Angel: After the Fall #16

The penultimate issue of Angel: After the Fall (Bryan Lynch) came out this week, and it rocked hard.

For those unaware, the IDW comic picks up the story from the cancelled television show Angel where it left off, using concepts from series creator Joss Whedon's original plans had the show continued. It's not quite as episodic or accessible as Whedon's Buffy: Season Eight comic series; but then, Angel on television tended to be less accessible and more novelistic as well. If you're new to the characters and the world, it may not do a lot for you. If you're a fan like myself, it's been 16 issues so far of pure awesome. The series took the entire city of Los Angeles to Hell on a scale no TV budget could ever have handled. A dragon features prominently. Yet the character twists, re-twists, and growth are just what I loved on TV, along with the trademark witty banter and metaphor-laden visuals.

This latest issue sees a resolution to the big uber-arc of the comic so far when Los Angeles is at last restored to the 'real' world. There are partings, and just maybe a happy ending of sorts, and the revelation that after saving the entire city from a hell dimension, Angel has received an upgrade. He's no longer an urban legend, he's now a bona fide L.A. celebrity. I'm pretty psyched to see where that goes for the brooding loner vampire-with-a-soul.

Then again, I will admit to a little trepidation as well. After the next issue, Angel: After the Fall becomes Angel: Aftermath, and writer Brian Lynch hands over the reins to novelist Kelley Armstrong for six issues. My understanding is that this new storyline will be more like IDW's previous Angel series (The Curse, Old Friends, and Auld Lang Syne) in that it will be approved but not co-plotted by Joss.

I know, I know, fanboyism. I'm just sayin'. The previous Angel comic series (which finally have a clear slot in continuity, following this latest After the Fall) lacked the zing and the soul of the TV stories. They weren't terrible, but they had a whiff of fanfic. I'm not saying a spin-off comic without the original creator's involvement always has to turn out that way; after all, Lynch got the After the Fall gig because of his brilliant Spike: Asylum and Spike: Shadow Puppets series. I'm just hoping Aftermath can live up to the brilliance that has preceded it - and that's a mighty tall order for any series.

- JC