gorybmovie's review against another edition
3.0
Angel: After the Fall vol. 1 started after the apocalypse was well under way. As the title suggests, First Night takes us back to the night from the last episode of the television show and shows us how each of the main characters found themselves in their current predicaments.
First Night is separated into mini stories, each only a few pages long, each named for the character they follow, and each with a unique look and feel to match. I particularly enjoyed the Lorne story. The art looks like an old cartoon and reads like a Dr. Seuss book.
There are many shout outs to the television series including some characters that we haven't seen on the show since the early seasons.
I highly recommend this to anyone that was disappointed with the Angel television series finale. First Night ties up all the loose story ends and leads nicely into the new conflicts introduced in Angel: After the Fall vol. 1.
First Night is separated into mini stories, each only a few pages long, each named for the character they follow, and each with a unique look and feel to match. I particularly enjoyed the Lorne story. The art looks like an old cartoon and reads like a Dr. Seuss book.
There are many shout outs to the television series including some characters that we haven't seen on the show since the early seasons.
I highly recommend this to anyone that was disappointed with the Angel television series finale. First Night ties up all the loose story ends and leads nicely into the new conflicts introduced in Angel: After the Fall vol. 1.
joelevard's review against another edition
3.0
Someone in Oak Park is a kleptomaniac with a thing for Angel comics, because he stole volume 1 and 3 of this series from the library. I can tell because the online reservation system shows they were due on the same day, three months ago. A hex upon thee, library thief!
So I had to order these from other libraries, which is annoying because there is no way to control the order in which they arrive. For example, I got volume 2 first. I checked it out anyway, just in case the thief was planning to strike again, and maybe the first volume would come in before the due date (I was foiled in this for exciting reasons that I might reveal in my review of Spike: After the Fall, because I know everyone is into this library intrigue).
But then I read about the series and it turns out volume 2 takes place before volume 1 chronologically. IN YOUR FACE, LIBRARY THIEF! PLAN: FOILED!
Hmm... except this volume is actually really short (collecting three issues instead of the usual five in a trade edition like this) and rather than actually delve into the story I was doing all that frantic reserving to actually read (which is supposed to be "season six that never was" of Angel, but you already knew that, you dork), it has a bunch of one-off vignettes with various characters, some critical, some not-so-important. Thus some of the stories are interesting and some are not-so-interesting.
Perhaps the thief hadn't carelessly overlooked this volume at all. Perhaps he wanted to leave it behind to taunt future patrons with its... unsatisfyingness. Curse you, villain. I already hate the whole process of comic books enough (Go to the store every month! Because you sure can't subscribe anymore. And then read one issue in 15 minutes. Or wait like a year for five issues at once, which still only takes an hour! I hate you, comics!). Stop making me hate it more.
Three stars anyway. There's a psychic fish and one story is all in rhyme.
So I had to order these from other libraries, which is annoying because there is no way to control the order in which they arrive. For example, I got volume 2 first. I checked it out anyway, just in case the thief was planning to strike again, and maybe the first volume would come in before the due date (I was foiled in this for exciting reasons that I might reveal in my review of Spike: After the Fall, because I know everyone is into this library intrigue).
But then I read about the series and it turns out volume 2 takes place before volume 1 chronologically. IN YOUR FACE, LIBRARY THIEF! PLAN: FOILED!
Hmm... except this volume is actually really short (collecting three issues instead of the usual five in a trade edition like this) and rather than actually delve into the story I was doing all that frantic reserving to actually read (which is supposed to be "season six that never was" of Angel, but you already knew that, you dork), it has a bunch of one-off vignettes with various characters, some critical, some not-so-important. Thus some of the stories are interesting and some are not-so-interesting.
Perhaps the thief hadn't carelessly overlooked this volume at all. Perhaps he wanted to leave it behind to taunt future patrons with its... unsatisfyingness. Curse you, villain. I already hate the whole process of comic books enough (Go to the store every month! Because you sure can't subscribe anymore. And then read one issue in 15 minutes. Or wait like a year for five issues at once, which still only takes an hour! I hate you, comics!). Stop making me hate it more.
Three stars anyway. There's a psychic fish and one story is all in rhyme.
ubalstecha's review against another edition
4.0
This is a solid second entry in the series, showing how the secondary characters dealt with the end of days in LA, and the aftermath. Each character gets their own cameo, and there is typical Whedon humour as we see an no-name doomsday predictor find out he was right all the time.
Well done addition.
Well done addition.
numinaluna's review against another edition
3.0
Short. Not everyone I expected was represented, but I got a few surprise guests. It fits.
I think I enjoyed Brian Lynch's commentary at the end even more than the comics themselves. Lynch really deserves a logo. And the drinking game is way less effective with tea.
I think I enjoyed Brian Lynch's commentary at the end even more than the comics themselves. Lynch really deserves a logo. And the drinking game is way less effective with tea.
shinychick's review against another edition
3.0
I read all (or most) of these issue-by-issue, but I find that while the page size of a month comic is easy to hold my attention, it leaves me wanting more and I find that even with the Groosablog, etc, it's hard to remember month by month what happened... It's just easier for me to wait and read them all collected together. This is a great setup for what happened after the TV show ended, and I eagerly await volume 4, which is coming in July.
kittarlin's review against another edition
2.0
I'm interested in what happens next, so this volume was disappointing in its fixation on where everyone was at the moment Hell came to LA (which is odd, since isn't it already there?). I mostly picked up these stories from reading the last volume, so this was rather unnecessary.
kazzajozzy's review against another edition
3.0
Was interesting to see how everyone got to the place they did in the first volume. I think I would have preferred that this was the first volume, and it could have used a bit more meat. I did appreciate Connor’s internal dialogue though, and the appearance of “that” character in his storyline there. Which included one of my favourite Angel quotes!
valentint's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
virginiaduan's review against another edition
3.0
This volume would be worth getting just for the "Recap" blog from Groosalugg alone. Seriously, some of the funniest stuff. I also really enjoyed the behind the scenes looks and commentary from Brian Lynch. I regret that the stories were so few (even though technically, there was quite a lot crammed in).
katherinem310's review against another edition
4.0
For the most part I enjoyed it. Loved Lorne's story and the "Twas the night before Christmas" style. Artwork for "Wesley" is inconsistent, and the likeness not even close.