.
Lynch starts out the tale with whatever happened between Angel and that dragon. Apparently instead of slaying each other or being saved by jumping into a portal leading to an alternate dimension, they teamed up. Kudos to Whedon. That's the one option I haven't read anywhere else. Not only did they team up - but Angel has been using the dragon to help him take motor vehicles to innocent civilians to aid them in getting away from the center of Hell LA. He doesn't just send them out of town, he sends them to someone in Santa Monica.
Back at WRH - apparently Angel can't get away from the place. WRH won't let him. He's learned that if you break all of WRH's rules they might send you somewhere worse than Hell. They not only have access to worse dimensions, they own timeshares there. (Hmmm, maybe Angel should have thought the whole joining and overturning the evil corp thing through a bit more thoroughly. Having been a member of few evil or crazy corporations myself, I can identify.)
At the gutted out and crumbling shell of WRH headquarters - Angel is saved from a bunch of nasty demons by WRH's new rep - who turns out to be, you guessed it, Wesely Wyndom-Price, who apparently did not listen to Lilah when she told him that once you sign on with WRH - you're in for life. He does make a far more interesting rep than Eve or Adam did. But I sort of miss Lilah. Not too worried though, they can always bring her back. Wes basically tells Angel that he needs to behave and back off. He also puts a parasite on Angel's chest to heal him, which Angel tolerates sort of. From Wes, we learn where Angel's been sending his civilians.
"Since you can't take out each of the Lords, you've been rescuing civilians and tossing them to your son? You sure he has room?"
Off we go to Santa Monica and discover Connor has set up camp in an old Hotel with Nina and Gwen and a huge group of good demons and civilians. Connor looks pretty cool. Alot like he did in Orgin. Lynch was a huge fan of the S5 Connor.
Wes admits he'd do anything to get out of his contract with WRH and move on, but he tells Angel - "you'd better start taking little baby steps towards your former self/position before someone else takes it over."
As to who that person is? We are given two possibilities. First is Lord Westwood - a skeleton covered with blue glowing jello who has co-opted a telepathic demonic fish named Betta George (who is actually a good demon, rehabitalitated by the Asylum folks. (Long story - go find Spike:Asylum for details)). Anywho...just as Betta George is being forced to make former cops and security guards attack each other for the demon's sport (where have we seen this before? Wait that horrendous episode in Angel S1 or was that Angel S2, I forget), Gunn jumps into the fray with his gang. They defeat the demon, take Betta George (possibly save him after knocking him unconscious) and save a bunch of slave girls.
Back to Angel...who decides to kill the demons who invaded WRH even though Wes told him not to. He's not leaving the building, which technically was the only thing they told him not to do. Not leave the building. He stands on the ledge of one of the gutted out rooms and spikes a demon with a metal desk. Then another with a stake. Stating that he hasn't changed that much. WRH hasn't changed him...
The voice over is...unfortunately on top of a pic of Gunn, fanged out, and killing all the people he allegedly rescued.
TBC.
Angel S6 is sticking with its noir thematic structure. No matter how hard Angel, the hero, attempts to climb out of the abyss, his choices throw him back into it. It's not the desire that dooms him, but his means or method. The doing evil to fight evil. And everyone Angel touchs, he inadvertently corrupts...they take on his sins. Except of course for his son, who has managed to set up shop on the outskirts of hell. It's been said that Connor may well be Angel's second-chance, his shanshu, his life as a hero. And his means towards redemption. Ironic, considering Angel's own unresolved relationship with his father was to a degree what did him in to begin with.
The fact that it is Connor who has created a family with Angel's former paramours - Nina (the werewolf) and Gwen (electroshock girl) both women hampered by nature and both women who reflect Angel's own fears of intimacy in their monsterous aspects, is equally ironic. Nina in some ways is very similar in physique to Darla/Buffy (mother), while Gwen is similar to Dru/Faith (daughter/sister). They bookmark Connor, much as in times past, Fred and Cordy may have. Meanwhile - Angel lives in a world devoid of women and surrounded by former male colleagues who have become either monsters like himself or unwilling representatives of WRH. Wes and Gunn flank Angel. Wes now the rep of the white room and the people they are fighting. Wes the brains. Gunn now the vampire...brainless and hungry.
Angel's only ally in this hell? A dragon. Who much like Angel - is one of a kind. Alone in the bleak landscape.
Angel is at rock bottom more or less. Yet he strives to crawl upwards. Doesn't give up. Which is what I love most about the character. Lynch has managed to get us back to what makes Angel despite his flaws, likeable, his desire to try. To go after the impossible. The vampire cursed with a soul who seeks the impossible goal of redeemption. The former serial killer who wants to be a hero. He's the antihero. Gruff. Tired. Sarcastic. Old. Yet at the same time optimistic. It's an interesting contrast. (End spoilers and analysis)
Lynch does a marvelous job of capturing these characters voices and attitudes. Reading the comic reminded me of watching the show, in some ways I preferred it. Because they can do so much more.
I look forward to the next issue. And will definitely continue reading.
My Rating? A
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-11-24 07:17 am (UTC)I've been studying some books on comic book drawing, and the early anime done by Tezuka Osamu was viewed with great respect because of many innovative things he did in terms of POV and movement. He influenced all of Japanese manga w/the big eyed style, but it was a choice to make an iconic/symbolic character which is supposed to be easier for people (at least Japanese people) to identify with. Many people think that a more realistic style actually prevents the reader from putting themselves into the story, of course that is just the theory put forward by the writer of the text I was reading.
"I think he's either improving or I'm just getting used to it."
I'm guessing it is both: Jeanty is definitely getting more used to the characters and seems to draw them with more confidence, but also it is easier to like something when you know what to expect (you probably don't compare it to what you would have liked to have seen now that you know what he is more likely to give you).