Angel & Sipke #16

A must for followers of the series although elements of the plot feel rushed. The artwork from all involved continues to impress to the very last page. Read Full Review

All in all, I think maybe this book was always going to reach an end like this. Not the exact end that this landed on, but a wrap-up in general because this book didn't really leave you with the same sense of investment as the last Angel series did. Different is good, but you have to also gun for different that you can sell readers on. Read Full Review

Angel and Spike saves some of its most compelling content for last, but even before those final few pages the adventure finds a few ways to impress. Read Full Review

Psycamorean

Nov 26, 2020

The fact that this book gets any praise at all is astounding. I don't know if this was always intended to be the finale or not, but things are rushed so spectacularly that there is so much I want to complain about but I don't have the drive to do it. I'll just go over what comes to mind. The werewolf plot? Pointless. The Kate/Mara stuff? Annoying. Wolfram & Hart? Ruined and wasted. Lilah just blurting out all the answers at the very end is so fucking bad. Everything is resolved because the character tells you it is. What is up with Fred? The references to the TV show come across as disingenuous. I guess it's fine if Harmony is the receptionist at Wolfram & Hart, and somehow has a history with Spike already. Because see, the show did it. And oh man, the Hyperion! Remember that? It's more of a character than Gunn is in this issue! I don't mean to be so cynical, but this is really, really bad, and I have a genuine attachment to the series and characters this comic is based on. I don't even have that same attachment to Buffy. Angel is and always will be the better show, with the better characters. And to see the potential for a new and exciting version of it squandered so spectacularly... It genuinely pisses me off. I cannot get over how much Zac Thompson wants to push this BDSM/Gay thing with Spike and Angel. I've got nothing against those concepts, in general, but he goes about it in such a ridiculous way. And before you say it, I know the Buffyverse has a very specific brand of dialogue and that they sometimes said weird stuff on the show. But I don't recall a time when a character decided to scream out their safeword to get the monster attacking them to stop. Seems forced and unnecessary to me. And unfunny. And Jesus, there were only a few references in the show to the vague possibility that Angel and Spike were more than frenemies, and the most explicit one makes it clear that it was a one time thing. I wouldn't have such a problem with this if it were written competently and didn't come across like someone's fan fiction for a TV show shoehorned into a series that clearly has a different plot. The characters don't sound right. The story sucks. Even the art is rough in places. Ugh, and that ending! I think I despise Zac Thompson's very short run on this title. Bryan Hill has a very specific voice and style that I can find cumbersome at times, but I was way more invested in his version of this story. I hate to be so negative, and to ramble so much, but I... I hate this issue. I can't even handle it. Thank God this is over. I hope Boom relaunches the title with a more competent creative team. more