Angel: After the Fall The Directors Cut and Buffy Season Eight Wolves at the Door

[lady_windermere]

I got my comics today. I am so impressed with Angel: After the Fall The Directors Cut, with 21 pages of imput from Brian Lynch of insight into what went into the writing of Angel: After the Fall issue one. I loved the cover by Alex Garner, and I love the little changes to the art inside the comic. So a very good start.

Before I go on to read Angel: After the Fall #8, First Night #3, I have to have a little rant. I am sorry for all of you who love Buffy Season Eight, but I have to get this off my chest!


I am sure, those of you who read these, that I hated what they were going to do with Dawn in this arc, I hate it even more now. It was just plandering to the Andrew type fanboy. Andrew waited all his life for the giant Dawn Mechanical Dawn show down.....I would've been delighted to have gone through my whole life without it. If you only do a, boring, arc with one of your characters for the comedy value, then you have no respect for your character. Then why should I?

The Xander Dracula interaction? Didn't wash with me. I do not like the Joss!verse Dracula, and preferred him in the non-canon Spike Vs Dracula.

Another item they seem to be plandering to the fanboys with was the whole damp squid of relationships between Buffy and Satsu or Willow and Vasuki. Why bother with the Buffy and Satsu relationship at all, if it leads to only this, we cannot be together....oh to hell with it, lets have a drawing of two naked females in bed for one last time. And the Willow and Vasuki relationship? I think Fraud would have a field day with that. And more in the creators and writers than Willow, who is a product of what they map out for her.

I have been waiting for the Buffy Fray issues to make a decision on whither I continue with the series, but with the latest round of ruining characters, I am not sure. I do not want Fray ruined, and I loved her arc. I can be possitive in saying I hope neither Angel or Spike turn up in Buffy Season Eight. No Never, I don't want either of them ruined as well!

Ok, end of rant


Maybe now I can go off and enjoy Angel: After the Fall, since I have got that off my chest.

Comments

[sueworld2003.livejournal.com]

Oh I totally agree love. The whole Dawn thing in particular grated with me no end. Talk about piss a character away for nothing eh?

But then these comics are written by the worst type of fanboy, and mainly aimed at them sadly.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Thank You Sue, the whole Dawn arc is a total waste of time, words, art and paper! The character is ruined.

So true, pandering fanboys writing for unimaginative ones!

[elisi]

The Xander/Dracula thing I *loved*! Sure it makes not the slightest bit of sense in this or any other universe, but as crack!fic goes it was well done.

(The Dawn thing was horrible, yes. Like the worst kind of summer blockbuster where the baddies just *happen* to have giant robots around... meh.)

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Well I have to admit that Xander it the character they seem to have kept the most intact, and he seemed more like himself now. It was what I hated least!

(I could say more about what they have done to Dawn, but that would be even more of a rant).

[jaded-jamie.livejournal.com]

I never look forweard to the comics anymore, the Buffy ones anyway, but I am compelled to continue reading them, I cant let the fandom die in my heart even though it seems to be coming to a grinding halt.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I still look forward to the Angel comics, but the Buffy ones I open with dread, and it always lives down to expectations!

I suspect for quite a few people, the comic has put the last nail in the coffin. I am lucky in that I was always more of an AtS fan, and Spike it there now!

[jaded-jamie.livejournal.com]

You were always more of an AtS fan? I've never heard that before!! But I am exactly the same so Spike coming on board in season 5 was wonderful cos, you know, huge Spike fan!

The Buffy comics, we both agree, coffin & nail.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Oh yes, only reason I watched Buffy was for Spike to be honest. And now when I watch I just skip to get to the Spike scenes!

[jaded-jamie.livejournal.com]

I got into Buffy just because I wanted to know more about Angel's past but when I saw him on Buffy I wish I had never bothered, he was such a soft sod back then LOL I continued watching for Spike too!

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Yes, Bangel didn't wash with me at all. I just didn't see Angel acting that way over Buffy!

[jaded-jamie.livejournal.com]

And he was constantly injured! Buffy was always leading him around and holding him up like a love sick sappy puppy, thank goodness I saw Angel first or I would never have watched it after seeing the Buffy!Angel

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I saw some of the first season of Buffy, then stopped watching. When Angel started I tried that, and that one hooked me!

[jaded-jamie.livejournal.com]

First episodes of Angel I saw were the ones where he went to Pylea with Lorne, I ran out and bought season 1 the next day and was hooked instantly. Buffy took me AGES to get into, when Spike was in it all the time I started to really enjoy it.

[kitty-alex.livejournal.com]

Dracula was always cooler in Spike vs. Dracula because anything with Spike in it is cool. But, seriously, what the Hell with Willow and the fucking snake lady? Isn't she like dating Kenddey or something then she like loves her so much she doesn't want Buffy's bad luck to kill the fuck out of her like Renee? But, I'm kind of proud of Xander. He's back in his old clothes and not taking anyone's shit. I hope he gets away from the cult of an army soon.

I'm not going to go into Andrew because then it'd be over a page long. I keep buying Season 8 for Xander. If I didn't care about what happened to him, I wouldn't but them.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Willow and the Snake! I mean why? Does this mean she is still weak when it comes to magic, and unfaithfulness to Kennedy is a by product of it. I have uneasy feelings about what this says about the feelings they have towards lesbian relationships.

Xander has come out of the comic best so far I think!

[elisi]

Xander has come out of the comic best so far I think!
Considering that apparently he spent a year as Dracula's man-bitch, this is a very telling statement! *laughs*

[kitty-alex.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it's better than doing a big ass snake. At least Dracy is kind of hot.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

I read the Tales of the Slayer, about how they got him back! Very bad artwork for Xander (he was a hunchback), so I was not impressed with it. Kind of trying to ignore it to be honest!

[kitty-alex.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. She seemed pretty much almost over her magic addiction. It never really states why she went and suddenly sought out to increase her magic skills. It doesn't speak well about any relationship. All of them seem like bad fan fiction, forced and choppy.

Yeah, if anything bad happens to him, I don't think I could go on reading. I'd just get the cliff notes from you.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Not sure about getting cliff notes from me, I am thinking of cancelling my subscription at present. I might need cliff notes from you!

[kitty-alex.livejournal.com]

Haha, great. Why do I have to be the one that suffers?

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

You are still in it for Xander, while what they are doing to the other characters is just too much for me, even for Xander!

[kitty-alex.livejournal.com]

But what happens if something happens to Xan? How am I going to keep up with everything? How will I find out who Twilight is?

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

Oh there are scans of the comics available!

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Not trying to convince you, really, but explaining why some of us really do like the comics...

You weren't impressed by Dawn showing leadership - by putting her foot down, literally - and rallying all the other Slayers when they were about to start running away, then?

Why bother with the Buffy and Satsu relationship at all, if it leads to only this, we cannot be together....oh to hell with it, lets have a drawing of two naked females in bed for one last time

You could substitute "Spike" for "Satsu" and "James Marsters with his shirt off" for "two naked females" into that sentence, and the meaning would be unchanged...

Satsu was an interesting character herself, and the relationship gave us a pretty good insight into Buffy's present state of mind and where she is with her life.

As for Willow and Saga Vasuki, while there may be Freudian symbolism there, I've always thought the biggest parallel they were going for is Eve and the Serpent. Willow is reaching out her hand for the big juicy apple marked Knowledge... Hence why Willow had to be naked, like Eve, in the picture, and why it was against a lush green background (except I doubt it rained all the time in Eden...)

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

No I wasn't impressed with Dawn's leadership to be honest, as it didn't really fit in with what she had been doing up till now, and she seemed to have very little contact with the young slayers to give any reason they would listen to her. She only seems to have contact with Xander, not the girls, some of whom must be ages with her.

You could substitute "Spike" for "Satsu" and "James Marsters with his shirt off" for "two naked females" into that sentence, and the meaning would be unchanged...

And I was just as annoyed with that titulation in season 6 as I am with this.

I find it very difficult to get attached to any of the comic original characters in this. I don't care about Renee, nor Satsu. There are just to many original characters, while the people we do care about, such as Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles and Dawn, need panels. There just are not enough panels to really get to know the original characters enough to care. For me anyway.

It could be the garden of Eden, and Willows thrust for knowledge, but it doesn't say much for her relationship with Kennedy, who she protects from Buffy, but endangers for her own ends.

Then I guess Joss was never one for happy endings, or healthy relationships.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Dawn was in the middle of the Slayer party in 'A Beautiful Sunset', drinking and picking the other girls up in her hand while they climbed all over her, and generally having a great time with them.

I do agree, in the comics we generally have one page of three-five pictures, taking a less than a minute to read, to show something that on the TV show might have taken up ten minutes of screentime... so you need to read a lot more into each titbit of information we're given. Personally I much prefer this to the AtF approach; it challenges you and makes you think about the story...

And I've not seen anything to say that Willow doesn't love Kennedy, and I seriously doubt she thinks she's endangering her. She's still got a big dose of the classic Willow "I know best" arrogance, sure, but that's just evidence of consistent character development. :-)

[erin-starlight.livejournal.com]

When I saw the scans with Dawn vs. Mecha Dawn (who has a freaking tail!) I groaned. Seriously, why bother having her around if this is all their going to do to her? It's just like James' problem with Spike only being used for comic relief. It's a vaild concern.

I have no idea why we have this Xander/lovelorn Dracula stuff. I mean I know that the BTVS comics have made him like this but in the show he didn't seem to give a damn about Xander. He wasn't reduced to a joke either. Of course my canon isn't the comic canon.

Yep, I can't see this girl on girl action as anything other than giving into the fanboys. Neither really hit those emotional notes. I can feel for all the Angel characters in season 6 yet I can't care for any of the Scoobies.

[http://users.livejournal.com/woman_of_/]

The tail, oh I forgot to mention it! It was awful, the whole section.

Love lorn Dracula is so out of character, I did read the story in Tales of the Slayer, where Xander was with him for a year, which precedes this. So there was some background, even if it was one of my least liked tales in the series.

I feel the same about the characters in Angel Season 6, but then none of them, so far, have really had a relationship with any of the original cast. Only Spider seems to be trying, and she is not as popular as Brian hoped she would be.