As an exposition junkie, I'm glad to see we'll get an explanation of the mystical side of the Hell-A thing. Plus.. basements.. never rosy places:-). Really, Gunn has a thing with basements, remember Underneath? Xander and him would share a nice common fear about them.

Perseo | April 06, 12:22 CET

I didn't notice the snow before on the After the Fall #10. So hell is freezing over? (I know, I'm slow.)

I'm enjoying these so much more than the Buffy comics, which, as someone else said on another thread, is odd since I never really was that into Ats and loved BtVS.

newcj | April 06, 15:57 CET

I like them both but if I had to choose I'd go with Buffy as my favourite. I think Season 8 is pushing new boundaries but After The Fall isn't.

Simon | April 06, 16:06 CET

The Buffy comics don't have me emotionally at all and I don't like some of the messages. I can ignore the messages if there is something else there, but for me there isn't. Oddly enough, I am finding myself being drawn into the Angel comics maybe because it feels like it is an actual continuation, rather than pushing new boundaries that pervert the good things that were set up in the series. It is weird because I was never that big a fan of Ats, and never was emotionally drawn into their stories.

newcj | April 06, 16:22 CET

I'm with Simon.

pat32082 | April 06, 16:37 CET

Yeah, here is not the place to cry about the Buffy comic so I finally posted over on the discussion for #13 thread. As I was writing that post I realized that with the Buffy comic I feel like I have lost something that has been important to me and it makes me so very sad, whereas this one makes me smile and feel like there are possibilities.

newcj | April 06, 16:55 CET

I'm thinking it's ash and not snow....could be wrong though. I'm enjoying the comics, much like the TV series, in different ways. ATS always had more of an internal voice already set up, which is way I think it works in a more conventional way in comic form. It's closer to the original, so it feels to link more.

Buffy was always about speach, imo. Therefore the transition to comic form is a bigger leap away from the TV series. However, I'm with Simon also as I think that it's pushing new boundaries and I'm all for that.

bubblecat | April 06, 17:42 CET

For me, the eighth season of Buffy is the best BtVS season since the fifth... but it still can't measure up to "After the Fall." So far, "After the Fall" has been the best comic series I've ever read, in or outside of the Buffyverse. As far as characters go, *all* the heavy hitters and *all* the characters I'm emotionally attached to are over at "AtF" and the storyline just couldn't be better. Buffy: Season Eight is great and I'm loving it, but "After the Fall" is damn near perfect.

patxshand | April 06, 17:54 CET

It looks like we will be getting some of the answers to questions we've been asking about in issue 10.

I love both ATF and Season 8 equally.I love them for their differences.I guess I'm more emotionally attached to the Buffy characters but that was true for me when the shows ran too.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2008-04-06 15:09 ]

Buffyfantic | April 06, 18:08 CET

I prefer Buffy, because almost every issue feels like a gift written just for me as all the best fiction does, though I still love Angel, which I must admit does seem stylistically closer to its source material. I think it's because where Buffy has really taken the comics medium and fritzed around with it (the Buffy mind freakout in #2, for example), Angel isn't necessarily as exciting as a comic book. Still, though, I love both very much.

However, I was disappointed by both this month. Hm.

UnpluggedCrazy | April 06, 18:11 CET

I'm with Simon, too. Buffy just clicks better. But, it has also been going on longer than Angel, so we'll see. And of course, I love them both. The characters in both comics are fully recognizable. It's just that I feel Buffy has had more drama, whereas Angel has had more action. And I'm kind of a drama-junkie.

Valentyn | April 06, 18:36 CET

Aw, this thread has become the "which do you like better" thread, not the "hey, new ANGEL books" thread.

Brian Lynch | April 06, 19:45 CET

Here's my biggest peeve with After the Fall.
The art is horrible in my opinion. I'm not talking likenesses, I'm talking about a style that doesn't quite jive with what's supposed to be conveyed. I'm sure Urru's pencils are great for certain genres, but conveying action and dynamic scenes are not his thing. The lines are way too heavy, and so they seem stagnant on a page. It bogs everything down, and the composition becomes grossly claustrophobic because it's all a mass of thick lines. And because of that, I don't think the writing comes through quite as well, as half the time, I'm wondering what just happened. Rereads are fun, but not because the action is incomprehensible.
The other thing, and this time not Urru's fault, is the coloring. It's bizzare how they hypersaturate the pages with color, and when you combine that with heavy lines, it's almost seizure-worthy.
This month's break from Urru's lines and technicolor-on-acid coloring was actually a welcome change for me.

wenxina | April 06, 19:50 CET

Sigh.

Brian Lynch | April 06, 20:00 CET

Hey, I'm excited for new books! The cover for #10 (while a fantastic cover) makes me sad, but I certainly am excited for it!

But, in regards to the 'which do you like better' debate, I'm going to go with After the Fall, though I enjoy them both a heckuva lot - Buffy and Angel are two of the greatest comic series' I've ever read. I've always been a bigger fan of Angel than Buffy, so that probably explains it.

The Jossian humor is nigh intact in Buffy, and After the Fall's story is gripping (and it sure knows how to play with my emotions). There isn't much to complain about in either series, nothing I can find anyways. Keep up the good work.

And, oh, excited for the Spike series as well. But, honestly, why wouldn't I be excited for it?

[ edited by Supersymmetrical on 2008-04-06 17:07 ]

Supersymmetrical | April 06, 20:06 CET

I'm sorry, but that cover to After the Fall #10 is sexy. It just looks so good. To the point where even if I wasn't a fan of the series already if I saw it just sitting on the shelf in my comic shop I'd be inclined to at least flip through the pages to see what it was all about.

As for the Buffy vs. Angel comics debate (sorry Brian!), I actually like them both, but am enjoying Angel better for a very specific reason. The reason I loved both shows is because of the characters, and with Angel we are getting pretty close to a direct continuation of where they were last seen. In Buffy, lord knows how much time has passed and the characters have developed in that period, and I don't really know where any of them stand anymore. Yes, the Angel group has gone through changes as well, but something about that book just feels so much more familiar than the Buffy books.

But as I said, I love them both.

And as I said, Issue #10 = sexy.

Nolan | April 06, 20:10 CET

Hey new Angel Books :).

I'm really looking forward to Spike: After the Fall, especially after reading the last issue of the Angel book.

AS for Buffy vs. Angel comics, it's a difficult choice. I do feel like Brian Lynch has really clicked with the character and in many ways it feels like a wildly ambitious continuation of the show.

In contrast, Buffy Season 8 is more a new story entirely. It definately continues the storylines and character growth we saw on the show, but it really takes it into new creative directions which come from the fact that the show had a kind of definitive ending already.

I think I might like reading Buffy just a little more, because these characters are so ingrained in me that just kind of sinking into that world for 15 minutes makes me happy. Angel though is really satisying as well.

rabid | April 06, 20:59 CET

Never fear Brian Lynch ! Sighing time no more. I've been lurking in all the websites for subscription date news for Spike: After the Fall ! As soon as they let me - the ordering will commence ! Needless to say I am very excited !

AncientMagicks | April 06, 21:22 CET

Not to be an ass-kiss, but I still love you and Urru, Lynch. If people feel compelled to say negative things about the art or writing, I'd be willing to bet that nicer ways could be found.

zeitgeist | April 06, 21:25 CET

I absolutely love this series. (Much better than Buffy). Love the covers. I will, of course, be buying both Spike covers, just like I bought both covers of the last issue. I like the artwork, the story, everything. Since I only watched season 5 of Angel, this series is helping me to catch up on the past stories. Can't wait for the Spike series!!

BTW: I also bought the first 2 issues of Everybody's Dead, very entertaining!!

luvspike | April 06, 21:29 CET

I love both and see no reason to choose between them, simply overjoyed to be getting more of both story-lines that I love so much! I hadn't bought a comic book in over forty years but I have two covers of every Buffy/Angel thus far and can't wait for Spike! If I have any complaint it would be...only four issues of Spike, ATF? I understand it's purpose and therefore the limitations but maybe later on their story-lines could split? I know...typical fan greed, but I never grow tired of these characters and their interactions!

Calledon | April 06, 21:39 CET

I am weary of the endless which is better debates. Let's celebrate the beauty of each (or engage in constructive discussion). I'm really enjoying After the Fall: IMO, it's sustaining the level of excitement I felt from the second half of S5 onwards, which was for my money one of the best half-seasons of any show anywhere anytime. Yay.

And, not to reopen this (rather stale) debate, but I think Urru's artwork (and the coloring) has been magnificent - just this hazy magical monstrous wondrous imagery that has suited the book excellently well.

SoddingNancyTribe | April 06, 23:03 CET

I did not mean to start a debate about which was better. I was actually commenting and thinking through my surprise that I was having such a switch over between the shows and the comics. I love one show but not the comic, I'm not crazy about the other show, but I am enjoying the comic. Why that should be the case seemed like something to give some thought to, so I have been and I mentioned it in that spirit. Of course no one has to choose between them and liking one better does not affect the other in any way.

Oh, look, more Angel & Co. books.

newcj | April 06, 23:30 CET

I like both. Each has their own idiosyncracies, but I think it important to highlight the fact that is incredibly cool that we have not one but two continuation series going on right now. Besides that, the nitpicking pales in context, doesn't it?

jclemens | April 07, 00:49 CET

Nic little tidbits in the blurb -so excited!

And yes...there is not point in the whole 'one is better than the other' thing. It doesnt do any good. Only divides fans, which happens enough already.

Let everyone like what they want to like I say.

angeliclestat | April 07, 01:28 CET

The cover with Angel and Illyria is awesome! While the last issue was probably my least favorite of the series, I am still very much enjoying the Angel comics. I think the overall storyline has mucho potential and I will be there right up till the end, despite any qualms I may have with certain issues.

I didn't enjoy every single episode of Angel with the same level of enthusiasm, and I don't expect to enjoy every single issue of this series as much as others.

When I first heard there was going to be a Spike series, I was doubtful. But now I find myself looking forward it. I think his relationship with Illyria in particular is very interesting, and would like to see that story developed more.

ShanshuBugaboo | April 07, 05:38 CET

Don't worry Brian.....I am totally loving After the Fall and now that we get more Blondie Bear in Spike: After the Fall...whats not to love???

I really would like to know if the last 6 issues of ATF are coming out as a subscription soon, though.
Likewise for Spike: After the Fall!

I don't mind getting each issue as it comes out, but I'd much rather go the subscription route.
Any ideas when this might happen?????

kathylovesspike | April 07, 16:05 CET

Personally, I'm think the vamp-face Spike suits the mood better than the human-face Spike. Sure, Spike likes to wear his human face more, but if a monster from hell was grabbing my foot while I was on top of a skyscraper, I'd be ticked enough to turn vamp-face... which is usually how Spike expresses his shock/anger. Don't you think?

And, Angel #10? Beau..ti..ful! Angel looks more human than ever... which is actually kind of creepy, but it fits well given his fighting partner Big Blue and the incredible red of humans/monsters/fighting people behind him... what are they, anyway?

korkster | April 07, 20:16 CET

I love both Buffy S8 and After the Fall. As for characters I'm attached to, I love Xander and Spike the most. Xander is in Buffy and Spike is in After the Fall, so both comics have me attached.

Sosa Lola | April 07, 20:53 CET

On Buffy S8 pushing the envelope. That may be part of the problem for me. I was having problems connecting with the characters: they seemed different and a little bloodless. If you add to that that they're out of context and that the exploits aren't like the old Sunnydale Hellhole exploits and I find I'm with the 'pushing the envelope' mentally, but still playing catch up emotionally.

cmbackshane | April 07, 22:17 CET