patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 14, 2009 19:42:46 GMT -5
I think we're making "furious" into a big evil word that it wasn't intended to be. I was furious over Art Lyon's art when we first saw it. Seeing beautiful pencils with those grey/brown washed out colors really made me angry that we didn't have a good colorist. If I thought the art stunk and that it took away from the story, you better believe I'd be furious. I see a lot of people who are unhappy or even mad with the art, and that's okay, it's an opinion and I'm not taking away from that.
In the end, I suppose it's just a misunderstanding of a word. Surprised there was this kinda reaction, but glad that I know WHY now.
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Post by CowboyGuy on Mar 14, 2009 20:07:32 GMT -5
I know that Emmie wasn't having the best day. So that was why she reacted. But I don't think it's an issue. The pages with Kate seemed to be colored better than the ones where Angel was being attacked, which is kinda weird.
But a point that I want to make it that the lack of any sort of likeness is what is throwing me off more than anything. I don't necessarily want Angel to be a photocopy of David. But I want him to look like Angel. Am I making any sense? LOL I think I sound crazed.
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patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 14, 2009 20:20:31 GMT -5
I know that Emmie wasn't having the best day. So that was why she reacted. But I don't think it's an issue. The pages with Kate seemed to be colored better than the ones where Angel was being attacked, which is kinda weird. I think the green was going for a "night vision" kinda thing. Like, it's supposed to be pitch black, so we're seeing things through... green? That's how I read it. I would have preferred a warm glow, the sort of thing you associate with a church. I think Mantovani is clearly the king of conveying darkness with his colors, as witnessed in the return to LA sections of #16 and #17. No, you definitely don't sound crazed. I 100% agree with this. But there is a chance that I might be crazy as well, so there's that. But yeah, on a serious note, I do agree. I still find myself bothered by Kate's likeness mostly, but Angel's might wear on the nerves a bit. I'm more concerned with how squinty his face looks than his abs, though. I can write that off as saying he's invested in a bowflex. Those commercials do pitch the thing pretty well.
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Post by wenxina on Mar 14, 2009 20:22:15 GMT -5
I was thinking more the Total Gym. I mean... Chuck Norris endorses that damn thing. That itself is probably a major selling point.
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patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 14, 2009 20:26:29 GMT -5
I was thinking more the Total Gym. I mean... Chuck Norris endorses that damn thing. That itself is probably a major selling point. Chuck Norris... or, as I like to call him, Mr. Head Doesn't Match Body. ;D
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Post by Wyndam on Mar 16, 2009 2:51:44 GMT -5
Confirmed on Chris Ryall's BLOG: Angel: Aftermath #19 is out on Wednesday. Other highlights this week include a second printing of the first After the Fall HC and the Fallen Angel Omnibus, incase anyone is interested in reading that series.
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Hallow Thorn
Bad Ass Wicca
Oh and You're Welcome
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 2,306
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Post by Hallow Thorn on Mar 16, 2009 3:35:31 GMT -5
Yes, I can't wait for the Fallen Angel Omnibus... yay (It's all of them right?)
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patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 16, 2009 15:07:49 GMT -5
Yes, I can't wait for the Fallen Angel Omnibus... yay (It's all of them right?) At Comic Con, Peter David told me it collects the first four trade paperbacks. There are five currently out, I believe.
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Hallow Thorn
Bad Ass Wicca
Oh and You're Welcome
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 2,306
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Post by Hallow Thorn on Mar 17, 2009 2:36:48 GMT -5
Yes, I can't wait for the Fallen Angel Omnibus... yay (It's all of them right?) At Comic Con, Peter David told me it collects the first four trade paperbacks. There are five currently out, I believe. Dam.. have to wait till '5' comes out in a TPB....
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patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 17, 2009 2:44:31 GMT -5
Wait what?
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Hallow Thorn
Bad Ass Wicca
Oh and You're Welcome
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 2,306
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Post by Hallow Thorn on Mar 17, 2009 4:12:36 GMT -5
Wait for the last story to come out I mean....
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Nicholas
Descendant of a Toaster Oven
One Good Scare
Tonight I'm Dancing.[Mo0:16]
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Post by Nicholas on Mar 17, 2009 14:31:25 GMT -5
Angel essentially should in fact have some sort of a likeness of Davis, but not fully. The likeness was great in ATF but it wasnt a drawn thing of David, but it did resemble him as it should. Understand?
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The Night Lord
Wise-cracking Sidekick
The Long Kiss Goodnight
There can be no love. Only pain exists[Mo0:1]
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Post by The Night Lord on Mar 18, 2009 1:31:25 GMT -5
I...think so, but yes, Angel should look like David and as far as I know, David is not a bodybuilder. Btw, just recently got #18 and I can understand what everyone's complaining about, especially Kate and Connor. Hope it all gets improved, but from the looks of Angel in this issue, I'm not too sure. I was left confused by #18
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bitsy
Potential Slayer
[Mo0:37]
Posts: 137
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Post by bitsy on Mar 18, 2009 15:05:31 GMT -5
Cross-posting my review from Whedonesque because, hey, why not, right?
Of the good:
The feel of this arc continues to be much more episodic and brisk. The tone is light and the humor is still there and very in step with the type of comedic turns we used to see in the series proper. There assassination is wrapped up really quickly in this issue but in a clever way that definitely aids in bringing the new character, Dez, very quickly into the fold. Meanwhile, the mystery behind the humans turned magic monsters continues to slowly unfold and our mystical maybe Oracle benefactor's motivations continue to be highly questionable.
I absolutely am in love with Desdemona (Dez). Kelley knows her way around Were characters and it really shows. Dez is quick-witted, sexy, strong willed, and complex. Her inability to control her transformations and behavior while in her were-cat form I think will play out very nicely in the issues to come.
Beer Bad:
I was excited about the return of Electro Gwen but something about her behavior this issue rang false for me. She's far too pleading, she follows Connor around like a lost puppy, and she's just generally pathetic. I mean I get that she screwed up and has to grovel a bit but this is kind of ridiculous and stretches the boundaries of believability for me. What happened to this powerful woman? Plus there's a point where she says she can't remember the last time she read a book (with regard to researching Dez and what she is) and it's like really? She used to be a thief of rare items and artifacts, remember? She would have had to do at least a modicum of research, wouldn't she? It's as though they are suggesting she's kind of dumb and unlearned and, uh, no. She's not. She's obviously intelligent. Maybe this is the hard core feminist in me but it bothers me when we take our strong female characters and turn them into pedantic, whiny, needy, little girls.
WTFugly:
The art. Egads, my eyes. Will any of our characters ever look like themselves? Is it so much to ask? It didn't bother me at first but I can tell it's going to severely grate on my nerves with each passing issue if this doesn't improve at least a little.
I'm officially pretending that this Kate is a completely different Kate from the one in the series. Why? BECAUSE SHE IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THE KATE IN THE SERIES.
And just to wrap up: A message from Cordelia? I mean, honestly! I already knew this was coming but I just wish her name wouldn't be dropped so out of hand like this. She was kind of my favorite and she died in that awesome 100th episode and I just wish we could leave her alone. I hope this means we won't actually see her. She'll just be *sigh* getting her higher being on.
And those are my thoughts. I give it three and a half stakes out of five. Just throwing a random rating out there because I can.
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patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 18, 2009 15:36:45 GMT -5
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Post by Wyndam on Mar 18, 2009 16:29:49 GMT -5
Just finished reading and I thought the issue was more or less in line with #18, although there were a few improvements over some of my issues with #18.
I'll start with story stuff first. A few more mysteries pop up near the end and it will be interesting to see what happens with that. After #18, I wasn't sure if the two suits that recruited Angel were good or evil, but it seems like their operation is pretty legit so far, although it would be nice to see them again in #20. These post-apocalyptic crazies are getting the help they need, so at least Angel hasn't been tricked into working for the bad guys again (at least so far).
The main focus of this issue was on Dez, and she is a pretty interesting character so far. I really like that she is having some sort of issues with her transformations, and it will be interesting to see what role she will play this the arc's main story line, or if she will just be involved with the Lord's story line that was running parallel with this issue.
Gwen was another focus and I thought she was re-introduced pretty well. Her initial chat with Connor and Kate was a little odd (not unlike Kate's first meeting with Angel), but Kelley made it clear Gwen is working through some stuff. Gwen has always been a very in-control character (despite having an ability she really has no control over), so seeing her with all this guilt and trying to make things right with Connor is definitely new territory for her character.
Overall, I thought Kelley did just fine with character voices in this issue. Connor may be a little too harsh towards Gwen, but then again, this is new territory for both characters, so it is hard to judge how they should act in these situations. Kate wasn't as chipper as she was in #18, which I am sure will please some, and I didn't have many issues at all with her in this issue. Progression is always good, and it is nice to see Kelley progressing in the main area I was worried about with a new writer.
Art-wise, I thought this issue was better than #18, except with Angel's likeness. Likenesses are never a big issue for me, but I will just say that Angel looked better in #18. Kate, on the other hand, looks a lot better in this issue. I know some hate her clothing, but other than that, the snake hair is gone and Kate looks quite good by the end of the issue. Dave's Gwen was decent enough.
I agree with Pat that the angel at the end looks a little too similar to suit that recruited Angel, which was kind of odd. It may have some importance though, so we'll see.
Overall, I thought this issue was in-line with what we got in #18. The story set up in #18 was great, and we only got a continuance of the main story at the end of this issue, as it was mostly about Dez/Gwen/rounding up the crazies. And I liked the art a lot better in this issue, except Angel's look was a step back.
I picked up Runge's cover this time, although Gabe's looked great as well. I got Gabe's cover for #18 and will get it for #20 as well.
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Post by CowboyGuy on Mar 18, 2009 17:21:12 GMT -5
Great reviews everyone...
GAH! I wish we would get a little more notice for when issues come out. I want to be able to have the button and news ready the morning of. It's practically night time now. Oh well...
*opens Photoshop...
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patxshand
Ensouled Vampire
Writer/director/Amy Acker's husband.[Mo0:0]
Posts: 1,918
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Post by patxshand on Mar 18, 2009 17:31:41 GMT -5
Ryall announced the release dates on his blog on the Saturdays prior to the issue. Also, my comic shop tells me what they expect a week in advance, so I could let you know next time the Wednesday before.
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Post by hitnrun017 on Mar 18, 2009 18:01:01 GMT -5
Ugh. Didn't love this one either. In fact, I liked it a lot less than #18.
The same thing that happened with Kate happened with Gwen this issue. A shaky introduction that makes little to no sense. And I get Gwen feeling bad for what she did, but would THE Gwen Raiden be begging for forgiveness like a little high school student who got dumped? And Connor being negative towards is outrageous to me. If I was Connor, I'd be on my knees thanking her for what she did in AtF #13. "Psycho stalker"? You gotta be kidding. But on the plus side, I really enjoyed the interaction between Kate and Gwen. Kate helping her out was great.
The art... Angel meets softcore porn. The opinions on Dez at the beginning have been said already in this thread, but it gets even worse. A full butt shot? And the one that shocked me the most was the panel of Kate kicking, it's also on the inside cover. That is just degrading. All the likenesses were off, but it didn't bother me that much. Kate was improved a little bit and Gwen was okay.
Dez was an alright character, I thought she was cool. Looking forward to finding out more about her. She's an original character, so it's to be expected. Besides her, all the character writing was pretty...err.. bad? I don't want to be harsh, but it was. Also interested in the warrior angel and his message from Cordelia. I'd rather Cordy just be left alone, but curiosity has gotten the better of me.
The story is pretty interesting, so that will keep me reading, but I think it's safe to say I wont be expecting much of anything extraordinary from the rest of the issues. :unsure:
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Post by Wyndam on Mar 18, 2009 18:11:45 GMT -5
The same thing that happened with Kate happened with Gwen this issue. A shaky introduction that makes little to no sense. And I get Gwen feeling bad for what she did, but would THE Gwen Raiden be begging for forgiveness like a little high school student who got dumped? And Connor being negative towards is outrageous to me. If I was Connor, I'd be on my knees thanking her for what she did in AtF #13. "Psycho stalker"? You gotta be kidding. But on the plus side, I really enjoyed the interaction between Kate and Gwen. Kate helping her out was great. But we've never seen Connor or Gwen in this type of situation before, so it is hard to say how they should or should not act. Neither have been in love before, except for maybe Connor, but he was beyond messed up in Season 4.
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