I love Angel: After The Fall! (Warning: SPOILER ALERT)

I’ve never been much of a fan of comic book versions of TV shows. A lot of them are good, of course, but they usually don’t capture the essence of what makes the show or the movie they’ve been based upon really well. The Star Wars comics that Dark Horse put out, while some of them are interesting, pretty much usually comes off as merely poor spin-offs are obvious attempts to cash in on the success of their derivative titles.

That being said, after only four issues in, I am completely addicted to Angel: After The Fall, the comic book series that picks up where the TV series left off. Everyone knows how bonkers I am about the entire Buffyverse, and finding out that their stories would continue on in my favorite medium just made me cream my pants. (Moderately, cause I never picked up the Buffy Season 8 comic book. As much as I love those Sunnydale people, I always thought Angel was the superior show in almost every aspect.)

The show was canceled on its fifth season, when Angel and friends take over evil law firm Wolfram and Hart after allegedly “ending world peace”. Joining the cast was Buffy grads Spike and Harmony. Of course, being in a place that reeks of evil, everything generally becomes fucked up, resulting in the death of the beloved Fred, who rose again as Illyria, and Angel declaring war on Wolfram and Hart. That war culminated towards the final episode, which open-endedly displayed the remaining members of Angel’s crew (Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria) facing countless demons and a dragon. Cut to black. The end.

IDW, in comic book form, lets us in what happened next, and believe you me, the comic is nearly as awesome as the show was. Same biting banter we’ve all known and loved between Whedon’s characters, same level of action and humor, and storytelling that’s just superior to most of the things that came out on TV in its time and comics of this time.

Apparently, with that demon attack, Los Angeles in its entirety have been transported to Hell, with all its inhabitants having to deal with being enslaved by the different demon lords who divvied up the city to lord over. I can think of a hundred reasons why I love this book, but here’s my top ten. (But it’s not in any particular order.)

1. The familiar faces. I’m sure fans already expected Wesley (who died in the last episode) up and running again, and Lorne (who left after having his anti-violent principles shattered with the necessity of murdering Lindsey McDonald) returning to the fold, but we get to see as part of the regular supporting cast other important characters in the Angel mythos, like Angel’s son Connor, Angel’s werewolf ex Nina, The Groosalug, and Gwen Raiden. Hell, even That loan shark who was an actual shark makes an appearance as one of the demon lords.

2. Angel’s got a dragon. Probably not satisfied with cruising around town with a kick ass Viper, now Angel flies around riding a dragon. A fucking dragon!

3. The gang’s in Hell. With Wolfram and Hart fucking with them big time, the gang is now put in torturous fish out of water situations. Gunn, after spending his life hunting down vampires, is himself a vampire now. Spike, aside from watching Illyria, has formed an alliance with Connor, acting as the hero Angel once was and is supposed to be. Wesley’s a ghost, and is Angel’s liaison to the senior partners. And biggest of all, trapped in Hell, surrounded by demons, and Angel is now human. Holy shit!

4. The art. Franco Urru and company not only capture the characters’ looks perfectly without being too perfect, but their vision of LA going to Hell is awesome.

5. George. What’s not to love about a laid back, giant, floating, telepathic goldfish? Nothing, I tell you. Not a damn thing.

6. Illyria still kicks ass. Particularly in issue # 3, and particularly Angel’s.

7. Angel and Spike still hate each other. For those like me who just love seeing the two vamps with souls piss each other off, you wont be disappointed.

8. The levity’s still there. No one can laugh in the face of danger like Whedon’s characters. Angel, now a human, now hated by everyone for taking LA to hell, and now facing certain death for challenging all of the demon lords despite the fact that he’s secretly mortal, takes it all in stride. “We’re good at last minute saves, except for that one time. You know, where we sent everything to Hell.

9. The action. Every issue is adorned with fight scenes that are just too cool for words. And, unlike Buffy, there isn’t much room for drama in this book. At least not the outward, emo type.

10. The potential. I love the first story arc so far, and I’m excited about the ramifications once the dust settles on this first arc. Will Angel win over the affection of his son? How will Wesley and Illyria interact, after the drastic changes they’ve gone through. How will Gunn react when he finds out that while he’s become the very thing he hates, Angel, the man partially responsible for his condition, has become human? Will we see Lindsey again? Lilah Morgan? The Smile Time puppets? Not every title gives you wondering what will happen next.

If you’re a fan of the series, you definitely need to get these comics. If not, watch the series and read the comics. Not many things in this world are worth the time and money.