Angel & Faith

While at NYCC, I was able to continue doing interviews with amazing people. Thanks to Dark Horse Comics for letting me loose on the unsuspecting team of Angel & Faith, Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs.

This was a new comics team to the Buffyverse so I was curious how they got on board. Isaacs actually landed this role though her work on DMZ, with Brian Wood. She was asked to audition by Sierra Hahn, and I am so glad she did!

Gage had a much more interesting road to Angel & Faith. Joss saw some of his work during the Buffyverse writers summit to plan out S9. He liked it so much, Scott Allie approached Gage at C2E2....in the bathroom. (My only regret is not knowing this before I interviewed Allie.) All jokes aside (and many sprang to mind, all very inappropriate), it is how we got this team in place.

The big question in every existing series is if the new writer/artist is a fan. Gage had always loved Joss’ work on Astonishing X-Men but wasn’t a Buffy fan before his infamous bathroom visit. He actually had to watch all 12 seasons of Buffy and Angel to get up to date. On his list next is Firefly and Dollhouse but not for a while. "I’m afraid if I watch them, I will want to write for them and not concentrate on Angel." said Gage.

Isaacs had already taken her first steps into the Whedonverse through Firefly and Dollhouse. She had always avoided Buffy though because she had hated high school. Her fiancee encouraged her to watch and she loved it. As she put it "It was exactly as I thought of high school; it was hell."

I had to ask about their path and thoughts for Angel & Faith. Gage is quick to point out that this will be a reverse of the television series, with Faith helping Angel this time deal with the impact of Buffy S8. At the same time, how long can Faith be loyal to him on his path to resurrect Giles? As Gage put it, "Loyalty is a double-edged sword."

Isaacs just wants to see Angel finally be comfortable with himself, but she isn’t sure it will happen. She finds his story heartbreaking, especially in an upcoming issue. The gist I got is that Angel and Harmony talk about reworking his image, and Angel basically says it’s impossible because everyone already hates him.

On the guest starring characters, we will get to see Connor, Harmony, Clem and Faith’s dad all make appearances. Faith’s dad is the one I am betting will be the most interesting.

And for everyone concerned about their favorite characters, don’t worry. They both understand the fans’ passion and want to give us all the very best. Gage put it best as "I’m the guy that if I don’t like how they are treating characters I love, I complain really loudly. " In hearing them talk about the TV show and the comic, I can tell that they really are fans themselves and they do care.

Despite what we want, these two are still working on other things besides Angel & Faith. Isaacs is promoting her series, Magus, from 12 Gauge Comics. Fun side note is that she created this with her fiancee. You can find the complete series on Graphicly.

Gage has a ton going on right now. At Marvel, he is working on Avengers Academy and will be doing another series but refused to give up the name. He also has Sunset, a graphic novel from Top Cow. Finally, Gage and his wife teamed up to write The Lion of Rora for Oni Press.

I had a blast talking with them and most of our talk was not even interview time but just random chatting. The upcoming issues sound amazing, and I am so excited to see what else they bring to the Buffyverse!