Angel: The Crown Prince Syndrome - Issue 28

[hitnrun017]

After nearly a year of either horrible Angel comics (Aftermath) or Angel comics with no unity (#23-27), I was hoping this would be a new dawn for the series. It was and it wasn't.

The big positive of this issue was the setup. The story and questions brought up are very interesting, and I'm looking forward to where that goes, especially the ending with Angel. Poor guy, defeats one evil company and now another is after him. The army's introduction was a bit jarring at first, with barely any follow up, but it has huge potential.

Pretty much the entire issue is just a recap of Connor's life, which we already know. That's just so amateur and boring. Let us know what Connor is actually thinking, there's still all kinds of post-After the Fall elements that can be dealt with.

Sadly, some of the problems I had with Aftermath are still present. I expected a lot from Willingham, he's a big Eisner winning comic writer. It's clear he knows how to write one, unlike Armstrong... but LIKE Armstrong, he has no grasp on the characters. Well okay, that's a little harsh, he does better, but it's not enough. He gave some good Spike and Illyria, Gunn had a good line, but everyone else had no voice. Seems like he's already setting up a Kate/James romance with one line and one look. I wasn't expecting a lot of character interaction in the first issue, since it's mostly setup, so hopefully it improves.

I was so excited about the art, but holy crap it turned dreadful. Denham does great likenesses... but that's all it is: likenesses. Literally pages of character's faces with no expression and no background. If someone does manage to crack a smile or bulge their eyes, there's no flow. To be fair though, there are pages where he rocks it. The detail in the first pages and the last few are great.

The shining moment of the issue was the first part of Eddie Hope's story, which is surprising because I wasn't too hot about that idea. Those four pages had it all: amazing art, writing, and the start of a very interesting character. Definitely looking forward to how it continues. Can't wait till he interacts with some of the characters.

Some good, a little more bad. Hope it improves.

[Paul]

This is out already? Wow, I have not been keeping up with my Buffyverse books lately. Haven't even picked up the Angel annual yet.

Sorry to hear a mixed review, but my hopes are still high. Glad that James is still being used, and not just as a cameo.

[Emmie]

Interesting review, E. I appreciate the concrit you have going. I haven't bought this yet. Probably won't pick it up until I go to buy "Goddesses and Monsters" - I'm not going out of my way for IDW comics at the moment.

[hitnrun017]

Well I'm usually overly critical when I'm disappointed. And Jamie gave it a glowing review so maybe you'll love it.

[Wyndam]

Dec 16, 2009 19:27:37 GMT -5 Paul said:

Haven't even picked up the Angel annual yet.

That's out next week (along with Willow and Only Human #5).

[Paul]

Dec 16, 2009 21:09:06 GMT -5 Wyndam said:

Dec 16, 2009 19:27:37 GMT -5 Paul said:

Haven't even picked up the Angel annual yet.

That's out next week (along with Willow and Only Human #5).

Thanks, I just checked that myself. Urgh, that'll be xmas eve for me (in Scotland, Thursday is new comics day). Dare I brave the hordes of awful last-minute xmas shoppers for a Buffy-fix? Sadly enough... probably.

Quite a good Buffyverse haul next week then (assuming shitty Forbidden Planet get their stock in), since I'll probably wait for Angel #28 as well. Might leave reading them to xmas day, nice little present to myself. ;D

[wenxina]

Dec 16, 2009 21:44:09 GMT -5 Paul said:

Might leave reading them to xmas day, nice little present to myself. ;D

That's some willpower you have there. I'll be trying my damn hardest to get my mitts on the Willow one-shot on the 23rd, and reading it on the way to the quasi-in-laws'.

[Paul]

Dec 16, 2009 21:46:43 GMT -5 wenxina said:

Dec 16, 2009 21:44:09 GMT -5 Paul said:

Might leave reading them to xmas day, nice little present to myself. ;D

That's some willpower you have there. I'll be trying my damn hardest to get my mitts on the Willow one-shot on the 23rd, and reading it on the way to the quasi-in-laws'.

I'll probably read #28 when I get it, since I'm really intriqued by this new direction. The rest can wait.

[Wyndam]

I meant to bring this up in my other post, but I liked the line where Connor mentions Angel wanted to eventually rename Angel Investigations to Angel and Son Investigations. I wonder if Angel mentioned that when he was happy (for like two weeks) with infant Connor, or if it was more recent?

Since Connor remembers being in Darla's womb, thanks to W&H, he would remember his father mentioning it as a child. If it was more recent, then it gives a nice idea about how their relationship has improved. Something interesting to think about at least.

[jellymoff]

After 1 read, I'm just OK with how this arc is getting started. I'd say my feelings are somewhere in between Wyndam's and hitrun017. Willingham is cleary a good writer (he's proven that), but I don't think he quite has a grasp on the characters yet. That's to be expected though; it often takes a writer a few issues to get their bearings.

The art was pretty good, though it left me a little cold. It lacked emotion and was almost "too shiny", if that makes sense.

[wenxina]

Dec 17, 2009 9:37:56 GMT -5 jellymoff said:

The art was pretty good, though it left me a little cold. It lacked emotion and was almost "too shiny", if that makes sense.

Kinda like V? Slick and polished, but hasn't quite found its emotional core yet?

[Wyndam]

While I can understand some of the criticisms about the page where we meet the new team (I even said myself that I would have liked some background imagery), I can also understand how hard those pages would be to get “right” in a first issue with a new team. It was important for Willingham to show us who the new Team Angel was, which means including EVERYONE in a first issue. If he had half the team in this issue and the rest show up in issue #2, it would the team fractured and disjointed (After the Fall was the exact opposite, as the team was supposed to be fractured and disjointed). So in that respect, I am glad everyone is in this first issue.

As a first issue that is mostly set up (as it should be), I found very little faults. There are certain disadvantages though, when you want to have all eight members of Team Angel in one scene, all talking (plus the conversation was pretty light which has been rare for the series). Not everyone will get to say much (Georgia and Illyria), and since 3 of the characters are relatively new (George, James and Dez), it can seem like the voices bleed together a bit. So I get that. But given the limited amount of speech that we were given from Spike, Gunn, Illyria and Kate, I thought Willingham did perfectly fine. It’s hard to judge voices in a first issue anyway, especially with so many characters. Once the characters have something to do and are out doing it, they’ll be easier to pick apart and examine.

The same can pretty much be said about Denham’s art in that scene as well, since he wanted to make sure he got the faces right (again, 8 characters), than worry about background visuals.

That’s just how I looked at it anyway.

[angeliclestat]

Good start - very much a set-up story, but lots which gives me good hope for the future.
Pros:
-Interesting ideas with Connor - did anyone else pick up on his thoughts when he was in the cab? I'm paraphrasing here but it was something like 'I knew my life didnt get weird until that day in the LA alley that I met my army'. It's almost like the narration was from the future. Looks like that army are going to play a big part.
- Nice to see thegang back together (but there are cons with this...)
-The final 2 pages were fantastic. Yes we all knew the basic plot regarding Angel, but it was still a shock to see him wrapped up like that. Ouch
- Great start to the Eddie Hope story. Perhaps ny favourite thing in the book.
- Good art. Fantastic likenesses. Sometimes a bit static during the talky scenes, but I'm sure that will improve.

Cons:
- Willingham doesnt *quite* have all the voices down yet. We were spoiled with Brian who had them down straight away, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt. This is only the start of the story.
- A few things I would like to see explained or gone into. Gunn,Illyria and Spike weren't around during the Aftermath arc so we never saw them introduced to James and Dez. Yet here they are chatting as if they knew them already. Would have preferred if it had been shown them all meeting. Small point, but would have made it more acceptable Also..
-Gunn and Connor. Gunn *killed* Connor. Would be nice if that was addressed and they werent all fine and dandy now like nothing happened.
-The gang is quite large now. 3 could be gotton rid of. *cough* jamesdezandgeorge*cough*


Looking forward to Angel getting back in the mix. I know he is out of the gangs way for the next 2 issues. Hopefully not longer than that.

[hitnrun017]

Dec 17, 2009 11:00:59 GMT -5 Wyndam said:

While I can understand some of the criticisms about the page where we meet the new team (I even said myself that I would have liked some background imagery), I can also understand how hard those pages would be to get “right” in a first issue with a new team. It was important for Willingham to show us who the new Team Angel was, which means including EVERYONE in a first issue. If he had half the team in this issue and the rest show up in issue #2, it would the team fractured and disjointed (After the Fall was the exact opposite, as the team was supposed to be fractured and disjointed). So in that respect, I am glad everyone is in this first issue.

As a first issue that is mostly set up (as it should be), I found very little faults. There are certain disadvantages though, when you want to have all eight members of Team Angel in one scene, all talking (plus the conversation was pretty light which has been rare for the series). Not everyone will get to say much (Georgia and Illyria), and since 3 of the characters are relatively new (George, James and Dez), it can seem like the voices bleed together a bit. So I get that. But given the limited amount of speech that we were given from Spike, Gunn, Illyria and Kate, I thought Willingham did perfectly fine. It’s hard to judge voices in a first issue anyway, especially with so many characters. Once the characters have something to do and are out doing it, they’ll be easier to pick apart and examine.

The same can pretty much be said about Denham’s art in that scene as well, since he wanted to make sure he got the faces right (again, 8 characters), than worry about background visuals.

That’s just how I looked at it anyway.

I don't really think "it's the first issue" can be used as an excuse though. Both Joss and Brian knocked it out of the park with their first issues, setup and character. Sure, there were a lot of character's in that scene, but why should that matter? He had around six pages to introduce them all and all we got was stilted, unfunny dialogue.

I don't understand how it'd be hard to judge the voices based on one issue, since we've been with these characters for years. I see where you're coming from though, there wasn't a lot of room, but what room Willingham had he didn't use well. There's definitely room for improvement when everything gets spaced out, but then again, I said the same thing about Aftermath.

Dec 17, 2009 11:07:04 GMT -5 angeliclestat said:

-Gunn and Connor. Gunn *killed* Connor. Would be nice if that was addressed and they werent all fine and dandy now like nothing happened.

That's a good point. Brian left us with some amazing character development and story at the end of After the Fall, and I really don't understand why they haven't done anything with it. They're still doing the celebrity and everyone remembers thing, which is easy enough, but what about the characters? The story isn't the main reason why I'm reading this thing.

[Wyndam]

Dec 17, 2009 11:15:04 GMT -5 hitnrun017 said:

I don't really think "it's the first issue" can be used as an excuse though. Both Joss and Brian knocked it out of the park with their first issues, setup and character. Sure, there were a lot of character's in that scene, but why should that matter? He had around six pages to introduce them all and all we got was stilted, unfunny dialogue.

I don't understand how it'd be hard to judge the voices based on one issue, since we've been with these characters for years. I see where you're coming from though, there wasn't a lot of room, but what room Willingham had he didn't use well. There's definitely room for improvement when everything gets spaced out, but then again, I said the same thing about Aftermath.

I didn't say this being a first issue was the sole excuse, just that it was a factor. Joss and Brian weren’t new to the ‘verse either (Joss for obvious reasons and Brian with his two original Spike series). And to use After the Fall as a comparison for the characters, it does matter. In the first issue of AtF all we had was Angel, Wesley and Gunn (and only Angel and Wesley interacted). That is a huge difference than this where you have 8 characters interacting, especially since that scene wasn’t the focus of the issue, which resulted in only 6 pages to introduce everyone (which Willingham did just fine), as opposed to 22 pages in AtF #1 where 3 characters were allowed to breathe. If you can’t see any differences there and why it would matter then…

And again about the voices, was anyone actually expecting Willingham to get them ALL pitch perfect? I know Willingham’s awesomeness has been established with Fables, but that’s a bit too ambitious of expectations, especially when we were all disappointed with Aftermath. Plus again, not the focus of the issue anyway, so I’m not even dwelling on it (plus I thought they were fine enough for a new writer ).

Dec 17, 2009 11:07:04 GMT -5 angeliclestat said:

- A few things I would like to see explained or gone into. Gunn,Illyria and Spike weren't around during the Aftermath arc so we never saw them introduced to James and Dez. Yet here they are chatting as if they knew them already. Would have preferred if it had been shown them all meeting. Small point, but would have made it more acceptable Also..

I thought about that too, but since Spike is talking about a Vegas trip, I think it is safe to say that some time has passed since #27, so he’s had plenty of time to meet them. Plus I doubt that scene would be that interesting enough to include anyway (I’d imagine Spike would only say one or two words to them and go about his day).

Dec 17, 2009 11:07:04 GMT -5 angeliclestat said:

-Gunn and Connor. Gunn *killed* Connor. Would be nice if that was addressed and they werent all fine and dandy now like nothing happened.

I thought about this too (lol), and I’m just assuming that Willingham is saving this for later issues. Willingham has said it himself that Gunn “is a mess” so he hasn’t forgotten about what’s happened. I doubt the scene would have benefitted much from Gunn and Connor giving each other some awkward looks, and Gunn would most likely rather put on a brace face when in a room with so many people. Willingham probably wants to save this stuff for when Gunn and Connor are alone. Plus, with Eddie Hope in the series now, I’d imagine he definitely would want to get his hands on Gunn, which will bring up those issues naturally anyway.

I need to stop typing so much before I get fired.

[hitnrun017]

Dec 17, 2009 11:36:07 GMT -5 Wyndam said:

Dec 17, 2009 11:15:04 GMT -5 hitnrun017 said:

I don't really think "it's the first issue" can be used as an excuse though. Both Joss and Brian knocked it out of the park with their first issues, setup and character. Sure, there were a lot of character's in that scene, but why should that matter? He had around six pages to introduce them all and all we got was stilted, unfunny dialogue.

I don't understand how it'd be hard to judge the voices based on one issue, since we've been with these characters for years. I see where you're coming from though, there wasn't a lot of room, but what room Willingham had he didn't use well. There's definitely room for improvement when everything gets spaced out, but then again, I said the same thing about Aftermath.

I didn't say this being a first issue was the sole excuse, just that it was a factor. Joss and Brian weren’t new to the ‘verse either (Joss for obvious reasons and Brian with his two original Spike series). And to use After the Fall as a comparison for the characters, it does matter. In the first issue of AtF all we had was Angel, Wesley and Gunn (and only Angel and Wesley interacted). That is a huge difference than this where you have 8 characters interacting, especially since that scene wasn’t the focus of the issue, which resulted in only 6 pages to introduce everyone (which Willingham did just fine), as opposed to 22 pages in AtF #1 where 3 characters were allowed to breathe. If you can’t see any differences there and why it would matter then…

And again about the voices, was anyone actually expecting Willingham to get them ALL pitch perfect? I know Willingham’s awesomeness has been established with Fables, but that’s a bit too ambitious of expectations, especially when we were all disappointed with Aftermath. Plus again, not the focus of the issue anyway, so I’m not even dwelling on it (plus I thought they were fine enough for a new writer ).

Hahaha, fine fine.

Maybe I did expect too much from a freaking Eisner winner, isn't that a big deal? Still doesn't make that scene any less awkward and pathetic. I'll give it another issue or two before judging it so harshly (a little late but whatever).

[neowhobaz]

I'm definetly a split vote on this. Time has passed since we had a lengthy arc so I don't expect all the pieces to fit in one issue but I definetly agree with everyone on this, the voices were off. That doesn't mean it won't get better I'm just saying it was noticable. Other than that, Art, Eddie hope, and Connor developments were all good stuff.

[Wyndam]

Well, the first issue SOLD OUT (congrats!), and will be reprinted and shipped out again on January 6, 2010. It will also get a new cover (by Brian Denham) as well:

[wenxina]

Well, that's good news for IDW, but I'm wondering how many copies were in the first printing?

[Hellbound Hyperion]

It's my understanding that everybody basically stopped buying Angel when Aftermath started and then didn't pick up again when Brian came back. So hopefully this is a good thing. (I won't be able to pick mine up until the second printing is out, heh.)