I have a confession. I never used to regularly read comics until about four years ago. Being the literature geek that I am, I always thought having art alongside the words lacked imagination. BOY, was I dead wrong and I apologise to my future/current comic loving self profusely and to one of my exes whom I teased as a teenager by saying graphic novel was just a pretentious way of saying comic book. I WAS WRONG!
Believe me, I'm making up for it now - grabbing hold of everything from Sandman to Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Batwoman, Ultimate AND Amazing Spiderman, old Batgirl comics and Claremont era X-Men.
Don't get me wrong - I loved super-heroes as a kid. I was lucky to grow up in the Nineties when we had the likes of Batman Animated, X-Men, Spiderman and the Marvel Action Hour to keep us entertained. So I knew all the main characters and tropes from Marvel and DC pretty well when the comic book movie explosion of the Noughties (and still counting) happened. I was happily on board for the ride as X Men (2000), Spiderman (2002) and many others were released. But it wasn't the same as reading the stories on inked pages.
One thing in March 2007 changed everything for me - turning me into someone that would search Ebay every month for first printings and variant art covers and show me the wonder of great artwork mixed with serial story-telling. That thing was Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight.
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| Buffy: Season Eight - 40 issues. 4 years. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. |
I had to get hold of every issue and sure-fire I did. All 40 issues every month on and off over 2007-2011. The story had a lot of ups and downs - there were many things they did with certain characters I wasn't keen on, but there were a lot of things to love. Especially Jo Chen's gorgeous artwork.
Why am I mentioning this? Because September 2011 is the month where everything changes. Dark Horse Comics are launching two new Buffy/Angelverse titles - Angel & Faith, set in London following our favourite brooding vampire and tough Boston slayer and Buffy Season Nine, in which Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn and Spike have relocated to San Francisco and Buffy is a waitress - and the only Slayer - again.
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| Pretty sure I left my heart here somewhere... |
HIGHLIGHT TO READ THE SEASON 8 SPOILERS: Angel was revealed as the villainous Twilight.Working at the will of an entity from another reality, Angel manipulated Buffy in order to create a reality in which they both could live happily ever after, but she could never see her friends again. Refusing his offer, Buffy returned, but the walls of reality thinned, bringing demons pouring into our world. A trip to Sunnydale and a quest to protect the source of all magic lead to an epic battle and tragedy as a Twilight-possessed Angel killed Rupert Giles, Buffy's beloved Watcher. Acting in shock, Buffy destroyed the seed - the source of all magic - shattering the Slayer Scythe in the process. No more Slayers can be called beyond the girls who have already been called as Slayers and Willow has lost her access to the magical realms completely. No more magic, but still vestiges of demons and vampires out there that need to be dealt with. At the reading of Giles' will he hands over all his possessions, including his London flat to Faith, who has vowed to help a shell-shocked Angel deal with his inadvertent act of murder. Buffy can't even look at him, but has been handed down one last gift from Giles: the VAMPYR book he first handed to her when they first met - meaning that she is still the Slayer - and there is still work to be done. END SPOILERS.
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| In every generation there is a chosen chick who has to read this book. |
This will also include some iconic super-heroines such as Supergirl Kara Zor-El, the controversially rebooted Batgirl Barbara Gordon and our two favourite Slayers Buffy and Faith as well as a few other Whedonverse goodies. I'm also up for reviewing any reader's recommendations - if the comics titles have the female reader firmly in mind!
On with the reviews....
Angel & Faith Issue 1 - Live Through This Part 1
Dark Horse Comics.
Written by Christos Gage & Joss Whedon.
Art by Rebekah Isaacs & Steve Morris (Cover),
Jo Chen (Variant Cover) and Georges Jeanty (25th Anniversary Cover).
Characters: Faith Lehane, Angel, Rupert Giles, Hannah,* Anne,* Plagiarus Demon,* Jenny Calendar, Nadira* (A British Slayer), Whistler, Nash* and Pearl. * = New characters.
The Plot: The story opens a few months on from the devastating events of Buffy Season Eight where Angel was left catatonic after his horrific actions. Faith and Angel are living in Giles' apartment in London. They're solving unresolved demonic disturbances using Giles' old Watcher Diaries as a guide. Angel "seems" to be coping, but Faith sees right through his smokescreen. They both go to the aid of a woman named Anne, whose daughter Hannah is being used as a host by a Plagiarus demon. We learn in flashback that Giles had bound the demon in the girl many years before to save the mother and child. However, the spell required a sacrifice from his own life: the loss of experiencing the best day of his life and the memory of it wiped out of existence. Unsure how Angel will react, but having faith in him, Faith watches as Angel feigns biting the girl, releasing the demon from its host and allowing them to kill it. As they do, Angel experiences a vision of the day Giles lost: happiness with Jenny Calendar. The day that would've occurred if Angelus had never killed Jenny. Angel is overwhelmed with guilt at the deaths he has caused.
As Faith and Angel leave, Anne and Hannah now safe, Angel decides to head home alone. Meanwhile Faith heads into Brixton and ambushes Nadira, another Slayer out on patrol. It seems Faith hasn't totally neglected her Slayer squad duties and is looking out for other remaining Slayers in the aftermath of the war against Twilight. They both head to a club for dancing and to compare notes. Nadira tells Faith what happened to the slayer training squad she belonged to in Azores. They were ambushed by Twilight (who was in fact, Angel) and two of his cronies: Pearl and Nash, who murdered the entire squad while Twilight watched. Willow found and healed Nadira and got her to safety. Now Nadira has vowed vengeance against Twilight and anyone who aided him in killing Slayers. Faith feels incredibly conflicted as very few know she is harbouring Angel at the flat. She choses to remain silent. You can bet this will have consequences....
We cut to an old friend in a pub. No, not our favourite blonde vamp, sadly. It's Whistler - and it seems he might not be as neutral an advice giver as BtVS fans first thought. Having convinced Angel to take up Twilight's aims and seen him fail, Whistler is determined to finished what was started to restore the cosmic balance and he's got Pearl and Nash willing to help him do it. *gasp!* Also Pearl and Nash have brutally slaughtered everyone in the pub. Eeek. Angel better watch his back! :O
Back at the flat, Faith pleads with Angel to tell him that his actions in the Azores weren't him. He can't. He explains that he tried to manipulate Pearl and Nash into his plans, but they were unpredictable. The guilt of all the actions he took for what he believed was the greater good weigh down on him. Faith says she's fine about helping the Slayer girls and using Giles' diaries to right wrongs, but Angel needs to stop obsessing over his recent actions. Angel has a plan though....to resurrect the one person he believes they truly need...the man he killed.
As Faith and Angel leave, Anne and Hannah now safe, Angel decides to head home alone. Meanwhile Faith heads into Brixton and ambushes Nadira, another Slayer out on patrol. It seems Faith hasn't totally neglected her Slayer squad duties and is looking out for other remaining Slayers in the aftermath of the war against Twilight. They both head to a club for dancing and to compare notes. Nadira tells Faith what happened to the slayer training squad she belonged to in Azores. They were ambushed by Twilight (who was in fact, Angel) and two of his cronies: Pearl and Nash, who murdered the entire squad while Twilight watched. Willow found and healed Nadira and got her to safety. Now Nadira has vowed vengeance against Twilight and anyone who aided him in killing Slayers. Faith feels incredibly conflicted as very few know she is harbouring Angel at the flat. She choses to remain silent. You can bet this will have consequences....
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| Octo-demon babysitting is nobody's favourite past-time. |
Back at the flat, Faith pleads with Angel to tell him that his actions in the Azores weren't him. He can't. He explains that he tried to manipulate Pearl and Nash into his plans, but they were unpredictable. The guilt of all the actions he took for what he believed was the greater good weigh down on him. Faith says she's fine about helping the Slayer girls and using Giles' diaries to right wrongs, but Angel needs to stop obsessing over his recent actions. Angel has a plan though....to resurrect the one person he believes they truly need...the man he killed.
Best Lines:
"I killed the woman he loved. He forgave me. He paid the price." - Angel
This sums up the whole dramatic crux of the next few issues. Beautifully delivered and Issacs' artwork makes it a heartbreaking callback.
"The parents I know -- well, that is to say, the good ones--would do anything for their children. They place them first, no matter how difficult that may be. I must place the greater good above all. Regardless of how difficult that may be." - Giles
This line sums up Giles' character perfectly. He's the gang's father figure and always has been. He's always done the hard thing to protect the world. He would do anything for Buffy and he did.
"The fabric holding the spell together was my life. Specifically one of the best days of life. I'm not certain which one. That day is gone from my memory now. I don't know precisely what I've lost. But it's absence leaves an ache I believe I shall carry with me forever."
- Giles One of the best lines in the comic. Poignant and poetic and so sad!
"Nothing to worry about, the street's lit up like daytime. Maybe if chavs hadn't smashed out half the lamps. And not a copper in sight, of course...bloody austerity...measures..." - Nadira
American writers don't always get British turns of phrase quite right, but this was hilarious. I'm British and the use of chav made me laugh a lot as did the dig against the coalition's recent cuts policy and the very subtle reference to the August London riots. Gage knows his setting and it shows. We don't always call them coppers these days though... ;)
"Earth's cut off from the mystic dimensions. The only magical crap that works is stuff that's self-powered. I can't contact my bosses at Powers That Be LLC and my precognitions all outta whack. Like trying to watch scrambled porn." - Whistler's unique take on the situation.
The Artwork: Okay, I'll own up, I was absolutely thrilled when I heard Angel & Faith was going to be set in London. As a Brit myself, the idea of the Buffyverse inhabiting my home country fully filled me with inner squeeage. I bought all three available covers for this first issue. All are gorgeous in different ways. Steve Morris' cover artwork is fantastic. His image of a fog covered autumnal London is spookily atmospheric and just right for this time of year. It captures "supernatural" London very well. It's gothic and dark as a Buffyverse cover should be and having Angel and Faith in the graveyard is very symbolic. I love the little details such as the goblin, stone angel and epitaph. I think I'm going to enjoy seeing the rest of his cover artwork and I love his depiction of Faith sat on the gravestone. Whilst his colour palate is mainly earthy and dark, this seems to suit these two characters down to the ground.
"I killed the woman he loved. He forgave me. He paid the price." - Angel
This sums up the whole dramatic crux of the next few issues. Beautifully delivered and Issacs' artwork makes it a heartbreaking callback.
"The parents I know -- well, that is to say, the good ones--would do anything for their children. They place them first, no matter how difficult that may be. I must place the greater good above all. Regardless of how difficult that may be." - Giles
This line sums up Giles' character perfectly. He's the gang's father figure and always has been. He's always done the hard thing to protect the world. He would do anything for Buffy and he did.
"The fabric holding the spell together was my life. Specifically one of the best days of life. I'm not certain which one. That day is gone from my memory now. I don't know precisely what I've lost. But it's absence leaves an ache I believe I shall carry with me forever."
- Giles One of the best lines in the comic. Poignant and poetic and so sad!
"Nothing to worry about, the street's lit up like daytime. Maybe if chavs hadn't smashed out half the lamps. And not a copper in sight, of course...bloody austerity...measures..." - Nadira
American writers don't always get British turns of phrase quite right, but this was hilarious. I'm British and the use of chav made me laugh a lot as did the dig against the coalition's recent cuts policy and the very subtle reference to the August London riots. Gage knows his setting and it shows. We don't always call them coppers these days though... ;)
"Your whole Twilight phase makes about as much sense as a David Lynch movie." - Faith to Angel.
Faith says what we've all been thinking and she's right!
The Artwork: Okay, I'll own up, I was absolutely thrilled when I heard Angel & Faith was going to be set in London. As a Brit myself, the idea of the Buffyverse inhabiting my home country fully filled me with inner squeeage. I bought all three available covers for this first issue. All are gorgeous in different ways. Steve Morris' cover artwork is fantastic. His image of a fog covered autumnal London is spookily atmospheric and just right for this time of year. It captures "supernatural" London very well. It's gothic and dark as a Buffyverse cover should be and having Angel and Faith in the graveyard is very symbolic. I love the little details such as the goblin, stone angel and epitaph. I think I'm going to enjoy seeing the rest of his cover artwork and I love his depiction of Faith sat on the gravestone. Whilst his colour palate is mainly earthy and dark, this seems to suit these two characters down to the ground.
I can say nothing wrong about Jo Chen's artwork. Her covers for Buffy Season Eight were beautiful and extraordinary in capturing the likenesses of these well-known characters. Her Angel & Faith cover is no different. Angel and Faith are shown, again, in a fog shrouded London with a wonderfully drawn Big Ben looming in the fog behind them. Her painted likenesses are gorgeous to behold and almost photo-real. As I said, no bad words to say. ;)
Georges Jeanty is an artist I'm a bit hit and miss with. I find his Buffy artwork too cartoonish. He depicts many of the Buffyverse's characters as far too "young" to me and I find I like other artist's illustrations better. However, he does draw certain parts rather well. His cover is less exciting composition wise. We again get another drawing of Angel, Faith and Big Ben, but what I really liked about this one is how the rain blurs the logo and the image down the cover. As well as the way the rain flows down the pavement to the drain. Lovely visual stuff and it's definitely one of his better covers, but not in the same league as Morris and Chen.
I am really loving Rebekah Issacs' interior artwork. She draws Faith and Angel's likenesses wonderfully and very expressively. You can clearly tell who each character is, though her rendering of Giles is a bit hit and miss and better in close-up. All in all her art is gritty, expressive and fluid, without the overly cartoonish style that bugs me occasionally in Jeanty's work. She can draw movement well and the female characters are drawn proportionally and respectfully (something you don't always see in the comics industry). She's a great choice for the book and some of her designs - the tentacles of the demon and the Giles/Jenny panels are wonderful. She gets bonus points for adding a Chelsea FC poster on a bus stop in one of her panels too. It's a great cultural touch.
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| Jo Chen's gorgeous variant cover |
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| Add captGeorges Jeanty's variant cover with added London rain.i |
Reflections & Verdict: I'll be honest. I was devastated by one particular death at the end of Buffy Season Eight. I think I'm still getting my head around it - as are the fans; as are the characters and that's one of the reasons this new Angel & Faith comic works so brilliantly. It doesn't shy away from it. The presence of that character and their legacy is felt on every page of this issue. Including an incredibly poignant moment where we discover what might have been between Giles and Jenny. It's incredibly bittersweet. Made even more so by the fact that Angel - Jenny's killer- is the only one to see it. Equally, we see more aspects of Giles - revealing that he has always been prepared to do what others will not to protect the greater good. It's such an important facet of his character and Gage's writing really shines in these sequences. Normally I'm not a big fan of narrative ret-cons, mainly because they screw with what has been established and accepted - sometimes unnecessarily so (I'm looking at you Warren Mears. Grrr.) - but the motive behind Giles' sacrifice and the loss of Jenny is so poignant that I adored it. It totally works for me and in turn gives their "what could've been" romance even deeper significance.
I was anxious to see how Dark Horse would approach Angel as a character in the aftermath of the "Twilight" reveal debacle in the last few arcs of Buffy:Season Eight. I never felt we understood his motivations for doing what he did. Like this sudden change of character happened behind the scenes and we were left to "facepalm" ourselves into oblivion as the narrative jumble at the end of Season Eight came to a close. This wasn't the Angel I knew from his own show, where no matter the costs, he still kept a moral heart at the centre of his actions. He was ruthless, but he wasn't amoral. That was Angelus. And then that all got thrown out of the window in one comic last December that changed the 'verse. There was one particular line in this current issue that made me shudder and wince as I read it. I won't say which one until you read it for yourselves...but yeah, I'm emotionally entangled in these characters and those lines were horrible to hear. Even if Angel was faking it. Do I still like Angel as a character? I'm finding it hard at the moment and his plan seems incredibly misguided. If anything he will have to fight greater for redemption than he ever has had to in the past.
I loved Nadira and Faith's interactions and I'm glad that the "helping wayward slayers" plotline for Faith hasn't been dropped entirely. I like the maturity her experiences have gained her and I completely understand her motives for believing in Angel's right to earn redemption. These two characters understand each other in ways the other characters in the Buffyverse can't fathom. They've both killed unreservedly, they've walked back from that edge time and time again and they want to believe they are better than their mistakes. Angel believed in her when she hit rock bottom and now she's returning the favour. It's almost as if the two of them are coming full circle and it's a testament to Faith's character development over the course of both Buffy and Angel and the comics that I can believe in her as a steadying influence and have even grown to like her. She was definitely not on my faves list when she first appeared on the TV show. Now, I find her fascinating.
Gages has captured the character's voices and personalities very well and nothing feels out of place. Even the secondary characters like Nadira feel like they belong in the Buffyverse. I can't get enough of Pearl and Nash as the series' new villains. They appear almost elvishly Aryan and their back story and unique powers are awesome. They reminded me a little bit of early Season 2 Spike and Dru so I have high hopes. The Whistler reveal was quite shocking initially, but had a great pay-off for long-time fans and a lovely callback to the classic episode "Becoming" in the dialogue. With a strong emotional cliffhanger and a story that gets right to the heart of the things I love about the Buffyverse: character development and emotional moments; I'm totally along for the ride with this one and can highly recommend Angel & Faith to Buffy fans.
Score: 5/5 - Excellent story-telling and a great opening issue.
Speculation: I don't think I'll win any awards for predicting that Angel's plan will go horribly, horribly wrong. Any Buffy fan who has seen "Forever" knows that resurrection spells are very bad news. His plan is entirely fueled by what has always been his motivation: guilt and a need to atone, but this - blended with his grief- might not be the best course. I'm interested to see what Pearl, Nash and Whistler have planned for Angel. I'd love to see confrontations between them and Angel and I think we're going to get them. I can't wait to see Nadira's reaction to the knowledge Faith is helping Angel and I'm hoping that while Faith might support Angel initially, that as the plan gets further out of control, she'll know when to draw the line. All in all the new series kicks ass!
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| Saddest comics panel ever. Jenny and Giles we hardly knew you. *sniff*. |
I loved Nadira and Faith's interactions and I'm glad that the "helping wayward slayers" plotline for Faith hasn't been dropped entirely. I like the maturity her experiences have gained her and I completely understand her motives for believing in Angel's right to earn redemption. These two characters understand each other in ways the other characters in the Buffyverse can't fathom. They've both killed unreservedly, they've walked back from that edge time and time again and they want to believe they are better than their mistakes. Angel believed in her when she hit rock bottom and now she's returning the favour. It's almost as if the two of them are coming full circle and it's a testament to Faith's character development over the course of both Buffy and Angel and the comics that I can believe in her as a steadying influence and have even grown to like her. She was definitely not on my faves list when she first appeared on the TV show. Now, I find her fascinating.
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| New villains Pearl and Nash and their unique take on "decorating". |
Score: 5/5 - Excellent story-telling and a great opening issue.
Speculation: I don't think I'll win any awards for predicting that Angel's plan will go horribly, horribly wrong. Any Buffy fan who has seen "Forever" knows that resurrection spells are very bad news. His plan is entirely fueled by what has always been his motivation: guilt and a need to atone, but this - blended with his grief- might not be the best course. I'm interested to see what Pearl, Nash and Whistler have planned for Angel. I'd love to see confrontations between them and Angel and I think we're going to get them. I can't wait to see Nadira's reaction to the knowledge Faith is helping Angel and I'm hoping that while Faith might support Angel initially, that as the plan gets further out of control, she'll know when to draw the line. All in all the new series kicks ass!
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