A Halloweenie Treat

What Is It?: Angel vs. Frankenstein- The Heir (by John Byrne)

Timing: Early 1800s, after the action of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

REVIEW: Much like John Byrne's Blood and Trenches, this was a treat. It was told in a different style than the Angel stories we've been getting that have been set in modern times, offering a dark, gothic, and truly creepy tale just in time for Halloween. Unfortunately, I'm not in time to review it for Halloween, but... yeah. I really enjoyed it, and I think it's just what the doctor ordered.

These kinds of tales should be what IDW looks for to spice up the Angel title. Brian Lynch's one-shots and the current Boys and Their Toys two-parter (Part Two still hasn't come out in NY! No matter how busy I am, I do tend to drop everything to get my Lynchcomic reviews out, because, to be honest, they're at a higher level than any Buffyverse comic being published now) have been fantastic, but it's clear that the series is in a transitional period before Willingham takes over with the Immortality for Dummies arc in December. Stories like this one, though, help remind us where Angel comes from. As much fun as we can have with the comedy issues, and as heroic as Angel is now in the more dramatic issues, this served as a harsh reminder to me where he comes from. And that, at this point in the series, is essential. Each season was loaded with flashbacks, but the on-going series really hasn't seen much of that until now, other than Blood and Trenches, which showed a troubled but essentially good Angel. This... not so much.

It's a battle of the villains as Angelus and Frankenstein go head to head for an inheritance that neither of them really deserves or, considering what the inheritance has dwindled to, really want. It's more of a war of ego and honor between two monsters, one whose heart turned cold because of the way people treated him, the other who likes to snap necks and ravage virgins. So yeah, it's clear that Frankenstein is the better of the two here, but his nonchalance about taking human life to get what he wants throws this story into a dark, dark place. There really are no heroes, no one to root for or get behind. It's just two dark forces clashing, and it's damn chilling.

The language Byrne uses to tell the story is great. It genuinely feels like it takes place in that era, and besides a few awkward turns of phrase ("...He has been called Angelus. A name given to him as an ironic joke." Eeek.), Byrne uses dialogue and Frankenstein's expository monologue to set the tone here. Despite the idea having comic book fight written all over it (I mean, what hero hasn't fought Frankenstein?), Byrne takes the realistic route and totally succeeds. It's nothing earth shattering, but it's an enjoyable and well-written comic that works as an Angel tale, a Frankenstein tale, a standalone horror tale, or a start to a longer Angel vs. Frankenstein saga. And man, I hope for that last bit.

Art: So, so different than Blood and Trenches. I loved the washed out, newspapery look of that book, and I thought we might get something similar here, but nope. Byrne's likenesses are as strong as always, but the darkness of the story seeps through into the art. It's shadowy without being too dark, bright in places without breaking the mood... actually, it's almost as if it's a comic being told by candlelight. Colorist Ronda Pattinson should just color all the Angel comics, because her work here isn't just attractive, it also works perfectly with the story. Great, great art.

Covers: Not my favorite by Byrne. There are a lot of arms, and it is sort of messy. All I can think of when I see it is, "Is that Frankenstein's leg? How is it there. He's so tall that his knee caps are at Angelus's shoulder. Heh. Why? They're in a forest? Why is Angelus holding her that way? Looks uncomfortable for him. Why is her hand bent that way? Looks uncomfortable or her. Is Frankenstein stroking Angelus's hair. Sexy. But no." So not the best. Byrne showed in Blood and Trenches that he's way better at interiors than covers, but this is definitely below his usual standards. There are some very cool things about it, but they're all trumped by the sheer awkwardness.

Characters We Know: Angelus. Oh, and he hasn't appeared in the Buffyverse until now, but... Frankenstein, who you should know. If you don't, leave this blog now. Go. Shoo.

Extras: So I'm a geek. Know this before you read what follows. I love TPBs and hardcovers, and I love seeing what goes into them and what doesn't make it. As of now, it seems that this book doesn't really have a place in any collection. So, geek that I am, here are a couple of suggestions.

Angel- Volume __ - Short stories- Make it a part of the on-going series. Throw it in a hardcover. And no, not randomly. Wait until there are a bunch of one-shots. Fables, Sandman, Y: The Last Man, and so many other series do it. Have it start with Masks, then this, then Last Angel in Hell, and and the next few one shots that come out. Whatever volume hardcover has been published by then (I'm thinking Angel- Volume Seven- Immortality for Dummies) make it the next one!

Or...

Angel vs. Frankenstein TPB- I know what you're saying. "But Pat! It's only a one-shot! It would just be the very same comic in an ill fitting larger cover!" But "wait," I say! Make it a friggin' series. It works. The ending calls for it. It should happen.

Rating: 8/10

The War Is Over

What Is It?: Angel: Blood & Trenches #4 (written and illustrated by John Byrne).

Timing: Read the series in order, obviously. But to say when it takes place is tricky. It tells what happened to Angel between #2 and #3, and then speeds up over what happened in #3, and concludes the story.

REVIEW: John Byrne's Blood & Trenches has been a very good read. It's unique, and its look and presentation works hand in hand with the story being told, which makes the reading experience all the better. Though the series has been fun throughout, the third issue took a slight step down in quality, but you'll be glad to know that Byrne bounces back for the final issue which really delivers a knock out punch.

The structure of the story works really well in this one. We get to see what happened to Angel while he was imprisoned by Kakistos, and though I was scratching my chin as to why this couldn't have been told linearly, the climax of the story when Angel figures out why Kakistos and his men were treating him like a human answered that question. The structure really works, putting all of the information we need in just the right place to give a proper build-up to Angel's realization. It's all really good stuff.

What I really liked about this issue was how Byrne handled the alliance between Angel and Colonel Geoffrey Wyndam-Pryce. It was never friendly, and they never really connected, but it was made the focus of the issue. All of the plot bits, even things as monumental as Lady Margaret's betrayal, fed into that unlikely partnership, serving to make these two men come together to face on Kakistos. And speaking of our cloven handed friend...

...there was obviously no way Kakistos could kick it, because we know he's alive in Sunnydale years later. Byrne handles his temporary defeat in a pretty cool manner, having Angel defeat him in a way that would a) make Angel believe he could have died and b) actually put Kakistos out of commission enough to ruin his place. It was really clever. The most clever moment, however, came at the end, when it is revealed that... well, I'm not gonna write it here. It's something you really should read. Angel and the Colonel unknowingly make a grave error, and thanks to good old dramatic irony, they will never know. And thank God for that, because we all know Angel already has enough to brood about.

In the end, very good issue with a great shock ending. This has definitely been the best non-After the Fall Angel comic that IDW has published (not including the SPIKE spin-offs).

Covers: The cover captures a moment from the book, where Kakistos and Angel fight on the wing of a plane. It's not the most detailed of all of Byrne's covers, but the action and violence is pretty catching. It's definitely appropriate for the issue.

Characters We Know: Angel, Kakistos, and (SPOILERS:) Hitler.

Rating: 8/10

BKV Style Backstory of Colonel Geoffrey Wyndam-Pryce

What Is It?: Angel: Blood & Trenches # (written and illustrated by John Byrne).

Timing: Non-linear. Set before, during, and directly after Blood & Trenches #1 and #2. Clues us in on stuff we need to understand to appreciate what happens after #2.

REVIEW: The art is as great as ever here. It's shadowy, sketchy when it needs to be, so so detailed when the story calls for it, and just incredibly good. Angel's likeness is spot-on, and the fact that it isn't inked gives the story an almost washed-out look that works well with this historical story. In a way, it's out of date, and meant to be. I'm no historian, but I buy the language, I buy the setting, and I buy how this story fits into Angel's life.

This comic is definitely a risk. Well, the whole series was in a way. Angel's current, happening-right-now story continues to be told in the on-going series, and all of the characters (particularly Gunn and Illyria) are at really interesting places in a post-After the Fall Buffyverse, so it was definitely a gutsy move to tell a four issue ANGEL tale that takes place before any of the supporting characters were alive, before Angel became the champion we now know him as, and before he really came into his own as a character. What makes this issue even more risky is that Angel's role is minimalized, and the story instead chooses to focus on Colonel Geoffrey Wyndam-Pryce, the "villain" of the piece, who we have seen little of up until this point. It's pretty cool that Byrne is confident enough in his story to take such a non-linear break from the narrative in the penultimate chapter, that's not in question. It's the results that... well, let's just say they vary.

The first half of the issue is a Brian K. Vaughan style back story on the Colonel. Much like BKV did with the supporting characters of Y: The Last Man, we're given a reason why the Colonel is doing what he's doing, and we're also introduced to the emotional bond between him a fellow officer. It doesn't go as deep as BKV's flashback issue do, and that's one of the problems here. We're left with a bit more understanding for the character, but I'm also wondering why Byrne didn't take it a bit further so we really feel for the character. We end up feeling some pain for him later, but the lack of true emotion in the opening (plus the lack of Angel and anything compelling except the "ohhh, okay"ness of connecting it with the main narrative) makes the first half a kind of dry read. There was a cool vampire fight, but we've seen those a million times, so that only goes so far.

One thing I also wish had been spruced up was a certain page of dialogue. When Wyndam-Pryce finds the vampire feeding on a young woman, he talks out loud to himself like a cheesy detective from a children's cartoon show. The same information could have been conveyed in captions, much like how Tipton did for Smile Time and Brian Lynch does in all of his ANGEL and SPIKE works. Perhaps Byrne didn't want us to get too close to the Colonel, and I definitely understand that. I would have preferred just letting the art speak for itself in that case, because the whole "talking aloud, alone" thing feels like the reader is being walked through the story, and I'm not sure that's necessary.

Things get better when we're caught up to the current story. Angel has somehow evaded Kakistos, and he comes back to Lady Margaret just in time for the somewhat emotional stuff with the Colonel to come to head in a tragic (and really violent) moment, and for a pretty crazy twist at the end of the issue. What John Byrne excels at is surprising the reader, even though we already know what happens... and that takes a damn good writer. We know Angel lives on years and years later, we know that Kakistos has to make it out alive... but Byrne's twist endings still pack that punch that leaves us eager to wonder what is going to happen to these characters now. This may not be the strongest issue of the series, but it was still a good comic.

Covers: Really cool one. I love the colors that have been used for this, from the dark purples of the first one, the bright blues and pinks of the second, and now the oranges and blacks of this one. We get a great close-up of Angel as a gloved enemy attempts to drive a stake into his heart. Did I mention Byrne is great with the details? Because oh is he ever. Second best cover of the series, after the fantastic #1.

Characters We Know: Angel, Kakistos.

Rating: 7/10

Sorry for the delay... ANGEL: BLOOD & TRENCHES #2!

What Is It?: Angel: Blood & Trenches #2 (written and illustrated by John Byrne).

Timing: Directly after Angel: Blood & Trenches #1.

REVIEW: Really sorry for the delay. I've been crazy busy, and if you want to see why, check out my other blog about my writing life. It's grind time at college as well, but I've managed to squeeze review time between waking up and the Lambda Iota Tau induction ceremony this evening. I promise I'll be back to regular Wednesday reviews this week with the release of Angel #20, and I'll try to squeeze in a review of Angel: Smile Time #3 between now and then.

But as for now, onto Blood & Trenches #2!

John Byrne's Angel/WWI epic continues with another great issue. Though the story definitely progresses, don't expect any major changes; if you liked the first issue, this satisfies in the same way. The art is done in the same style (just straight pencils, no inks, and the only color used is for SFX and blood), and it works wonderfully with Byrne's first person narration. I felt like I was reading a wonderful old war novel while I poured over these pages, but the spirit of Angel is still very much there. Though he's not yet the vampire we've come to know and love, that's kind of the point. This is Angel before he's gone through everything that shaped his personality, and he's still in a very dark and impressionable place... which is why I really don't get when people say his voice is off. This is Angel fresh out of being Angelus, robbed of every defining characteristic he had. And plus, this takes place a long time ago. It makes perfect sense that Angel doesn't speak like 2009 Angel does.

This issue pushes the story in an interesting new direction. While #1 did have a decent amount of supernatural elements, it was a lot more about Angel interacting with humans, both good and evil. This took things down an entirely different route, and explores the role that vampires played in the war at large. I'm still not sure why Angel was so invested in checking out what's going on that he actually stowed away on a boat to get where he is, but I'm perfectly fine with that. The mystery gets a lot more interesting when a new/old player is thrown into the mix. If you thought the Geoffrey Wyndam-Pryce reveal was crazy, wait until you see (SPOILER:) Kakistos bearing down on Angel.

Angel: Blood & Trenches was the best Buffyverse title of March, and so far it's true for April as well. I wasn't quite as blown away by this one as I was with the first issue, but I think that's sort of because the unique presentation of the story was really impressive and shocking when I first read the issue. This issue has less opportunity to play with format and time than the first issue did, but the way story itself continues is just great. I can't wait until this is published as a TPB or a hardcover, because I can just tell it would be fantastic to read this in one sitting.

Covers: I've seen all of the covers for this series online, and this is probably the least impressive. It's dynamic and all, with the bullets crossing behind Angel and the smoke rising off of his back, but I just found the colors sort of odd. I get that Angel is supposed to be burning in the sun, but it's not really how I would have pictured it. I wouldn't be as picky if the colors used on the covers of #1 and #3 weren't so exceptional. It's not a bad cover, but not especially good either. The variant cover is a black and white version of the normal cover.

Characters We Know: Angel and (SPOILER:) Kakistos.

Rating: 8/10

Best. History Lesson. Ever.

What Is It?: Angel: Blood and Trenches #1 (written and illustrated by John Byrne).

Timing: World War I (1914-1918, unspecified). In terms of the Buffyverse, it's after Angel arrived in New York following the events of the Boxer Rebellion, and before he was spotted in Chicago in the 1920s.

REVIEW: I remember when this title was first announced. After SDCC in July 2008, it was reported that Brian Lynch would be writing an Angel book titled Blood and Trenches. Along with the announcement of Aftermath, a buzz began to surround the book. The lack of details made it mysterious. Turns out, the mystery wasn't intended; the reporting just sucked. I mean, I guess "Byrne" kinda looks like "Brian" on paper if you suffer from cataracts, but yeah. Either way, the buzz became even buzzier when the future of IDW's Angel was made clear. Yup, novelist Kelley Armstrong would be taking over the main title for a five issue arc titled "Aftermath." Yes, Brian Lynch would be back on the title sooner rather than later. And the creative team behind Blood and Trenches would be none other than the one man show, the legendary... John Byrne.

So the fandom hype and the talent was there. IDW took it the next step to ensure that this wouldn't just be another mini-series side adventure by really going all out with the design of the book. As you can see if you scroll, there is no "art" section in this review because it's impossible to separate the art from the story from the product. Byrne "shoots from the pencils" here, which is basically what it sounds like. Instead of having the panels inked, they are printed as is from Byrne's pencils. The only color in the book is some blue/greens for a few sound effects and a great use of deep red for blood, which--as you might have guessed from the title--is a huge part of the book. The pages and cover are very different from anything IDW has printed before, using thick, non-glossy paper, giving a really appropriate old school feeling to the thing. And, this may seem strange, but when you buy the book... take a whiff of the pages. Really, just go for it. Just make sure no one's looking, because that's weird.

When reading Blood and Trenches, you can really tell the writer and artist are the same person. Byrne knows his art in and out, so he knows when to let the visuals carry the storyline and when to add some narration. And oh, the narration. It's first person, present tense Angel, written as if it were a novel. The writing shows a sophistication, with lines like "I carry the soldiers as far from the fire as I can in my weakened state. Then... I lay my burdens in the snow." Perfectly worded, especially when you see it placed over Byrne's wonderful art. I'm no historian, so I won't really be able to pull out any historical inaccuracies, but the confidence with which Byrne writes about the war is as impressive as the confidence with which he writes Angel.

The book starts in medias res, beginning with a catastrophic event that happened to Angel as he drove a truck full of injured soldiers across an expanse of snow. Just as the unthinkable happens, the narrative jumps back six weeks and shows how Angel got to that point. It's a wonderful starting point for the series, showing where Angel is at at that point in his life, revealing how he views feeding on evil humans, and introducing the Big Bad of the series who is an ancestor of a man that will later become Angel's best friend. The art is atmospheric, so different, and honestly just great. As I read the book, I just keep thinking "This is so good."

If you're looking for a great Angel story or a great war story, look no further. This book is friendly to new comers but will also please any true fan of Angel... or really anyone who likes great stories.

Covers: Byrne also crafts the cover for the issue. It's Angel and a woman he's protecting, Lady Margaret D'Ascoyne, surrounded by vampires that (deliberately) bear a striking resemblance to Angel. It's very old school, and evokes the same classic feel that the interior art and the feel of the pages does. I've seen three of the four covers for the series, and this is by far my favorite. The way the greys and the purples play off each other is wonderful, and the likeness--as with the interior art--is amazing.

Characters We Know: Angel. Very, very interesting. I hope they do a lot more of these solo adventures, with either Angel or any supporting character. It's wonderful.

Rating: 9/10

PS: Apologies for the delayed Angel: Smile Time #2 review. No worries on that front, it's definitely coming. I read and enjoyed the book, and will probably be able to review by tomorrow. It's been an incredibly busy and rewarding past three weeks for me as a writer, but things are calming down (for now) so I'll be able to make with the postage.