Reason for Reading: I love "Angel" to the nth degree!
Comments: I usually start my reviews with a brief summary but I
can't with this book which picks up some time after the fight at
the end of Season 5 of the television series Angel. The show ended
with the end of the world and "the gang" taking on an epic battle
against a horde of demons, including a dragon, which the viewer
would assume continued until the bitter end. Well things are not
exactly as they seem and the first five comics gathered here
contain shocker after shocker about pretty much everything,
especially about each individual member of the cast. And everybody
is present and accounted for, except of course for dear Cordy. But
we do have the return of three characters who had limited story
lines in the show Groosalugg (from Pylea), Nina (the werewolf girl)
and Gwen (the electricity girl).
This is a perfect continuation of Angel. I am completely satisfied
with the direction that has been taken. The characters retain their
sense of voice from the show. You can hear the actor's voices in
your head, the humour and sarcasm, plus the interaction between the
various characters is all perfect. The artwork is delicious. It is
aptly dark and broody but the use of colour has been wisely placed
to make a stunning book to just look at.
My book doesn't have a rating on it but I'd assume the comics were
rated Teen. There is the typical violence of the TV show, that is
the slaying of demons and beasts, nothing that would deserve a
Mature rating. There are a few bits of language that wouldn't have
made the show but nothing terribly profane or frequent. The only
thing that could be of concern is the plenitude of women in barely
there thong bikinis or bikini-like costumes, shown from various
scintillating points of view.
The book itself has bonuses. I have the hardcover which comes with
a ribbon bookmark (fancy shmancy!). The book starts with a note
from Brian Lynch, then once the five volumes are over there is an
art gallery which includes the covers of the comic books, artwork
by various artists and photos of Angel and Spike. Next comes the
original proposals for each of the five volumes, these are textual
short stories and not exactly how the finished comics turned out.
Then comes a Sketch Gallery by Franco Urro and finally the book
ends with an annotated script of chapter one. I actually read
through the annotations right after reading chapter one and gained
a lot of insight before continuing on with the story.
If you have watched all five seasons then you must continue on with
the story by reading this and be prepared to be shocked over and
over as each chapter ends with a stunner. I can't wait to read the
next one!