Angel: After the Fall #9
Posted: Monday, June 23, 2008
By: Marx Pyle
Brian Lynch
Nick Runge, Art Lyon (c), Shayne Corbett & Nick Runge (i)
IDW Publishing
"You tell'em! Just, just let us get far enough away from you, and then you tell 'em." -- Spike
Wow, it didn't take long for this issue to come out. Right on the heels of the "First Night" 3-issue interlude story arc that filled in what happened right after the season five finale, we now get the finale of the first story arc for "After the Fall" (aka Season 6). And what a story it is.
I've enjoyed the series so far, but with no budget limits, the new hellish setting and the Fang Gang no longer together it just didn't feel like "Angel" anymore. But happily this issue heralds a new direction that finally brings back the show I know and love.
It is the big battle between Angel and the Lords of LA's champions. Things look hopeless as Gunn and his gang watch on, but just like normal, the Fang Gang unite and help Angel. Luckily, Angel had a trick up his sleeve that causes a major turn in the battle.
This issue successfully captured the characters' voices and had great pacing between drama and comedy that made it feel like I was watching an episode of Angel. Joss Whedon should be proud.
Artist Franco Urru left the series and was replaced with Nick Runge. Runge is really good, but a little hit & miss. On one hand, he often nails the faces and has superb details in the frame, but he's uneven. Every so often, the faces look distorted and the backgrounds lose any sort of detail.
The biggest problem (and the main reason why I couldn't give this issue a perfect score) was that the art -- and to a lesser extent the writing -- made the battle confusing. I had trouble keeping track of where people were. For example, where the heck did Spike's lady army pop up from? And the twist that took out the Lords was subtle and confusing as drawn. I had to look over it twice, and then get it explained to me in dialogue what exactly happened.
It was great to see the Wesley & Illyria/Fred "love triangle" pop up again. I also enjoy seeing the large cast of characters. The return to a familiar location -- along with the nod to a long missing character -- were fantastic touches.
One last thing to mention is the brilliant cover homage. It started in issue #5 when Urru placed the characters in the same position as Michael Turner did in his variant cover of JLA #1 (Volume 2). This issue has a variant cover drawn by Alex Garner that pays homage to The Incredible Hulk #1, drawn by Jack Kirby. Kudos for the neat trend and I hope they keep it up.
Final Word: The beginning of a new direction that makes the series truly feel worthy to be called Season 6. If you are a Buffy / Angel fan, then you have to sink your teeth into this issue. Now if IDW and Dark Horse could just work out a crossover...
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