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Post by VampSlayer on Jun 17, 2008 23:00:29 GMT -5
ITS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Joe
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Obsessive Paranoid Boob
"Gypsies are filthy people! We shall speak of zem no more!" *spits* -Ilona Costa Bianchi[Mo0:0]
Posts: 2,786
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Post by Joe on Jun 18, 2008 7:49:38 GMT -5
Ok there's a 30% chance I can get it today......... but if not today, I can get it tomorrow!
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Post by WolfRamHart420 on Jun 18, 2008 9:55:42 GMT -5
smartjoe299 AWESOME AWESOME BANNER!!!!, o yeah cant wait to get my hands on this eek eek squeee yippi yahoo woooo hellz yeah!!!
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iloveromy
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
[Mo0:10]
Posts: 684
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Post by iloveromy on Jun 18, 2008 11:44:20 GMT -5
Just read it.
As far as the storyline progressing, this is my favorite issue. In some ways in could have been a season finale. It is definitely high up there with there on the drama meter. If there is such a thing as a drama meter. Angel, Conner, Spike, Wesley, Illyria - Everyone has a little bit of something in this issue, especially Illyria. I was curious how Mr. Lynch was going to handle it and I think is quite impressive. I was really scared he was going to frak it up. The resolution to the battle was very much in the spirit of the Buffyverse. Good stuff all 'round.
The art. What can I say? Oh yeah, it was pretty damn mediocre. There were some panels that look like a sixth grader drew it. But there were also some really good ones as well. I just can't believe how boss his covers are over his stuff on the inside. Disappointing.
I purchased both covers this time because I couldn't pick a favorite. I said this on another thread and I will say it again. Angel: After The Fall has been knocking the covers out of the ball park. I love it.
One last thing that I can't wait to find out....
Are those girls slayers?
Um, what happened to Nina?
Also- I did catch the wink at the X-Men movie in regards to lightning.
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Post by KingofCretins on Jun 18, 2008 11:56:09 GMT -5
SPOILER DISCUSSION BELOW
"After the Fall" resumes...
This is probably my favorite issue so far. I love hopeful and romantic Angel, all inspired by teamwork and stuff. I like Spike when he provides the much needed sarcasm.
The fact that Angel had a plan this whole time and made the big rescue little more than a sentimental moment is something I actually liked. It gave him a lot of validation from his allies, a great moment with his son, and a return to heroic status in general.
Connor/Gwen confirmation! Brian Lynch... thank you. I love having been all over that vibe despite you always ignoring my questions about it! And I also like the parallel it creates for father-son bonding because of Angel's curse and Gwen's power. Gwonner rules! Someone make me a banner!
That the loan shark survived is no great surprise, because he's funny. A little disappointed that he has a name, though -- I kinda liked that he might have that whole "tucker's brother" thing that trailed Andrew throughout Season 6 of "Buffy".
I'm very grateful that we actually get a lot of little expository tidbits that had been sort of chinese water torture before -- like some idea who or what Spider is. She is Maria. Spike just met a girl named Maria. Now everywhere he goes... *ahem*. No, it was nice to learn that she's just a uniquely "gifted" person who glommed onto Spike at some point, and not in fact an evil-super-captor (apparently) or force of hand-wringing evil.
I can't say enough positive stuff about the return to the Hyperion. It's symbolically perfect. It's Bruce Wayne announcing he's going to rebuild Wayne Manor brick by brick in "Batman Begins". It's Angel saying "let's go to work" in "Not Fade Away". Having been broken down completely, he can now be rebuilts, and that's the right place, as always, to do it. Nice touch to remember that Spike had never been there, either, and thus had no idea why they were there.
Fredlyria's story is pretty much what most of us thought, but, again, nice to get some expository funk rubbed on it. And having her still so desperately attached to Wesley (in either form) is poignant... although does make a certain cover even more eyebrow-raising.
Another fantastic touch -- Cordy still having her say, as much as she can anyway. Very nice to think of her as being (legitimately) doing the job she was "hired" for in Season 3, and in such a subtle gesture basically letting Wes know all manner of things will be well.
Gunn's plot thickens, and he delightfully reduces himself by one more annoying minion. He reminds me of one of my favorite "Veronica Mars" lines -- "I'm feeling the calculating stare, but where's the villainous hand-wringing and maniacal laugh?" In other words, he is deeply cool precisely because everything seems to be going his way even when it shouldn't be. Makes him inherently badass in the same way that Twilight is.
Couple questions/points of interest -- "Angel the Vampire Slayer! Angel the Vampire Slayer!" Right now, I'm clinging to the idea that that's a tiny bit of fanservice to the folks who expect non-vamp Angel to still be a superbeing of some kind, and not actual foreshadowing. Because, frankly, there *are* a lot of people who would/will jump on that and say "but of course! He'll turn into a guy-Slayer!" -- completely overlooking that the notion of a male Slayer is thunderously concept breaking to the entire Buffyverse mythology.
The question I'd have for Brian would be his use of the word "champions" so diligently to describe the fighters for the demon lords. It was pretty deliberate and repetitive, and left me wondering -- is it an intentional inversion/deconstruction of the Buffyverse's established use of the term to mean Force For Good, Protector Of The Helpless? We got a little of that in Season 5 when Angel admitted to being "tired of that word", and it occurred to me to be so precise with using it in this context, that it was an intentional effort to trivialize that concept in "After the Fall".
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Post by VampSlayer on Jun 18, 2008 13:23:53 GMT -5
So, can someone tell me what the whole fred ordeal is? I wanna know so bad...
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Slayer489
Wise-cracking Techno Genius
"Why do I feel like this? Why do I let Spike do those things to me?" - Buffy 'Dead Things'[Mo0:0]
Posts: 784
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Post by Slayer489 on Jun 18, 2008 13:45:12 GMT -5
Oh my God it's out early! I have to get it. ;D And yeah Smartjoe299 I LOVE your banner so much.
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Post by ericdra7en on Jun 18, 2008 15:07:26 GMT -5
*Spoilers - of course*
I only have a minute, but I had to post a few things.
1)Long live the Hyperion!!! The Batcave reference above is right on the money IMO.
2)I think Illyria is the best character to come out of the verse since Buffy, Angel and Spike. I sincerely hope she stays around - and NOT in a sharing-with-Fred sort of way. Although that would be better than Fred making a full-time return to her shell.
Another great episode - 'cuz let's face it, that's what each issue really is. That's saying a lot.
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BenTaylor3907
Wise-cracking Sidekick
Illyria's Qwa'ha Xahn
~ Listening To Fear ~[Mo0:25]
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Post by BenTaylor3907 on Jun 18, 2008 16:22:51 GMT -5
UGH! I called my local comic book store (Comicmania) and I asked if they had Angel #9, the guy said "Yeah, we have plenty of 'em, they just came in." So since I recently got in a car accident, I had to walk 3 miles to Comicmania. I asked the dude and he was like "No, we don't have that in stock, who told you that?" I was about to flip out.
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Post by VampSlayer on Jun 18, 2008 16:31:15 GMT -5
UGH! I called my local comic book store (Comicmania) and I asked if they had Angel #9, the guy said "Yeah, we have plenty of 'em, they just came in." So since I recently got in a car accident, I had to walk 3 miles to Comicmania. I asked the dude and he was like "No, we don't have that in stock, who told you that?" I was about to flip out. Omg, I would have screamed at them. xD
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balesthebloody
Wise-cracking Techno Genius
"Angel's gettin' some! Good on you mate!"[Mo0:0]
Posts: 733
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Post by balesthebloody on Jun 18, 2008 19:25:56 GMT -5
Yet again another great issue! I don't think that the story moved much but it was done the right way by feeling in a lot of plot points. Angel knew he was going to win. Now the fighting makes sense. Gwen and Connor. Why am I not surprised? Good move on Connor's part! Just what is Gunn up to anyways?! It's nice to see the gang back together at the hotel. That was one of the high points I think. I am glad to see that Fred is still fighting Illyria to get out. Wes getting word from Cordy makes me feel better about "The Powers". At least I think that they MIGHT be trying to help Angel out. Poor Wes and Fred/Illyria. I really don't think they will ever find peace.
Anyone else get the feeling that Illyria loves Wesley?
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Joe
Wise-cracking Sidekick
Obsessive Paranoid Boob
"Gypsies are filthy people! We shall speak of zem no more!" *spits* -Ilona Costa Bianchi[Mo0:0]
Posts: 2,786
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Post by Joe on Jun 18, 2008 19:28:44 GMT -5
UGH! I called my local comic book store (Comicmania) and I asked if they had Angel #9, the guy said "Yeah, we have plenty of 'em, they just came in." So since I recently got in a car accident, I had to walk 3 miles to Comicmania. I asked the dude and he was like "No, we don't have that in stock, who told you that?" I was about to flip out. Omg, I would have screamed at them. xD I would've been so mad, I think I would've bit their head off... That would have made me so mad, and OOOH, I feel your pain.
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kimtaro
Ensouled Vampire
Everybody's Buttmonkey
Crime tastes funny[Mo0:10]
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Post by kimtaro on Jun 18, 2008 19:42:55 GMT -5
So wait...Wes was trying to contact Cordy?
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balesthebloody
Wise-cracking Techno Genius
"Angel's gettin' some! Good on you mate!"[Mo0:0]
Posts: 733
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Post by balesthebloody on Jun 18, 2008 19:45:55 GMT -5
So wait...Wes was trying to contact Cordy? Just "The Powers" in general I think.
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Joe
Wise-cracking Sidekick
Obsessive Paranoid Boob
"Gypsies are filthy people! We shall speak of zem no more!" *spits* -Ilona Costa Bianchi[Mo0:0]
Posts: 2,786
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Post by Joe on Jun 18, 2008 19:46:45 GMT -5
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Post by themaleslayer on Jun 18, 2008 19:58:19 GMT -5
Yes, good old Cordy is mentioned, but not by name.
I am very happy about the return of the Hyperion hotel. It's a step up from the small hotel in Santa Monica (went there on Saturday).
I loved the final scene with Wesley and Illyria.
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Post by hitnrun017 on Jun 18, 2008 20:29:46 GMT -5
Good issue, not my favorite of the series, but still good.
A few days ago, I was wondering if there was something going on between Gwen and Connor, and well... Did anyone else catch Gwen's nod to the first X-Men movie? Isn't it Joss' only in the movie? The Wesley/Illyria/Fred stuff in the issue was my favorite. Very touching and sad, great writing Brian! The Cordelia mention was such an amazing part, too. The Loan Shark betraying the lords was great! I didn't expect it, a very cool twist with Hagan's Shaft. I loved seeing Burge's head fly off. I need to know more about Gunn's plan! The return of The Hyperion was very bittersweet.
Some things that bothered me: Where was Nina? What happened to the Champions the Lords chose? What the hell was that red octopus thing? Angel's "bippity, boppity and boo" pissed me off.
Now, onto the art. While it's not as bad as it looked in the back of issue 8, it's not great. It's just there is barely ANY detail: We see the characters, but then there is just nothing around them, and when there is, it just looks like lines and circles, very sloppy lines and circles. The coloring is bad, does EVERYTHING in the background have to be the same color?
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Post by KingofCretins on Jun 18, 2008 21:00:48 GMT -5
Yeah, I caught that, liked the shout-out both to Gwen's quasi- Storm/Rogue-ishness and Joss' line. It's an under-rated bit of snark in that movie, actually.
The red tentacles I took to be just more of the same tentacles that are consuming the city in general; Hell-A seems to be an almost living entity, and it was lashing out at them. I was surprised that Nina didn't show up, too, but A) only so much panel time to go around, and B) I can justify it as someone needing to stay back and protect/lead Connor's refugees.
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Post by hitnrun017 on Jun 18, 2008 21:05:40 GMT -5
Yeah, I caught that, liked the shout-out both to Gwen's quasi- Storm/Rogue-ishness and Joss' line. It's an under-rated bit of snark in that movie, actually. The red tentacles I took to be just more of the same tentacles that are consuming the city in general; Hell-A seems to be an almost living entity, and it was lashing out at them. I was surprised that Nina didn't show up, too, but A) only so much panel time to go around, and B) I can justify it as someone needing to stay back and protect/lead Connor's refugees. I think Entertainment Weekly named it one of the worst movie quotes of all time And yeah, I reread it and it explains the red tentacles being some random Hell thing.
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iloveromy
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
[Mo0:10]
Posts: 684
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Post by iloveromy on Jun 18, 2008 21:08:01 GMT -5
The absent Nina is an oversight. She was totally in the fight before, right?
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