Is the Angel comic about to end? It seems like it, as this latest issue cranks up the heat and explains a lot of the goings on our friends have been put through. After I did a little Wikipedia searching, it seems it won't end, but be re-launched. If what I read is to be believed, the series is slated to go to #16 (originally scheduled to end at #13). After that, it will be retitled Angel: Aftermath and continue on from #17, presumably making more cash for IDW Publishing. This isn’t surprising, since Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight is running longer than originally planned, with whispers of a Season Nine and beyond on the Internet.

Now that we know there are only four issues left in the original story, it’s nice to see the closure begin. I would expect this to come a little later, although I’m pleasantly surprised it’s started. It makes me wonder what else they’ve got to tell us before it ends.
Basically, we get a lot of lowdown on the Shanshu Prophecy. The prophecy played out a lot during the Angel TV show, becoming its “mythology” episodes. It boils down to the restoration of a vampire with a soul into a human being. When Spike joined the cast, he and Angel often argued over which one of them the prophecy was about. As Angel #12 points out, newly-vamped Gunn feels that he too is worthy of the fulfillment of the Shanshu. Gunn will go to any extreme to make the Prophecy work for him. He’s been lurking in the background for months now, orchestrating events. At the time, it seemed like he was just jealous and angry and wanted to kill Angel for the fun of it. Now, all the parts fall together, revealing his grand scheme.

Art chores fall to Stephen Mooney and Nick Runge. They both ink their own work, in lines that I almost consider smudgy and thick. But in the dark tone of the series, they work pretty well. Clean and crisp is not the effect aimed for here. On page 4, there’s an especially nice splash of a well-loved character.

Seeing the puzzle come together is always a fun moment in a comic. It makes past mistakes seem to make sense. Or at least I hope they do. That’s why my review is more glowing that I ordinarily give this title. Still, with four issues to go, I hope they don’t run out of steam.

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