Angel season 6

[TheCorpulent1]

Here's a wacky idea: why not just read it like a comic and not compare it to the structure of a TV which is necessarily different, considering that it is a comic and not a TV show? All this talk of episodes and seasons is silly. It's a comic. It has issues, arcs, and runs. That's how it's set up.

One arc. Twilight was last seen less than five issues ago. This last one is supposed to lead into the next by way of making a big deal about the Scythe or whatever, which has to do with the overall arc of the...season.

lulz

Seriously, though, Whedon did set it up as a season, so I think it's fair to criticize it on that basis. Whedon's using the same practices as he did for his TV work, but it makes the pace feel like it's plodding along because of the monthly setup of a comic book. It makes Buffy feel kind of awkward in places, as opposed to his other multi-arc comic work like Astonishing X-Men, which flowed together better. It's not that I'm not enjoying season 8--I am. Lately, the arcs-as-episodes thing has just felt more pronounced to me, which is a detriment to the series, in my opinion.

Of course, I could still just be bitter over Renee's death.

 

[BrianWilly]

I just don't get that at all, especially considering that his arcs are four-issue arcs as opposed to the usual six that most people use nowadays; these stories have zipped right by, for me. It's never going to feel like the pace of the TV show, of course. But compared to most comics, we've gotten down to the nitty-gritty quite quickly to say the least.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I agree for the stuff early on. Lately, it seems like it's digressing too much to me. But I'm still pretty happy with it (except for Renee). I'm looking forward to the Fray digression, naturally.

 

[Harlekin]

So, #10 was quite a bit better than #9, with a nice intro, some relatively good art and some decent interaction.

 

[BrianWilly]

Angel: After the Fall #9 and 10
Now that we're finished with that flashback arc which started fine but went to a boring place, the story barrels forward and I'm loving where it's going. That's the good news. The bad news is that I really feel like smacking Lynch upside the head a lot. His dialogue is basically incomprehensible, requiring two or three reads before you get the gist of even one word balloon. Not all of Whedon's work flows that naturally in written format either, I'll grant, but this is pretty ****ing ridiculous. Is it supposed to mirror the way that real people talk? Sort of awkward and bumpy, and people change thoughts in mid-sentence and go off on unrelated tangents? I mean, it kind of sounds like that, but what it sounds more like is that someone took the actual dialogue, ran it through Google's translator into, I dunno, Portugese or something...and then translated back into English with Babelfish. On top of which, I don't really think it's a good idea to have these character try to sound unscripted or whatever because this world is based off a TV show for Buffy's sake, and trying to make it sound unscripted just makes it feel further less like it used to be than it already is...which just feels unnatural. We loved these guys because they sounded like they did. It's not a mistake to be corrected.

Or I dunno, maybe Lynch just writes oddly. I don't think so, though, because -- and this is frustrating as well -- every once in a while we'd get a really coherent, beautifully-dialogued sequence such as Wesley's interaction with Illyria, so it's not that Lynch isn't capable of writing like a normal person...it's just that he doesn't. And, admittedly, #10 is a lot better about it than #9 was, but it's far from perfect.

Oh and the art is pooptastically wonky.

(7 out of 10 for issue #9)
(7.7 out of 10 for issue #10)

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It never ceases to amaze me how IDW finds such terrible artists for Angel's comic. Seriously, Buffy gets seasoned pros like Jeanty and Moline while Angel gets amateurish crapbuckets like Urru and whoever the **** drew this issue.

And as much as I like that the team's back together and Angel's now confronted with everyone else knowing he's human and, essentially, everything else except the main plot, the fact that the main plot is yet another rehash of the ex-sidekick-returns-as-bitter-enemy is still gnawing at me. When did this piece of crap become the go-to plot for lazy comic book writers? It's been used like half a dozen times in the past couple of years alone. You'd think a writer as creative and unorthodox as Whedon would've been able to come up with something better. I mean, yeah, maybe it was Lynch's idea, but Whedon could've still looked at it and said, "Really? You want to do that plot?" and vetoed it. Bleh. I just hope they kill evil Gunn off quickly and move on to something interesting.

 

[Manic]

It really sucks that this is what Gunn has turned into. They've completely ruined his character, and there's practically no way to redeem it. If they give him a soul, I'm going to flip out, because Angel, Spike, and pregnant Darla are enough. They can't make him the soulless vampire who fights for good, because that bit barely worked out for Spike. The only way to make him human again is to pull a Darla and slay him, then resurrect him. So screw it. Just slay him. I don't care if he never comes back. I'm tired of putting up with all the crap they've done to Gunn (Wesley horning in on his and Fred's relationship, writers later pretending Fred and Gunn were never together, Gunn being indirectly responsible for Fred's death, Gunn doing practically nothing else through most of season 5 because writers have no idea what to do with him) just because he's the second black character in the Buffyverse (the first being Kendra, and we saw how long she lasted).

 

[TheCorpulent1]

With Gwen, Connor, Nina, Spider and the other new characters the comics have introduced, and the return of Groo and Kate, Angel's crew has gotten big enough that Gunn doesn't really have a niche anyway. He was a decent character, but I'd rather they just kill him off instead of making him an impotent, whiny friend-gone-bad villain.

 

[BrianWilly]

I'm not going to blame Lynch for anything as far as the actual story goes. Whedon is the executive producer or whatever, he takes the crap for an idea as significant as Vampire Gunn. That being said...I'm not as bothered by it as I think most people are. I think that at this point I'm just incredibly used to the Angel series doing things that I not only vehemently disagree with, but in fact makes me want to introduce the writers to shiny sharp weapons again and again.

Yup, totally numb to it all.

I actually think I'd be more into it if, again, I could understand a single damned thing he's saying. The conversation between him and his minions was one of the worst offenders of "What the hell are you even talking about?" dialogue here.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Lynch's dialogue is indeed confusing at times. I wonder if Lynch is trying to use Whedon's snappy patter but hasn't quite mastered it yet. It might be okay if the art were able to carry the story, but, haha, no such luck there.

God, the artists on Angel really suck.

 

[CBG]

I wonder how much better or worse would Season 6 be if Angel wasn't cancelled. . .

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Probably a lot better. The only thing the comic's doing that the TV show couldn't is scope-related stuff, like Angel riding the dragon and showing LA in total disrepair from every possible angle. If they'd told the same story on TV, we wouldn't have been able to see some of those because special effects costs would go through the roof. But, to be honest, the TV show never really lacked scale, establishing shots aren't too expensive to whip up, and the dragon's basically a luxury. The core of the story, with all of the characters sort of dancing around each other and finally coming together after a big, climactic battle wherein many demon lords are slain, however, would've been right up the show's alley, would've probably had better pacing in episodic format, and, let's face it, would probably have looked a hell of a lot better with real people instead of all-but-inscrutable art from a parade of sub-par artists.

 

[BrianWilly]

You're just not gonna let that go are you. 'Course I'm not much better about it.

"Stoopid ****ing artists!"

"STOOPID ****ING DIALOGUE!!"

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Basically. I can forgive a lot, but the art is so damn amateurish it completely sucks me out of the story. It's just sloppy and uneven everywhere you look.

The really sad part is that Runge, the guy who drew this last issue, actually does really good work if he has time to work out his shadows and crosshatch like mad. He's the guy who drew that pic of Wesley floating in the chair that I went crazy over a few months ago. But now he's turning in such god-awful art that it pisses me off. The one thing I hate more than just flat-out bad art is bad art from good artists.

 

[Manic]

I think the artist in the last issue was comparatively better than the guy they had doing art throughout most of the early issues. I mean, I actually recognized the characters this time.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Meh.

 

[Sawyer]

Anyone know if IDW is planning on coming out with After the Fall in softcover at any time?

 

[El Bastardo]

I feel strange.

I've had no problems following any of the dialogue, nor any of the art, not even Urru's.

I thought you guys were supposed to be better than me?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's not a problem following anything for me, it's just that the art is terrible.

 

[El Bastardo]

I feel an odd dampness on my shoulder.

Sir, are these your tears?

 

[BrianWilly]

Angel: After the Fall #11
I'm about a hair's breadth away from dropping this book. I don't know what else to say. Ever since First Night began, the quality just ****ing plummeted, and we're sitting pretty in rock bottom right now. That I paid actual money for this issue, with its unintelligible script and horrific artwork even moreso than the unintelligible horrors of the last issue, is a shameful mark on my near-spotless record of not paying money for comics that suck ass.

This needed to be good. The plot with Gunn needed to be more than rock solid, and it wasn't. It was stilted, weird, and underwhelming. Blah blah visions blah blah something else blah evil blah. And we didn't even have any of the quirky humor that saved a lot of the prior issues. All we have is maddeningly decrepit dialogue that makes everyone sound like drugged-out asylum patients and half-finished artwork that makes them look it. And the story at this point is just fanfic. I'm sorry, it just...what the hell.

The next issue had better be Olympic gold, or I'm off. I wish I could say that I would miss the series a lot, and maybe a few months ago I would've...but now, on the grand scale of things, not that big a loss.

(3 out of 10)

 

[BrianWilly]

In the meantime, cover for #14.

For those who know their stuff, this is a pretty big spoiler. No pun intended.

 

[CBG]

In the meantime, cover for #14.

For those who know their stuff, this is a pretty big spoiler. No pun intended.

Holy crud.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Is that...

Spoiler

Illyria's true form?

 

[CBG]

Is that...

Spoiler

Illyria's true form?

Most likely is.

I wonder what they'll do with her. . .