Angel: Aftermath

Unlike the previous 4 volumes, I believe Angel: Aftermath isn't trying to be an extension of the TV series. For better or worse, this volume felt like a comic book. Still good, but it has at least a slightly different feel in almost every aspect. The first thing I noticed was the art. It's very good and looks right, but the layout and pacing is very "comic booky" which sometimes doesn't fit the feel that has been established so far. By contrast, the Buffy series has taken it's comic book form in stride in every way. This is a minor annoyance at best, though, because the story itself is excellent and absolutely perfect for Angel.Angel is at his best when he's trying to find his way through the murky grays of good and evil. Everyone in Los Angeles remembers being in hell and, more interestingly, remembers that Angel saved them. Suddenly, Angel is not just a hero, but a bit of a superstar in a city where fame is so important. This complicates things in interesting ways as Angel is just about the last person on earth who really wants fame, but how can he be angry at people for appreciating him? It gets even more complicated as the over-the-top antics of Wolfram & Hart push the Powers That Be into getting more directly involved in ways that make everyone - shall we say - uncomfortable. And let's not forget the unsettlingly large number of crazy people running around for no apparent reason.Adding to that, all the familiar faces who would have been considered the "core" members of Team Angel are gone (some with no hope of ever returning). Obviously the entire tone of a story can change when you introduce an entirely new cast of central characters, but I can't help but feel like the writer just doesn't quite get some of these characters. The new core group is composed mainly of very familiar supporting characters who are given their chance to really shine here. We know how these characters should act, how they should talk, we can picture them in motion and we know the sound of their voices. When they do or say something that feels "off", it's obvious to the die-hard fan. Still, it's a minor quibble overall. On the flip-side, the original characters are simply excellent. They fit the Whedon-verse while also expanding it in some very cool ways. I actually find it kind of exciting to see how this new team develops. It certainly has potential.This is a good read, but prepare to look at Angel from a different perspective. I think Joss Whedon is really trying to give Angel a totally different flavor than the Buffy series and I think, overall, it's working and will continue to get better.

I've read this series through book 6, and this is my favorite. The plot goes together nicely and crates a good story. It's not as epic as after the fall, but it makes more sense and focuses more on a few characters rather than throwing everyone in the world at you. It might help to enjoy it to know that the other characters haven't been jettisoned, and you'll probably see whoever you miss in the next book (unless your favorite character is Nina. In which case, find a new favorite). This story focuses on Angel, Conner, Gwen, Kate, and a new character, Dez. I liked Dez a lot. Though while I liked the story the graphics get a little silly, as the artist likes to draw excessive muscles on *everyone*, which was kinda funny and not that big of a deal to me.

This HC takes Angel in a new direction that is sort of an old direction if you get what I mean. He creates a group to fight evil but instead of demons its angels this time. It's not a bad start to a new run but it's also not very compelling at the same time. The art sequence is confusing at times as well. I'm still willing to give this new direction a chance though.

Way better than After The Fall in my opinion. The artwork is ok, but the story is really great for any Angel or Buffy fan.

I felt like cause joss wasn't envoled with this volume as much has the other 4 , it didn't have the angel feel . the story didn't seem to flow like the others too...very choppy. None the less its part of the story so it had its moments. Hated the way they made angel look. But loved the way they drew kate

Let me preface this review by saying that I love Angel and I enjoyed the first four volumes (After the Fall). But this might as well be an entirely different series. The dialogue is not at all intelligent or witty. The "voiceovers" (thought bubbles) do not add any depth to the characters. The characters from the series (other than Angel and Cordelia, who shows up for a brief cameo) are comprised of Connor, Gwen and Kate...where are Gunn, Lorne, Spike, Illyria? The plot decides to go off in an entirely new direction that was never even discussed in the series - Angels (or "potentates") who have some nebulous reason for being on earth, and a shape shifting catwoman that shows up in Angel's life for the flimsiest of reasons. It's a mess. The action is choppy to say the least. We go from dialogue scene to action scene seemingly without any transition or reason.The artwork is standard comic book without any subtlety or resemblance to the characters. Angel is apparently now Asian and wears sweater vests. Kate is some kind of fighting ninja bombshell who wears tiny midriff tops. Gwen's thong is always showing and Connor, well he looks kind of like Connor. I really hope that the comic doesn't continue down this path, as I've already purchased a number of the future comics.I really wanted to like this book. I'm just dismayed that this is what passes for Angel now.

This book is really, really poor. The story itself is utter garbage, sorry but it is.Without wanting to spoil it (but I'm going to so - SPOILER WARNING) the carefully drip-fed, mysterious and really well plotted out Powers-That-Be from the show and the After the Fall series are thrown out the window and replaced with vigilante warrior angels stabbing people whilst there is some supernatural Civil Service force, never before mentioned, that are responsible for 'keeping the balance' between good and evil.It seriously undermines the mythology of the show, does a huge disservice to the characters and is just really, really sad. I agree with all the other comments that the writer seems to have never seen the show.The artwork - well, at one point Angel is topless and he has the physique of a professional body-builder. Sorry, but no. Other depictions are lazy - Connor regularly looks like he's been stung by a swarm of bees all over his face.They pull Cordelia in again, which is just lazy. And there are a bunch of people turning into cheetahs for no real reason, and the angels want to murder them because... they hate big cats? It's bizarre.The premise of this - Angel setting up Angel Investigations again but putting together a new-ish crew, could have been really well done. It wasn't.Don't waste your money.

Angel aftermath suffers from 1 major problem, Its set right after the after the fall series. The story itself is rather interesting, a few twists and turn, some nice new characters and good character development that follows naturally from the last few issues. The return of a few old faces back into the mix is great and show that Angel can be great without the other main characters we all know and love as there MIA for a few reasons (Gunn and Illyria have there own spin-off, only human, and spike is just... well he's not there) this is good as it lets returning faces like Kate Shine and the new characters like Dez not feel undermined. Also the story adds a lot to the established Buffyverse mythos if your a fan of knowing everything and anything about the universe. If this story was read alone it would shine as a hidden gem, the problem though is that after the previous few issues the story just cant stand up to the fantastic run of after the fall, so if you've just read them you might feel a little let down as the story returns to a more grounded and slower pace. Overall its a good story which serves as some great filler until they decide where to go next.Oh and it looks pretty awesome to, different but still awesome.

If you've read After The Fall 4 and thought like I did that the arc from the TV series is all wrapped up nicely, you may be wondering if it's worth buying more of Angel and committing yourself to another story arc. Don't worry, this volume is self-contained and wraps itself up at the end. Even better, the writers wisely leave most of the major Angel characters out of this volume so as to set it apart as being something different. Though it calls itself Volume 5, Aftermath is not After The Fall part 5 - it just takes the legacy of that plot and weaves from it something new.The only main characters in this volume are Angel, Connor and Kate (plus one other who appears later), and a couple of new characters are introduced, including a shape shifting leopard woman who doesn't wear clothes a lot (but does it in strategically placed shadows).The artwork is different from previous volumes, but is crisp and unhurried, with every character clearly recognisable. There is only one gripe I have, which is that for a couple of pages when Angel has his shirt off he looks uncannily like the Incredible Hulk. It's more funny than annoying.The story is very well scripted and it's great to see Kate back again (though I do wonder what happened to Nina?) There's some great classic Connor dialogue too, which I missed in After The Fall. The hardback binding of this series has been the best you're ever going to find. I hope they continue it with future volumes.

Its lacking some of the charm of the characters and other things like that, the story is fine, the art in my opinion as an artist myself is a bit crap, but it does the job overall I recommend it if you want to read all the angel books

I Love This Angel Graphic Novel