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So let's start off with the man himself Joss Whedon, creator of both television shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Lately, the very mention of his name seems to cause attention. This is in part due to the wild success of both television shows, but now also because of his first written comic venture, Fray. The recent comic about a slayer of the future caused buzz in the entertainment world everywhere and has turned into one of the biggest hits of the summer and one of the biggest hits ever for Dark Horse Comics. As an encore, Joss has the Angel project up his creative sleeve, and again, the hype on it is contagious. When asked about this project in an interview from the San Diego Comic Convention, Joss stated that while the actual show has limitations, in comics there are not, which makes so much more possible. No doubt, Joss has some very creative ideas in mind for the revamped Angel comic, leading the industry to believe this series will rival or possibly surpass the success of Fray.
Brett Matthews, the co-writer on this massive mini, is pretty much a rookie at the comic biz. However, even if this is his first comic work, he does have prior experience, as he is a part of the writing staff at Buffy. It was there that he first met Joss and the seeds of this project were born. Brett's approach to Angel in comic form pretty much reflects his take on the television form. In an interview about the issue, he was quoted as saying "I don't know, I guess I don't see the Angel of the comic as being all that different from the Angel of the show. I think the circumstances he finds himself in, the monsters he has to face, the sheer scale of it all -- that's different. And no doubt he reacts accordingly, but at the end of the day the Angel people love on the show is still the Angel of the book. As to why change anything -- comics are a different medium than television and they allow you to do a lot of things that you can't do well if at all in TV." Mel Rubi, on the other hand, has some pretty big shoes to fill when it comes to drawing Angel. While he hasn't gotten the recognition like his predecessor, Christian Zanier, Mel is no scotch himself either. He's already coming off a red-hot crossover (Aliens vs. Predator vs. Witchblade vs. Darkness) and has also worked on Shadow Man (Valiant), What If, Morbius (from Marvel Comics), Terminator: The Dark Years, Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters - Scoundrel's Wages, Predator: Xenogenesis, and Aliens vs. Predator: Xenogenesis. So as you can tell from his work, Mel can draw some really far out characters, experience that can only enhance the possibilities for Angel. We were even given a small teaser of Mel's work for the new Angel mini in the last issue of Angel, issue #17. Based on this preview and others that Dark Horse has released, his style of drawing is dark, and influenced strongly by anime. This combination of styles should produce a product that will be very conducive to Angel's world.
Now logically, you might ask, what separates this from the previous comics starring Angel? Well, in an interview with Darkhorse Comics, on their official website, Brett pretty much summed it up what he expects this mini to accomplish, "Put it this way: Things I would expect -- A Big Bad. Monsters. Huge fisticuffs. Laughs. Cell phone issues. Lava. Your favorite characters. Joss Whedon magic. Things I wouldn't -- Clones." (For those of you not as familiar with the comic world, the last part of that statement was a shot at one of the bigger comic book companies, Marvel Comics, and their largely hyped but mostly disastrous venture of a couple years ago in their Spider-Man title. A large story arc focused around multiple clones of the Spider-Man character, and it was reviewed rather harshly by both industry critics and fans alike.) What seems to be evident from this quote and all the other available data is that there's going to be multiple issue story arcs, the stories will be more fantastic than the television show, the characters will still remain true to their TV counterparts, and the new comic is going exhibit more depth than the prior incarnation. In general, hopes are high for this book, and Dark Horse as a company is very much behind it. All the elements for success are in place, a high profile creator, the support of the publisher, good writing, and a rising artist. The direct participation of Joss on this comic also provides more opportunities for the series. Since he is the owner and creator of the main characters, he doesn't need to consult with anyone about the direction that he takes them, a freedom that not all writers have. Only time will tell whether or not these factors add up to a hit. As for what the man himself feels for the series, "This is a real comic book and superhero story idea. This'll be a really dark story. I hate the word B-word, but Angel is a brooding guy who creeps around rooftops. That's what we'll play up, and I hope it'll carry over into the ongoing series." Written by CoA Staff Members Deacon Frost and Seeker
Learn
more about all the Whedon related Comics; FRAY, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and ANGEL at:
Dark Horse Comics . |
ngel. It has been almost
6 months since we've seen a new issue starring the broody vampire and
his gang. Well those 6 months have flown by and next week Angel
returns to comics with a bang in a new 4 part mini series. So why does
this raise such interest? Because it's co-written by the man who created
Angel, Joss Whedon. But Joss is just the tip of the iceberg.
It is also being also co-written by Brett Matthews and drawn
by Mel Rubi. 
