My Review of Angel's 6x04: "After The Fall Part 4"

Written by Brian Lynch
Artwork by Franco Urru

Angel (to Wesley): “I’m alive. I’m breathing, I’m sweating. I’m aching from fights that occurred two months ago. It’s what I always wanted and it’s not because of the Shanshu, I’ve signed that destiny away. I’m free of the vampire for one reason – they know right now is when I need it the most. Only way to get out of hell. Act like nothing’s changed.”

So it’s definitely confirmed then. The last issue dangled the carrot about Angel being human and the first thing this issue has the decency to do is confirm it. We flash to the end of “Not Fade Away” to see Angel doing battle with various demons. Before I noticed the lack of Spike and Illyria, Angel focuses his attention on Gunn’s absence.

At this point it had been well speculated that Gunn would’ve died in this battle, having barely survived his earlier altercation with vampires. I always hoped that part wasn’t true but I liked that Angel is incredibly curious as to why Gunn isn’t there. It makes sense given that Angel doesn’t trust either Spike or Illyria.

Of course Angel has more problems than just demons and Gunn being gone. As he’s about to do some more heroics, there’s the realisation of his heart beating. Even worse is going back first into a car and being in serious pain. Of all the times to become human, this couldn’t have been a worse time for Angel.

Wesley shows up and apologises to Angel. Dressed in the same way we met him in Buffy’s third season, he’s there to help. Angel might be human but it doesn’t mean that everyone else has to know and with the aid of some funky spells, Angel can keep up the pretence and heal himself.

I get why Angel doesn’t want everyone to know about his transformation. The knowledge of him being human would cause demon kind to ignite further chaos, especially if they viewed Angel as not being a serious obstacle to them. After all this hell on earth works to their favour.

That being said Wesley was perfectly right in warning Angel about the fallout from using dark magic. Being human makes him vulnerable to it and there’s also the problem of how long the charade can be maintained. Demon kind might not be privy but that doesn’t mean they won’t be anytime soon either.

Wesley doesn’t believe that picking a fight with Wolfram And Hart in hell is the wisest of choices and Angel believes that by acting like nothing has happened to him is the best way of winning his vendetta with the evil law firm. Not sure how that’ll work when they are more than aware of the predicament they are.

Even Wesley being practical and telling Angel to call off the fight isn’t enough to have him change his mind. Unlike Buffy and her army of slayers, Angel really doesn’t have a lot of people he can call on to bail him out. Perhaps he should be taking heed of Wesley’s words after all.
The frustrating thing also is that Wesley knows well and proper that Angel won’t listen to him anyway. I should be glad that there’s at least no animosity between them here. Angel seems less distant with Wesley than he has been in the previous issues and then there’s the arrival of two mysterious ladies.

Like Angel, I assumed that someone was eavesdropping in their conversation but I was wrong. Wesley thinking that he was having to crossover was hilarious too. This fate has to worse than death for him, even though he’s determined to help Angel out. Wesley needn’t worry as its Angel these two women want.

They don’t waste time in grabbing him and Wesley follows the women to see why Angel is so necessary to them. The dragon also gives chase too. Could these ladies be dangerous?

Someone who definitely is dangerous is Gunn, who sees an opportunity with an empty Wolfram And Hart at his feet. With no-one there he decides to give the place a once over with his little vampire buddies. No prizes in guessing what Gunn plans on doing with the unoccupied law firm.

Spike meanwhile has his own problems to deal with. Illyria’s been acting even more erratically than usual as he has to deal with the shark demon from “Tabula Rasa”. Shark demon doesn’t take Spike serious and wants to pass on a powerful staff to help defeat Angel.

Although it’s widely speculated that Angel is going to lose the battle he dared to start, the staff is something of a backup in case Angel might actually gain the upper hand. It’s a nice idea and it’s interesting to see all the lords united in wanting to trash Angel. I was sort of hoping for some duplicity but that’s maybe later in the arc.

Though this demon is generally annoying, I do like him undermining Spike. Not having to put up with Illyria in person wasn’t a bad thing either. In lieu of her though, we get scantily clad Spider challenging Spike instead.

Spider proves to be more than a good looking girl. Aside from childishly wanting the staff from Spike, she’s perceptive enough to realise that Spike and Angel’s relationship goes beyond simple loathing of each other.

In fact Spider even goes one better by openly admitting that her tribe’s first reaction was to kill Spike on sight. Apparently it was her who vetoed the idea because she saw something in the vampire. Okay yet another excuse for shameless Spike worshipping and is it much of a shock that Spider might have a thing for Spike? Probably not.

At least in spite of her crush, the girl is ambitious. She figures getting rid of Angel and the other lords is the best thing for everyone and using Illyria is crucial. Surprisingly Spike actually seems to care about Illyria (or is it Fred) enough to not go through with her suggestion.

Even more interestingly is how vocal she is about Angel. Spider thinks Spike feels responsible for him but I’m not sure I get the same feeling. Still I quite like Spider. She’s more tolerable than Illyria and she could be a great pain for Spike if she decides to do things her way without his consent.

As for Angel and Wesley, it turns out that the mystery ladies are taking them to meet the Lord of Silver Lake. Basically it’s the demonic version of Wisteria Lane as it seems that some demons can co-exist peacefully rather than fight for supremacy. In fact it’s so peace loving that it reminds me of Caritas.

There’s a good reason behind that because the Lord of this area happens to be Lorne. So far Lorne is probably the most welcomed return we’ve had to the comic season and it’s great that he’s seemed to resolve some of his on going issues too. Setting up a neighbourhood to protect demons rather than slaying them is definitely believable for Lorne. He was never much of a fighter anyway.

That being said Lorne is willing to risk things to actually help Angel anyway. Showing him stuff in a crystal ball is one thing but perhaps giving him another warrior in Groo is the best way of helping Angel’s cause.

I’ve never been a big fan of Groo but he’s relatively harmless and his happy stance is a tonic from all the gloom and shit we’ve had so far. It does however make me want to ask – can we please have Cordelia and Fred back as well? I don’t care how contrived how it is, I just want them back. This season is lacking without them like Season Five did.

More interesting seems to be the level of mistrust between Wesley and Lorne. Wesley knows that his new status creeps people out and Lorne isn’t shy pointing out why he doesn’t feel he can trust Wesley. We still don’t know whether or not Wesley can be trusted but I still would like to think that Wesley wouldn’t willingly betray Angel this time around.

As for Gunn, with all the pain, rage and whatever else he’s feeling, he chooses to do something proactive about it. Gunn blames Wolfram And Hart for his misfortune and he makes them pay by blowing up the law firm to bits and just watches. The flipside is that Wesley then disappears and Lorne fears being blamed. Just when I thought something was going to go right for Angel, this goes and happens.

Also in “After The Fall Part 4”

The cover I bought for this issue had Angel warding off the two demon ladies who showed him Silver Lake.

Angel: “Okay next it says you’re supposed to put one hand on your hip and the other, kinda like a spout.”
Wesley: “Wait … really?”
Angel: “No. Tnuets-ne’zal gnav! Snem’ed.”

Out of all the illustration Angel seems to be improving and Lorne also looked pretty good as well. Spike and Wesley on the other hand …

Angel (to Wesley): “We agreed not to say that out loud. Fine, you said the h-word; let’s vent our feelings because we both love that.”

Pink Lady: “We came for you.”
Green Lady: “For you Angel.”
Wesley: “Well that was a short lived excitement.”

This might sound a bit stupid but why aren’t the Powers That Be making more of a conscious effort to help Angel out?

Spider (re Shark Demon): “He seemed sweet. So who gets to go up against Angel?”
Spike: “Doesn’t make a bloody difference either way. Angel beats the odds, the odds beat him.”

Spider (to Spike): “You were shockingly handsome but a tad scrawny and very much the loud mouth and your travelling companion, the lass behind door number one, she was a tad unstable.”

When Spike chopped off Spider’s head in a hallucination he was holding the scythe Buffy still has possession of.

Spike (re Illyria): “We’re not using her. Not like that. Um, Spider?”

Spider: “Hey was I just sans head? Don’t soft shoe, it felt like-”
Spike: “Go. I have to think.”

No Connor, Gwen or Nina in this issue. Plus we’ve had nothing on poor Bettina George either.

Angel: “I’m surprised he wants to see us.”
Wesley: “I don’t trust this place.”
Angel: “I do. I feel oddly content.”

Wesley: “Rain check on the hug.”
Lorne: “Roger that. Stuck in that suit for eternity. Wolfram and Hart’s cruellest act yet.”

We got see to a female version of Skip and Groo (with his Pylea look) got to ride on a black horse with wings. Pretty cool, huh?

Groo (to Angel): “Un-Lord Lorne tells me you’re going to re-die in grand final battle against evil incarnate. Let’s see if I can up an arsenal that will prolong your existence for a few moments.”

Wesley (as his disappears): “I’m not sure he cares if he walks away. Part of me thinks he doesn’t want to. If we don’t do something soon – Angel will die-”.
Lorne: “Wes? Um, Wesley? Wesley? I’m gonna be blamed for this I know it.”

The cover for next issues has Angel, Lorne, Gunn, Spike, Wesley, Groo, Illyria, Nina, Gwen, Connor, Bettina George and the Dragon. A release date wouldn’t go amiss.

When I first read “After The Fall Part 4” I didn’t like so it’s a good job that I waited a few days before I decided to review it because it’s actually better than I originally thought it would be. It still lacks oomph in places but next issue’s big battle should hopefully amend that.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x11: "A Beautiful Sunset"

Written by Joss Whedon
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Twilight: “Understand this girl. You cannot fight me.”
Buffy: “Understand this ass-clown. I probably will anyway.”

About nearly a third way through this comic saga, our second standalone issue in a row opens up with Buffy musing about what her and Willow did in regards to activating so many slayers.

Suffice to say Buffy is of the belief that her and Willow did the right thing but so far we’ve been shown reasons why this might not be the case. We’ve had the likes of Voll say that Buffy has ended up corrupting the natural order and we get a sneak peek of that here.

If Genevieve was an example of new slayers being activated all at one being susceptible to corruption, then she wasn’t the only one. The rather annoying and volatile punk slayer Simone is also embracing her dark side when she enlists a bunch of girls to help her steal arms.

Xander and Rona had both been aware of the girl’s wilder side and had hoped that spending time with Andrew might have softened her a little. Given how annoying Andrew, it’s not surprising that Simone might have decided to go off the rails. Sadly because she hasn’t been given the kind of scope that Faith and Gigi have been given, I can’t say I really care for Simone.

Suitably this is one of the last things that Buffy really wants to be dealing with. Although she asks some questions in regards to Simone’s little army, she’s more annoyed that Simone’s antics only go to support Voll’s negative theories about the new line of slayers.

Xander seems al enthusiastic for taking Simone out of the picture but Buffy isn’t entirely quick to completely blame Simone. Which would be a great thing if she hadn’t been such a bitch to Faith and is still on a crash course in isolating herself from Willow and Giles.

Nope, Buffy blames herself for Simone and even mentions that Willow freaked out about her little bank robbery. The fact that Xander seems so nonchalant about it is also rather worrying. Although he might not mean, Xander shouldn’t say anything to Buffy that supports that particular bad deed of hers.

While Buffy predictably enough doesn’t go into full detail as to why her and Willow aren’t on speaking terms there is a joyful little scene where Buffy teases Xander’s need for a guy friend by suggesting Andrew but Xander weasels out of that by giving Buffy a vampire nest to deal with. Buffy also then decides that Satsu might be the appropriate partner for this little hunt.

Given the fact they have issues to resolve after that kiss in “The Long Way Home Part 3”, I’m glad for the confirmation it was Satsu. Better still is Buffy’s approval of Xander throwing a party for Dawn.

With the booze flowing and plenty of drunken slayers, instead of moralising, Buffy realises the benefits of seeing the girls let their hair down and it’s also rather nice to see Dawn enjoy herself for the first time this season. I’m still hoping that this giant thing will soon end but having Buffy express happiness at Dawn being happy is really nice for once.

That being said Buffy has never been the life and soul of a party herself and instead of having fun with her charges and Dawn, she decides to leave. Xander once again points out that Buffy spends way too much time alone. It would be nice if Buffy actually took that advice on board.

Instead she and Satsu go vampire hunting and this does lead to some good moments between the women. Satsu’s bumbling is rather sweet and even Buffy even gently teases her before telling her that she’s her best fighter. Of course Buffy also points out that there are some things that Satsu might want to be savvy with in order to be better.

One of them would be not to land on your face. I guess Buffy doesn’t want to wipe Satsu’s face all the time but the biggest thing that Satsu needs to learn is that she’s always going to be in danger. Before Satsu can really get what the hell Buffy is on about, she winds up being kicked straight into a bunch of vampires.

Buffy deducing that it was Satsu leads to some great dialogue here. The lip gloss would’ve been the obvious giveaway but apparently Buffy has enough self-awareness to see how Satsu is around her. Satsu fears that Buffy knowing this automatically means her being kicked out of the gang but Buffy is more focused on other things.

Namely the extent of how Satsu feels for her. Buffy knows it’s beyond a crush or else the kiss wouldn’t have woken her up but she’s also quick to point out the negative aspects of being in love to Satsu as well.

Satsu seems relatively young and I’m willing to bet someone who hasn’t yet fully been able to embrace her own sexuality. Buffy’s kind enough to let her down her gently and admits to being flattered that a great person like Satsu fancies her. It’s the nicest way Buffy could’ve let her down and Satsu seems mature enough to understand why Buffy could never reciprocate her feelings.

However Buffy then goes on to point out that being in love with her is a bad idea. Using her failed relationships with Angel, Riley and Spike as good examples, it’s almost amazing to see Buffy open up like this and there’s something rather affecting about her meltdown. Even though Satsu is still a new friend in Buffy’s life, I’m always happy to see Buffy let someone really deserving in.

The best part is that this all took place during a fight with the vampire nest. It’s the one thing all season that we have been denied and seeing Buffy and Satsu converse and slay is joyful. Buffy is also at her sarcastic best here when she’s more interesting in Satsu and less about incurring some vampiric wrath.
Of course not everyone gives a damn about Buffy’s secret pain and Twilight interrupts the girl talk by attacking both Buffy and Satsu out of nowhere. His comment about girls always complaining makes me wonder if we’re going to get another misogynistic asshole of a baddie.

Quickly beating the shit out of poor Satsu, Twilight is also able to outwit Buffy’s moves and decides to take her for a lift in the air. Seeing Buffy kick the guy and then successfully use the scythe against his throat would’ve made for a great TV moments, like with that air battle with Faith and the gargoyles in “No Future For You Part 2”.

Twilight bragging about Buffy being unable to fight him was silly. Buffy’s a pretty determined woman and she’s more than happy to point out that she does intend to take him on. At least Twilight is realistic in knowing she won’t back down so he takes her on a flying lesson she won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

The thing is that while Twilight is happy to attack Buffy and try and smash her into as many things as possible, he seems more determined to talk to her first. Unfortunately for him, listening to Buffy feel bad for herself brought out the urge to beat her up and he’s happy to use the top of a church to do that.

Defiant as Buffy likes to be with her enemy, she’s soon brought down a peg or two. Discovering that her mysterious attacker is Twilight was one thing. Having the guy voice further hints that empowering so many slayers at once is a bad thing was the other. Buffy isn’t able to come with a snappy comeback when he asks if she did the right thing.

Twilight pretends to be compassionate by sparing her and saying it’s a gift. While Buffy tries to comfort a guilt ridden Satsu, Twilight points out that killing Buffy is pointless. He does have a point. Both The Master and Warren failed in that area and so did self-sacrifice.

Instead Twilight thinks it’s a much better idea to strip her of her moral certainty and chances are, he’ll succeed. The previous issues raised issues about Buffy’s ethics and even she’s becoming more and more inclined to think that her new enemy might have a good point.

As for who Twilight can be, it’s definitely a bloke and it’s definitely human but is it someone we’ve met before. Twilight seems to be fused with a fair amount of magic too given how he initiated his attack on Buffy and Satsu and how easy it was for him to fly. Plus he barely got a scratch on him. As fights go, his and Buffy’s could’ve lasted a little longer but I’ll look forward to seeing how his arc plays out.

At least the Twilight encounter meant that Buffy really didn’t have to drill in the dangers that Satsu was up against. She more than got it here and once again, some of Buffy’s best moments was her promising to be there for Satsu. If they can’t have a relationship, then I don’t see why a friendship should be out of the question for these two.

The last scene with Xander ended the story well. Xander believes that Buffy is making a difference and Buffy still can’t connect with her army. I hate that side of things. Buffy does need to connect with these girls and build bridges with Willow, Giles and Faith because she’s gonna need them on her side more now than ever.

Also in “A Beautiful Sunset”

Cover for this issue was Buffy getting her ass kicked by Twilight in the cemetery.

Buffy (to herself): “Saving the world means keeping the status quo but the apocalypses come because the world is trying to change. It has to. That either means chaos and the morons chaos inevitably employs or means moving forward. To something better. And I did that. Yay me.”

I noticed during the flashback to “Chosen”, Satsu was a schoolgirl. I think Rona and Vi were briefly seen here too.

Xander: “I mean a guy, not a man. A guy for the guy bonding.”
Buffy: “Well Andrew …”
Xander: “Do you really intend to finish that sentence?”
Buffy: “No, it’s a nice length for now. Any other pressing items?”

Xander: “I think it was Thursday and you wore blue. Seriously, Buff you spend too much time alone.”

Buffy’s birthday is approaching. Xander gave her the vampire nest as a precursor to it.

Buffy: “And what have we learned?”
Satsu: “That Scotland is slippery?”
Buffy: “Do I look amused?”
Satsu: “I really can’t say.”

Buffy: “Number one is you are always in danger. Right now you’re in terrible danger.”
Satsu: “Why?”
Buffy: “You’re in love with me.”

Even in battle Satsu still carries around badges and drooping teddy bears around her hair.

Satsu: “Don’t make fun of me. This isn’t some crush.”
Buffy: “Your kiss couldn’t have woken me up if it was.”

Vampire: “Now girl you will feel the wrath of -”
Buffy: “Oh God, nobody cares about your wrath.”

Nice to see Buffy wearing some sensible gear in regards to her fight with the vampires and Twilight in this issue.

Twilight (to Buffy): “The chosen one. Always in pain and always complaining. Just like a girl.”

Twilight: “I know that move, slayer. Let me show you some of mine.”

Buffy tried to split Twilight in half like she did with Caleb. Twilight also admitted to stalking her.

Twilight: “I’d expect no less but I watched you and the witch. It seemed that you didn’t like flying.”
Buffy: “I get used to things real fast.”
Twilight: “Very well then. Let’s ride.”

Twilight (to Buffy): “I’ll not kill you. My first gift is my last. I know that you meant well but you have brought about disaster. And it falls to me to avert it.”

If that’s the case, then shouldn’t Twilight and Buffy be working together instead of scrapping?

Twilight (to his followers, re Buffy): “However hapless she might be about her personal life, this girl has always firmly believed she was on the side of right. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the slayer. Sorry itchy neck. Where was I?”

Satsu: “Are you okay? That creep sure did a number on you.”
Buffy: “I’ll heal. We’ll heal.”

This issue ended with the little BTVS logo which was a nice touch.

Xander (on Buffy not connecting): “Maybe you don’t get to. Maybe the leader, the girl who brings it all together is the one that has to give that up.”
Buffy: “Yeah. Yay me.”

Chronology: We’re nearing Buffy’s 24th birthday so I’d say around January 2005.

I admit this is a somewhat stronger issue than the previous one. “A Beautiful Sunset” feels very much like a traditional Buffy episode and the first encounter with her and Twilight does deliver. However Buffy not connecting with others has been done to death and it’s high time she was in a healthy relationship at this point of her life.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Angel's 6x03: "After The Fall Part 3"

Written by Brian Lynch
Artwork by Franco Urru

Angel: “Demons from the primordium age, however, even those that had their powers reduced by, let’s say, mutari generators … they don’t seem to be affected.”

It’s vampire versus super bitch as Illyria promised to dismember Angel at the end of “After The Fall Part 2” and the God isn’t one to make empty threats. Angel gets his ass tossed into the kitchen and while he’s busy musing about Illyria still having enough strength to finish him off, things get somewhat confusing.

One minute they’re duking it out in the kitchen, the next we’re flashing back to Angelus having his own violent encounter with the deranged woman in a barn. Then it flashes back to the present kitchen fight. What the hell is going on here? Angel puts it down to a time slip but why is it only occurring during his fight with Illyria.

Illyria doesn’t seem particularly concerned about this though. Nope she’s much too happy to decimate Angel and there’s no amount of reasoning from him that’ll put her off. What the hell is this bitch’s problem? She’s caused more damage in her time than Angel sending LA to hell so shouldn’t she a bit more understanding as such?

There’s a great moment when Angel gets in a single punch to Illyria, followed by the opportunity to stab her. Now I’m not a big Illyria fan so anyone doing physical harm to her (except Spike) is fine by me. What’s even more interesting is the fact that Angel is able to stab through her armour.

Being in hell has changed people and demons. Wesley’s a ghost, Gunn’s a vampire, vampires no longer view daylight as a problem and werewolves are going crazy with the duality of day and night. The only ones seemingly unaffected is Gwen.

Of course getting stabbed doesn’t slow Illyria doing, although it’s safe to say that getting a blade in her side did hurt a little. The other thing is that Angel is still determined to find out whether or not Illyria murdered the Lord of Westwood. Illyria being her usual annoying self just rants cryptically before pinning Angel to the wall with knives in his hands.

Its times like this even I’ve forgotten how much of a quick mover Illyria but then the time slip dilemma is back again. This time round we’ve got Puppet Angel wondering why Fred is dressed so strangely and then a futuristic version of Angel wondering whether or not there’s something of Fred remaining inside Illyria.

I would love for this to be an actual hint or sign that Fred is destined to return. Seeing as this arc has acted as if Cordelia never existed, I really hope that in a few issues time, Illyria is gone and Fred is restored. Fred is a lot more interesting to watch than Illyria any day of the week The fact that Illyria is acting highly strung could also be a good sign that she’s not destined to last much longer.

Spike doing probably the only decent thing in this comic tries to persuade Illyria to refrain from killing Angel. Of course Illyria’s too eager to behead Angel and with Spike’s crappy persuasion skills, it’s up to the dragon to ensure Illyria isn’t successful in her latest slaughter.

Much as I’d like to know why Illyria is so determined to off Angel that dragon’s arrival couldn’t have came at a better time. Illyria being as gloriously arrogant as her pet ignores Spike’s warning that she’s out of her depth and decides to take on the beastie. Dumb God, doesn’t she listen to anyone?

The dragon responds to Illyria’s defiance by scorching her. It’s a good for Illyria that she is a God or else her ass really would’ve been barbequed at that moment in time. It’s almost a pity we didn’t another “maybe there’s a part of Fred inside of Illyria” hint during that moment.

Instead Illyria just goads the beast into continuing the fight and then tries to straddle him even though she’s the size of a fly compared to the dragon. Is it wrong that I want the dragon to kick Illyria’s ass? Maybe but at least dragon isn’t a Spike devotee and that earns it some respect in my book.

I know I’m being hard on Spike but that’s mainly because I’ve become sick and tired of the writers always trying to validate him and having him be a thorn in Angel’s side only re-enforces my sympathy for Angel that bit more. Spike’s decent to help Angel up but yells at his minions who offer to help Angel. Surely Spike should be able to put his pettiness aside in this battle.

I’m not exactly sure why Spike was so worried in being found but thanks to Illyria and the dragon’s airborne battle, they’re more or less screwed. Blaming Angel seems a tad unfair. It’s not like he had a choice when it came to confronting Spike and Illyria.

Battles aside, the Illyria/Dragon one is every bit as fun to watch as the Faith/Gargoyles in “No Future For You Part 2”. The dragon even gets the chance to try and eat Illyria up much to her fear. Yes Illyria showed some fear as she was being swallowed. It’s almost too bad that she’s such an unpleasant taste that the dragon has to spit her out.

Illyria’s penchant for stupidity doesn’t stop there. Any other powerful God smart enough to escape being dragon food would either have the sense to quit while they’re ahead or to at least go away and regroup. Illyria clearly not blessed with the sense of awareness annoys Spike with wanting weapons. Just give it up, Illyria. This dragon could kill you, which would not be a bad thing.

It’s good that Illyria’s erratic behaviour hasn’t gone unnoticed. Angel berates Spike about his destructive influence on the God and he’s got every right to but it’s Connor who rallies to Spike and Illyria’s defence when he claims that they had nothing to do with Lord Westwood’s demise. I’m begging you Angel writers; please don’t have Spike use Connor as a means of scoring points against Angel.

It does seem that Spike and Connor are working together however. As Illyria continues to get her ass kicked by the dragon, Connor explains that Spike has been rescuing people and sending at least half of them to Connor, Nina and Gwen. Connor then explains that Spike has been saving so many people and they’re running out of space.

It explains the hoards of scantily clad women around Spike’s place but Spike easily loses points when he starts rubbing it in Angel’s face. Angel doesn’t take it well and leaves with the dragon, despite Illyria still wanting to fight. Damn, does that girl have no other hobbies?

At least Connor isn’t against Angel in all of this. He did try to explain why he was working with Spike and he does go after Angel to see if he’s all right. It’s moments like that make all the more glad that Connor is in this arc. He’s the only person that Angel can fully trust right about now and I hope it stays that way too. Plus it would be nice to see Connor kick Spike’s ass if he acts too smug.

Then again that’s not much of a consolation to Angel. He doesn’t like the idea of Connor and Spike having a friendly rapport and his guilt about putting Connor in danger is nicely touched on without going overboard. Even better is that instead of sitting around and brooding, Angel decides to do something about his actions.

Pairing up with Wesley (who tries to warn him about the Lords), Angel decides to pay Burges a home visit. Here we get an eclectic bunch of demons all ruling certain parts but hardly any of them remotely interested in avenging the death of Burges’ bratty offspring. Hey they’ve got their parts of LA, why the hell should they care?

Even more fun is Angel and Wesley interrupting the little meeting. Better still Wesley doesn’t try to stifle Angel’s parade as our handsome hero dares to not only challenge Burges but also the entire demon lords of LA in his attempt to regain order. I don’t know about Angel but that to me, definitely is not baby steps. Funnily enough Wesley then points out the bad odds.

Angel might be all for getting rid of Burges and every other rotten demon from the hell he’s sent everyone to but given that aside from Connor/Nina/Gwen, Angel is pretty short on allies. Wesley physically can’t do a damn thing and Spike, Illyria and Gunn aren’t exactly that eager to help Angel out either. Perhaps he has bitten more off than he can chew so to speak.

Not that it matter because there’s a bigger shock when Angel lets slip that he’s no longer a vampire. Does that mean that Angel is now human? Going on all the three issues so far, Angel hasn’t vamped out when he’s been assaulted and Illyria did some mega damage to him this week.

Being human should be a good thing for Angel but just like the fates of Gunn and Wesley, it’s more than likely going to be played to his disadvantage. He might want to start banding his team pretty fast or else Burges will have a victory on his hands.

Also in “After The Fall Part 3”

I’ve started buying the variant covers since last issue. I just liked the Illyria grabbing Angel’s throat one for some reason.

Angelus (re Illyria): “What is wrong with this woman? Who is the woman? Where am I?”

Illyria didn’t seem to recognise the various stages of Angel. Angel was also shown as a baby too.

Angel: “We need to talk.”
Illyria: “If I separate your pieces and hurl them into different directions you will not return.”
Angel: “Granted -”

Angel: “Do you think I want to fight you Illyria? I just want answers, so – wow.”
Illyria: “I want you away.”

The artwork for Illyria is slightly better than it has been for characters like Nina and Gwen. Less porn star looks anyway.

Spike: “What I was merely making sure you were free of hell lice is what it … missing the point here … let him go.”
Illyria: “If he’s gone we move forward.”

Angel (re imminent Illyria/dragon fight): “Illyria I have a feeling what I’m about to see we could sell tickets to.”

There’s a preview to Joe Hill’s “Locke and Key” in this issue. It looks interesting.

Illyria: “First strike little dragon and go.”

Spider (re Angel): “Should I tend to his wounds?”
Spike: “You do and you’re out of the Top Twelve. Answer me, Angel.”

I’m impressed that Illyria didn’t even show scorch marks especially given that Hamilton was able to make her bleed in “Power Play”.

Spike (to Angel): “Great. Fountain of blood is gone. When Fred Sonja is done, I want you to take that thing and get out.”

Illyria: “Loud vampire! Fetch me my arms! All of them!”
Spike: “A bit busy here psycho.”

This is the first issue with a letter page. Most of the comments on Season Six are more positive than my own thoughts had been.

Angel (to the dragon): “Stop playing, we’re leaving.”
Illyria: “I’m not yet sated.”
Angel: “Join the club.”

Connor (to Angel): “I drove here. The dragon kinda indicated that it wanted me to ride on his back but I thought that would be weird.”

The shark demon from Buffy’s “Tabula Rasa” is the Lord of Santa Monica. Other lords are from Burbank, Compton, Downtown LA, Weho, Century City and Sherman Oaks.

Wesley: “It will, you know – Burge is right. It will absolutely be a slaughter.”
Angel: “We’ll think of something. We’re the kings of last minute saves. Except for that one time. When I sent everyone to hell.”

Angel (to himself): “Another thing about hell, doesn’t alter a vampire’s healing faculties, so a vamp can still mend quickly. Which, of course, would mean so much more if I still were a vampire.”

Next issue is out in mid-February and apparently this arc is a five parter according to the letter page.

After two underwhelming issues, “After The Fall Part 3” finally does what the others should’ve and ups the tension. The time slips, hints of Fred being there (possibly) and Angel’s revelation gives this arc the kick up the arse it needs. Less Spike worshipping would be welcome of course.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x10: "Anywhere But Here"

Written by Joss Whedon
Artwork by Cliff Richards

Sephrilian (to Buffy/Willow): “The end, of course. Of the struggle, of the Hellmouths … the final triumph of the base humans over the demons. It’s your life’s goal achieved, Slayer. The death of magic.”

The format of this season seems to be a four part serial with standalones sandwiched between in order to give some breathing space. This standalone of sorts fails on that objective as the Twilight continues to steamroll ahead.

When the opening panels in this issue are of Buffy relaxing on a beach and being hit on Daniel Craig (I would tap that, too), you know you’re in the land of dreams or fantasies and suffice to say we are here. After all, Buffy fantasising about hot actors is much better dangling off a flying Willow.

You heard right there. Buffy and Willow are flying to get some more information on Twilight and they amuse themselves with a game of ‘anywhere but here’. Fun idea and Willow poking fun at Buffy’s fantasy is a light way of easing readers into the story. It’s also to see a friend moment between the two of them as well. It’s also good for Willow that they’ve found their location as Buffy’s fear of being is on the increase.

Speaking of friendly moments, Xander decides to do something for Dawn. Seeing as the girl has been criticised for her recent lack of hygiene, it’s only fair that Xander got some of the witches to make some of Dawn’s clothing extra large like herself. It’s even funnier when Xander falls into the suitcase as a grateful Dawn opens up to get some fresh clothing.

With the greatness coming in, we get to see what turns Willow on (ski lodges and Tina Fey, I never would’ve guessed) but what’s more intriguing is the issue of Kennedy. In “The Long Way Home Part 3”, we learned that she died mystically, came back to life and that her and Willow are on a break.

In this issue Buffy realised that Kennedy was still significant and was quick to ask Willow about her. I love that Buffy admitted to thinking Kennedy was bratty. Kennedy is in a way but also in the kind that doesn’t wreck my head too much. Willow clearly doesn’t want to discuss it with Buffy and uses the fact that they’ve arrived at their location to change the subject.

The location in question seems to be a forest with a cottage and a woman named Robin, who obviously has been expecting them. Willow then piques Buffy’s suspicions by one minute telling her that she doesn’t know Robin and then changing her statement when Robin acknowledges. The phrase ‘timey wimey’ springs to me. Either that or Willow is up to something less good.

Anyways the main gist seems to be geared towards Buffy and Willow entering that cottage and meeting with a demon called Sephrilian, who’s in something of a cantankerous mood. A pissed off demon – big whoop. Thank God there’s the reveal about him being able to go through realities. Even more interesting though is a concept of a Minder, which is the role that Robin plays.

Like Slayers, Minders have no choice in the matter and if we’re going by Buffy’s deduction, they contain unstable realities. Buffy’s dismissive attitude about Robin being one is nicely countered by Willow. See slayers are not the only ones who shoulder a heavy burden and what not. Buffy should know that by now.

Once we’re inside and enduring the staircase that never, there’s a chance for more Buffy and Willow interaction. Bitching about Faith is never cool but Willow talking French and calling Buffy “cutie” is amusing. It’s also nice to see that Buffy’s fear of the dark from Issue Two has resurfaced again. Also Willow promising to have Buffy’s back is nice.

With Buffy and Willow heading towards the dark, Xander finds himself swimming through Dawn’s frilly attire. Dawn praising Xander for his efforts is great but not as cool as her teasing him for panicking. Yes, Xander I get that Dawn is a woman now. Then there’s the picture of Kenny.

Since “The Long Way Home Part 1”, everyone has wanted to know why Dawn became a giant. Over the last few weeks some people thought it might have been Kenny’s fault beside her transformation and I hoped that sex wasn’t involved. Well I was wrong on both accounts unfortunately.

It seems that Dawn was silly enough to sleep with Kenny’s roommate Nick. Like Buffy, it turns out that Dawn also has a penchant for bad boys and Nick is one of those wankers who people mistake for being deep. Anyways he popped Dawn’s cherry (presumably) and Kenny used magic to turn her into a giant.

It’s amazing that even now sex can still be bad on this show even in comic form. Dawn cheating on her boyfriend was bad but couldn’t Kenny have just dumped her and move on? At least we finally know how she became a giant. The only other question is when the spell is going to be reversed. Having Dawn as a giant has kept her out of the action so far.

Xander provides some decent support for Dawn. Seeing as they have a very sibling like rapport, he doesn’t berate for her poor choice in men. It is funny that he likens her actions to being clichéd, which they are. It’s also curious that Dawn doesn’t know about every guy Buffy has slept with either.

Speaking of not knowing things, Buffy is still pushing the Kennedy issue again. She tries to tell that she likes Kennedy (which I do believe) and even wants Willow to be comfortable with Kennedy around her. Willow is still having none of it and once again, there’s a demonic distraction. Also Buffy goes from being supportive to suspicious of Willow in no short time.

The demon on the other hand manages to scare the shit out of Buffy and Willow before making his presence known and felt. He’s affronted by their presence in his domain and also accuses them of being liars. Buffy pointing out that they haven’t said anything doesn’t help matters.

That being said I don’t care about the affronted demon, all I care about are answers and this guy seems willing to provide them with more questions. Twilight mentioned to that suit in “No Future For You Part 4” that he wanted to end magic and this demon more or less states the same thing.

I’m not sure why Sephrilian is revelling in the concept. If Twilight is looking to end magic, then that could be disadvantageous even for a reality flitting demon like Sephrilian. It’s also noteworthy that Buffy’s life time goal as a slayer could end up being a major disaster for Willow. Willow wasn’t best pleased when she heard that revelation was she?

Sephrilian, almost deliberately cause a divide between Buffy and Willow then shows them at their least likeable moments. On one hand, you’ve got Buffy and a ton of slayer robbing a Swiss bank and on the other, there’s Willow all naked with demon in her search for knowledge.

Willow is quick to judge Buffy’s bank robbing antics and she raises valid points all round. Voll bitched about slayers becoming corrupted and doing what pleased them and we saw it here. Buffy’s crime wasn’t that victimless and if she takes actions like this, then some of her charges are going to take a darker turn.

That being said Willow is no angel as Buffy looked shocked at her bad. Does everyone on this show need to bonk demons? What secrets was Willow looking for and more importantly, what the hell is going in that place?

The next thing we see is a vision of a bruised Buffy betrayed by someone close before Robin comes and goes in a flash. Willow acts twitchy when Buffy wonders if it’s her who’ll betray Buffy. The fact that Willow says she won’t betray her any more than she has speak volumes.

Remember twice in this issue that Willow was acting cagey about Kennedy? In our last reveal, we see Willow and Kennedy argue and then Willow reveal that the reason why she doesn’t want Buffy and Kennedy to interact is in case, Kennedy dies. Somehow Willow has now thought that Buffy’s resurrection caused Tara’s death. The hurt both Buffy and Willow exhibit during that would’ve been powerful had this been a televised episode of the series.

Sephrilian finishes his rant by criticising human emotions before him and Buffy lock into another battle. Its fun that Willow uses her magic to help Buffy slay the beastie but it also causes the field to blow up and almost kills the two of them in the process. Then again, it’s not like Buffy and Willow had a choice in the matter and Robin was able to contain it as well.

The last moments add some complicated poignancy. You’ve got Robin sympathising with Buffy and Willow but you’ve got both Slayer and Wicca unable to face each other as they go their separate ways. Damn and just when some fun was being had too.

Also in “Anywhere But Here”

There are two covers for this issue. I have Jo Chen’s with Buffy and Willow but the variant cover with the girls and Robin is pretty gorgeous as well.

Willow: “Come on! We’re flying!”
Buffy: “You’re flying. I’m dangling.”

This is the second issue where we’ve had the cover image appear in the comic, what with Buffy and Willow flying.

Dawn: “Uh, Xander?”
Xander (mumbled): “I don’t love you anymore.”

Willow: “Sephrilian walks between worlds. Reality tends to buckle around those guys.”
Buffy: “It’s bigger on the inside.”
Willow: “That’s my guess.”

The winner Jerrod Balzer wrote a touching letter about his wife Robin, who is the character in this issue.

Buffy (re Robin): “I thought you hadn’t met.”
Willow: “We do later on.”
Buffy: “And I’m just gonna ride with that.”

Buffy: “If things get dicey, then I get slay-ey. But that’s not what we came for.”
Willow: “We’re just here to talk.”
Robin: “There’s a chance you’ll wish you hadn’t.”

Buffy also fantasised about Christian Bale from both Little Women and Reign Of Fire. Also a guy that I wouldn’t mind tapping.

Willow: “Ah, esprit d’escolier.”
Buffy: “Willow! What’s happening? I can’t understand you! It’s getting inside us.”
Willow: “It’s French, cutie. You really are afraid of the dark, aren’t you?”

Xander: “Frilly … frilly! Lord of hosts, I’m in the frilly.”
Dawn: “Relax, tiny; it’s a camisole.”

Does anyone think that Kenny’s friend looked a little bit like Andrew? No, seriously take a look at that picture.

Sephrilian: “You reek of lies.”
Buffy: “We haven’t, unnh even said anything yet!”

Dawn (to Xander): “It’s not that simple. I lied to Willow. I didn’t sleep with Kenny. I slept with his roommate.”

Please tell me Kenny did something to punish Nick as well. Also can Joss please explain what a Thricewise is at some point?

Sephrilian (to Buffy/Willow): “Lies, delusions, gross simplifications …these are what make mankind. No fault in it; your brains could not contain the horrible beauty of total awareness. You run from it, as from a predator. You escape. Even from each other. Take a look.”

Buffy: “Will, I don’t think I wanna be here anymore!”
Willow: “I don’t think we are.”

The demon woman Willow made out with had white hair, a snake like tail and green skin. The forest background was a nice touch.

Demon (to Willow): “Are all my secrets laid bare now? Have you found what you needed? Or shall I show you more?”
Buffy (reacting to what she has seen): “Wow you’re bad is way better than mine.”

Dawn (re Nick):“Bass. Vocals. I’m a Satan.”
Xander: “Dawnie stop! You hereby guilty of being a cliché and that’s it. You ever see the first guy Buffy slept with in college?”
Dawn: “Riley.”
Xander: “Oh how she wishes.”

What was inside the cracked red egg shell in Sephrilian’s lair?

Buffy: “Is it you? Is that why we’re both in this?”
Willow: “No. I won’t betray you. Any more than I have.”

Kennedy (to Willow): “You know I’d die for you … oh wait, I did! Admittedly it was mystical and kind of mellow but, headline: death! And I didn’t say a word about your six month mystical walkabout.”

That yellow top on Kennedy looked pretty nasty. It’s not something you’d think she would wear on the series.

Robin: “I’m sorry if I projected a remnant in there. It went when the field closed down. But I imagine that it wasn’t something fun.”
Buffy: “It was demons. Playing games.”

Chronology: No mention of a time distance since “No Future For You Part 4”.

This was fun in some ways and confusing as heck in a lot of others. “Anywhere But Here” continued to build up the Twilight mystery but how many divides in the Scooby faction must we deal with? Buffy already is on the outs with Giles and now it looks like her and Willow could go their separate ways too.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

My review of Angel's 6x02: "After The Fall Part 2"

Written by Brian Lynch
Artwork by Franco Urru

Female Bodyguard: “Nobody touches Spike, Lord of Beverley Hills and our saviour squared.”
Angel: “Saviour squared. Yep, now it’s officially hell.”

Issue 1 to this arc started well enough but I have to admit that this issue didn’t overcome me with much excitement as Angel tells Wesley about killing Burges’ son and refuses his friends’ request to help him. I guess Angel wasn’t joking when he admitted to not being sure of Wesley – now he’s showing it.

Wesley doesn’t necessarily react to having offered to help rejected but you can tell by the look on his face that he isn’t a happy bunny over it either. I like that Angel does feel bad for how he treats Wesley but under the circumstances, he might have a good reason to be abrasive.

Not only is he not certain as what Wesley’s motives are at the moment but because he slaughtered the Burges’ irritating kid, he realises that he’s also painted a target on Connor as a result. Still there’s minor fun in Angel knocking down demons as he makes his way to his son’s hideout and is greeted by Nina.

Now I like Nina as a character but I wasn’t really keen on listening to her erratic responses when Angel was asking her a simple question. I get that being in hell is fucking up her mental state and perhaps there’s a juicy plot in there for future issues to cover but right now I don’t care. Angel’s worried about the only person left in his life and he’s got good reason too.

Fortunately Connor’s amazing skills at hacking and slashing are back to their Season Four best as Angel sees his boy slaughtering demons without breaking a sweat. Yeah, it seems another demon wants to be Lord of Westwood and Connor is ending his reign before it begins.

What’s even better is that Connor’s reaction to seeing his father is of pure delight. Okay so he might be a tiny bit annoyed that Angel hasn’t been in touch recently but overall he’s trying to impress Angel with his slaying. Angel makes a note of that while admitting that he’s also keen to impress Connor. It’s nice that there is at least one really sweet moment in an arc so inherently bleak. Heck, Connor even takes it well when he finds out that he might be a target for Burges.

Of course the father and son reunion does get interrupted by Gwen. She’s zapping demons left, right and centre but she’s also found something pretty gnarly and when you’re stuck in hell, that’s something of an achievement.

Given the location they happen to be in, I’m gonna guess it’s the remains of KR’PH and his pals. The fact that Gwen then muses about their being a new player in town only proves that point when the next thing we see is Gunn and some kind of spider web. I forgot that he stole company.
The fish from last issue is Betta George and he’s not thrilled with being kidnapped by a vampire. Funny thing is his willingness to listen to Gunn in spite of not knowing whether or not his captor is worthy of being trusted. Gunn might make an excellent quip about a rotting corpse but true to form he’s not amused with his own transformation.

He gets pretty animated when George calls him a vampire and tells the telepathic fish about the many times he’s slain vampires. More importantly is his bitterness towards Angel. Gunn regrets ever trusting his former boss and even holds him responsible for his current state. Not entirely sure I would agree with that. Like everyone else, Gunn knew exactly what he was getting into when he signed up with Wolfram And Hart but at the same, there’s no way he deserved this cruel fate.

Gunn’s attempts to try and differentiate himself from other vampires comes across as denial. He’s disgusted by what he has become but at the same time, he’s eating humans to survive and even aggressively assaults George for little reason. The scorn by his team mates also suggests he might have a mutiny on his hands too.

Also we see him place the orb he stole from KR’PH placed in a room of what looks like demon remains of sorts. Gunn plotting revenge on Angel is just another sore point with this issue. Having the Eye Of Ramras is also bad seeing as it amplifies power.

Any chance that Gunn might be using that to get his soul back, boost his physical strength or on the rare off chance becoming human again? Where a Chameleon Arch when you need one? I think I’ve gone from Gunn being a vampire is unfair to Gunn being a vampire flat out sucks.

Another sore point about this issue is that Angel lies to Connor when the lad asks if he knows who’s responsible for all the carnage? Angel obviously knows its Gunn and probably feels guilty about what happened to his mate but Angel really can’t afford to keep Connor in the dark. Connor is the only real ally along with Nina and Gwen that Angel has right now. Keeping secrets will put them in harm’s way.

Gwen isn’t really as useful in the part of the issue as Angel and Connor mainly talk among themselves and she’s kind of left out. Gwen folding her arms and sulking is a good indicator that she doesn’t like being kept out of the loop. I wonder how she’ll feel when she discovers the new player in town is the same dude who took her virginity as well.

Still Angel chooses to leave both Connor and Gwen out of things because apparently dealing with things by him is the better option. In the least savage looking part of this hell on earth, a mansion and a gaggle of demonic babes reveal that Spike is living the life of luxury.

I’d love to say that I was so looking forward to Spike’s return but seeing as I found him to be mostly a hindrance in Season Five, I really wasn’t that fussed on seeing him. Spike doing his best Hugh Hefner stance and flashing his chest while women tend to him in hardly anything is a stark contrast to everything else. I supposed someone should be smelling the roses so to speak. Who better than Spike in terms of rubbing it into Angel?

Spike lazes about spewing mostly bullshit on how he has defeated most of the baddies since moving to LA and suffice to say, his ladies are lapping it up like there’s no tomorrow. There’s also going to be someone who’ll be impressed with Spike but honestly I’m finding somewhat irritating in this issue.

Angel’s also not particularly pleased with his enemy putting his own spin on things and the fact that Spike has bodyguards willing to inflict damage on Angel just reeked of annoyance. There’s a nice moment where one of Spike’s ladies shows an interest in Angel and anything that annoys Spike has to be a good thing.

Sadly while Angel might get a delightful punch it’s the presence of Illyria and her sudden devotion to Blondie Bear that see Angel on the verge of an ass kicking. Great, Spike’s appearance was annoying enough and now that Illyria has become his gushing sycophant I’m less than thrilled with seeing her again.

Also in “After The Fall Part 2”

Cover issue I got was Spike and his hoards of babes. There are two versions of the other two covers out there.

Wesley: “Do you want me to come with you?”
Angel: “To be honest, Wes … I really don’t.”
Wesley: “Right, then. I’ll stay here and haunt the fort.”

Okay can Franco Urru please stop drawing both Nina and Gwen like porn starlets? It’s distracting and not in a good way.

Angel: “Connor needs to watch his back. So Nina how have you -”
Nina: “I eat bloody meat now.”
Angel: “Oh good.”

Angel (re Connor): “After all I put him though. I mean this is literally the second time I punched his ticket to hell. Not many fathers can say that.”

Stupid question but was Angel hitting on Nina during their little scene together? I don’t think he wanted to go on a killing spree with her.

Angel: “I killed the son of a lord.”
Connor: “Good for you, seriously. Wow. Just that paints a big ass target on my head, doesn’t it?”
Angel: “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

Gwen (to Angel/Connor): “Yo. ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’ going well? Awesome. You’re going to want to come with me.”

What’s the symbol drawn around George’s bed supposed to represent?

Gunn: “Comfortable.”
Betta George: “Gotta admit, not really. The accommodation in this place suck and it smells like rotting corpse.”
Gunn: “That’s probably because of the rotting corpse.”

Gunn (to Betta George, re Angel): “See someone fancies himself a white hat because he’s got a soul. Thinks he gets in touch with the man he was, makes him good. Funny thing, though. Maybe the man he was wasn’t all that good to begin with.”

One of the doors in Gunn’s place has a rotting octopus like creature strung up. It looks like it’s protecting that room.

Gunn (to Betta George): “It’s not about the soul. I’m living proof of that.”
Vampire: “Formerly living proof.”

Gwen: “It’s a vampire or many vampires.”
Angel: “How can you be sure?”
Gwen: “A few ladies told me. Not so much with words but with their necks and horrified dead expressions.”

There’s some strange marking on the wall that doesn’t seem consistent with the ones on the floor of Betta George’s bed.

Angel (re dragon): “Just go. He’ll find me. He’s a little jumpy around anyone who isn’t me so call him by his name to let him know you’re on the up and up.”
Connor: “What’s his name?”

Connor: “That’s what you went with? I’m serious Angel. Weirder and weirder.”

The dragon’s name is Dudden as far as I can make out. That’s not the weirdest of names to call a dragon.

Spike: “In the end, the forces of darkness didn’t stand a chance against Spike. All bloody hail.”
Female Demons: “Bloody hail.”

Spike: “Oh for goodness sake. Eyes back in your head, Spider.”
Spider (re Angel): “He reeks of magic.”
Spike: “And I don’t?”

That female bodyguard looked similar to a Bond villain.

Spike (to Angel): “You’re leaving in two ways. One in a teeny, tiny little urn. Two – you know what? I can only think of the one.”

Illyria (to Angel, re Spike): “Your presence is irritating my pet. Perhaps you dismemberment will soothe him.”

There’s an interview with Gary Russell previewing the Doctor Who comics that IDW have coming up in January with this issue as well.

Meh, I was under whelmed. “After The Fall Part 2” hyped up both Spike and Illyria’s return and both of them left me feeling cold. Thank God for Gunn’s struggle as a vampire and Angel/Connor stuff, otherwise this would’ve been a total chore to read.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

My Review Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x09: "No Future For You Part 4"

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Faith (to herself, remembering The Mayor): “Everybody thinks he was like, exploiting me or whatever, but that’s not how it felt. So I totally get how chicks can get mixed up in the wrong crap. Even today, it’s still hard to look back at my time with that guy and feel anything but loved.”

Clearly someone loves “Graduation Day Part 1” a lot because this issue opens up with the evil but loving Faith/Mayor Wilkins team. It’s nicely stated that Richard saw Faith as the daughter he never had and despite her knowing he was a corrupt she still can’t bring herself to hate him.

I know the girl’s got Daddy issues that would make a writer like Brian K. Vaughan proud (due to the fact he scripts for Lost) but his grasp on Faith’s never ending yearning to be loved and accepted is really effective. It’s also the very thing that both she and Gigi have in common despite their friendship now being over.

Gigi doesn’t take being lied to easily and with an asshole like Roden egging her on, she’s only too happy to put her skills with an axe to good use. Funny thing is that Gigi does continue the romanticised/gay overtone with her and Faith by mentioning bathtub. Faith on the other hand tells her to get over it. Perhaps not the smartest to say to an axe wielding slayer but I already know who I want to win this fight.

Unfortunately for the time being it’s Gigi making the right moves even if she still can’t actually behead Faith with that axe of her. Faith does try to explain that she never lied about the stuff that mattered and you can tell she’s being sincere with that claim of her. Gigi responds by smacking her in the face with bottom of the axe.

Also realising that Faith is far from British, Gigi then enquires about her real origins. Faith didn’t get a chance to explain before Gigi comes to the conclusion she’s American but the coolest is seeing Faith kick Gigi from the balcony into the conservatory with just one swift kick. On screen that would’ve just looked amazing. In fact this is the kind of fight scenes that worked perfectly on the televised series.

The best thing about Faith here is that she decides to take advantage of the situation by simply explaining she’s from Boston. Gigi still doesn’t give a flying fuck and makes with the axe attack once again. I know that Gigi is going to lose this battle and her snobbery towards Faith’s lowly stature is quite an annoying thing to listen to. I get it Gigi you’re rich. That doesn’t mean Faith is beneath you. After all you did seem to have the hots for her before Buffy spoiled the party.

Faith still tries to reason with Gigi even though you know the girl ain’t for turning. Faith betrayed her and Gigi is determined to end her life as a result. More interesting is that Faith then tries to warn Gigi about Roden. Now only an idiot would think he has genuine affection for the spoiled slayer so Gigi is then pretty stupid when she all too quickly jumps to the guy’s defence.

The issue of Faith not having many friends has been looked at from time to time. We know that some of that has to do with her turning people who care about her away and other times, her inability to have a genuine connection with another person, but isn’t Gigi one to talk on the matter?

She told Faith last issue that her parents kept her from interacting with people her own age due to home schooling and it’s not like she gets on with her own rich crowd either. Part of the reason why Gigi doesn’t have pals is down to the fact she’s an intolerable bitch when push comes to shove.

It’s also amazing for a girl who also in the previous issue bragged about being able to manipulate men she isn’t able to see that Roden is using her. If he was genuinely worried then surely he would be helping Gigi in taking out Faith and not just watching instead? Well that’s what you think.

Also when it comes to thinking, I’m glad Giles hasn’t given up on trying to get to Faith even if with the help of Trafalgar he’s still failing to get past the force field protecting Gigi’s estate. Trafalgar is a fun enough character but man doesn’t he give up just a little bit too quickly as well?

As if Giles didn’t have that for a hindrance, he then has to deal with Buffy’s childish behaviour when she berates him for working with Faith. Okay Buffy has every right in the world to be mad at Giles for not telling her about Gigi and Roden. On that score Giles should’ve kept her informed but yelling at him because he’s working with Faith makes her sound like a spoiled bitch to put it mildly.

I said it in my last and I will say it, if this situation had involved either Angel or Spike, Buffy would only happily oblige to give them the benefit of the doubt but because it’s Faith she has to go off on one. Maybe Giles should’ve apologised for not keeping her in the loop but Buffy should know by now that he’s always got her back.

Perhaps yelling at Buffy for not taking Faith with her and effectively telling her to mind her own business wasn’t his best move but Buffy’s hatred for Faith has well and truly worn thin. If she can forgive both Spike and Angel for the shit they’ve put her through then she needs to start forgiving Faith as well.

Willow is quick to enquire about the friction between Buffy and Giles and Buffy at least has the practical sense to tell Willow to help Giles but she doesn’t exactly mask her hurt in regards to feeling left out. Xander is his level headed best by trying to get Buffy to figure that maybe Giles needs the alone time but Buffy seems too pissed off to be convinced of that.

Meanwhile Faith and Gigi are still beating the ever holy shit out of one another and Gigi even finds the time to complain about Faith ruining her mum’s Rose bush. Yeah Gigi, I’m sure Faith really cares about a lame Rose bush when you’re trying to kill her and not listening to a word of sense.

Faith doesn’t give up on slamming Roden’s name and I for one am only glad of it. Still Gigi is stupid and refuses to believe that Roden doesn’t care for her and nearly kills Faith with some garden shears. Luckily Gigi is a crap shot and Faith manages to catch them instead of getting slaughtered by them.

The same can’t be said for Gigi who finally meets her death but not before she spouts more self-entitled nonsense about being a worthy slayer. Oh Gigi you dumb bitch, you’re only one out of nearly 2000 slayers world wide and you’re probably not even the most strongest, smartest or even corrupt of them either.

Faith then does everyone a massive favour and kicks Gigi straight into the axe but sadly, Faith had only intended to knock the girl out and not do her in. Faith’s reaction is out of disgust and sadness and even Gigi before snuffing coolly recognises the outcome of her fate. I almost a “Last Of The Time Lords” The Doctor/The Master type of scene except what I see here is kind of better.

Roden isn’t one to miss an opportunity and instead of healing Gigi, he’s quick to offer to help Faith rid the world of Buffy and to point out that his former charge was a means to an end. Showing Faith the book with the Twilight inspires her to whack him across the face with. Clearly the girl isn’t for conversion.

However one thing that is noteworthy is how rather sexist Roden seems to be. He berates Faith for a twenty something slayer who is still alive and even has a go at Giles about his determination to wipe out every slayer in existence. Look we all know what happens to sexist creeps on this show. If you’re Warren you get flayed by Willow and if you’re Caleb you get sliced in half by Buffy. So what cool comeuppance can be waiting for Roden?

With Giles in the mix and Faith released from her stone prison, I can tell you one thing – garden shears won’t end Roden. Giles does make a good effort with them but Roden is impervious to being stabbed in the back. Perhaps in a literal sense it’s something that has happened to him on a regular basis.

However Giles using one of Roden’s mystical fields by putting it inside the devious warlock does the trick as Roden’s head literally explodes. There are times when I can forget Giles’ dark side. This act of ingenuity more than serves as a great reminder. It’s kind of sad that both Gigi and Roden have been killed because they’ve been amazing villains but hats off to the superb ending both of them had. I also dig the fact that Faith puts her hand on Giles’ shoulder and tells him they should leave.

There’s the thing. In the last two issues I was disappointed with the lack of Giles and Faith interacting with each other after the wonderful moments they had at the start of this arc. Their last scene here more than makes up for it. Faith has fulfilled her obligation and Giles keeps his end of the bargain by giving her a passport, cash and a plane ticket only for Faith to have a turn around.

She might not relish bloodshed with the same lust when we met her back in “Faith, Hope And Trick” but seeing Gigi die has made her realise that there will be other bad slayers out there. Instead of wanting to kill them, Faith comes up with the idea of trying to rehabilitate before they go over the deep end.

What’s even better is that not only does Giles fully support the idea he also wants a piece of the action and suggests a partnership with Faith to which she agrees. Both of them note that Buffy might not be thrilled but the hell with Buffy; this is one of the best plot developments going. I love that Giles is putting himself in a mentoring position with Faith. The more positive influences that girl has around her the better, right?

Last but not least if this issue wasn’t amazing enough, we’ve finally got a bigger idea of Twilight. Instead of it being an organisation, it’s actually a person. Better than that it’s the same one who was spying on Buffy during the castle raid in the first issue. Even better than is his explanation to Lieutenant Molter is that he was using Gigi and Roden as pawns and is delighting in the friction between Buffy and Giles. This guy wants to end magic and it looks like he could possibly succeed.

Also in “No Future For You Part 4”

Covers for this issue included a naked Faith burning her dress (I got that one) and Steed/Peel drawing of Faith and Giles.

Genevieve: “You’re not even English are you? Where is that horrid accent from anyway? New York?”
Faith: “Ouch. That hurts. For the record I’m a Boston girl. You know like the tea party.”

Those statues in the conservatory looked like they were of Greek women. Gigi’s mum certainly has extravagant tastes.

Genevieve: “I should have listened to Roden.”
Faith: “Who, Lucky Charms? If you want someone to be pissed at, try him. Trust me, Dude is gonna be the death of you.”
Genevieve: “He may push me but Roden’s also my best mate. Something I doubt you’ve ever had.”

Giles: “You can’t give up Trafalgar.”
Trafalgar: “Tell that to my last hundred wives. I’m sorry but it’s gonna take arts darker than mine to get you to the other side.”

Why did Buffy have that phone exchange with all of the slayers around there? Was she trying to shame Giles in a way?

Willow: “Is … is everything okay, Buffy?”
Buffy: “Do what you can for him.”
Xander: “Er, maybe the boss just needs some alone time.”
Buffy: “What other kind is there?”

Genevieve (re Roden): “He knows I can handle myself. He trusts me. He adores me.”
Faith: “Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t. But either way, part of you knows something ain’t right cause you’ve never deserved to be loved by anyone.”

There’s a promo in this issue for cover artist Jo Chen’s upcoming The Other Side. Premise wise it sounds pretty interesting.

Faith (to Genevieve): “If you’re so sick of the bad dreams, then wake the fuck up.”

Faith: “I never meant -”
Genevieve: “Yeah but it’s like the song goes.”

I wonder if Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word is the song Gigi is alluding to. I’m interested in finding out.

Faith (taking the book): “Thanks but I ain’t much of a reader.”
Roden: “Keep it anyway, luv. I already know how it ends.”

Roden: “You desperate old git. Did you honestly just try to use one of my own containment spells against me? I can break out of any mystic field ever enchanted.”
Giles: “I know. That’s why I put one in you. Burst.”

This issue was at least twenty four pages long. Apparently the next issue “Anywhere But Here” will be twenty five pages.

Giles: “I’m afraid I wouldn’t know. Buffy and I aren’t on speaking terms at the moment.”
Faith: “Then I guess we’re on our own, huh?”
Giles: “It would appear so.”

Molter: “How can you see a victory when Buffy’s narrow ass lives to fight another day?”
Twilight: “Let her have her day, Lieutenant. Night falls soon enough.”

No Dawn in this issue, which isn’t too bad as she factors in a big role in the next issue.

This arc started off so well and “No Future For You Part 4” ensured that it ended so brilliantly. In fact this entire arc could rival some of the best episodes in sci-fi and fantasy television and definitely even certain Buffy episodes. That being said, I bet not have to wait a long time to see Faith and Giles and I’m so psyched about this Twilight arc now more than ever.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

My review of Angel's 6x01: "After The Fall Part 1"

Written by Brian Lynch
Artwork by Franco Urru

Angel (to himself): “I don’t tell them they’re here because I took a stand. My friends stood by me. Wolfram and Hart sent an army. There were losses on both sides.”

Eight months and eight issues after the successful launch of Buffy’s eighth season in the comic format, it was inevitable that fans of Angel were going to get the same sort of continuation from the series. Low and behold it’s here but as a hardcore fan, even I had reservations about this comic.

First off I loved the fifth and final season and absolutely detested the WB and their bullshit reasons for cancelling it. However I do have some hang ups that over three years have not gone away. I may be in a minority but I hated the writers for adding Spike into the mix and the contrived way they tried to fit him in with the gang and although Illyria had her uses, she was something we could’ve done without too.

The biggest problem I had with Season Five was the beyond idiotic decision of Joss Whedon’s to kill off 80% of his core characters. Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Fred were every bit as vital to the series’ success as Angel and I still can’t rack my brains around why Joss would do such a thing.

Season Six’s opening issue however does kick into the action rather speedily as we see a girl in a clearly near devastated LA trying to escape the clutches of a savage demon. In the first page Angel muses about some of his crappier decisions, the biggest one being insane enough to join Wolfram And Hart. Yeah, there’s nothing like losing your friends and hell on earth to come to that conclusion.

Fortunately Angel does what he does best and slays the demon determined to kill the unfortunate lady. Even better is that the dragon Angel wanted to slay is actually helping him and there’s nothing more impressive than seeing Angel’s new pal scorch an entire army of demons. Yeah, now that we’re in comic land we’re getting to see things that you would die to see onscreen.

Funnily enough Angel then shifts his attention on the girl and two of her mates doing a bit of looting and scolds them. One of the pals is quick to point out that they’re stealing for survival. LA really has become quite the hell dimension but Angel just gives the girl and her friends an address for a place for them to hide before taking off with the dragon.

The girl is quick to wonder why LA has become the way it has over the last couple of months and it’s not much of a surprise that Angel has heard this time and time again. He points out that he’s responsible for how badly things have shaped out. Wolfram And Hart weren’t best pleased with Angel’s attempts to take them down in “Not Fade Away” but even Angel couldn’t have foreseen the evil law firm seeing LA quite literally to hell.

Concept wise, this is pretty damn cool. Compare this to any classic apocalyptic going and that is the rumoured outline to what a televised sixth season of the series would’ve been like. Angel’s also quick to point out that it took the humans longer to figure out they were in deep shit while many of the demons took advantage of the misfortune and carved out their own territories.

Angel’s heroics at the start are then challenged by the revelation that not only is he still living in Wolfram And Hart but he’s set upon by the surviving demons’ leader and the leader’s father Burges.

Burges is established as the lord of downtown LA but it’s his bratty son who wants payback for the scorched army and smacks Angel around as a means of getting even. To say I didn’t want this demon killed there and then would be an understatement but mouthy demons are nothing compared to Wesley stepping out of a white room.

I know the last time we saw Wesley he was dead but here he seems to breathing and cool. He’s not exactly jumping up to save Angel’s life in the physical sense but he does get Burges’ annoying away from decimating Angel, so there’s points there. Wesley even makes a sarcastic crack about denying Angel his TV privileges to which neither Angel or Burges’ brat find particularly. Too bad because I could imagine Alexis Denisof delivering that line quite well onscreen.

Now before you ask, Wesley hasn’t been miraculously resurrected (which sucks because no matter how cheesy, I want Cordy, Gunn, Fred and Wesley back and breathing). Instead his ghost is legally bound to Wolfram And Hart and he’s now the liaison between them and Angel. Well anything is better than Eve or Hamilton I suppose.

Still while he’s forced to help out the evil law firm it doesn’t altogether mean that Wesley is evil as he does ask Angel what happened to the people Angel rescued. Please tell me there’s some nice plotting against Wolfram And Hart because I’m not too thrilled with the idea of Angel and Wesley being total pawns for them.

The people themselves have managed to get as far as Santa Monica in their quest for safety. Between some quips about Angel being hot but untrustworthy, the bigger issue is to whom Angel has sent these people to. I was kind of hoping that perhaps Gunn would factor here but it’s mainly a hotel full of a human/good demons and then there’s electro girl Gwen Raiden.

Last seen in Season Four, Gwen is the first familiar face to see if the distressed people are good guys but it’s werewolf Nina Ash’s tactic that’s more interesting. If you can’t get enough of the gay subtext between Faith and Gigi, then Nina coming up to a former lawyer and licking her face is quite erotic if creepy.

Interestingly enough both Gwen and Nina have a leader and it makes sense their commander happens to be Connor. He saw the carnage that LA was heading for and it makes sense that he would want to help. Also can I say that a Connor/Gwen/Nina team is a good idea? Angel needs as many decent allies as he can get and we need decent characters to.

Back in Wolfram and Hart, while Angel is getting healed up by a mystic spider of sorts, there’s a very interesting exchange between him and Wesley that not only could be a reflection on the bleaker elements of Season Five but also of what this season could have in store for us too.

Wesley challenges Angel about both of them being unable but also he expresses some disapproval of Angel’s decision to save civilians and put them under Connor’s care. He’s also quite negative about the idea of Angel still trying to defeat Wolfram And Hart. I don’t want to sound overtly romantic but I’d like to think there will be some form of a happy ending in this season.

I like that Angel is still determined to try and fix this mess. Regardless of what Wesley is saying (or perhaps being forced to say by the senior partners), there’s something that has to be undone about this mess. It’s also alarming that the ever useless Powers That Be aren’t making some effort to help Angel. They should be via the use of Cordelia/Fred.

Still there might be some flicker of hope for Angel as while Wesley is telling him to get some control, there’s an image of a sphere. It’s the same sphere that’s also stuck inside the skeletal demon KR’PH who has taken over a stadium and is forcing those he’s kidnapped into a battle of his own.

Surrounded by a hoard of scantily clad women, other demons and would be warriors, the thing that stands out the most is a telepathic fish in chains called the Splenden Beast. Then again anything is slightly better than the humans talking about their former occupation.

When I first heard that a telepathic fish was going to be a canonized character in the sixth season, I slightly groaned. I really shouldn’t have because the fish in question is actually quite cool. Visually he’s one of the best drawn things in the entire issue but also I liked his resentment in being forced to brain yell at the hapless humans to fight each other. Plus he gets a witty comment or two in his short sequence.

KR’PH might like to think he’s a big bad in the making but as the Splenden Beast points out, there’s some humans who are more angered rather than scared of him. KR’PH learns that the hard way when a gang lead by Gunn storm into the stadium and not only do they slaughter his arm but they kill him on the spot and steal the sphere. Surely Angel should be pleased about this development but then him and Gunn haven’t interacted in this issue.

Gunn’s a bit more flirtatious and cocky here than I remember him last but it’s not a bad thing. He’s got a neat little gang and he even frees the women. However the biggest shock of the entire issue is that Gunn also happens to now be a vampire and ends this issue by feasting on one of the women. It’s incredibly given what happened to his sister and how much he hates the blood suckers himself. Not altogether sure I like that particular development.

Angel on the other hand gets a little bit of a zest by killing that tedious brat of Burges but it also means he’s officially declaring war on the demon kind of LA while Wesley walks cryptically back into the white room. If Twilight is a foreboding sense of danger in Buffy, then this hell on earth and the further evil machinations of Wolfram And Hart could very well beat it. That being said I dig that Angel isn’t prepared to totally surrender even he has been massively losing this battle so far.

Also in “After The Fall Part 1”

There are five covers for this issue with two of them being the same. The one I bought was Angel in prayer mode.

Female Lawyer (to Angel): “One minute everything was fine and then … I didn’t deserve this! I’m a good person! I’m a lawyer.”

This issue opened with Angel saying the same thing he said in “City Of”. It started with a girl. Only this time, the girl has changed.

Angel (to himself): “Go against their rules, the punishment would be worse. Not sure how but they’re Wolfram and Hart. They not only know of places worse than hell, they have timeshares there.”

Burges: “So vampire how was work? Slaughter lots of big bad monsters?”
Angel: “It’s not work when you love what you do. Always a pleasure Burge.”

Wesley is dressed in the way we met him back in Buffy’s third season. Parts of that personality are also surfacing too.

Angel: “They were trying to kill people. Right under my nose. Can’t help but notice your grip is getting tighter.”
Wesley: “Now Angel I’m sure they weren’t trying to kill the humans. They were trying to enslave them.”

Angel: “I don’t even know why I carry one with me. Haven’t had to use one for months. Remember when vampires were our biggest problem?”
Wesley: “Only when you went bad.”

Someone online said the hotel where Connor, Gwen and Nina were staying was the Hyperion. Not entirely sure if that’s true but it would make sense.

Gwen (to civilians): “Chill out hotshot, just wanna see if you’re on the up and up.”

Nina: “No it’s the sun/moon situation. They’re both out at once. Do you have any idea what that does to a werewolf?”
Female Lawyer: “Makes you hungry?”
Nina: “No.”
Female Lawyer: “Makes you bi-curious?”

Angel mentioned a female’s death being the reason behind his decision to take on Wolfram and Hart. It has to be Cordelia and Fred. Because of W&H, at least one of them is dead.

Angel (re spider creature): “Do I feel it? This thing is alive?”
Wesley: “Something in this room should be. It’s not capable of emotion.”

Cop: “Warrior? I was a cop.”
Bouncer: “I was a bouncer. That’s kinda like a warrior, I guess.”

What exactly does that neat little orb do that both Angel and Gunn were in pursuit of it?

KR’PH: “A gaggle of mongrels die for every second you don’t brain yell.”
Betta George: “Man, does everyone hate you?”

Gang Member (re KR’PH): “You hear that Gunn? Man wants to help us get what we want.”
Gunn: “Oh, I know he can. He’s just not going to be the biggest fan of how.”

Because this is IDW comics, there’s a promo of their upcoming Doctor Who comics featuring The Doctor and Martha.

Gunn: “You may have been a team before I joined but I trained. Plus I co-ordinated the outfits.”
Gang Member: “You made us wear these.”

Angel (to himself): “I was told not to leave this building, not one step. I was also told that everything I was doing was wrong. A friend said it, face to transparent face. Thing is … everything’s different and I don’t know who told him to say it.”

No Spike, Illyria, or Lorne in this issue. None are referenced by either Angel, Wesley or Gunn.

Angel (to himself): “It all begins with a stake to the eye. Of course this might be exactly what Wolfram and Hart wants, that’s fine. Let them think they’re in charge. Wolfram and Hart have taken away everything I had. Everyone I cared for, everything I was. But that’s how I’m going to win. They think they’ve changed me.”

Chronology: A few months since “Not Fade Away”, possibly around the same time as Buffy’s “The Long Way Home”.

Well this surreal. In a lot of way the maxi-season (12 issues) of “After The Fall Part 1” captured a lot of interesting angles. The cruel fates handed to both Wesley and Gunn certainly up the ante and the lack of Spike and Illyria certainly helped proceedings. Looking forward to the next issue. The artwork however in some places is a little on the iffy side.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 8x08: "No Future For You Part 3"

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Artwork by Georges Jeanty

Genevieve (to Buffy): “Have you forgotten your manner, colonist? When in the presence of royalty, you belong on your knees.”

By any chance would Gigi have a bit of class discrimination issue with Buffy as well as that little desire of her to dethrone the girl and lead the slayers into her skewered version of glory? Only in the same way as the writers are currently striking in America of course.

Fresh from finding out that Buffy is on Gigi’s hit list, Faith then has to endure listening to the bitch showing her every bit of surveillance she’s acquitted of Buffy from the last couple of months and Faith then comes to the conclusion that perhaps killing Gigi is less to do about saving the world and more to do about saving Buffy’s ass instead.

Faith may not be able to mask her horror over the idea of her new pal revelling in the idea of murdering someone to gain leadership but Gigi is more than happy to point out that Buffy is a misguided leader worthy of being killed. Buffy has had her crappy moments when in came to leadership and newbie slayers in Season Seven but killing her might be a tad extreme.

Not that I’m convinced that Gigi will actually be successful in pulling off her overly ambitious mission. Buffy’s pretty seasoned as a slayer whereas Gig is still quite the newbie. Buffy might have her faults but so does Gigi, especially given the fact that Roden is pulling her strings a lot.

Getting back to the issue of Faith’s opening monologue – did Giles send her on this dangerous mission just to protect Buffy? If so, I can’t blame Faith for being a tad resentful for this. Not that saving Buffy’s life isn’t important or good but it sucks that Faith is still an outsider with the Scoobies and yet Giles will still given her a dangerous job, like that power unknown slayer who got slaughtered by Yamanh in “The Chain”. Compared to them, Buffy’s having a cushy time of it.

However when Giles is in the forest trying to communicate with Faith via the walkie-talkie, you do get the impression he does care. He got in a dwarf called Trafalgar in order to try and break whatever barrier Roden has installed over Gigi’s residence. I want Giles to care about Faith’s wellbeing. No-one in the newly formed Scooby gang should be a spare part, except maybe Andrew who I still loathe and all.

An interesting thing that’s mentioned by Trafalgar during the Faith search is that he thinks Faith might have switched allegiances. Maybe it’s not an irrational fear and Giles’ lack of a response could be telling because for all the good that Faith is attempting to do now, that dark side of hers still isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

She may not be convinced of Gigi’s master plan but she certainly enjoys the create comforts of her new pal’s life and sharing a bath with Gigi could be seen as a bit homoerotic. Some of the stuff Gigi tends to say in regards to Faith could be construed as going beyond sisterhood.

Gigi’s lived something of a sheltered life and when she and Faith agree on something as innocent as a coronation band, Gigi admits to seeing Faith as a kindred spirit. One thing that seems consistent with Faith is that when someone gives her a sincere compliment or displays any sign of genuine affection she has to downplay and telling Gigi she needs to get out is probably her most subtle method to date.

Listening to Gigi ramble on about home schooling and pervy tutors is hardly exciting but hearing her talk about how she met Roden and the fact that he knew of her slayer like nightmares only emphasises that she’s clearly being used by the Irishman and the fact that he’s telling her that Buffy’s death would solve some of her anxiety is also interesting. Roden seems powerful enough to snuff out Buffy himself. Why go to all the trouble in getting a newbie slayer to do the deed?

Faith fortunately still with her brain intact does her real attempt to get through to Gigi by challenging Roden’s intentions towards her but Gigi is clearly not as smart as she likes to think she is and downplays her concerns. The fact that she even asks why Roden would lie directly to her face shows that he might not have had to do much manipulating after all.

Faith uses her bad experiences with men and presumably her rough surrogate father routines with Mayor Wilkins and Giles (remember she’s still convinced this is all about Buffy) to further try and get through to Gigi but that girl is so damn stubborn Faith might as well be talking to a brick wall. Clearly Gigi is going to have to find out the hard way that she’s no more a means to an end. I actually pity her in some ways, even if she is a total bitch.

She’s also rather sly in telling Faith that she has no intention of actually travelling far to get to Buffy. This then cuts to Buffy commending Willow about the new security system which if I remember correctly, Willow nearly bit Renee’s head off for suggesting.

Still there’s a nice moment between Buffy and Willow where the former compliments her witchy pal on making the place just a tad safer than it was five minutes before. Any scene that has an underlying reminder of the closeness of certain Scooby members is going to be a winner for me. Plus we haven’t had much stuff between Buffy and Willow as well in this comic book season.

However friendship stuff aside, Buffy isn’t entirely convinced the place is and asks Willow about sonic sonar and the castle’s moat. Willow isn’t getting Buffy’s need for the concern despite the fact that Amy was able to kidnap her and Warren had some fun torturing her. Maybe Buffy has a point to go overkill on the security but Willow raises the question of who exactly is funding the Scoobies to which Buffy is a little reluctant to divulge.

I assume the newly reformed Watcher Council is the primary benefactor but why the others would want to remain anominous is up to them. However why Buffy isn’t keen to tell Willow is annoying. Buffy has to realise that she isn’t responsible for every demon that attacks, it’s nearly everyone’s burden now. Basically anything that Buffy doing that isolation slayer crap is going to annoy me.

Then there’s also the thorny issue of human villains. Oblivious to recent threats like Yamanh and Gigi, Buffy is more focused on figuring out what she has the right to do in regards to General Voll. The guy happily admitted to stopping at nothing in order to take her and the slayers down but Willow raises the issue of killing humans being bad.

Much as I love Willow, she certainly didn’t take that piece of advice into account when she flayed Warren. While Buffy might be jumping the gun with the “kill kill” stance, do you honestly see someone like General Voll actually backing down or listening to reason?

Still Buffy gets to be at justified in her argument for stronger security when she finds herself being teleported away from the castle. Poor Willow for thinking she might actually be responsible for Buffy’s sudden disappearance.

Of course Willow had nothing to do with it as Roden was the SOB responsible for Buffy out of thin air. He did mention a battle that Gigi had to take part in for the evening and Gigi did tell Faith about not having to travel in order to kill Buffy. It doesn’t take much to figure out that Buffy had better in her best fighting stance.

Buffy’s quick to make with the threats when she isn’t decorating Gigi’s floor with puke and Faith is pretty horrified when she realises what’s about to go down. Gigi’s quick to tell Faith to enjoy Buffy’s imminent death as she greets her nemesis with a swift kick to the jaw.

In case it hadn’t been pointed out before, I’ll make it clearer now – Buffy doesn’t know a sodding thing about Gigi’s campaign to kill her and she’s not impressed when she finds out that Gigi’s a slayer. Come on Buffy this isn’t a unique experience – slayers are every bit as capable as going bad as are vampires going good. The girl needs to get out her castle a bit more.

The witty banter between the girls however is great. Gigi’s every bit as smug in person to Buffy as she was beforehand and Buffy doesn’t exactly slack on her quips either. More importantly Gigi’s actually able to belt her around the place a few times but mentioning that she’s slaughtered slayers before really rubs Buffy up the wrong way.

Only a few pages ago Buffy was showing little reservation in killing humans if needs must but hearing Gigi brag about slayer killing does bring out that righteous indignation of hers. Even more so it reverses the tables between Buffy and Gigi in terms of battle.

Thanks to Roden about to pull one of his tricks, Faith decides to make an appearance by throwing herself and Buffy out of a window. Once again, Buffy didn’t see that coming and Gigi’s pretty shocked when she learns the real name of her friend. Better brace yourself rich girl when you find out your pal is a commoner too.

You think that after getting transported to a mansion by a warlock and almost killed by another slayer, Buffy would be grateful for anyone who would bother to help her. Sadly Buffy chooses to jump to conclusions and instead of a decent thank you or demanding an explanation, Buffy just attacks Faith.

Maybe it’s not smart on Faith’s part to tell Buffy within a reasonable listening between them and Gigi and Roden that she’s doing undercover work for Giles but Buffy just beating the shit out of her annoyed me greatly. I even cheered when Faith lost it and nearly drown her. If Buffy gets to behave unreasonably why shouldn’t Faith?

Luckily though, despite her demons, Faith is still able to get a grip and let go off Buffy before telling to go away. Why is it that it’s acceptable for Buffy to forgive Angel and Spike and yet, it’s almost inconceivable of her to do the same with Faith? If anyone can give me a reasonable answer without using the soul crap, I’d appreciate it. Faith helped every bit as much in “Chosen” as anyone else. Buffy should’ve cut her some slack.

One big problem however is Giles. Bad enough that he and Rona sent a random slayer to pose as Buffy and then get her killed by Yamanh but the suicide mission with Faith and Giles couldn’t be bothered to tell Buffy? How are the Scoobies going to make any real difference if they can’t even alert each other on various problems? Buffy’s got a right to be mad at Giles, as does Faith and the former expresses this when Willow teleports her back. Giles has got some major explaining to do.

As for Faith, well this puppy’s been kicked enough so it doesn’t help when a visibly upset Gigi gets a little axe crazy. Gigi feels betrayed by the only person she’s probably ever felt a real connection to and Faith is emotionally drained. This cannot end well.

Also in “No Future For You Part 3”

Cover for this issue was Faith drowning Buffy but I hated that white background. The other cover had photos of Buffy, Faith and Gigi.

Faith (to herself): “Giles sent me on this suicide mission cause he said it was about saving the world but really it was just about saving his girl.”

There’s a flashback to a Season One episode of Buffy staking a vampire on the first page for some strange reason.

Genevieve (to Faith): “Buffy has forced our kind to be the serfs of this world when we should have been lording it over the masses. Once she’s gone we can finally lead her brainwashed slayers out of the shadows of servitude and into the light of.”

Trafalgar (to Giles): “I don’t mean K.I.A., Rupert. This target of hers, the one that’s gonna bring the end of all things, she must be living the high life, no? What if your girl has gone native?”

Giles mentioned that Faith was born for this mission. Why is that exactly? Maybe Faith has another connection to Gigi beyond slayer hood.

Faith: “Split the difference maybe.”
Genevieve/Faith: “Stone Roses.”
Genevieve: “See I told you we were kindred spirits. I knew that from the first moment I looked into your eyes.”

Genevieve: “The trick is to make them feel like they’re exploiting them when in reality we’re exploiting them.”
Faith: “Unless that’s what they want us to think. Gigi, please. Don’t go after this girl.”

Gigi seems to be a fan of the Arctic Monkeys which are a band I can take or leave. Brian K Vaughan does like his British music references a lot.

Genevieve (to Faith): “I appreciate your concern for my well being love but what makes you think I’m going anywhere?”

Willow: “Not killing humans is what separates us from the bad guys.”
Buffy: “No, not being bad is what separates us from the bad guys.”

Who else is donating money to the slayer cause? Seriously I’m curious.

Buffy: “You better have a kick ass reason for bringing me here or I’m gonna do worse than honk all over your floor.”
Roden: “As a matter of fact the guidebook says you’re about to bleed all over it as well.”

Buffy: “For the people who invented girl power your sense of sorority sucks.”
Genevieve: “Brilliant.”

Gigi is left handed showing by her sword attack. Great, another left handed/evil stereotype (I’m left handed too).

Faith: “I’m on your team.”
Buffy: “You have a hilarious way of showing it.”

Faith (to herself, re Buffy): “Do it. Whenever she’s around, you’re the villain. But as soon as she’s gone you’re the hero. That’s right. Never forget how deep she cut you. Never forget how deep.”

I’m actually surprised the cover of this issue with Faith drowning actually happened in the story. Can that be a recurring trend from now on?

Faith: “Please shut up.”
Buffy: “Who are you talking to?”
Faith: “I wish you’d just go away.”

Willow: “What happened? Who did this?”
Buffy: “Get me Giles.”
The next issue is also out on December 5th. Also Buffy doesn’t react well to being teleporting whether it’s passing out in “Two To Go” or puking twice in this issue.

Faith (to herself): “All alone. Same as always. Whatever. Too tired to fight anymore. Too tired to -”
Genevieve (re Buffy): “You let her go, didn’t you? I thought you were my friend.”

No Xander, Dawn or Andrew in this issue. Also the lack of Amy/Warren discussion is a bit grating.

This was another easily engrossing issue. “No Future For You Part 3” did feel a bit faster than the previous issue but this entire arc is more along so much stronger that you don’t care. I can’t wait to see how this whole thing gets resolved. Don’t let me down, Brian.

Rating: 9 out of 10.