“ANGEL & FAITH” is one of the best comics you can be reading today. A whole host of pop culture elements have brewed in an old witch’s kettle and, out from the steam, has emerged this amazing comic.
Dark Horse has the magic touch with this spin-off of “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.” This is something that’s been brewing, indeed, for quite some time and fans and new readers alike can rejoice. At Issue Three, that’s out this Wednesday, this comic just keeps delivering the goods. And this is the thing, as with any quality comic, you really can jump in anywhere and enjoy the hell out of it. I will provide some essential facts here to get new readers up to speed but, trust me, I know comics and this one is a winner.
Part Three of Christos Gage’s story, “Live Through This,” finds Angel and Faith on the search for “Mohra blood” in a swank London nightclub full of beautiful and libidinous young people consorting with demons and vampires. Much has changed, and much has managed to hang on, since Buffy turned the cosmic switch off to magic in the world. For a full picture on that, you must read “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 8.” The loss of magic leaves a void that must be filled by the likes of Angel and Faith. It leaves them to crash decadent parties like this one, brought to vivid life by the art of Rebekah Isaacs and the coloring work of Dan Jackson.
Talk about bringing something to vivid life, this is a Dark Horse specialty. The TV show, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” has taken on a whole new life as a comic for many years with the lovely Sarah Michelle Gellar-inspired Buffy Summers leading the way. And, much in the same way as that show spawned the spin-off TV show, “Angel,” starring David Boreanaz as the vampire with a soul, we now have the spin-off comic, “Angel & Faith” which includes the lovely Eliza Dushku-inspired Faith Lehane, who owes everything to Angel and has become his partner in making the world safer from demons.
Back to the Mohra blood, now that’s essential stuff. It comes from a very special demon, a Mohra demon. And it can cure anything, regenerate lost limbs, give you a whole new liver if you need it. And, sure, it can bring back the dead. But, hold on. It’s dangerous stuff to play with. Word on the street is that it can turn Angel back into a human. Faith wouldn’t mind that. He’s easy on the eyes and a nice guy. Problem is, he’s too nice of guy, has a whole martyr complex. He did do a lot of evil things but he’s made up for it over and over. Faith thinks he’s ready to hang it up. But Angel sees it much differently. He will continue to do the good work that he can only do as vampire.
That leads us to the other essential fact you need to know, if you don’t already. Among all the evil things that Angel has done, and he really has an out since he did these while he was possessed, the one thing that’s really gnawing at him is that he killed Rupert Giles, a beloved wizard who had a most special connection with magic and who was an expert at killing demons. That death hangs heavy over everything going on in this comic. That’s what has thrown Angel and Faith together. They have settled into continuing the good work of Rupert Giles. But here is where Angel can’t leave well enough alone. He is determined to bring Giles back to life! And the Mohra blood might be just what it takes to do that. Unless, a couple of baddies from Angel’s past, Nash and Pearl, get to the blood first and kill Angel in the bargain.
“Angel & Faith” is going to enjoy a nice long run. It has that special combination of being both a character-driven and story-driven comic. You will just have to get the latest issue and see for yourself. It’s not that common for a TV show to make such a smooth transition to comics and become something exciting in its own right. That’s definitely happening with “Angel & Faith.” It has that kind of magic.
