Joss Whedon

A truly excellent series that combines humour, heart and (reluctant) heroics in often surprising combinations. The all too quickly cancelled series is, in short, a space western about a permanently down-on-their-luck smuggler crew. But it's not what it is, but rather how memorably it is it, that is "Firefly"'s lasting genious. It sadly ends before it can have much of a plot arc to speak of, but it is rather astonishing how much character arc and development the various crew members still get show more in the half-season it had. I've watched hundreds to television shows, but I'm hard pressed to think of a single one where, once it ended, I this desperately wanted to spend more time with virtually every single character. show less

So, the X-Men are under attack from the inside again, only this time it's by psychics. This leads to some excessive silliness (Wolverine regressed to some childlike state, the Beast regressed to a mere beast), some interesting character studies on how people are defined and driven by their guilt and insecurities, and my very favorite X-Man, Kitty Pryde, plunged into a truly awful nightmare in order to manipulate her into using her powers on the intruders' behalf.

And finally, a cause for show more empathy for Emma Frost, who I've long hated. This, plus "Armor" starting to come into her self and Scott having a chance to be a badass even without his powers, distracts and starts to make up for the pain of Kitty's storyline. show less

Summary: Gunn, now unsure of the source of his visions, is trying to get things back to the way they were before everything went to Hell - by killing Angel. And Angel, now that he's seen the outcome of the Shanshu Prophecy and his own role in the Apocalypse, is more than willing to let him. But of course Wolfram & Hart aren't going to let things go down like that, and while the gang thinks they may have figured out a way to get themselves out of hell, things are going to get messy - and more show more than a little deadly - before they do.

Review: I like this one. I liked this one a lot. Well, a lot better than the first three volumes, at least. It does an excellent job of explaining what the heck's going on, of tying together loose ends, of bringing things to a satisfying end, and of leaving enough open questions to fuel the start of a new story arc. There were also a lot of really good - and really touching - character moments, even for characters that I don't normally care that much about. All in all, while I don't think Angel: After the Fall is going to be knocking Buffy Season 8 off its pedestal any time soon, this final volume did make me appreciate the cool directions in which Whedon & Lynch had been taking the story, and brought the whole thing together better than I had expected. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: The best of the series, I think, and it definitely helps to make sense of what's come before. show less

The Long Way Home starts off with a reference from the last television season of Angel, immediately bringing the reader back into the action. Visually, the book is perfect, capturing every minor detail in clear and recognizable depictions of the characters. In a way, the comics are actually better than the original because you get the chance to really know what's going on in the character's heads and there are no budget restrictions impeding Joss's creative ideas.

There are now 1800 slayers show more in the world, all connected and many "enlisted" to fight alongside Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang. Situations have changed and there seems to have been a lot of growing up for some of the characters. Our old friends (and any long-time Buffy fan knows that's what they truly are) still use the zany pop-culture laden humor that has always lightened up the darker subject matter.But, with Joss at the wheel, could you expect any less?

This first volume of Season 8 is simply amazing. I proudly confess to being a huge raving Buffy fangirl, but still this book blew my mind. This is Buffy on a grander scale - Buffy taken one step further. You completely forget you are reading and lose yourself in the pictures. You become so fully immersed in the story that you feel as though you have become a part of it. show less