Angel: After the Fall

Angel: After the Fall
Publication information
Publisher	IDW Publishing
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Limited series
Publication date	21 November 2007
No. of issues	12+
Main character(s)	Angel Investigations
Creative team
Created by	Joss Whedon
Written by	Brian Lynch with Joss Whedon
Artist(s)	Franco Urru

Angel: After the Fall is a comic book series published by IDW Publishing. The series is set to be a canonical continuation of the Angel television series, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. The first issue was released on 21 November 2007.

Conception

Following the success of Dark Horse Comics' ongoing series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, an official continuation to the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, series creator Joss Whedon wished to continue the story of Buffy spin-off Angel in the same medium. In September 2006, comic book writer Brian Lynch met Joss Whedon by chance in a restaurant near his home where he told Whedon about the imminent release of a spin-off comic by himself and artist Franco Urru, Spike: Asylum, published by IDW and based upon the character of Spike, a central character in both Buffy and Angel. To Lynch's surprise, Whedon was thrilled with Spike: Asylum, and Joss felt confident he had found a writer capable of capturing his characters' voices in the new medium, and was impressed with Franco's unique style. Whedon would later email Lynch, asking to meet up with him again in the same restaurant. Working together, the two plotted the events of a 12-issue limited series for a continuation of the Angel saga, drawing both from elements of a Whedon's plan for a sixth televised season of Angel, as well as several proposed by Lynch. Whedon gave Lynch the freedom to write the series himself, only overseeing the project as if in the role of an executive producer.

Writing and artwork

After the Fall is written by Brian Lynch with supervision by Joss Whedon and is designed as a twelve-issue maxi-series, with stand-alone "specials" published between the story arcs. According to Whedon, the lack of budget constraints allows Angel’s world to expand in ways that were never possible with the television series, "It will definitely use Season 6’s proposed stories as inspiration, but it's not exactly Season 6". At certain intervals, the main series will take a break for a month and special one-off or spotlight issues will be published during the interim. The first special will be entitled "First Night", and will be published either after issue five or six of After the Fall. After the Fall is set to introduce Betta George, a fish-like character from Brian Lynch's series Spike: Asylum and Spike: Shadow Puppets, into the series.

The premise is the series is that Los Angeles is feeling the aftermath of main character Angel taking a stand against the demonic Senior Partners in season five, who have retaliated by sending Los Angeles to hell. The series picks up some time after the season five finale, "Not Fade Away" and shows that Wesley remains contractually bound to the sinister Wolfram & Hart and the Partners, Gunn has become a vampire capturing victims under the pretence he is rescuing them, Angel's son Connor, girlfriend Nina and old acquaintance Gwen are working to provide a safehouse for the people of Los Angeles under siege by demons. Angel himself, along with a friendly dragon, is trying his best to remain a champion of good under the circumstances.

Publication

Issues

Title	Issue #	Release Date
"After the Fall #1"	1	21 November 2007
Los Angeles has been a demon war zone for months after Wolfram & Hart literally sent the entire city to hell in retaliation to Team Angel's actions in "Not Fade Away". Angel, having tamed a dragon, rescues citizens from the destruction and sends them to Connor, Gwen, and Nina for sanctuary. Meanwhile, the deceased Wesley is now an incorporeal representative of Wolfram & Hart, and Gunn has been turned into a vampire.
"After the Fall #2"	2	19 December 2007

Reception

Initial reviews have been generally positive about the story, although the art has been heavily criticised. Troy Brownfield of Newsarama believed the most enjoyable aspect of the first issue "was seeing members of the extensive cast turn up again in surprising ways" and was pleased to see the return of minor characters from the television series. He described the reveal of Gunn as a vampire as "rather startling" and a "new injection of life" for the character. IGN's Bryan Joel believed that the first issue wasn't as accessible for new readers as that of Buffy Season Eight, claiming that it read "less like the season premiere of the next season of Angel and more like episode 23 of season 5". He felt that the tone and characterization remained "true to its source material and fans will be happy to know Whedon's trademark dialogue knack is, for the most part, intact", but warned that the elaborate visuals of Angel flying through the hell-bound Los Angeles on a dragon may be too far removed from the television series for some readers. In an "Additional Take" review, Joel's colleage criticized the dialogue for lacking "the trademark witty banter" and worried that the hellish new setting might detract from the reality of the characters, describing it as "an interesting turn for what was once a very grounded fantasy series".

The artwork by Franco Urru was described as "reasonably good" by Brownfield, who claimed that while it captures the likeness of the characters, Urru's work lacks sharpness and "the weight of that terrific Tony Harris cover." IGN believed Urru is talented when he "lets loose" creating demons, but less impressive when it comes to matching characters to their respective actors.

The series has been a success for publisher IDW Publishing, who report that it has become the company's highest-charting comic book release ever.