Angel #6 is available now where all good comics are sold!
Synopsis
A TIE IN TO HELLMOUTH! With Angel trapped in Sunnydale, the rest of the newly formed Angel Investigations is left to deal with the Hellmouth’s fallout in Los Angeles. Will his team of supernatural crime-solvers be able to protect Los Angeles from the shockwaves of the Hellmouth’s opening…and from newly arrived vampire Spike?
Review
With Angel off fighting back the jaws of Hell in Buffy/Angel crossover event Hellmouth, it’s up to William the Bloody aka Spike to headline the Angel book this month.
Though the main cover art – another excellent piece from Dan Panosian – may indicate the book ties in to Hellmouth this is still very much a stand-alone story which merely references the crossover.
It’s not Spike alone who carries Angel sans its lead, Gunn and Fred also do an excellent job of taking care of the action whilst the boss is away.
What’s surprising is how much writer Bryan Edward Hill is able to move along the plot of this current Angel arc without the character around. Thanks to a further guest spot from Lilith, Fred and Gunn have a better understand about what is going on in the wider context of LA and Sunnydale and we see plenty more of Baphomet’s followers.
The opening of this book is split between Spike’s bruised ego, scorned by Drusilla’s attempt to use him to open the Hellmouth over on Buffy, alongside Fred and Gunn arguing over Angel’s motivations as a vampire.
Hill writes Gunn very much in the same vein that Whedon first wrote him in the Angel TV series. He’s street-smart, as we saw in the previous issue, but also isn’t stupid. Given the information he has to hand at this stage it’s right for him to ask questions about Angel’s moral compass.
The pair approach their view on Angel from very different standpoints. Even though both has been saved by him, Fred instantly sides with him as a hero, whilst Gunn is less trusting.
It might seem, at face value, like little more than friction between the two. But for anyone with historical knowledge of the franchise it makes these characters instantly recognisable.
Angel does tend to lean on Lilith as a crutch for the story. She has a tendency to appear exactly when the narrative needs a push. Think of her as the comic book equivalent of Cordelia’s visions from the TV series. It’s by no means a deal breaker but I would like to see the series move on from it in the future.
The story is more than strong enough to stand on its own two feet without relying on specific tropes. The quality of writing remains top notch.
The artwork is equally strong. The team of Melnikov, Cassata and Roman Titov continue to knock it out of the park with this issue. It’s murky, atmospheric and absolutely everything a fan could want in an Angel book.
Verdict
Angel #6 is a fitting distraction from the events of Hellmouth and gives Spike his first chance to stand out from the crowd in this new version of the universe.
9/10
Angel #6 is written by Bryan Edward Hill with art by Gleb Melnikov and colours by Gabriel Cassata. Cover art is by Dan Panosian.
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