It's a mystery how I seem to be something less than myself.

What Is It?: Angel #23- Become What You Are (Written by Brian Lynch)

Timing: After Angel #17, before Angel #18.

Warning: The bigger spoilers will be written in black text. Simply highlight to read. As this is a review, there will be some minor "spoilers" sprinkled throughout the text that don't warrant being hidden. If you have not read the issue and don't want to know anything about the plot, don't read this. Spoilers for previous issues will obviously not be covered.

REVIEW: The dream team of Brian Lynch, Franco Urru, and colorist Fabio Mantovani are back to deliver the story we've been waiting for. Check out how anticipatey I was, I even made a list. But now the wait is over. The issue has been released, I've read it, and I loved it. It was a unique mix of somber reflection, wonky humor, and good old fashioned scrappin' that made After the Fall so special.

Gunn takes center stage for this issue, as we get a look at what he's been up to. Before "Aftermath," Gunn was in a coma... but then we saw a quick flash of the dude in a car, driving with Illyria to an unknown destination. It was a weird thing, but Brian Lynch took advantage of the inconsistency and spun a really cleverly written story that examines the repercussions of Gunn's actions in Hell. As Angel said in #17, "a man isn't measured by the mistakes he's made. He's measured by what he does about them." This issue focuses on just that: What Gunn is doing (and preparing to do) about his mistakes.

The issue starts with a classic "How Did They Get To This Point." Joss did it with naked Mal in Firefly, and Brian does it with naked Gunn about to be killed by Illyria in this. The issue flashes back to Gunn in the hospital, and fills in the blanks, first with Gunn's recollection of all the people who came to visit him, from Gwen to Groo, from Angel to Betta George. This is all really sweet and sad stuff, especially George's olive branch and Gunn coming to terms with the fact that less and less people are going to be visiting. It's very real, very human. But it's not all tears and singin' the blues, because Groosalugg's reading of Green Eggs and Ham might replace his greeting in #4 as the funniest Groo line ever: "Ha! This scrawny one's sophisticated palate is proving most frustrating for his companion, but proving most entertaining to me!"

Then, the meat of the issue kicks off. Gunn has to deal with two ladies he wronged in Hell, and the first is the evil pixie Non, who was the Big Bad in Spike: After the Fall. Non's dialogue isn't as punchy or quirky before, but I did like the role she played. She was still pretty funny, but she was also really sad and pathetic. Maybe her new found lack of confidence (she's definitely feigning it when she boasts here, as she's been ripped down from a position of power) is the reason she's not speaking as cocky or slick as she used to. Either way, she could have been a simple plot device to wake Gunn up from his coma and get him to a brand new state, but instead, she played a vital role in the issue. More on her later.

Gunn and Illyria are a really interesting pairing, that's for sure. The whole opener of "Is Illyria Going to Kill Gunn" is settled with one of the funniest scenes in the book, which shows Illyria (SPOILER:) writing all the different ways she could have killed Gunn on a wall. The ways are hilarious, especially "drown in mud," but it's also just a smart way to handle things. As she gains more humanity, she's starting to behave like Fred, who, as we all know, was a notorious wall-writer when she was at her weakest. The two of them then have a conversation that shows how far they are removed from the norm at this point, how they can't be what they were, but have to find something new to move onto. Gunn has this darkness, Illyria is, in her own words, "infected with humanity." That they can help balance each other and, together, move towards something new is pretty beautiful.

And we also get a trip to Mosaic, which... let's just say it's a pretty damn well done mislead. I won't even spoiler box this, you guys will just have to read to see it. It's a pretty quick moment, but it's hilarious.

The issue ends how most of us expected. Gunn and Illyria in a car, driving off into the distance. But in true Buffyverse fashion, Brian Lynch crafts a metaphor out of Illyria driving. After Gunn says that she shouldn't drive, because she doesn't know how, she says, "We're surrounded by nothing but vast emptiness. That is an ideal situation to learn." I never thought we'd get such a tender, brilliantly written moment out of Gunn playing driving instructor to Illyria of all people, but I guess the Angel title just continues to surprise.

Hilarious, tragic, pensive, brilliant, and just what we needed to give this series a push in the right direction.

Art: Really, really good. I'm big on Franco, and I just love what he does with these characters. They're strong when they're supposed to look strong, graceful when they're supposed to look graceful, pathetic when they're supposed to look pathetic, and so on. He is the perfect compliment to Brian Lynch's writing, with his uncanny ability to pack the same emotion and humor into his art as Brian does with his writing. Urru has been impressing me since I first picked up a copy of Spike: Asylum #1, when I immediately said, "This is the guy."

Covers: This time, we've got covers from Franco Urru and Nick Runge. Runge is back to his old, and in my opinion, better style. He was doing a painted look for most of his Aftermath covers, but here he's back to his realistic looking pencils. He shows Gunn enveloped in a misty blue nothingness. It's simple, but effective. Overall, one of my favorite Runge covers. The Urru cover definitely isn't Franco's strongest. It's a cool image, of Non's shadow looming over a helpless, comatose Gunn... but some of it is just off. Gunn's face looks strange and his right hand is ginormous. Definitely not a bad cover, but not among the best of Franco's work.

Characters We Know: Gunn, Illyria, Groosalugg, Lorne, Gwen, Connor (flashback), Wesley (flashback), Angel (flashback), Betta George, Talking "Are You High?" T-Rex, Non, Anna (from Asylum).

Rating: 9/10

Top Ten After the Fall Moments

Over a year and a half ago, I did a "Top Ten Angel Moments" countdown, all leading up to the release of the first issue of Angel: After the Fall. Back then, all we had was a promise of good things to come. We had awesome names attached to it (Brian Lynch, Joss Whedon, and Franco Urru). We thought the series would be twelve issues long. We thought a lot of things, but all of our expectations were blown out of the water by the actual product. Reading Angel: After the Fall has changed how I read comics as much as the show itself changed how I watched television. It was smart, hilarious, dark, emotional, and challenging, right up until the final installment. All of the characters, particularly Gunn, were in such interesting places. Illyria was finally dealing with the fact that she took the life of a person that her team (would it be wrong, at this point, to say "friends"?) cherished above anyone else. Spike was left wondering his place as a champion in this world. Betta George was free. Connor was still pretty chill, coping well with the fact that he had been killed by the vampire version of someone who stood in as a father figure to him during Angel's stint in the deep blue sea. Angel was left to come to terms with the death of his best friend Wesley, and also the fact that, though his son is alive, he witnessed his other best friend shove a flaming sword through his chest.

And Gunn. Oh, Gunn.

Either way, all the characters had such interesting roads ahead of them. Unfortunately, Angel: Aftermath didn't explore any of the things that After the Fall had set up, focusing more on a new plot instead of character development. But now, after five issues without Brian Lynch, we have been wondering what is truly going on with these characters, especially Gunn, and when we're gonna find out.

Well, tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow, the issue of many names (Angel #23, Become What You Are, Angel: After the Fall-Epilogue) comes out, and gives us the skinny on what Gunn and Illyria have been doing. Betta George, Lorne, and Non make appearances as well. We've all read the preview, and that writing that drew us in in the first place is just as good as ever. Click here to read.

To celebrate the fact that we're getting more of the story we've been waiting for, here are the top ten moments of Angel: After the Fall.

10. Cordelia's Reveal (Issue #12)

"I imagined you. I talked to you the entire time."

In the previous issue, all of the magic that Angel had used to heal himself was taken away by Gunn, so our hero was left to die. Between life and death, a spectre Angel walks through the halls of Gunn's lair, approaching... Cordelia. His transitional state allowed her to appear to only him, and the way she was revealed was just so beautiful. We'd been anticipating learning the dragon's name, thinking it would be funny, but as Angel approaches his unseen friend, talking about how he would talk to Cordelia while he was in pain and the dragon thought he was talking to it... well, it was beautiful. Brian Lynch slowly let the reader catch on to who Angel was talking to, allowing the emotions to blossom just in time for the big reveal page of Cordelia.

9. Angel and Spike Talk It Out (Issue #17)

"You guys just thanked each other in your heads! Simultaneously!"

Angel and Spike had very different adventures in hell. Spike fought a deadly pixie, lost a bunch of new friends, and became the object of a lot of warrior chicks' affection before he met up with Angel, and the two didn't spend much time together once they did cross paths. However, much like their chat in "Damaged," their heart to heart conversation at the end of this big epic is what brings the entire series home. These two help each other make sense of their own situations. Through dialogue that couldn't have read better if Whedon himself wrote it, Angel tells Spike why he thinks that Spike doesn't appear in the history books, while Spike gives Angel hope that he won't be the downfall of man, as predicted. Plus, Betta George gives some pretty hilarious commentary from the backseat of the car the two are riding in. If that doesn't make for an amazing moment, friggin' Kr'ph is in the trunk.

8. Angel and Wesley Say Goodbye (Issue #16)

"Thank you, Rogue Demon Hunter."

Always similarly minded, Angel figures out how to win at the same moment Wesley does. Wesley knows that once Angel is killed, they will all be sent back to the last moment that he was in one piece... and that was in the alley, when Wesley was dead. Angel knows that either way this goes down, he's never going to see Wesley again. Though the look they gave each other in "Not Fade Away" spoke for everything that had happened between the two characters, the time they've spent together in Hell during After the Fall brought them to the place where they can finally talk to each other in a way they hadn't been able to since Wesley stole Angel's child years before. Wesley tells Angel that being his friend and fighting by his side has been an honor, and Angel says the quote listed above. In any other situation, it would have been a hokey line, but evoking where Wesley had been at when Angel met him, he underlines Wesley's beautiful sacrifice by showing just how far he had come. It's a quick moment in the middle of a battle, but it's tragic, heroic, and probably the last time we'll ever see Wesley, my favorite character.

7. Wesley and Fred's Library (Issue 17)

"Warm breeze. Each and every time."

After the climax of After the Fall, we picked back up with Angel, the dynamic of his team rocked, researching with Nina in a seemingly random library. But when he leaves, he puts his hand on a sign that reads "Burkle Wyndam-Price Wing," bidding goodbye to his lost friends. The next page is one that has surely misted many an eye, as Angel reminisces on Fred and Wes, contemplating where they are right now. Though he'd like to think they're together somewhere, it's hard for him to stay positive... But Cordelia sends a warm breeze past him every time he thinks that way, letting him know not to worry about Fred, Wes, and--the way I read it--her. That a series as epic and action packed also has moments as tender as this is really special.

6. Angel Saves Gunn (Issue #16)

"Sorry, Charles. It's Not That Easy."

Yeah, I know that most of the moments so far have been from the same two issues. The fact is, they're the pay off from everything that had been set up before. After this, we'll really start to get into the other issues, but this is a big one and sort of spans two issues. In #8, it's revealed that Angel left Gunn vulnerable to gain control of the dragon during the alley fight, and this is what lead to Gunn being turned into a vampire. This time, as soon as Angel finds Gunn's scent, he knows what to do. Despite just seeing a sired Gunn murder Connor, Angel knows that he has to save his friend the way he should have in the first place. It's a poignant moment of redemption for Angel, and the most tragic moment of Gunn's life, as he lies in his own blood, remembering everything he did, begging Angel to let him die. Of course, Angel doesn't. Also, there is just something so badass about Angel dealing so quickly with the DesmondFromLost-esque vampire that sired Gunn.

5. The Prophecy (Issue #12)

"It is written. It has been witnessed. It is inevitable."

This is a big one. It shocked me that the series had balls this gigantic, because in one moment, the entire Shanshu mythos, one of the biggest parts of the Angel mythology, had been flipped on its head. Since Angel first read it in the season finale of the first season in the 2000, it had been an object of hope for him, the white light at the end of the tunnel. So the Senior Partner's using Wesley to deliver the vision to Angel that the Prophecy means he'll fight for the side of evil (and win) in the Apocalypse, the entire way Angel views his redemptive fight is rocked. In this issue, it's a moment of complete despair, but it's worth mentioning that as incredibly sad as this reveal is, Angel takes his destiny by the balls three issues later, saying, "All this time, I did what I did because of the Shanshu Prophecy. Time to start doing what I do despite it."

4. Angel is revealed as a human. (Issue #3)
"Which, of course, would mean so much more... if I were still a vampire."

That sentence, much like the previous moment, changed the entire mythos of Angel. The story was always about an ensouled vampire fighting for his redemption. But when Angel is so causally revealed to be human, you know this is going to be a big story. I mean, I definitely knew it was going to be epic from the start. I mean, Angel has a freakin' dragon, Gunn was a vampire, and Wesley was back. But knowing that Angel had his greatest burden and, furthermore, greatest weapon stripped away from him at the one time he really needs it most, it's... well, brilliant.

3. The Alley Fight. (Issue #16)

"Hey, another one of your girlfriends is resurrected."

So Angel and Wesley had a plan, but we had no idea what it was. Just that something pretty damn big had to happen. Gwen, the Dragon, Groosalugg, Connor, maybe Illyria, and now Angel himself were dead. How could the series continue from here? Well, the moment that Angel was decapitated by Gunn, his and Wesley's plan went into effect. They knew Wolfram & Hart would have to send them back to the alley fight (see Moment #8), and they do. But here's the catch. Everyone remembers everything, and everything is changed because of it (as evidenced by the BestMontageSceneEver in #17). And what happens next definitely ties into not only Moment #8 but also #6... but it very much deserves its own spot. We see the alley fight from start to finish, which, after many brief flashbacks, we thought we would never see. It was a wonderful climax and eucatastophe to After the Fall, and definitely the most clever way to make everything that happened matter, but still make all of the characters we love usable for future series.

2. Connor Dies, Illyria Falls (Issue #15)

"Vampire or not... you're a good man."

When I first read this issue, I called it the most emotional thing I had ever read. As an English major, I would have thought that my English teachers would want to kill me for that statement, if they weren't avid Angel fans themselves. There is just no deny the beauty and tragedy of the last few pages of Issue #15. In a moment of incredible violence, Gunn stabs Connor through the chest with a sword. Always the hero, Angel puts his emotion and terror aside long enough to give Spike, Wesley, and Betta George a way to take Illyria down, which is sad enough in itself, for Angel. As George floods Illyria with Spike and Wesley's memories of Fred in one of the most beautiful pages of comic art I've seen (Franco and Fabio are really an incredible team, bringing such emotion to such a monstrous figure), Angel rushes to his son's side, just in time for Connor to die in his arms. It was unexpected, tragic, and poignant, because with his last breath, Connor tells Angel something he'd been waiting to hear forever. That he was a good man in the eyes of his son.

1. Angel's speech to Gunn. (Issue #17)
"...A man isn't measured by the mistakes he's made. He's measured by what he does about them."

This moment never fails to choke me up a little bit. A lotta bit. It's like Marley and Me, only without dogs and with vampires. And ex-vampires, and a green demon. Also, way better. But yeah, it's a beautiful moment, and just works so well as the final big moment of Angel: After the Fall. At its core, Angel has always been a story about redemption, so when Angel sees Gunn, beated and brusied in a hospital bed, he gives him the speech that would have helped him out so much years before. He tells Gunn that it wasn't him. That he will have to make amends, but that he knows that Gunn isn't the monster that murdered his son. It's a packed moment, because Angel is a) making amends with Gunn, b) in a way realizing that he isn't responsible for what he did as Angelus, and c) setting out on a new quest to right his own wrongs. Another awesome thing about this moment is the dichotomy of this and the last time Angel visited Wesley in the hospital. In that moment, Angel tried to smother his friend for stealing Connor as a child. This moment, without specifically referencing it, shows that Angel has risen above that. The silent Lorne, the Angel Investigations card, and the "voice-over" as Angel walks off into the light all make this a perfect moment and a perfect way to end ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL.

Now... you guys ready to see what happens to Gunn next? I know I am.

My Bad. My Blunder.

Yeah, haven't posted in a while.

I'm behind on some reviews. It's true.

I've been very busy, though, shooting a lot of short films, writing a lot of long films, submitting a lot of short stories, and preparing to intern/research assist something really cool and really relevant to this site. Buuuut that is a different story. Here is what you should expect to read at this site soon.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight: Tales of the Vampires- The Thrill (READ IT NOW!)

ANGEL: Not Fade Away (adaption) #1 today

ANGEL: Not Fade Away (adaption) #2 within the next two weeks

ANGEL: Blood & Trenches #3- within the week

GROOM LAKE #2- before #3 comes out this month, for sure

If I fail to get those out on time... bug me. I'll listen.

I will try to be on time for everything, as soon as I catch up on these. Reviews of the main ANGEL title, as well as the main BUFFY title, will be posted on the day of the issue's release. No doubt about that.

In the meantime, here are some things for you to look forward to.

ANGEL

JUNE

+ ANGEL #22 wraps up Kelley Armstrong's Aftermath arc. It's been a tough ride, but maybe Ms. Armstrong can bring everything in and give her story a solid end.

+ ANGEL: BLOOD AND TRENCHES #4 wraps up John Byrne's awesome WWI story.

JULY

+ ANGEL #23: Become What You Are features the return of Brian Lynch and Franco Urru! It's about what happened to Gunn between #17 and #18, and how he got in that car with Illyria.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #1: Illyria crosses over into Peter David's original series.

+ ANGEL: Not Fade Away #3- Scott Tipton and Stephen Mooney's adaptation of the best episode of television history concludes.

AUGUST

+ ANGEL #24: Drusilla, part one. Brian Lynch, Juliet Landau (Drusilla herself!), and Franco Urru give us the skinny on what has been up with the vamp who sired Spike.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #2

+ ANGEL: Only Human #1. Gunn and Illyria's story from ANGEL #23 continues in the first issue of a four issue miniseries, written by Scott Lobdell, writer of VIVA LAS BUFFY.

SEPTEMBER

+ ANGEL #25: Drusilla, part two. The two part tale concludes.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #3

+ ANGEL: Only Human #2

OCTOBER

+ ANGEL #26: Contents unknown. But Chris Ryall's blog revealed that it will be written by Brian Lynch with art by Stephen Mooney. Also, it includes a "red band trailer" for the ANGEL ANNUAL, which you can read about at the same link. Check out one of the covers on this post. The other is at Mr. Ryall's blog.

+ FALLEN ANGEL: Rebirth #4. The miniseries concludes. I'm pretty sure the Fallen Angel title will continue, though, so don't give up here!

+ ANGEL: Only Human #3

BUFFY

JULY

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #26. Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

AUGUST

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #27 Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

SEPTEMBER

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #28 Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.

OCTOBER

+ BUFFY, SEASON EIGHT: #29 Retreat, part 1. Written by Jane Espenson.