“Angel and Faith #13” continues where we left our heroes, deep in the bowels of a most demented dimension of hell, in order to find that missing ingredient, that elusive mojo, that might kickstart magic back into the world. Willow had managed to pick up enough of a spark to call it a day when a lost tribe of cute floppy eared dog people, deep, deep within hell, let out a little yelp for help. Being all nice and stuff, Willow, Faith, Angel, and his son, Connor, literally turned right around and back into mortal danger to help out their new friends. And so continues one of the funnest rides in comics. That is, if you don’t mind a ride in hell, which I’m fine with, especially one drawn by Rebekah Isaacs. This is Dark Horse Comics, after all.
As you can see from the above page of comics, Faith is momentarily caught in the spell from hell emanating from their current location, Quor’toth. Happy thoughts! Think happy thoughts! Whew, that does the trick. It gives Faith enough strength to press on and even a little reserve of energy to lament the fact that Angel and Connor have such a solid father and son relationship but her dad remains a pud.
But getting back to the idea of, on the verge of escape, retreating right back into the jaws of death. That, my friend, is very counter-intuitive and, interesting. I wouldn’t exactly want these characters to just go to a very strange and dangerous place, get what they were looking for, and then just skip right out through a convenient magic portal. No, we want conflict and this is something that will keep us reading and wondering. Yes, indeed, Part Three of “Family Reunion” has knocked all the blocks down and the repair work is under way.
It was Connor’s previous stay in Quor’toth that inspired a whole race of dog people to live in sheer harmony and embrace peace and love. Not exactly conduct becoming of a demon. No wonder they’re being “hounded” out by the powers that be. The game plan is to rescue the dog people being held captive and then high tail it out of hell! One member of the dog race lends a paw in the battle royale that ensues. The action is gungo-ho earnest but Faith can be relied upon to eventually provide some irony. And, just before the momentum is lost, we have a complete scene change, back to the Giles mansion to check in on those two cute and highly irresponsible housesitting sisters, Sophie and Lavinia. They have the most unwelcome of guests: Nash and Pearl! And Whistler, who has his own agenda.
Christos Gage’s story makes a good leap forward once we return to Quor’toth. The players know what is at stake, magic in the world and their very lives. There is no time to lose and it all hinges on what Willow does next. Everything hinging on Willow? Yep, that’s a good place to stop and pick things up next time.
“Angel and Faith #13” release date: August 29. Visit Dark Horse Comics.
