Angel: After the Fall - Issue 7 (First Night)

[Enisy]

Erm, Greek.

[pablo]

yay another european user!
einsy, you're basically my neighbour, then! our countries are kinda close

and i went to greece in 2005 on a cruise! beautiful beautiful country

--sorry i'm done with the ot---

Just one thing - did issue #5 clarified whose LA warlord was the t-rex?
deep down, i'm rooting for the loan shark lol


i've got a question for mr lynch - DRUSILLA!! Any hope?

[hitnrun017]

SPOILERS!

Wow, I enjoyed this issue WAY more than the last one.

Wesley's story was heartbreaking to read. That poor man, what more does he have to go through? That is probably some of the worst Wolfram & Hart has done to one person, at least he figured it out quick. I love how this story also answered a lot of un-answered questions. This story made me want to punch Fred, well, it wasn't her, but I never thought I could imagine punching the beautiful Amy Acker in the face. The art is great too, the likeness was iffy at times, but I'm excited Nick Runge is staying for the remaining. And Wesley is the key why Wolfram & Hart will win? Oh, no.

Kate, Kate, Kate!!! Oh, my love. I have to admit it was a step-down from the many Cordelia/Darla theories, but I'm in love with the character. I had a smile on my face the majority of reading it, very touching. Angel really did help Kate, put her back on track, which put Connor on track. I hope we see her again, or were we suppose to get the feeling that she was going to commit suicide, because I don't like that.

We also find out what Gunn is keeping in his basement......Slayers........

[itmustbebunnies418]

[rant] the mystery girl sucks (although, I've always hated her character...). Ugh. [/rant]

[wenxina]

Well... she may, or may not return for an encore. It looked as though she was out on a mission, and didn't really seem to care if she came back or not. It seemed that the point of her character was to give Connor a new voice to listen to, a new direction. Well, the voice was actually not "new" per se... but Connor doesn't know that.
I thought it was a good surprise, seeing how everyone had completely forgotten about her. She was a character that I felt just dropped out of the show, and had wondered where she went/what happened to her/etc. It's been a while since I've watched Angel (I intend to over summer)... so I don't remember exactly when she disappeared.

[balesthebloody]

All I can say is poor Wes...I teared up at the end of his story.
Kate came back! Wow didn't see that coming! Connor's story turned out great. Gunn had slayers!?!?! This does not sound good at all. Can't wait till next month!!

[richieshag89]

May 7, 2008 13:39:56 GMT -5 pablo said:

ok thanks!
i looked up typo and finally all made sense, thanks a lot


seems like ATF is bringing together all the characters from the past 5 seasons. the only missing in action at this point are:
- doyle (weird, since joss said he wanted to bring him back as a villain. hmm)
- cordy (grrr)
- harmony
- eve
- lindsey

who else?

i think all these people need to really really stay dead. and doyle as a villain would be heartbreaking

[Wyndam]

Hands down my favorite issue so far. Why, you might ask? Well that's easy: Wesley! I have been sitting on pins and needles awaiting his First Night story, but I had no idea it would be this heartbreaking. Wesley has gone through more hell than anyone in the past, so it really was no surprise that he would still be put through the wringer after he was killed as well.

The guy really is too much of a genius for his own good. He can usually always tell right away when something isn't right, and yet he is usually never in any position to do something about it. It really makes that smile on the second page that much more heartbreaking. He is so happy to see Fred, so happy that he might be able to find some peace, finally. That, of course, lasts only a little while as his entire world comes crashing down, once again. And once again, he shows very little emotion about the entire situation. This story further reminds the readers just how much Wesley has changed since Season 3, as from that point on we rarely saw him exhibit many emotions when something horrible happens; except for when Fred was dying.

I was extremely surprised when Wesley figured out it was all fake. I thought for sure that he was actually in heaven (or an equivalent dimension) and Wolfram & Hart were just going to rip him away from it, but I was really sad when I found out that it was all just a ruse. The exchange between Wesley and fake-Fred was just fantastic and I just loved the art. I am really interested in seeing how Runge does when he takes over the reins from Urru in issue #9.

The last page of Wesley's story was also really awesome as well. Plus the extra tidbit at the end there about how he was the key to everything really got me uber-excited. I am dying to see how Wesley's story continues in After the Fall. Since he is my favorite character, I am hoping for something a little happy at the end for him, but since I haven't been dissapointed by anything yet, I'd imagine that I will approve of whatever does end up going down in the end. :vampirebite:

Well I've already written a ton so I'll be brief about Connor/Kate's story:

LOVED IT! I always loved Kate and thought she was a fantastic character that had a really great arc through the first few seasons, so it is great to see that Angel really did help her out and that she is kicking some demon butt in Hell-A. Once again, I really enjoyed the insights into Connor's mind (the guy really is just a hormone filled horn dog ), and I am really looking forward to more bonding between him and Angel.

The bit at the end with the Slayers was interesting as well, and it should be interesting to see what part they play down the line.

[jellymoff]

Hmmmm. Kate. Definitly suprised, slightly indifferent. I sort of liked her character before. Not one of my favorites but didn't hate her. She sort of fits in to the whole store, but I am shocked that she is still in LA. I thought Kate would have jumped shipped and gone somewhere to find peace or something like that. If she was in LA fighting monsters why didn't she ever meet up with Angel. I guess she was too busy on Law and Order.

[dane5by5]

Fantastic issue! I think this is my favourite so far. It felt exactly like a television episode.

Loved each story. The Kate story felt very natural. If she was going to return, that was the perfect place for it to happen. I always felt like she was going to return, her departure from the show was abrupt and I never thought her story had true closure. Her and Connor were a great match. I would be happy to see more interaction between the two. I hope that isn't the impression we are supposed to get, that she is going to commit suicide to stop the demon army, like a kamikaze mission. I would love to see more of her.

The Wesley story was amazing too. The dialogue and art were fantastic.

And the reveal at the end! Can't wait to see how it plays out. Most definitely answers the questions about Slayers being in L.A. That has been my favourite reveal in After The Fall so far! It looks like the Slayers are disposing of the vamps fairly quickly, I wonder if they raided the basement to find what Gunn is hiding. Or if Gunn trapped them in there with his minions.

[iloveromy]

I really hope that is the last we see of Kate. It was a nice little pop in, showing that she is still around but there are too many other characters that demand attention.

[wenxina]

May 8, 2008 7:43:17 GMT -5 dane5by5 said:

And the reveal at the end! Can't wait to see how it plays out. Most definitely answers the questions about Slayers being in L.A. That has been my favourite reveal in After The Fall so far! It looks like the Slayers are disposing of the vamps fairly quickly, I wonder if they raided the basement to find what Gunn is hiding. Or if Gunn trapped them in there with his minions.

Pretty sure it's the case of the latter. What they were doing in LA originally, who knows... could be a squad there... at which case you'd wonder why there's been no word about them on Buffy Season 8. Probably for the same reason there's been no word about what happened to LA.
But it seems that Gunn's using Slayers as training dummies... to get his boys prepared.

[dane5by5]

May 8, 2008 9:48:24 GMT -5 wenxina said:

May 8, 2008 7:43:17 GMT -5 dane5by5 said:

And the reveal at the end! Can't wait to see how it plays out. Most definitely answers the questions about Slayers being in L.A. That has been my favourite reveal in After The Fall so far! It looks like the Slayers are disposing of the vamps fairly quickly, I wonder if they raided the basement to find what Gunn is hiding. Or if Gunn trapped them in there with his minions.

Pretty sure it's the case of the latter. What they were doing in LA originally, who knows... could be a squad there... at which case you'd wonder why there's been no word about them on Buffy Season 8. Probably for the same reason there's been no word about what happened to LA.
But it seems that Gunn's using Slayers as training dummies... to get his boys prepared.

Well it doesn't look like his minions are doing so well in the training department. The Slayers are wiping through his minions pretty quickly. He needs better minions.

[wenxina]

Think of it more as a gladiator ring than anything else. That's what I came out with.
If you survive X-number of rounds with the one force that's meant to destroy you, you deserve to be in the crew.
It was being told by that giant gorilla guarding Betta George, and he was the only one that survived in that panel... so it probably just means it's a survival of the fittest kind of deal.
If you don't make it, you're dust. If you do, you're in.

[Joe]

Well I think it's pretty cool that Kate's back...BUT, I was so sure that Cordy was the mystery woman, so when i found out it was Kate, it was a huge let down for me.

[Brian Lynch]

I'm sorry you thought it was Cordy.

[CowboyGuy]

Well I am happy to see Kate! I always wondered what the hell happened to her!! So...YAY!

[Emmie]

"If nothing we do matters, than all that matters is what we do. Because that's all there is."

What a perfect message to give to Connor. I love how it resonated with Kate so strongly that she remembers it word-for-word years later. Angel is still teaching Connor his most important epiphany, even tho its filtered through Kate.

Nice appearance by Kate. I actually prefer it to Cordy or Darla - those two are just too big to touch, there's no way to bring them back that isn't already stretching the plausibility of their implausible arcs. I like how Kate found purpose again fighting the good fight - I hope she wasn't going kamikaze there at the end.

I loved the one panel of Fred's profile, just a beautiful rendition of Amy Acker. Poor Wesley. He seems fated to be manipulated and suffer emotionally. I hope this gets turned on its ear, that he does something to screw up W&H's plans for Angel.

[fire2flame]

This issue was a lot of fun to read, and I, like everyone else, had no idea it was Kate! Nice surprise. Who knew she'd make such a kick-ass comic book hero? I'm betting it was a slight surprise to Lynch and Joss as well. Even if her only real purpose was to inspire Connor to go and wreak holy havoc on hell's minions, her scenes were well worth it. Do you guys think she's the one that Angel's going to have to fight for?

To those having trouble finding release dates, I can't remember where or how I found this site, but it's great for that: buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Release_date_calendar. I've bookmarked it so I don't get behind.

Were we supposed to think that was Eve tempting Wesley? The Snake wrapping around him before he was forced to wear his old suit and glasses just made me figure it was her- you know like the snake in the garden of Eden sort of thing? She also talked like Eve did. On the show they threw that kind of symbolism all over the place- most notably when Angel bit into an apple in front of Eve during the first episode of season 5. There was also the fig leaf pose...

[balesthebloody]

May 8, 2008 20:48:26 GMT -5 fire2flame said:

Were we supposed to think that was Eve tempting Wesley? The Snake wrapping around him before he was forced to wear his old suit and glasses just made me figure it was her- you know like the snake in the garden of Eden sort of thing? She also talked like Eve did. On the show they threw that kind of symbolism all over the place- most notably when Angel bit into an apple in front of Eve during the first episode of season 5. There was also the fig leaf pose...

I was also thinking the same thing. Some of the drawings even looked more like Eve than Fred. I still don't think we know enough to call anything for sure yet. After the Fall has been a twisting and turning story and nothing is set in stone.