While I was none too impressed by the first issue, I did keep buying Angel on the grounds that I’m a hideous wreck of a man more interested in completism than quality. Luckily, it’s starting to pay off. Issue #3 shows a marked improvement in both art and story as we finally get the last of the principal cast members filled with when Illyria shows up (I’m not sure Lorne needs to be included after how Angel S5 ended, though I’m sure he’ll turn up in the comic eventually…)

Angel still doesn’t appear to have a clue what’s going on, but at least we’re starting to see suggestions as to why that’s the case. The final page revelation - that Angel is no longer a vampire - seems wildly out of place when we’re already a quarter into the story - though on the other hand, including it in the first issue could’ve seemed like overload. In any case, it’s something that’s finally made me interested in the plot, though it’s lucky for them that I was still actually reading it at this point. 

Urru’s art is starting to look a lot cleaner. The muddyness of the last two issues is gone, and characters are finally as recognisable as they need to be, though the demon designs are - as with all Buffy comics - still very hard to believe on the page, but I’ve discussed the problems with TV-to-Comic translations elsewhere so I won’t go into it now. Despite that minor issue, I do at least feel as though we’re finally seeing the qualities that led him to be hand-picked by Whedon for this assignment.

It was a rocky start, but if it continues improving at this rate the comic should be genuinely enjoyable by about issue 6. At the moment, it’s hard not to think it’s running off Whedon’s goodwill - certainly, that’s the only reason I’m still here - but it’s made a significant step towards winning me on its own merits now that there’s a specific goal in place for Angel, and a genuine mystery to keep me interested, rather than the confused status-quo changes that have been stapled onto the rest of the characters. Given that it’s essentially telling a story that was best left untold (what happens to Angel after Season 5) it’s good to see it finally trying to justify itself.

Tags: Angel, Brian Lynch, Buffy, Franco Urru
Publisher: IDW