It is Angel’s desire and duty to bring back from the dead, Rupert Giles, the Watcher. It hangs over everything Angel and Faith do. The new arc, “Women of a Certain Age,” introduces us to two sisters: one who can help; and one who can hinder the process!
Series writer Christos Gage teams up with guest artist Chris Samnee to create some work with a smilar noir vibe as in their colloboration in Vertigo’s “Area 10.” This creative team is wonderful in tackling this opening story which has its fair share of vintage glamour revolving around the two mysterious young women that have all but crash landed into Angel and Faith’s lives.
Here is Gage and Samnee working together on “Area 10.”
Now, compare that with their work in this issue of “Angel and Faith.”
Samnee is a master with light and dark. We see it from the first page on as he provides perfectly places spots of black where needed. He introduces us to the two mystery girls byway of two dark shadows with fresh bright red polish just applied to their nails. Ah, that’s the mood we’re looking for as this story is not exactly crime fiction. It’s more ’60s mod meets young romance comics. The two girls in questions are really Giles’s great aunts, Lavinia, the redhead, and Sophronia, the blonde. They’re a couple of hotties although each is well over a hundred-years-old. What’s their secret? Any chance they’ve had to use magic, it’s all gone into keeping their youthful glow. This obsession with youth has made them two shallow old crones who simply look fabulous. Oh, and they happen to owe an array of monsters and ghouls for providing magical fixes along the way to avoid those crow’s feet and the like. Angel and Faith spend a good long while defeating various baddies before they can get some answers from the girls.
What Lavinia and Sophronia provide is a look back to London in the ’60s and a particular tale involving Rupert Giles as a boy. This story is key to what follows so I won’t go too much into it except to say that it is connected to Angel’s quest to bring Giles back. It is also jolly good fun. It is a family affair involving the supernatural and might bring to mind, “Bell, Book and Candle” or episodes of “Bewitched.” All in a good way, mind you. The upshot to this story is pretty big. And, just as everyone is ready to turn in to bed, we get a last minute surprise guest that is sure to add much to the mix. All in all, a very colorful and enjoyable opening chapter.
Issue 10 is out May 30. Visit Dark Horse Comics.
I have to admit, even through they’re vain, manipulative, selfish and self-serving I strangely like Giles’ Aunts. The clearly did love Giles and are willing to use what abilities they have (which at this point,admitedly, is just the ability to manipulate others) to make sure he comes back, and, perhaps more importantly, comes back right. They also seem to still blame themselves for something which, when you think about it, was actually the “good” sister’s fault; Edna was the one that got involved with the watcher’s council, afterall. It’s because of her Giles was eventually going to be sent to the Watcher’s Academy rather than just be an unusually long lived fighter pilot or work in the Giles’ Bakery like his grandfather.