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After reading and enjoying the first volume of Angel: After the Fall, I was eager for more in the 2nd volume. As mentioned in other reviews, it's a series of one offs and barely involves the main characters of Angel. I wish I had researched it a little more, though - this book felt like almost complete filler material. The 2nd book is half the quantity, and much less than that in terms of story. I hate to say it but I felt a little ripped off by this volume - it should be an appendix, or better yet for an expensive hardcover series, an apocrypha. There just isn't much here and unless you're a serious collector/completist, or you can borrow it or find it used cheap, I would skip this one.
Co-plotters Brian Lynch and Angel creator Joss Whedon manage to flesh things out enough (Wesley's story in particular is the best of the bunch), while the biggest flaw of First Night ends up being the artwork. As we all know by now, Angel's world may have come to an end, but his story didn't. The legendary John Byrne is on board and does quite well illustrating Lorne's tale, while David Messina and Nick Runge do okay, but the rest of the artwork featured here is largely inconsistent and sub-standard compared to the previously mentioned. The second collected volume of IDW's Angel: After the Fall details just how and why the group ended up splitting apart upon Los Angeles going to Hell, as well as details just what happened to them all leading up to the first storyarc. Here, we see just how Wesley came back from the dead, how Connor became such a fierce warrior, and learn more of what lead characters like Gunn, Gwen, Spike, Lorne, Kate, and even a story involving some of LA's civilians. That aside though, Angel: After the Fall: First Night does a solid enough job bringing things up to speed, and in that respect alone, if you're a Buffy/Angel fan in the least, Angel: After the Fall is something that is definitely worth your time. It may not have the spark that Dark Horse's Buffy: Season 8 has, but it comes pretty close nonetheless.
This volume covers what happened on the night that LA went to hell, basically it serves as a prequel to volume 1 so the story doesnt advance anymore, but it does show what happened to each of the major characters.Story was excellent and the artwork was very nice in some stories, particularly's Spike and Wesley's.All in all a good read and well worth it.
I'm picking up Volume Two tonight and I'm looking forward to finding out more.I like the style of the art. During the first half of volume one, I was not happy. The paper is nice. I didn't like the direction the story was going, it was too abrupt a change (to me) from what was going on in the final season of the TV series. But, by the time I finished I was happier with it and very much into the story line. And it's always nice to have a hardcover with the built-in book mark. Very well made.
I will admit I've never been into comics before and prefer to buy this hardbound series than to buy individual books. Watching the pilot of "Buffy" really got me excited to see if the network would let the show grow and continue. I've been a big fan of the "Angel" series before it had even been born. The Volume 1 got me excited again about our heroes and what had become of them. Of course, they did and "Angel" eventually came of it. When I heard it was cancelled, I was very disappointed but then came the comics. Volume 2 seemed a little bit of filler and did not speak much about Angel himself. I would still recommend collecting it and reading it just to be on par with the next volume (which I hope is coming soon)
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