angeliclestat

  I  realise that Cloverfield has been a love it or hate it movie. For my part I loved it.

This is a monster movie,not about the monster - but the people who are affected by it.

Of course this is not the first monster movie to be about 'the people'. Of course. For a monster movie to be interesting you have to have characters you care about in a terrible situation.But what made this unique was that it was *all* about the characters.

I think the fact that we don't learn anything about the monster may have upset people. Why is he attacking New York?Where did he come from?What are those parasite things?Why can't the military stop him? All of these questions would have been addressed in a normal monster movie. The audience could go home with the explanations laid out for them and not be forced to think.

Not here.

None of those questions are addressed, and that adds to the movies mystery. Because if you or I were running down a flaming Manhatten with a huge monster destroying the city - would we know what the hell was going on? Of course not. *That's* the point of the movie.

Of course there is nothing wrong with the old fashioned monster movie.They will continue to be made. But everything that is new confuses people. Cloverfield will be recognised as groundbreaking.

Maybe people were expecting something else when they went to see it. Maybe people like formula and don't want things to change.But changed they have.I have a feeling that there will be many copycat imitations of Cloverfield's style of monster movie. Not sure if thats a good things, but I think it will happen.

So for those that didnt 'get' it. Keep in mind what the story is about, and not what you think it *should* be about.

One of the main problems people find with tie-in comics of TV shows is that they can never change the status quo. So while you may have new stories with your favourite characters, no matter how good they are, they still have to stay within the constraints of what has gone before in the show, and they can have no influence on what comes after.

 

The best examples of this are of course the Buffy comics from Dark Horse and the Angel comics from IDW. Over the years both comics have delivered excellent stories. Indeed some such as Buffy: Ring of Fire and Spike: Asylum were so good that fans called for their canonisation (kinda like people asking for the Pope to canonise certain people that wouldn’t normally be considered  Sainthood…but this is much more important….). So commendable as these are…they still cannot affect the mythology of the show.

 

Which is why After the Fall is so important, and so excellent. And does it affect the mythology of the show? Boy howdy! The revelation on the last page of this issue has been described by many fans as one of the most important in either show.And I would have to agree. But more on that later.

 

Story

 

 

In the best tradition of the show we pick up right after the last page of the last issue. And, once again in the tradition of the show, poor Angel is being thrown through a glass window. Much of the internal monologue here gives clues to what is to come later on. The talk of how the sun/moon situation is affecting the demonic population.

 

The internal monologue on the first few pages was confusing on first read. I tend to read very quickly on my first read through – just to see what is in store – so it wasn’t until my second read that I appreciated the complexity of these pages. To get a sense of what is happening on page 6 for example it is necessary to read it 3 times, one after the other. The first read could be Illyria’s dialogue, which continues through every panel. Next is ‘present’ Angel’s internal monologue. And finally the internal monologue of  PuppetAngel, FutureAngel, and babyLiam. That is a lot to fit on one page, not to mention taking in what is going on in the art. But that is what is so rewarding about this issue. So much going on that it is impossible to take it all in in one read.

 

The panel of FutureAngel is fascinating. Is this a definite future? Is there such a thing in the Angelverse. Does Angel really age? And why does his fashion taste go horribly wrong?! :)

 

The Angel/Illyria fight is better than I thought it would be. There is so much involved with the dialogue, the timeslips and the harrowing fight itself. The image of Angel with a gun is actually quite shocking. I may be wrong, but I believe that the only time in the whole show we saw him with a gun was in the first episode when he takes the gun from Stacey the goon. We are so used to seeing him with swords, axes and other medieval weaponry that to see him with a gun should have set bells ringing that something wasn’t quite right. And knowing the last page revelation really puts it into perspective. It’s a very visceral image which is both disturbing and unsettling. Don’t know why it should be, but it is.

 

Another disturbing image is to be found on the next page, with Angel’s hands being impaled on the wall by 2 knives(in each hand!!!). Ouch! It looks so painful. And with Angel  no longer being a vampire – probably even more so! Even more horrible is the knife cutting into his throat. I cant even look at it, it looks so real. I can hear the cutting sound in my head…and kinda want it to go away!

 

The Illyria/Dragon fight is also not what I expected. I had thought it might be just an excuse for a big cool fight. Which would have been fine. But Brian Lynch managed to make it so much more than that, having the discussion between Angel and Spike going on in the foreground, while the big fight is in the background…unimportant, but giving an excellent sense of comedy to the proceedings. This huge fight is going on between dragon and god, and noone is paying attention! Love it.

 

The first big revelation of the comic is of course what Spike has been up to. All the Spike lovers’ worry has been assuaged. Spike is still a hero, working with Connor to rescue the people who have been affected by this Hell on earth. Issue 2 had ya fooled,huh?

 

This is not music to Angel’s ears of course. I hope that he doesn’t brood on the subject too much, or allow himself to wallow in self pity. But his actions at the end of the issue do not show this to be the case with the challenge to the demon lords.

 

 

I quite like the demon lords. The short scene between them reveals quite a lot. There is a Lord of Silverlake who seems to keep declining their invitations to meetings. I have a silly feeling that it is Lorne. I don’t know why. Its probably way out there, but it would be quite funny. Also it confirms that Illyria is Lord of Beverly Hills. We are also informed that Wolfram and Hart have put a stop on them killing Angel. This is quite intriguing. Is it because they don’t want him dead, so they can continue to torture him in this hell? Or is there more to Angel’s fate than we are aware of. Maybe he is still important to W+H and the fate of the world?

 

So Angel challenges the Lords for ownership of LA. I love how Burge is all big and scary,until Angel calls his bluff. Notice how he comes up with excuses not to fight Angel himself ha ha. They are obviously still scared of Angel.

 

Angel’s plan may seem foolhardy and impossible.He has two days to prepare for the fight of his life. But I think he has an ace up his sleeve.OK…I don’t know what it is…but I am sure he has it. He  better because the revelation on the last page is putting him at a slight disadvantage. Angel is no longer a vampire.

 

 

 

 

 

Art

 

This is the issue the art fully clicked with me. The first issue had good points, but it was a bit overstylised for a tie-in book. People know these characters well, and the actors who portrayed them for years. So we need figues that resemble them, even if not exactly. We didn’t get this in the first issue, which is perhaps where all the complaints of the art came from. Last issue it improved a lot, but still left a lot to be desired. Issue 3 however…you can’t get better, Everything (well nearly:)) is perfect. There is much more likeness now for the characters.They are not photorealistic, which is fine. But they much more resemble what we needed for the characters we know.

 

Frano’s  work was always excellent. He always drew very busy panels. He always drew amazing demons, and his backgrounds were beautiful. It was the likenesses that didn’t fully satisfy me. But this issue is the best work he has done on any of the Angel books (including Asylum and Shadow Puppets). Here there is emotion in the characters faces, there is drama in their exchanges. It fully comes to life off the page and moves us, and excites us and brings the words fully to life. Excellent stuff.

 

There were only 2 images I didn’t like. The image of PuppetAngel. Franco drew excellent puppets in Shadow Puppets, and an excellent AngelusPuppet, so why he drew this version I cannon understand. Not good. But we’ll forgive him:)

The other was the image of Angel on page 20 when he is holding up the sword.The body looks really off…and in kind of an effeminate pose. Which is fine…but not when he is challenging a bunch of demons to war:) But apart from that the art is faultless.If it stays this way there should be no more complaints.

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts

 

What is Angel now? That’s the debate which is roaring throughout the fandom. Some people automatically presumed Shanshu. “Angel is human”, they cry! But that hasn’t been explicitly stated yet. He just says “If I were still a vampire”. Of course the obvious thought would be to think he is human. But I think there could be more to it than that.

 

If it is the Shanshu then it has come at the worst possible time. It was something that he had accepted he would never achieve, and that he had accepted to the point that he was willing to sign it away. Of course there are many people that do not accept this signing away. I would be one of them. But of course that didn’t matter at the time. It didn’t matter whether or not a prophesised destiny could be signed away or not – it was the fact that he was willing to sign it away is what matters. That is why Angel is so great.

 

And now he continues that. If he *is* human…then him going out every night to rescue people takes on a whole new light. It was heroic when we thought he was a vampire…but now he is possibly human, its just amazing. As is his challenge to the Lords.

 

I loved this comic up to now. It was a great continuation to the story. Full of great plot lines and ideas. This just blows it out of the water. This turned it from merely being a worthy continuation….to being an important continuation.

 

Next time I presume  Angel gets a visit from Gunn is seems. And I am looking forward to seeing that meeting!

 

When the final moments of Not Fade Away roared out of our television screens bringing the Angel legacy to an end (so we thought) that fateful day in 2004, the cry from fans could be heard all over the world (really....didnt you hear it?). It had been a great 5 years with the characters, but a bittersweet ending knowing that the show had so much more to offer, and so much more to say if only network politics and money hadnt played  a part. But that is the way with all art, from artists needing commisions to paint, to Mozart only able to write opera when he got a big commisioned. Art needs money to thrive, and money will only come if the people with the money can make more money from the art.


So the Angel fans mourned.And they fought. But it was no good.


Then the announcment came that IDW comics were going to be continuing the Angel franchise. "Hooray",we cried. The Angel name had not died. And so IDW published 'non-canon' comics (although the non-canon bit didnt matter to a lot of people, myself included). but what people hungered for was that old chestnut:

What happened next?

And so we come to After the Fall. The comic we never thought would happen...as I am sure that IDW didnt either. Perhaps Buffy the Vampire Slayer gave life to Angel once more. I am an Angel fan first and foremost, and I enjoy Buffy on a smaller level than I do Angel. But I have to give thanks to the Slayer, in that Angel was born on that show, and spawned his own series. Also the fact that Buffy Season 8 from Dark Horse was such a success that the Angel canon comic seemed like such a good idea.

Also of course thank must be given to Brian Lynch, whose Spike:Asylum series for IDW inspired Whedon to hand the reigns over to a more than capable writer, who has written a series that equals the show, and is a worthy continuation of the Angel legacy.


And so onto the review (at last you cry!:))

I loved it. Pure and simple. Yes it was a few months ago now that I read it first, but I still remember the joy I felt upon reading each and every page (well not all; there was only one wasted page I felt, but more on that later:)). My girlfriend knows how much Angel means to be (she is a Jane Austen girl, and I support her in that too;)), and as soon as I finished reading, she nervously asked me. "How was it?"...and my reply was " Perfect". And she smiled...a smile of relief I think, but she was happy for me. As I was happy for every fan of Angel who read it.

The Covers

So first things first, the covers. I like the Tony Harris cover. A good enough likeness of Angel,but not sure if it has any bearing on the plot. The Urru cover on the other hand - my favourite cover of any Angel book (Messina and Mooneys respective covers for Auld Lang Syne #5 also rank high). That is when I was happy with Urru as artist. More on that in the art section.

Urru manages to capture Angel perfectly here, the grim determination in the eyes,the coat swishing so you can almost hear it. The Dragon perched above him, protecter and ally. And the destroyed LA. Beautiful.

Story

There were two ways this could have begun. Either picking up straight into the battle in the alley, or a few months later like it did at the beginning of each season on the show. I am happy that they chose the second route (although I am equally as happy that we will be dealing with that Battle and other stories related to that night in 'First Night'). This throws us straight into the new world that Angel,the gang and LA finds itself in. The first 5 pages are as exciting and surprising as any episode of the show.
"It all started with a girl". Perfect opening line, and instantly recognisable to any Angel fan. Lynch has disclosed that it refers to Fred, but I also think that it has significence that there is a girl in the first panel, who Angel saves,killing demons,which annoys Burge,which leads Burge's son into being killed by Angel, which starts...well I am not sure, but Im guessing it wont be a tea party.(Although that would be nice for a change...)

So like the first and fifth seasons, this opens with Angel rescuing a girl in an alley. What he should have been doing instead of being in Wolfram and Hart. Although back to 'helping the helpless', these helpless are in this predicament because of Angel. Lots more to brood over you would think, but Angel hasnt let himself revert to pre Darla-arc way of thinking. Instead he is out every single night trying to help. A fact that Brian Lynch has confirmed is proving detrimental to his...well not health exactly. But he is not allowing himself enough time to recover from his wounds and is trying any mystical means available to him to recover enough to go out the next night. Still weighed down with the guilt is our Angel...but is trying to do the right thing. 

So the new status quo is established quickly. LA is being ruled over by various demon lords. While Angel's movements were seemingly restriced by W+H for the first few weeks after NFA, he is  out killing demons again; Which introduces Burge, and his 'moron offspring'. I like Burge  I must say. He is slightly ridiculous in his affection for office furniture, but that gives us one of my favourite lines of the issue.

"Angel kills one more of my men, Wolfram and Hart be damned, I'm coming back for his head as recompense...and/or that desk in the corner.That is one fine desk, it's metal and it's sturdy."

I can hear that last part in the style of Anchorman's Ron Burgundy and it cracks me up!:)

And onto the next surprise of the issue. GhostWesley. Not a total surprise really as many people (myself included) had theorised on the Wolfram and Hart contract policy of employees being used after death. So this return makes perfect sense, and has much pathos and tragic potential. Wesley and Angel are on speaking terms, but at what level? Will Wesley get out of this contract? Will he remain damned for all time? Questions to be answered....


So onto Santa Monica. I love that Angel is sending the fugitive humans to Connor. Of course there are new questions to be garnered from the Connor scenes. How did Nina and Gwen end up with him? More to be answered, but a very effective team the make.

The Kr'ph scenes were funny, but my only gripe of the book is they went on too long. The book could have done with one less page - specifically page 20. But its a minor point.  Great reintroduction to Gunn. I am sure that people were not happy with the idea that Gunn was back...until the last panel. Genius. And yea I know that it had been spoiled already by Amy Acker, but still a great twist and already leading to some great storytelling in issue 2.

And isnt George great:)

And so to the last section. Did Angel do the right thing by instigating another war?Should he have learned a lesson from NFA. Or is the 'one small act of kindness' ethos not enough for the current situation? We know that by him killing Burge's son that he is going to have a war on his hands. Has he a plan...of course he does. But will it work. That is up in the air. Which is what is great about the Angelverse. No easy answers.


Art

This will be a much shorter section than the story (yay says you), simply because I do not know enough about art to make a huge contribution to what has been said already.

All I can say is what I like and what I dislike. And for the most part I think the art in After the Fall works very well. It is an individual style, and contrasts nicely with other more colourful comic book art.This is a dark world folks. Its not a nice place anymore.  The major colours are black,grey and red. There is a great constant glow of red, sometimes even indoors, which reminds us that we are in hell.

The character representations are fine. I wouldnt mind a little better actor likeness,especially in the case of Wesley. I know he is 'early Wesley', but its not the best representation of him I have seen. Same with Nina. But every body else straddles that line between character and actor well.

There are great little touches, my favourites being the demons stealing office furniture, and the boiling sea behind Santa Monica pier. Urru draws great demons, great backgrounds and acceptable characters.


------------------------------------


So over all this is a great continuation. 

A triumph  10/10

This is my first blog. Dont know how long I will keep this up for. I read that there are many many millions of blogs created....and many many millions of blogs unkept. That is a lot of wasted space on the internet. So I thought why not add to it!

I probably won't be adding any 'real life' stuff to this. My friends and myself hear enough about each others problems...the world does not need to know. 

So this page will be  mostly dedicated to the TV show and comic series Angel. I will be posting thoughts and musings (are they the same thing?) on the new comics series from IDW After the Fall when I think to do so...and maybe do a poll or two. Why not. 

So thats it for now.:)