Read as each issue was releasedProving that a tie-in story can be better than the main event This was a very positive surprise for me – I think that tie-in comics related to big comics event have a tendency to fall in between being disastrous or meh, but this one delivers and outshines both the current Buffy-series and the Hellmouth event-series. Taking Angel out of the equation for this arch has given Fred, Gunn, Spike and new character, Lilith so much room to shine.I haven’t liked Gunn this mu...

I'm reading the Hellmouth crossover in release order, bouncing between the mainline Buffy and Angel series as well as the Hellmouth issues, and these issues of Angel are easily my favorite part so far (I still have two issues each left of Buffy and Hellmouth). The artwork is wonderful, the characters feel familiar but pretty unpredictable, and I genuinely don't quite know where the Angel storyline is heading afterwards. The relationship between Spike and Gunn in particular is very interesting, a...

With Angel off in Sunnydale dealing with the events of Hellmouth, he leaves LA in the capable (?) hands of Gunn and Fred. But where there's one vampire with a soul, there's another vampire with a chip on his shoulder, as Spike comes in to fill the void and ensure that the pair can navigate negotiations with a very familiar looking law firm...Angel's second volume has the same problems as volume 3 of Buffy; losing our lead character hurts, and it puts a lot of pressure on the other characters, es...

It's very difficult for me to rate these comics because my appreciation of characters still stems so much from nostalgia for the TV series, which means I get excited when characters I recognize are introduced but also get disappointed if they are so different as to be unrecognizable. I do try to give the reboot a fair shot, but we hardly get any time to know these new versions of the characters and to see the dynamics between them before jumping right into the action. Angel has barely spent two

The choices that the creators have made for the reboot of the series, has been interesting, and is this volume shows, some work... and some don't.Gun is well done and works well, as does Lorne.But Spike, although witty and fun, turns heroic without any reason to (i.e, a brain chip or a soul like the TV series) and it doesn't work as well.Also making series antagonist Wolfram and hart an actual satanic god I think is un-wise, and goes against the grain of the original series hinting at similariti...

I’ve gone back and forth between 2 and 3 stars because I do like the art. That said, this story was a mess, though better than the corresponding Buffy arc in my opinion. As a huge fan of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, I’m all for a modern comic reboot - though honestly, the idea of a TV one leaves me cold. However, I don’t understand leaving so little intact about the characters that they are unrecognizable. Change is good, sure, but I wouldn’t even say these pale facsimiles hav...

A smaller, focused story that spotlights Gunn, Spike and Fred, whilst being only tenuously tied to the larger Hellmouth event. This turns out to be a good thing for the story and characters, allowing things to play well on a smaller scale.I still feel like there’s a few things that don’t quite work here, like the likenesses and the dialogue—the show’s wit and one-liners are all but jettisoned—but it’s intriguing in its way. Onto volume 3!

The series jumps a bit and is distractingly schizophrenic, expecting you to recognize classic characters and using that expectation to drive the story, but at the same time changing backstories and not properly establishing the 'new' versions.

I'm going to be really pissed if Spike doesn't get some more time in Buffy's storyline. Spuffy forever!

I cannot remember the show, so a lot of this is "all new" to me. Some of it sounds familiar but it's still way too vague for me. With that in mind, I really like this issue.On the other hand, this is supposed to be a Hellmouth crossover and it was more or less about Gunn, Fred, and Spike finding each other while Angel is barely shown. Yes, yes, I know he's in Sunnydale. But don't call it a Hellmouth event if it's . . . not.I really like the re-imagining of some of these characters. I don't remem...

This doesn't really have much at all to do with the Hellmouth crossover and that's a good thing because it's not very good. Angel gets warned about it in the first issue and heads to Sunnydale. That's it. The rest is about Angel's Scooby gang while he's away. Gunn is introduced and Spike comes to L.A. They both team up with Fred as Wolfram and Hart make their presence known. Gleb Melnikov's art is solid although he doesn't draw much in the way of backgrounds. His style crosses Dan Panosian and D...

This series is... okay. I just don't care about any of these iterations of the characters, and it's weird that the writing expects you to when they haven't done anything to make you care. All these characters also just met, so it's weird that they haven't bonded and they continue to not bond but stuff is happening. I think the series is counting on you caring because of the original versions of them; but this series itself hasn't done any work to make you care about /these/ characters. It's weir...

I've always been less invested in Angel as a series, and I like Spike coming in and taking over like in season 5 this early... also the next volume is Angel and Spike so that sounds promising.The thing about this Boom series, with their introducing characters from seasons deep in Buffy right at the start is that the development of the characters is being destroyed.Angel isn't the Angel of the Angel TV series without being in Buffy's presence for three years. It was his love of Buffy that brought...

One of the results of Boom! Studios' misguided decision to dive into a crossover event so early is that trade volume 2 of Angel barely has Angel in it. But those left behind carry this well enough, I suppose, which is more than I can say for the Buffy series.But part of the problem affecting both series is that they rebooted everything and completely re-imagined the characters, but the writers seem to still be relying on the source material to drive their narratives. You can't have it both ways....

Individual issue reviews: #5 | #6 | #7 | #8Total review score: 3.125

This series really doesn’t do much for me still. The second volume is slightly better than the first because it doesn’t feature any of that evil internet villain nonsense, so that’s good. The bad part is that the Hellmouth crossover has been a bit of a clusterfuck, and this directly ties to that. I do like that Hill brings more of the old favorite characters from Angel like Lorne, Lyla and Wolfram and Hart in general, but I do not like how he handles any of them in this new iteration. None of th...

While I enjoyed volume one on so many levels this one kind of dwindled on the enjoyment factor it mainly has to do with the fact that Angel is now heading to Sunnydale to deal with the Hellmouth.I love that Gunn and Fred have to work together and this is where Spike is also introduced I have to admit that the artwork is freaking stunning and keeps me drawn to come for more. Am also intrigued to see what else happens with this storyline.

Ok so I am reading these in the order for the Hellmouth crossover which probably took something away from this collection. Really like the character growth and personality rendering which is different from the original characters. Really looking forward to the next volume in Oct.

Thanks to Hill's pacing this goes by quick and it's a nice read. Especially for fans of Gun. I also enjoyed Spike in here, which is odd, because I normally dislike the character most of the time. However, they do a lot of great things with his character and even give him a terrifying moments of brutality that shows what he really is. And for a volume that has VERY little angel it does a goodjob with the rest of his crew. Not sure where we go from here. And didn't love how the firm of all evil is...

With all the Hellmouth craziness going on during this time I was pleased to see the Angel book remained focused, centred on character development, building on its own mythology, and making me really like Spike in a way I haven't in many many years. Well-written, well-drawn, and a really entertaining version of these characters. Looking forward to the next two volumes.