Angel & Faith Volume 1: Live Through This (original 2012; edition 2012)

See this review and more on The Moonlight Library!

Live Through This is the tale of retribution and atonement after Angel, Whedon’s popular vampire with a soul, commits a horrific act in the previous novel. Faith, the rogue vampire Slayer with a tumultuous past is the only character that will stick by him – and for good reason. During the TV show, Angel was the only person who stuck by Faith during her crash-and-burn phase.

The artwork in this graphic novel was amazing. The characters all felt as if they’d never gone off the air. The dialogue was also spot on, and all the way through reading I could hear the TV actors’ voices quite distinctly.

Angel and Faith make a fabulous pair – Faith is still a slayer, after all, and she’ll do her duty if Angel goes too far in his atonement. It was very entertaining seeing both of their growth through this graphic novel.

An advance reader copy was kindly provided by the publisher. ( )

For any fans of the Angel tv show, or fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Angel is back, and he's teamed up with Faith to try and resurrect Giles. ( )

Takes place after the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight comic book series. [This review contains Spoilers for Buffy Season Eight.]

Angel and Faith have teamed up, living in London. Giles left Faith his home, and she's been digging through his old Watcher Files. Angel, angsting about having killed Giles while under Twilight's control, has become obsessed with the idea of bringing him back from the dead. But he also has to deal with two disgruntled half-demons who killed slayers for him when he was "Twilight."

I enjoyed the Giles/Faith team-up we saw in Buffy:Season Eight; I'm not so sure how I feel about Angel and Faith yet. I'm sort of lukewarm about Angel's character to begin with, but on the other hand if you are an Angel fan you should enjoy this.

The art by Rebekah Isaacs is very good, the characters are instantly recognizable. Frankly, I think it is much better than the art in the Buffy comics. The story feels a bit thin at this point, though. It is only the first volume, but I hope they flesh out the plot a little in the next book. ( )

Why read: Love Angel.

What impressed me: More Angel! Yep, that's about it.

What disappointed me: This is a decent continuation of Angel's story, but without Buffy or even his old friends from the series, things are dry. Faith just doesn't make the greatest partner to carry the series. The storyline was sort of ridiculous. Angel wanting to bring Giles back from the dead. As heartbroken as I was when Giles died, the entire idea just seems sadly like grasping at straws.

Recommended: Only if you really need an Angel fix.

Continue series: Yes, but only because I do, in fact, need an Angel fix. ( )

#1-5 ( )