After the Fall
Issue #1
Warning: All reviews may contain spoilers.
Angel Season Six has started with...not a bang...more like a pow. I've always liked Lynch's work with IDW, but I have to admit...I kind of expected more from him on this project. He's been handed the keys to the kingdom, but it doesn't feel like he's even moved into the palace yet.
So, with the first issue of After the Fall, we learn several things in quick succession. Instead of slaying the dragon seen in Not Fade Away, Angel has teamed up with it. Apparently, mid fight, they decided to have a quick chat about why they were doing it and realized they should be on the same side. I think Lynch just wanted Angel to have a bad ass dragon pal. Now, once I got passed the hokey-ness of the team up, I had to appreciate that Angel on a dragon is pretty awesome, no matter how he got there. We also learn that Wolfram & Hart, as an ultimate punishment, has sucked all of Los Angelus and its inhabitants into a hell dimension. Demons are battling for control, Connor is running the safe zone for humans trapped in the dimension, Angel is under strict guidelines proved by the senior partners through what appears to be Wesley's ghost, and Gunn (now a vampire) is attempting to overthrow the demons in charge for his own gain. That's quite a lot for one issue. I actually had to read it twice to take everything in. All in all, I'm not overly impressed yet. I think, in time, I might be. But this is a rather rocky start for a series that's getting sideways glances from fans already. Knowing how the season came about, without the Joss at the helm, we've all been a bit anxious as to how this was going to go. Buffy Season 8 reads like a continuation of Buffy. Angel Season 6 reads like another Angel comic book. We're just supposed to accept this one as canon. I'm not saying it's bad...it's just not as good as I wanted it to be. We still haven't heard from Spike or Illyria, but I'm sure they're bound to show up in the coming issues. It's really conveinent, actually, having them all in hell. It means the writers don't have to worry about any pesky crossovers with Season 8 and all the inherent difficulties that would bring up between Dark Horse and IDW. Still...I wanted more. I can only hope that we're at the bottom of what will be a very steep climb to greatness. |