Angel

Some issues with ’Angel’ - Dark art work, hard-to-follow storyline make for problems

With the overwhelming success of Dark Horse’s "Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight," IDW was expecting big things with "Angel: After The Fall," a series set to chronicle the never-produced sixth season of the "Angel" TV show.

With creator Joss Whedon involved and announcing the series as "canon" in his Angel/Buffyverse, fans were looking forward to big things as well.

That "Angel: After the Fall" No. 1 will now enjoy a third printing a scant two weeks after its first shows the pent-up demand fans have had for this tale to be told.

However, Comics Guy has a feeling many will be disappointed.

First, while "Angel" always had a darker tone than "Buffy," the art by Franco Urru is so dark it’s sometimes hard to read the issue. Add in that many characters - one in particular who will come as a shock - appear without any explanation and the book is likely to be difficult for long-time Angel fans to follow and practically guaranteed to frustrate new readers. I had no idea what was going on at times.

If Whedon wrote this himself, as he did the first "Buffy Season Eight" arc, the book may have been more fun and readable. But though he had imput on the plot, the series is written by Brian Lynch. Though Lynch is talented - and Whedon obviously did not write all the TV scripts for "Angel" - it says something when he is willing to write the first arc of Buffy’s continuing adventures himself but only co-plot further Angel stories.

It is quite possible that all will be revealed and I will end up as enthusiastic about this title as I am about "BTVSS8."

Also, Whedon’s fans are so rabid they will likely stay on for the duration. I simply expected more from a first issue of this magnitude.