Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 17496 : (SPOILER) Shall Angel 'Smile' again?

That looks ridiculously like a comic book cover.

Oh wow! I'm finally picking up Spike: "Asylum" and "Shadow Puppets" tomorrow (glee!), so this is something I really could be interested in. I wish we knew more...

EvilElecBlanket | September 04, 02:01 CET

what, AGAIN? Does anyone else feel like IDW has milked the Smile Time cash cow (complete with felt udders) for all it's worth?

daylight | September 04, 02:20 CET

It's based on a famous comic cover, so it seems fair enough that it should resemble a comic cover. Whether it is a comic cover is, of course, anotehr matter.

Oh, and the link title kind of gives the spoiler away. :D

Craig Oxbrow | September 04, 03:08 CET

Interesting

Buffyfantic | September 04, 03:16 CET

Oh, please! I hate Smile Time (the only parts that don't feel like BtVS-fan pandering are the Fred/Wesley scenes) and I thought Shadow Puppets was ridiculous (Asylum is way superior). No more.

Oh, well. Nice art. I like the Angel part of the image, anyway.

NileQT87 | September 04, 03:21 CET

I'm surprised that we're going to the puppet well again.It's a fun idea but how many times can you go back to the concept before it starts losing its oomph?

Still,it's a great piece of art and a nice homage to the Hulk cover.

Whether it's related to After The Fall,Aftermath or something else I guess we'll have to wait on.

[ edited by Buffyfantic on 2008-09-04 04:21 ]

Buffyfantic | September 04, 04:21 CET

So the question is whether or not this will be Official Cannon

MH | September 04, 04:34 CET

I don't see any artillery in the image, so I'd guess not.

The One True b!X | September 04, 04:41 CET

Gosh, I'd never heard of anyone hating "Smile Time" before. It's delightful to me (and a little scary to my kids, the first time I made them watch it . . . heh heh). Then again, I enjoy the off-beat eps - "The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" is another of my great favs. And when was all the milking?

SoddingNancyTribe | September 04, 05:04 CET

I'm hoping this is something. The more Angel and/or Buffy merch the better. I enjoy reading it.

I love the direction the comics have taken the last three years or so, they've really hit all the right notes for me to hear the Jossverse music. Smile time additions included.

What I'd love even more is more Dracula. That guy's quirky and interesting. Season 8, Tales of the Vampires, and Spike Vs. Dracula have only made me love him more. Now I'm buying other franchises' Drac related products just to get my fix. Seriously, I picked up the complete Dracula Vs. King Arthur at Dragon*Con for $10. Signed by the cover artist. It was surprisingly good, but I'm biased. I've become a Dracula fan girl. Please help me.

xMadxScientistx | September 04, 05:13 CET

Well, SNT....first there was Smile Time. Then there was a Puppet!Angel plush toy. Then there was a Puppet!Spike plush toy. Then there was the "Spike: Shadow Puppets" comic in which Spike and Lorne got turned into puppets (including appearences by the Fang Gang as you guessed it-puppets).

An honorable milking mention must also be made to all the Puppet! fanfiction written, which was either vastly amusing or kinda icky.

Did I miss anything?

[ edited by menomegirl on 2008-09-04 05:58 ]

menomegirl | September 04, 05:44 CET

Thanks, menomegirl. Still and all, a pair of plush toys (and I kinda remember how many voices there were/are absolutely demanding same . . . ) and one comic doesn't add up to "milking" in my book. (Don't read, or count, fanfics.) For comparison: OMWF had the CD, songbook, posters, and sing-a-longs (and possibly other things I'm ignorant of) - would that be considered milking also? I suppose it depends on how much you liked ST to begin with, doesn't it?

SoddingNancyTribe | September 04, 06:22 CET

I suppose it does. And you're right-there is no comparison to the OMWF craze. (As far as the sing-alongs go, I'm not sure you could call that milking. I think mostly, it's just fans who loved the musical episode)

Personally, I loved Smile Time. I didn't think I would when I heard hints about the episode but when it aired, I was enthralled. Just goes to show, you never know how something will turn out until you see it for yourself.

menomegirl | September 04, 06:55 CET

Then there was a Puppet!Angel plush toy. Then there was a Puppet!Spike plush toy.

All together there are four different Plush Angel toys and one Puppet Spike one. Diamond sure milked that one.

Simon | September 04, 07:26 CET

They haven't released Puppet!Joss yet, though.

And yes, I am aware I have a puppet Joss right here with me now. And no, I'm not joking. There's a reason, though, and it's a good one.

gossi | September 04, 08:31 CET

I loved "Smile Time" and just happened to see it again on re-watch. Lovely creepy puppets, ick-if-fied David Fury with a (yuck) hole in his back, Ben Edlund's Tickish sensibility, the "Self-Esteem" and math songs and embarrassed, cartoony Puppet Angel.

A nice comic respite before the painful "A Hole in the World" - one of the few AtVS episodes that makes me cry - still.

QuoterGal | September 04, 08:35 CET

There's a reason, though...

*cough*

The One True b!X | September 04, 08:35 CET

Well, SNT....first there was Smile Time. Then there was a Puppet!Angel plush toy. Then there was a Puppet!Spike plush toy. Then there was the "Spike: Shadow Puppets" comic in which Spike and Lorne got turned into puppets (including appearences by the Fang Gang as you guessed it-puppets).

There was also a puppet Angel story in IDW's 'Masks' anthology (liked 'Smile Time' a lot and I don't think it's anywhere near the milking stage yet personally - 'Shadow Puppets' was hilarious IMO, silly in a way 'Asylum' wasn't and much broader but no worse for it, quite the reverse - it even had its own "official cannon" joke ;).

Read a great puppet Angel fanfic comic a while back but can't remember the name for the life of me. Arse.

Saje | September 04, 09:36 CET

Oh and the last Angel plush toy retails at $325.

Simon | September 04, 10:27 CET

Yikes. Is it made from cuddly gold or something ?

Saje | September 04, 10:32 CET

Details.

I don't think it's the most expensive Buffy product ever but I think it has to come close.

Simon | September 04, 10:34 CET

The Mr Pointy replica still sticks in the mind as one of the worst value tie-ins (�75 for a stick ? Pull the other one, it might play 'Jingle Bells' ;) but that's now a contender IMO, life-sized or not.

Also, snagged that fanfic comic from the archive for those that haven't seen it. Worth a look IMO, great work.

Saje | September 04, 10:42 CET

IDW have snagged onto Smile Time like no other single episode.

By comparison, I don't see Dark Horse doing a five-issue Season Eight story almost entirely in rhyme with musical notation on the bottom so you can sing along...

(Although a "Silent Interlude" issue featuring the Gentlemen would be fun.)

Craig Oxbrow | September 04, 13:12 CET

By comparison, I don't see Dark Horse doing a five-issue Season Eight story almost entirely in rhyme with musical notation on the bottom so you can sing along...

Now that you mention it, those writers are not giving 110% with their mere prose. Nor the artists-- I expect my comics to be animated.

Sunfire | September 04, 15:14 CET

Ironically, I expect my animation to be comical. Not really, but I couldn't pass up the ludicrous corollary.

zeitgeist | September 04, 15:20 CET

Even more ironically, I animate my expectations (I have about 2000 flicker books filled with broken - but animated - dreams).

Saje | September 04, 15:24 CET

I love Smile Time, Shadow Puppets, and I love my Puppet Spike.
However, the only Puppet Angel I thought worth having was the Battle Damaged, the rest looked crappy to me.

$325 for a slightly improved, bigger model? I smell cancellation. Is anyone planning on ordering that?

Oh I just followed that link to astridv's comic. Wonderful. Although I saw it before it was a treat to see it again.

[ edited by Xane on 2008-09-04 15:32 ]

Xane | September 04, 15:28 CET

People hating "Smile Time" scares and saddens me.

Oh, I saw someone at the IDW booth at Comic-Con with the new life-sized Puppet!Angel. It gave me a high-five.

It would be great if that were the cover to the last issue of Angel: After the Fall. The entirety of Hell is turned into a puppet, including Hell itself. Then all of the newly-puppetized people trapped inside Hell rip apart its felt walls and escape back into reality. Aftermath deals with trying to clean up all the stuffing.

UnpluggedCrazy | September 04, 16:22 CET

September 04 2008