On Feb 28, 1:16 pm, Stephen Tempest <step...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
> This issue continues the trend of introducing a few more characters
> from the series. Now I'm wondering if this will continue, so by issue
> #12 we've got a reanimated Doyle and David Nabbit making cameos, or
> alternatively if the arc will resemble a sine wave, and from issue 7
> onwards a few characters will die each episode until only Angel and
> Wesley are left by the finale...
Well, the show does seem to have had a lot of characters that can be
brought in. I wouldn't be surprised to see at least one of the dead
lawyers when W&H's exact role/fate is explained. I can't really think
of a place for Cordy, who hasn't even been mentioned except in the one
photo, though; despite being a big part of _Angel_ for so long, she
drops quietly off my radar once the later-season cast fills out. As I
said in another thread, the person in the left of the middle row of
the cast cover for issue #5 looks a lot like Justine, although I
assume it's actually supposed to be Gwen.
I have a bit of a problem with Lorne's appearance here. Not that it
doesn't come off well, and not that I just don't like him so much. My
problem is that of all the characters, he's the one whose arc got an
ending (ironic given that he's the one who supposedly walked out
alive). His final scene in "Not Fade Away" was perfect, and for the
purposes of ATS, his story is over after that, period. Seeing him
again running a little sanctuary in the world of monsters, basically
resetting his relation****p with Angel in one line of dialogue, can't
help but feel like the story is backsliding. Maybe I'm alone in this,
and maybe people thought the same thing (incorrectly) about Faith post-
[several possible choices], or Connor post-"Home." But that's my
feeling.
Groosalugg, on the other hand, is perfectly suited to be a bit player
in this story. Good to see he doesn't have any hard feelings towards
Angel about Cordelia, but maybe that's to be expected. He's a noble
barbarian hero, after all.
I'm not going to respond point-by-point so much because, well, not
much happens in this issue. It feels like the banter leading up to a
big mid-season climax. And it's entertaining banter; the comic kept
my attention and got me more in the mood for a big fight next issue,
which means that it did its job well. But that 22-page format
again... It was a little disappointing to basically end up waiting
for the second half of the episode that we won't get for another
month. We still have Angel playing his own game, more motivated by
W&H's actions than would befit a normal comic book hero, and not
wanting to let the reader in on what he has (and hasn't) got planned.
We're still killing time until the big after-school rumble.
Theoretically, the onus is now on issue #5 to be a satisfying payoff
for this act of the story while hitting us with the cliffhanger
that'll link to the stuff after the "First Night" interlude.
> No big shocking ending this time, which kind of says to me that the
> introductions are over and we're now into the main meat of the story.
It worked okay, though, in that Gunn has things going on beyond what
we've seen, and that we don't know how Wes will come back.
> And finally, I continue to be impressed by the straightforward and
> professional way Chris Ryall and IDW are happy to talk about "the
> other comic" - to the extent of making jokes like the one in this
> issue's letters page about Giant Dawn taking Angel's dragon for
> walkies...
They're both theoretically indie comics, but ATF is run much more like
one that lieks it that way. And despite not really doing comics, I
was amused by Chris's joke about the 900-number vote on whether Wesley
should live.
Other thoughts: On p, 4, Wesley has to go through the same kind of
mockery that Buffy puts Giles through. Sometimes it's no fun being
the bespectacled British guy who helps with the magic rituals.
"Don't stress, vampire and ghost."
-AOQ
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