Description
In Angel's final television season, his world ended... but his story didn't. Picking up where Season Five of the fan-favorite TV show left off, this first collection looks at who lived after that climactic battle, who died, and what happened to all of Los Angeles in its wake.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
Publication
IDW Publishing (2008), 192 pages
ISBN
160010181X / 9781600101816
Local notes
Continuation of the TV series "Angel", based on Joss Whedon's outline for the sixth season.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member BeckyJG
Until yesterday I had never read a graphic novel. I've sold a gazillion of them. I've rolled my eyes as I listened to geeks--uh, I mean customers, employees, and yes, friends, debate DC vs. Marvel, extol the genius of Kirby and R. Crumb and Harvey Pekar, and leave the damn things lying all over my
I am a deeply committed fan of Joss Whedon and his Buffyverse. I've watched all 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer through, start to finish, a half dozen times. Ditto for the mere 5 seasons of Angel. I own--and have read--several books on the philosophy and literary merit of BTV. I also own an episode by episode guide to the show, which I dip into when I'm between watchings. I even bought The Long Way Home, the first installment of season 8 of BTV, when it came out in a one volume comic book earlier this year. ..but I didn't read it, because when I tried I was confused by the format. Yeah, I've read Ulysses and Gravity's Rainbow, I've read Barth and Robbe-Grillet and Borges and Camus. I've read realists and surrealists and minimalists and existentialists and nihilists, Victorians, Moderns, and post-Moderns. I've read literature with a big L. I've read in pretty much all the fiction genres. And yet I couldn't figure out how to read a comic book.
But a few days ago my friend Cameron lent me After the Fall, and the book was so very pretty, and I love Angel so very much, that I decided to give it a shot.
It was awkward at first, hard to develop a rhythm, to know which way my eyes should move across the page. But the story was good, and the pictures were really cool, so I kept at it. After a little while I discovered that I actually am smart enough to read a comic book. Good for me! I discovered that if you can watch TV you can read a comic book.
The action picks up some time after the all-too-soon end of the series on TV. We quickly learn that Wolfram and Hart has sent the entire city of Los Angeles to hell, where it is now divided into fiefdoms of enslaved humans, ruled by demon lords. Almost all of the old players are back, resurrected from the dead in some cases--but that's old hat for seasoned slayerettes like us. Joss Whedon's genius is evident throughout After the Fall--he's credited as having "plotted" it, while Brian Lynch--new to the Buffyverse as a player, but a fan of long-standing--is the writer. Everything we expect from a Whedon venture--snappy dialogue, outrageous plot twists that somehow work, over-the-top characters who yet have depth and life--is here.
As I would after the cliffhanger episode that comes before a break, I eagerly await the next installment of season 6 of Angel. Don't get me wrong; I'm not going to start haunting the Graphic Novel section in the store. In fact, I may never read a graphic novel outside of the Buffyverse again. But I sure as hell will read The Long Way Home now, and I'll read any new Buffy/Angel stories that come out.
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store. But I had never read one. I am a deeply committed fan of Joss Whedon and his Buffyverse. I've watched all 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer through, start to finish, a half dozen times. Ditto for the mere 5 seasons of Angel. I own--and have read--several books on the philosophy and literary merit of BTV. I also own an episode by episode guide to the show, which I dip into when I'm between watchings. I even bought The Long Way Home, the first installment of season 8 of BTV, when it came out in a one volume comic book earlier this year. ..but I didn't read it, because when I tried I was confused by the format. Yeah, I've read Ulysses and Gravity's Rainbow, I've read Barth and Robbe-Grillet and Borges and Camus. I've read realists and surrealists and minimalists and existentialists and nihilists, Victorians, Moderns, and post-Moderns. I've read literature with a big L. I've read in pretty much all the fiction genres. And yet I couldn't figure out how to read a comic book.
But a few days ago my friend Cameron lent me After the Fall, and the book was so very pretty, and I love Angel so very much, that I decided to give it a shot.
It was awkward at first, hard to develop a rhythm, to know which way my eyes should move across the page. But the story was good, and the pictures were really cool, so I kept at it. After a little while I discovered that I actually am smart enough to read a comic book. Good for me! I discovered that if you can watch TV you can read a comic book.
The action picks up some time after the all-too-soon end of the series on TV. We quickly learn that Wolfram and Hart has sent the entire city of Los Angeles to hell, where it is now divided into fiefdoms of enslaved humans, ruled by demon lords. Almost all of the old players are back, resurrected from the dead in some cases--but that's old hat for seasoned slayerettes like us. Joss Whedon's genius is evident throughout After the Fall--he's credited as having "plotted" it, while Brian Lynch--new to the Buffyverse as a player, but a fan of long-standing--is the writer. Everything we expect from a Whedon venture--snappy dialogue, outrageous plot twists that somehow work, over-the-top characters who yet have depth and life--is here.
As I would after the cliffhanger episode that comes before a break, I eagerly await the next installment of season 6 of Angel. Don't get me wrong; I'm not going to start haunting the Graphic Novel section in the store. In fact, I may never read a graphic novel outside of the Buffyverse again. But I sure as hell will read The Long Way Home now, and I'll read any new Buffy/Angel stories that come out.
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LibraryThing member xicanti
If you haven't seen the fifth season of Angel, don't read this review. ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL is the first story arc of season six of the television series, and in reviewing it I'm going to assume that you know how the series ended.
That said:
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL begins about two months after the
I've been very impressed with all Joss Whedon's comic book series continuations thus far, and this one is no exception. It's another strong offering from a talented creative team. Lynch's dialogue is spot-on; he's captured the cadence and rhythm of each character's speech so perfectly that you can hear the actors in your head as you read. Urru's artwork is clear and precise; almost everyone is instantly recognizable. (I had some problems with Gwen and Nina). The paneling is dynamic, and helps the story flow along smooth as you please.
And the story itself? It's classic Angel. It's tense and exciting, funny and heartwrenching. Sometimes it's bloody difficult to read. Lynch and Whedon take the world we think we know and turn it upside down. They surprise us. They shock us. They make us laugh. They reaffirm our belief in these characters and their story. And they take us on one hell of a ride.
I'm reluctant to say much more than that, as so much of my own enjoyment of the book stemmed from all the little surprises that cropped up. Suffice it to say that I highly recommend this to Angel fans. Others, you'd do better to watch the series before jumping on in.
(I've also got a longer, ramblier review up on my blog, Stella Matutina).
That said:
ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL begins about two months after the
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end of the TV series. Wolfram & Hart has plunged Los Angeles into Hell. Angel has broken away from his gang and is moping away all by his lonesome, until an old friend encourages him to take the first step along the path towards becoming what he once was.I've been very impressed with all Joss Whedon's comic book series continuations thus far, and this one is no exception. It's another strong offering from a talented creative team. Lynch's dialogue is spot-on; he's captured the cadence and rhythm of each character's speech so perfectly that you can hear the actors in your head as you read. Urru's artwork is clear and precise; almost everyone is instantly recognizable. (I had some problems with Gwen and Nina). The paneling is dynamic, and helps the story flow along smooth as you please.
And the story itself? It's classic Angel. It's tense and exciting, funny and heartwrenching. Sometimes it's bloody difficult to read. Lynch and Whedon take the world we think we know and turn it upside down. They surprise us. They shock us. They make us laugh. They reaffirm our belief in these characters and their story. And they take us on one hell of a ride.
I'm reluctant to say much more than that, as so much of my own enjoyment of the book stemmed from all the little surprises that cropped up. Suffice it to say that I highly recommend this to Angel fans. Others, you'd do better to watch the series before jumping on in.
(I've also got a longer, ramblier review up on my blog, Stella Matutina).
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: After The Fall picks up some time after the big battle that ended Season 5 of Angel. It turns out that the senior partners Wolfram & Hart weren't too happy about Angel & Co.'s part in that fight, and as punishment, they sent the entirety of Los Angeles to Hell. The gang's all there...
Review: Eh. This Joss Whedon TV-to-comics spin-off thus far is not wowing me nearly as much as Season Eight of Buffy. On the other hand, I was much more into Buffy than I was into Angel as TV shows, so it shouldn't be surprising that the same pattern holds true in the graphic novels. One of my main problems with Angel was the systematic assassination (literal and figurative) of the characters that I most liked in favor of storylines that I didn't particularly care about. And, while a lot of things have changed between the end of the TV show and the beginning of After the Fall, and while a lot of those changes are very interesting and could potentially play out in very cool directions, I was kind of going into this book with strained patience... which was not fully mollified by the directions taken by the story in this first volume.
Lynch, for the most part, does a good job with the writing. People sound like themselves, and although the speech patterns on Angel weren't quite as idiosyncratic as they were on Buffy, the dialogue matches up with the characters without any noticeable flaws. Likewise, the artwork is fine - everyone is very recognizeable as themselves, with the possible exception of Nina (who wasn't really on the show enough to make a huge visual impression). The drawings and the panelling are all well-done, and dramatic, and dynamic, but they're just not really to my taste - I think it's the air-brushy style of painting that I don't care for.
Overall, I'm going to keep reading; I've got enough invested in these characters that I want to find out where this story is going, but so far, it's not bowling me over the way I'd hoped. 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Only for those who have watched all five seasons of Angel and want more; for those people I think the way you feel about Angel the graphic novel is going to depend largely on how you felt about Angel the show.
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although most of them have undergone some pretty heavy changes from when we last saw them on our TV screens. Regardless, they're still fighting the good fight, which currently involves trying to wrest control of L.A. from the various demon warlords who hold power over demons and mortals alike.Review: Eh. This Joss Whedon TV-to-comics spin-off thus far is not wowing me nearly as much as Season Eight of Buffy. On the other hand, I was much more into Buffy than I was into Angel as TV shows, so it shouldn't be surprising that the same pattern holds true in the graphic novels. One of my main problems with Angel was the systematic assassination (literal and figurative) of the characters that I most liked in favor of storylines that I didn't particularly care about. And, while a lot of things have changed between the end of the TV show and the beginning of After the Fall, and while a lot of those changes are very interesting and could potentially play out in very cool directions, I was kind of going into this book with strained patience... which was not fully mollified by the directions taken by the story in this first volume.
Lynch, for the most part, does a good job with the writing. People sound like themselves, and although the speech patterns on Angel weren't quite as idiosyncratic as they were on Buffy, the dialogue matches up with the characters without any noticeable flaws. Likewise, the artwork is fine - everyone is very recognizeable as themselves, with the possible exception of Nina (who wasn't really on the show enough to make a huge visual impression). The drawings and the panelling are all well-done, and dramatic, and dynamic, but they're just not really to my taste - I think it's the air-brushy style of painting that I don't care for.
Overall, I'm going to keep reading; I've got enough invested in these characters that I want to find out where this story is going, but so far, it's not bowling me over the way I'd hoped. 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Only for those who have watched all five seasons of Angel and want more; for those people I think the way you feel about Angel the graphic novel is going to depend largely on how you felt about Angel the show.
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LibraryThing member Alixtii
The art is great, the writing is strong, and it's wonderful to see the continuing adventures of some of our favorite characters. I usually turn to graphic novels for stories more fun and upbeat than this, but after "Not Fade Away" there isn't much chance for that, I can't blame them for doing
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something different, and there are certainly plenty of moments where the humor shows through (Nina and Spike in particular have some great panels). But while the comic replicates the optimistic nihilism of the show at its darkest, it's never as intelligent as the show at its best, which means the adventures in apocalypse-land ultimately fail to resonate as strongly as they should. Still, a very well-executed exercise in apocalypse porn with several intriguing plotlines. Show Less
LibraryThing member takieya
I liked this book overall, but not as much as I've been enjoying Buffy Season 8. They took this story in a direction that I couldn't see it going it... and I wasn't totally taken with where it went. I'll continue reading, but I'm hoping I'll be more captivated by the stories that follow.
LibraryThing member MashaK99
This (and the following two books) are a must read if you, like so many other fans, wanted to throw your TV or DVD player out the window when the TV series ended on unbelievable cliff hanger. The comic books continue the story line. You find out who lives and who dies, but there also some
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surprises. Some annoying (a mind-reading fish, really?), some wonderful (you don't have to hate Connor anymore- yay!), some amusing (WHAT did Angel name that dragon?). You'll laugh, you'll cry, but you won't regret it. Author commentary is great too. Buffy S8 books pale in comparison, I'm sorry to say. Show Less
LibraryThing member notemily
I liked this, but it left a lot of questions unanswered. I suppose that's what comics are supposed to do to keep you reading. I like the Buffy comic better, but I've always been a bigger fan of Buffy than Angel anyway.
LibraryThing member EmScape
I am not going to give even a summary of anything that happens in this graphic novel because I can't think of anything to say that wouldn't be a spoiler. It is generally revealed what happened to pretty much everyone since the final episode of Angel: The Series television show. It is also more
The dialogue is spot-on, the graphic renditions of the characters are much more realistic and identifiable than those in the first issue of Buffy Season 8, there are many interesting tidbits hidden in the pictures that I certainly did not catch the first time through.
The most valuable thing, for me, (because I am not really a big reader of graphic novels) was the original treatment Joss wrote for the first arc of the series. Some things were cut, but it ended up being very true to how the novel actually turned out. It's always an amazing treat to get into Joss' head.
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awesome than everything.The dialogue is spot-on, the graphic renditions of the characters are much more realistic and identifiable than those in the first issue of Buffy Season 8, there are many interesting tidbits hidden in the pictures that I certainly did not catch the first time through.
The most valuable thing, for me, (because I am not really a big reader of graphic novels) was the original treatment Joss wrote for the first arc of the series. Some things were cut, but it ended up being very true to how the novel actually turned out. It's always an amazing treat to get into Joss' head.
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LibraryThing member TheBooknerd
I have to say, I don't care much for the art. Everyone is kind of funky looking and not always recognizable. As for the story, I naturally like it because it tells us, at last, what happened after that 'final' battle. Can't say that I found it very gripping, though.
LibraryThing member savageknight
So, at the end of the Angel series, the team is falling apart and caught in the street with a gaggle of demons coming for them... and fade to black. What happened next? Simple. It all went to hell! And this is the start of the story of that battle for control of the piece of land formerly known as
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Los Angeles IN hell! Totally out of whack! Show Less
LibraryThing member comfypants
The artwork's not very good; just telling what's going on is difficult at times. And the dialog, while perfectly serviceable, never has the little moments of cleverness that I expect from the Buffyverse. But the story, "plotted" by Whedon, had me pretty excited throughout the book. I found the TV
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show to be more frustrating than anything, but apparently I ended up caring about these characters anyway. (Well, most of them - Angel himself is so damn boring.) Just finding out what's happened to them is enough to make this book worthwhile. And they really do not hold back when it comes to big things happening - no time for sulking and moping for Angel, here. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cataloger623
Save your money, Get this from the library.Graphic novel. If you were Angel fame this and volume 2 are must reads. Otherwise its a confusing storyline with average graphics. Get this from the library
LibraryThing member alwright1
I had a little trouble getting into this at the beginning, but once I began to understand the state of things following the end of the show, I enjoyed it. I was happy to see Lorne again and there were lots of surprises, as well as a big cliff hanger. I'll have to keep my eye out for the next one. I
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miss the Buffy-verse. Show Less
LibraryThing member Preston.Kringle
Being a huge fan of Angel, this comic opens up in what appears to be the middle of a battle which leaves the reader confused as it is said to pick up where the series left off. The comic keeps this confusing tone through it’s pages by switching between several locations and some characters. The
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character aspect leaves the reader not knowing whom some are or what is going on. All in all, After the Fall presents the reader with confusion, nostalgia, and wanting more. Show Less
LibraryThing member Preston.Kringle
Being a huge fan of Angel, this comic opens up in what appears to be the middle of a battle which leaves the reader confused as it is said to pick up where the series left off. The comic keeps this confusing tone through it’s pages by switching between several locations and some characters. The
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character aspect leaves the reader not knowing whom some are or what is going on. All in all, After the Fall presents the reader with confusion, nostalgia, and wanting more. Show Less
LibraryThing member AVoraciousReader
4.5
*Book source ~ Library
Taking place a few months or so (not real clear on the timeline) after the big battle in the alley, which is the result of Angel & Co. wiping out the Circle of the Black Thorn, this story catches me up on what happened and where everyone is now. Soon into the battle Wolfram
First off I have to mention how visually appealing this graphic novel is. The characters look like who they should and the colors just pop. Beautiful! Now, the story…it’s pretty good. I enjoyed seeing what everyone is up to, especially Spike because he’s my favorite. Sorry, Angel. You’re an ok dude, but Spike…mmmmmm. Hate Gunn. Seriously. I never truly liked him in the series and while I didn’t hate him or wish him dead or anything, now I want him to die. Not die as in vampire dead. I mean, die for good. And I’m sorry for the Fred fans out there, but I love Illyria so much better. Fred was an ok character on the show. Way underdeveloped in my opinion, but she could also be too annoying. Illyria is so very interesting. Lorne is also a character I wish would have had more airtime, but at least he’s in the graphic novel. There are some questions left unanswered by the end (especially about Angel) and the ending itself?! Yikes! Cliffhanger alert! Thankfully I have the next few books, so I’m not hanging for long.
*Book source ~ Library
Taking place a few months or so (not real clear on the timeline) after the big battle in the alley, which is the result of Angel & Co. wiping out the Circle of the Black Thorn, this story catches me up on what happened and where everyone is now. Soon into the battle Wolfram
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& Hart sends Los Angeles to hell and it’s a right mess. The aftermath is a battle all in itself as Angel and Co. try to save the citizens of LA, but they’re each working basically on their own. No united front. Yet.First off I have to mention how visually appealing this graphic novel is. The characters look like who they should and the colors just pop. Beautiful! Now, the story…it’s pretty good. I enjoyed seeing what everyone is up to, especially Spike because he’s my favorite. Sorry, Angel. You’re an ok dude, but Spike…mmmmmm. Hate Gunn. Seriously. I never truly liked him in the series and while I didn’t hate him or wish him dead or anything, now I want him to die. Not die as in vampire dead. I mean, die for good. And I’m sorry for the Fred fans out there, but I love Illyria so much better. Fred was an ok character on the show. Way underdeveloped in my opinion, but she could also be too annoying. Illyria is so very interesting. Lorne is also a character I wish would have had more airtime, but at least he’s in the graphic novel. There are some questions left unanswered by the end (especially about Angel) and the ending itself?! Yikes! Cliffhanger alert! Thankfully I have the next few books, so I’m not hanging for long.
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LibraryThing member sublunarie
The art is beautiful, of course. It's well written. I just...I don't like where the story went. I don't like that everything about everyone has suddenly changed. Opening the portal to Hell in L.A., yeah it was bound to cause some issues. But if Season 6 would have happened, I know this is not how
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it would have went down (special effects budget notwithstanding). I can't connect to them. This isn't them. It's like metaverse Angel. Show Less