IDW's Angel and Spike Collected editions - a quick review of all of them

By my count there were 17 collected editions of IDW stories featuring the crew from Angel. I decided to reread them then I decided I should review them because I never did the first time around.

Angel: After the Fall Volume 1 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, and Franco Urro

Beginning months after the final episode of Angel, we find that Wolfram & Hart sent Los Angeles to Hell. That isn’t the only huge change masterfully handled by Brian Lynch. This volume is packed with twists and turns: Angel is human, Wes is an intangible emissary for Wolfram & Hart, Gunn is a vampire, Spike has taken up Angel’s role as champion, and Illyria and Lorne are both ‘lords’ of their respective territories.

Angel is doing his best to protect humans and find a way to pull Los Angeles out of Hell. He kills the son of a Lord and decides that instead of waiting for the father to take his revenge, Angel challenges all the Lords for control of Los Angeles. Angel doesn’t ask his friends for help but it turns out he doesn’t need to as the gang (sans Gunn) reunite to help Angel beat back the forces of evil once again. Meanwhile Gunn is plotting something big.

Good: We get to see Angel, Wes, Gunn, Lorne, Illyria, Spike, Connor, Nina, Gwen, and even Groo. The story is great, and the way the characters act feels like the show.

Bad: The artwork. I know Urro was handpicked, but it’s not great to look at. In one panel, where Gunn is looking at a photo, you can’t tell which character is Fred and which one is Cordelia.

Angel: After the Fall Volume 2: First Night by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, David Messina, Stephen Mooney, John Byrne, Nick Runge, Fabio Mantorani, Kevin Schmidt, Scott Tipton, and Mirco Pierfedericic

Brian Lynch shows us what happens to Angel, Wes, Gunn, Lorne, Illyria, Spike, Connor, Gwen, and Kate on their first night in Hell. For all the twists and turns in the first volume, we learn how Angel discovered he was human, Lorne helped make Silverlake a utopia, and what Connor and Gwen were doing the moment everything went to Hell.

Good: The best story was Lorne’s, done all in rhyming verses but Gwen’s was great too. I appreciated Gwen getting a little attention since she was a character I wished we’d seen more on the show. I loved Wes ‘going to Heaven’ to be reunited with Fred and seeing it for a Wolfram & Hart trick. Wes was always the smart one (except for that one time with kidnapping Connor and stuff).

Bad: Some stuff is just extraneous and didn’t need a back story. Concerning the “Civilians” chapter, Kevin Schmidt’s art is horrible and the story’s not that great.

Angel: After the Fall Volume 3 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, and David Messina, Stephen Mooney, and Nick Runge

Team Angel defeats the Lords of Los Angeles. Now that they’ve been reunited they need a place to go since Gunn blew up the offices of Wolfram & Hart (in volume 1) so they set up shop at the Hyperion. Angel is back on the trail of a vampire sitting on a lot of power. Unfortunately, that path leads directly to Gunn who is convinced he has visions from the Powers-That-Be and wants revenge on Angel for not saving him from being turned. While Spike and Connor try to get past Gwen who has cut a deal, Gunn gets his revenge. Close to death, Angel has an out-of-body experience and is reunited with Cordelia who wants to make his passing easier.

Good: Gwen a traitor? Nice twist. It’s always great to see Cordelia and there’s a lot of great stuff with Wes and Illyria.

Bad: Nothing. This volume perfectly capitalizes on the storylines introduced in the first volume.

Angel: After the Fall Volume 4 by Joss Whedon, Brian Lynch, Stephen Mooney, and Franco Urro

Wolfram & Hart believe that Angel is prophesied to be evil’s MVP. Sending Los Angeles to Hell was more about Angel watching Connor, his friends, and his city suffer than it was about killing Angel. In fact, the Lords of Hell were under strict orders not to kill Angel. They even made him human so he’d be a less effective hero. What they didn’t count on was Gunn taking him to the precipice of death so Wolfram & Hart throws everything they’ve got at Team Angel to rescue their future MVP.

A mostly restored Angel has to then take on the most powerful being in Hell: Illyria. With Connor, his friends, and innocents dying all around him, Angel comes up with a solution that gets Los Angeles out of Hell. While the remnants of Team Angel keep Wolfram & Hart’s demons away, Angel uses Gunn’s hatred of him to get Gunn to kill him.

Wolfram & Hart cannot let Angel die so they pull Angel from the time stream during that epic battle at the end of season five and before they went to Hell. Not only does Team Angel remember everything in Hell but so do the citizens of Los Angeles. Angel saves Gunn from being turned and is reunited with a Connor who now remembers everything about his life. In the midst of Angel’s newfound notoriety (most people in Los Angeles know who he is because they saw him in Hell) he restarts Angel Investigations and gets back to the business of helping the helpless.

Good: So many moments in this volume. There’s a panel where Team Angel is walking toward the reader and Angel says “Cue the music.” There are two great scenes with Connor: one while he’s dying and one when he’s reunited with Angel. One of the extras the original outline for issue #1 and overview of the series that Brian Lynch gave Joss. The difference between that first proposal and what you see are a lot different but make for an interesting read.

Bad: Angel gives Groo his dragon. Exactly where does Groo take a dragon and a Pegasus where they won’t stand out? And Angel’s “Cue the music” moment would have been cooler if the artwork was better.

Angel Volume 5: Aftermath by Joss Whedon, Kelly Armstrong, Dave Ross, and Stefano Martino

While Spike, Gunn, Illyria, and Lorne go their own way, Angel assembles a new team to fight the forces of evil. Angel, Connor, and Kate are joined by redemption-seeking Gwen, the mysterious Dez, and the real-life angel, James. Angels are on earth doing a little demon clean-up but step over the line with they kill helpless humans. (IS THAT TRUE? CHECK AGAIN)

Good: I like meeting new and interesting characters and seeing them interact and bond with established characters. Dez and James both have unique origins that I haven’t seen in the Whedonverse. Plenty of laughs as Angel and Kate (the founding members of this incarnation of Angel Investigations) try to figure out how to screen jobs as they keep falling into ambushes and plots to get Angel’s autograph.

Bad: Nothing. Great characterizations, great stories, and interesting new characters made reading this volume a lot of fun.

Angel Volume 6: Last Angel in Hell by Brian Lynch, Franco Urru, Juliet Landau, and Stephen Mooney

In this volume, Non, a former Lord of Hell, restores Gunn to full health and has to face Illyria over what happened between them in Hell. Fortunately for Gunn, they’re both seeking a better understanding of who they are post-Hell. This single-issue story leads directly into the “Angel: Still Human” mini series. Drusilla is in a psyche hospital where some of the employees know she’s a vampire. The flaming sword that killed Angel in Hell is being auctioned at a sci-fi convention in San Diego. Suspecting that a winner will be someone who wants to kill him, he travels to San Diego with Groo and runs into Spike. Together they have to not only kill demons but keep the convention goers safe when they become the characters that they’re dressed as. And we get to read the adaptation of “Last Angel in Hell,” Hollywood’s film about what happened in Hell.

Good: I like the standalone issue that leads into the “Angel: Still Human” mini-series. The stuff with Angel and Spike at the sci-fi convention is funny but when Spike becomes Angel (thanks to a spell) the funny gets cranked up to, “I’m crying, please stop, it hurts.” Groo is consistently hilarious here. It could be that the two issues with Angel and Spike at the convention are the two best issues of the series.

Bad: Juliet Landau helps pen a tale that made me flip back and forth between pages as I tried to understand what was going on. The flashbacks were confusing and when the demon army comes for her at the end, I don’t understand why they attacked her or if she died (is she supposed to be in heaven at the end?).

Angel Volume 1: Immortality For Dummies by Bill Willingham, Brian Denham, Bill Williams, and David Messina

When Angel is captured by an evil corporation bent on using his blood to create vampires, Connor takes control of Angel Investigations. With his father missing, a mysterious army of women who claim they are his army, the return of Gunn, Illyria, and Spike to Team Angel’s ranks, Connor may have bitten off more than he can handle which will result in Gunn quitting the team. And Eddie Hope is a blue devil hunting down people who he has a score to settle with from his days in Hell.

Good: Finally Gunn says all the things to Connor that Connor-hating Angel fans have been wanting to say for a long time. Angel has a very uncomfortable conversation with Illyria Laura Kay Weathermill is an interesting addition to the Angel team and has a Watcher background. Great art throughout from Brian Denham & David Messina.

Bad: Dez and James get very little to do and are virtually ignored by the established characters.

Angel Volume 2: The Crown Prince Syndrome by Bill Willingham, David Tischman, Mariah Huchner, and Elena Casagrande

It turns out that James isn’t an angel and he wants Team Angel dead. A soul eating demon goes after the team and reveals that Spike has no soul and kills Dez before being killed. And Eddie Hope goes after Gunn for his crimes in Hell and Angel Investigations comes to the rescue.

Good: Great final fight at the end with all of Team Angel including Gunn.

Bad: After a great introduction in volume 5 and being almost virtually ignored through 2 more volumes, James is a villain and Dez is dead. These last few volumes have suffered through different writers who seem to focus strictly on the characters who appeared on TV instead of embracing all of the characters on the team. And Anne, a character who appeared on Buffy a few times (she was the vampire worshipper who got stuck in a demon dimension with Buffy and appeared over on Angel where she runs a teen shelter) dies. James pops in and has minions kill everyone in her teen center. The killing happens ‘off screen’ so she’s either dead or playing host to a demon that will have to be killed later. And no Groo? What’s up with that?

Angel Volume 3: The Wolf, The Ram, and The Heart by Mariah Huehner, David Tischman, Elena Casagrande, Stephen Mooney, and Jason Armstrong

Angel leaves Connor in charge of Angel Investigations and heads off into the sunset only to be ripped out of the timeline by Wolfram & Hart. Angel finds the future Los Angeles has become a collection a demon breeding farms and humans are the bottom of the food chain. Angel locates Illyria, the one person who can send him back to the past and help him stop James once and for all.

Good: The IDW series is over.

Bad: Darrow (a lawyer for Wolfram & Heart) starts as a powerful, jerk of a character who becomes a nice guy as he’s dying. After Rowant kills James, she tells Angel he’ll be in charge of Los Angeles. With a ‘god’ more powerful than James standing five feet from Angel, he asks Illyria to send him back through time and leaves without conflict. Connor’s new power allows him to take Anne’s pregnancy and transfer it to James to kill him. How about Connor’s new power in general? What does it do? What is it? This is a lousy story with too simple (or convenient) a solution to a promising premise.

Angel: Only Human by Scott Lobdell & David Messina

Illyria and Gunn are trying to sort themselves out post-‘After the Fall’ when Fred’s parents call to say her Uncle has passed away. Illyria and Gunn travel to Fred’s birthplace and Gunn finds himself between the Scourge and the Stygian demons they’re trying to kill while Illyria battles an old enemy who has a portion of her power thanks to the same mutari generator that took that power from her.

Good: The story was great from start to finish. The beginning reminds you of the things that happened between Gunn and Fred and his involvement in making Illyria possible. Gunn has always been one of the most badass members of the Angel team (he’s the guy who TWICE willingly put on a charm that caused him to get the heart ripped out of his chest every day) and this series reminds you why. Illyria is a compelling character made more interesting because the Team Angel can’t help but see Fred in her. The mini series is pitch perfect and Scott Lobdell should be doing more stuff in the Buffy/Angel universe.

Bad: Scott Lobdell should be writing more stories in the Whedonverse – he obviously loves the source material.

Spike: After the Fall by Brian Lynch & Franco Urru

Spike survived Wolfram & Hart’s siege only to find himself and Los Angeles in hell. The events of this mini series occur before the first issue of Angel: After the Fall.

Spike has been reunited with Illyria and together they’re rescuing and rounding up human survivors. Illyria keeps slipping back into the more vulnerable Fred so Spike tries to keep her Illyria. But when Non and her demon army show up, Spike is captured and tortured for over a month while Non sucks the life-force from his human followers. By the end, Spike has killed Non, freed her demon army, reunited with Connor, and lost every one of his human followers.

Good: Brian Lynch has a great grip on the characters, their personalities, and it seems like he wrote this before the first issue of Angel: After the Fall. This TPB isn’t just a companion to the main series, it’s the beginning of it and you should read it. Jeremy proves to be a fun character and his death is a true Whedon-inspired tragedy.

Bad: Spike kills vampire Hugh Heffner – RIP.

Spike Vol 1: Alone Together Now by Brian Lynch, Franco Urru, and Nicola Zanni

To tackle Las Vegas’ many demons and the local branch of Wolfram & Hart, Spike assembles a team: Betta George, Beck, Groosalugg, Cordelia the Dragon, a possessed Jeremy Johns, and…Drusilla??

Along the way, they save Twi-hards, battle a demon made of Elvis impersonators, and burn the Wolfram & Hart building to the ground. During Spike’s battle at Wolfram & Hart, he runs into John, a ruthless killer whose soul was taken to give to Spike. When the group makes their escape they discover there’s an invisible barrier keeping them in. So while the team lays low and regroups, Spike decides to add another member to the team: Willow.

Good: Brian Lynch takes full advantage of the character’s histories and many in-jokes. For example, Spike tries to call Angel at one point and the caller ID identifies him as Captain Forehead. And Brian Lynch perfectly sums the character’s complex history up in two pages and shows a “Twilight”-like movie that was made where the main vampire character was modeled after Spike. Franco Urru and Nicola Zanni’s art was fantastic. Urru’s artwork has either grown on me or the inker is really good at making his pencils work.

It’s good to see Jeremy again even if he’s being possessed by one of Wolfram & Hart’s demons. I don’t know who Beck is but I’m liking her. Groo is always a welcome sight because almost everything out of his mouth is hilarious. And Spike’s reunion with Dru was passionate and unexpected. But with their complicated history, I guess Spike wouldn’t just kill her as soon as he saw her.

Bad: Nothing. Brian Lynch makes great use of the characters and the mythology to craft a story that’s fun and further adds to the mythology.

Spike Vol 2: Stranger Things by Brian Lynch, Stephen Mooney, and Franco Urru

The Las Vegas branch of Wolfram & Hart rallies under Lilah Morgan’s leadership and change tack. Instead of continuing their efforts on Earth, the senior partners would like an spacecraft capable of interdimensional transport – and they get it. Meanwhile, Spike’s team is joined by Willow in time to take on John. But John has created a seal that when stepped on, removes a person’s soul. Willow tells Spike that the owner of the soul gets to decide who gets the soul and he chooses Drusilla. With Drusilla in incredible mental anguish, she gets back on the seal and gives Spike the soul back. Then Spike meets the bugs.

Good: Willow and Spikes reunion and their goodbyes were great. It’s a nice reminder that, with everything else going on in these character’s lives, there was always time for quality, meaningful interaction. There’s some nice stuff with Willow and Dru when she first gets the soul and is freaking out and Willow holds her. Spike is a certified bad ass who should have his own series.

Bad: It’s over. While I was happy that Dark Horse was uniting all the Buffy-verse characters under one roof, Brian Lynch is a genius with the Angel characters and great at introducing new characters. When Spike is standing on the seal carrying Dru, the seal is all pixilated like it was blown up to a size that was too large. It should have been drawn or at least cleaned up.

Spike: The Devil You Know by Bill Williams, Chris Cross, and Marc Deering

When a night on the town for Spike turns into an assassination attempt, he goes looking for answers. Tansy Fry, a vampire Spike is acquainted with from his days running with Angel, Darla, and Drusilla has resurfaced with a plan to open Hellmouths large enough to allow demons to come through but not big enough to attract Slayers and she plans to keep moving and opening Hellmouths from city to city. Tansy has an army but it’s not enough to keep Spike, joined by Eddie Hope, from closing her franchise before it beings.

Good: Eddie Hope and Spike have a lot of great dialogue as they go through the adventure together and watch each other’s backs. While they might not be best friends, they have a lot in common. The writing and the art were on point here.

Bad: When Eddie becomes a demon the tail rips out the back of his pants so when he changes back from human he changes pants. At one point he says he’s staying in demon form because he’s out of pants. Then a demon attacks and for no reason he changes back to a human. He tries to attack the demon but he’s swatted. Flying through the air you can clearly see his pants are intact in the back – what happened to the hole the tail left? Then he changes back to demon to help Spike out. It was just a weird moment where I thought, “Did the artist make the mistake changing him back to human and the writer had to go with it?”

Angel: Blood & Trenches by John Byrne

Angel reads a newspaper article about bodies being drained of blood in Europe and sees a drawing of the symbols found. Angel pokes around and discovers the symbol belongs to Kakistos. Kakistos is taking advantage of World War 1 by cutting a deal with the Kaiser and using the war as cover to recruit and feed. In order to stop him, Angel has to deal with soldiers who have had to defend themselves against vampires and know how to kill them, dodge a team of Watchers led by Geoffrey Wyndam-Price, and kill scores of vampires.

Good: The artwork in this book is all pencils with the only color being red blood. For John Byrne fans this is a unique book because of that. Usually all artwork is inked. And it’s cool to see Angel in action without the mention of atonement. Of course for people who aren’t fans, Angel kills vampires for no apparent reason. While the vampires talk about his history, there’s no clear accounting of his history. But since I’m a fan, I didn’t need the reminder.

Bad: The story jumps around a little bit and while it tells you things like “a week ago” you lose track of the time period as it either shows you a few weeks ago or a few hours ago. You can do jump back to periods before Angel got to Europe, but once there jumping around during his adventure in Europe gets confusing.

Illyria: Haunted by Scott Tipton, Mariah Huehner, and Elena Casagrande

Illyria is confused. She was once a god worshipped by thousands and able to slaughter anything that got in her way. Now she’s trapped in a shell with only a fraction of her power and all of Spike and Wesley’s memories of Fred in her head. She has no clear purpose in the world and no way to get back her former glory. Spike suggests she visit the Deeper Well which was her prison for so long. She gains some clarity of purpose in time to take on an ‘old one’ who she inadvertently helps escape from the Deeper Well.

Good: A lot of great stuff with Illyria trying to come to terms with her place in the world. There’s a really nice dream sequence with her and Spike where they are drawn in but all of the backgrounds are drawn in crayon. The artwork is some of the best in the Angel series and so is the vibrant color throughout. It’s good to see Illyria treated as a character and not something that delivers threats or literal statements because she doesn’t have anything to do in a story.

Bad: Her narration square is pink until she touches a gem in her old cell. Suddenly the narration square is blue and she’s thinking that she suddenly understands. What was the gem and what did it show her that made her whole?

Fallen Angel: Reborn by Peter David and J.K. Woodward

Illyria is trapped by a weak shell in a dimension in which she isn’t the all-powerful entity she used to be. When a stranger offers a way to get that power back, Illyria goes on a journey to find her two scythes and helmet. With those three items reunited, Illyria will be restored. When Illyria travels to Bete Noire she meets/fights with Fallen Angel and her son. Fallen Angel is forced into an uneasy alliance with Illyria while trying to convince her that being restored to her former glory will mean destruction for the Earth. But with all the pieces assembled, Illyria decides if she becomes what she was, everything will be the way it was when what she really wants is change. She destroys the helmet.

Good: The painted art was a nice change – I don’t see painted art very often. A nice addition to Illyria’s story, by crushing the helmet she eliminates any possibility of being the all-powerful god she used to be. I liked the dynamic between Illyria and Fallen Angel as they tried to get along on the way to uniting the three items.

Bad: I didn’t know anything about Fallen Angel going in but this story didn’t really endear me to any of them. I didn’t get a sense of who that character was and I didn’t get a clear indication of what her mission was in Bete Noir.

“How one photo cost $160 and was it worth it?” or “Speedball at Creation Entertainment’s Salute to Firefly, Buffy/Angel & Dollhouse”

Eliza Dushku during her Q&A

This is the fourth year of Creation’s Salute to Firefly and they opened it up to all of Joss Whedon’s creations this year and from now on. Which is okay with me – I’m a fan of everything this convention salutes. It’s my third year attending (I missed it last year). It’s also the first year I didn’t submit a tribute video (you can see my Firefly and Serenity Tributes (both winning videos) on youtube if you search for ‘speedball32’). I wanted to include clips from Dollhouse Season 2 which didn’t come out for sale until after the video’s deadline. Still, there’s next year.

So who was there? Eliza Dushku (Buffy/Angel, Dollhouse), Nicholas Brendon (Buffy), Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse), Camden Toy and Doug Jones (two of the Gentlemen from Buffy episode Hush), Ron Glass (Firefly/Serenity), Sean Maher (Firefly/Serenity), Morena Baccarin (Firefly/Serenity), Jane Espenson (Firefly, Buffy), Drew Greenberg (Buffy, Firefly), and Andrew Chambless (Dollhouse).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still my favorite TV series and Eliza Dushku’s “Faith” is still one of my favorite characters (the episode of Angel “Five by Five” is my favorite Faith appearance). Nicholas Brendon’s “Xander” was in every episode but one. The show had four core characters and Xander was one of them. Miracle Laurie was a nice last minute surprise, her character “Mellie’s” story was a great ride with a tragic ending. Ron Glass, Sean Maher, and Morena Baccarin were a third of Serenity’s crew in the Firefly series and Serenity film. There was even an appearance by Eliza Dushku’s boyfriend, Rick Fox (who only a week before had been eliminated from Dancing With The Stars) who sat in the audience and was close by during her photo sessions.

“Browncoats: Redemption” was shown on the big screen at the convention and got a nice reaction from those who watched it. The movie literally kicked off the convention as it was the first thing people were able to see. It was followed by a Q&A by a few of the cast and crew who told amazing stories about the production of the film and how much love went into it (it was obvious to me in the review I wrote of the film back in September that a lot of love went into it). It was easily one of the best moments of the convention and a lot more fun to see with an audience.

The guests were great on their Q&A’s. They were all really entertaining. Creation boasts non-rushed autograph sessions and each autograph session moved nicely and I had time to have a little small talk with each guest which is always fun. Photo sessions are non-rushed also. The events (Q&A’s, photo and autograph sessions) are always well scheduled so you can do everything you want to do.

I attend Comic Con in San Diego every year and, in comparison, I look more forward to going to the Creation convention. At Comic Con, everything you want to do is a fight – huge lines, ultra-small windows of opportunity to get a line ticket or even get in line, nothing is guaranteed (just because you’re in an autograph line doesn’t mean it can’t be disbanded for some reason and just because you have an autograph ticket doesn’t mean the line hasn’t been capped already and you can’t get in anymore). But a lot of the cool stuff at Comic Con is free if you don’t mind the amount of work involved. Creation conventions are ‘pay-to-play’ conventions where everything costs money but everything is guaranteed. You buy a ticket for an autograph or a photo, the celebrity will not leave until everyone’s items are signed or their pictures are taken.

This year I went Preferred instead of Gold (I’ve only done Gold once). The difference is the cool dessert parties and things that the gold members get to do where the celebrities go from table to table for a meet and greet with the fans. Next year, I’m going Gold because I had a great time (as usual) and after a year off I forgot about all the fun I had with my Gold ticket that second year. And I’m going to buy a VIP badge so I can get backstage and have even more contact with the celebrities I’m there to see.

So what’s the story with the photo? It’s a cautionary tale about a guy (me) who bought a bunch of autograph tickets and one $70 ticket for an Eliza Dushku & Nicholas Brendon photo op. I got the ticket because I counted them at the counter and put them in the plastic badge holder around my neck. I went outside for a few minutes and took the tickets back out and looked at them, excited about getting my autographs and photo ops. But my photo op ticket was gone. I checked my pockets, the folder I was carrying, and the badge holder a bunch of times but the ticket was gone. I checked back a few times with the ticket and registration desks but no one had turned the ticket in. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get my picture taken with two of the stars from my favorite TV show so I plunked down another $70 for another ticket.

While I was in line for the photo op, they announced that Miracle Laurie from Dollhouse would be a surprise third member for the photo op. I was thrilled because there was one star from Buffy, one from Dollhouse, and one from both shows. When it was my turn they greeted me warmly, we all shook hands, and Nicholas and I had a little banter going back and forth. The photo was taken, they told me to take care, and I left with a big goofy grin. It was a great time.

The next day I went to collect the photo (it was the last photo op of the day so the photos weren’t printed before the convention closed that day) and I paid an extra $10 to have them give me a jpeg of the photo on a CD. If you’re counting, so far I paid $140 for two tickets and $10 for a grand total of $150. A few days after the convention, I loaded the CD and discovered it was the wrong photo. So I had to shell out another $10 to order the jpeg online.

It was an expensive but valuable lesson. DON’T LOSE YOUR TICKETS. Oh yeah, and make sure your picture is on the CD before you walk away. Otherwise you can end up paying twice. I hope whoever found that ticket had as good a time as I did. It was completely worth every penny.

Nicholas, Miracle, Speedball, and Eliza - woohoo!!

Review of "Browncoats Redemption"

I have a confession: I never watched Firefly when it was on TV the first time (except for Jaynestown which is a horrible first episode to introduce someone to the series). I saw them at Comic Con the first time they came out to promote the movie (it was postponed so they were there two years in a row to promote the film – 2004 & 2005 I think). That first year they were there, I had only just discovered Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. As you already know, quite a few Firefly actors appeared on those shows. I didn’t get in line for the autograph session because it was jam-packed and I wasn’t a fan of the show.

But, destined to be the huge fan I now am, my friend (who I would introduce to the show and convert into a fan before the movie came out) was approached by one of the security guys in the autograph area. The Serenity signing was over and there was one more promo card (8.5 x 11) that was signed by the entire cast and Joss Whedon. The security guy couldn’t keep it so he gave it to the first person he saw: my friend. He knew I was interested in the signatures because many were on Buffy & Angel (or created both shows (if you’re reading this Joss, thanks for that)). He decided that he’d let me have the signed promo in exchange for making a photocopy of it for him. Right after the con I put Firefly in my Netflix queue and as soon as I was done watching I was hooked and that signed promo went to the top of the list of things I would run out of the house with if it were on fire.

Of course the show was awesome and the movie was just as awesome so I won’t go into those. I bought “Done the Impossible” at the Comic Con a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed that but it’s been out for a while so I won’t go into that either.

I saw the “Browncoats: Redemption” postcard on the freebie table at Comic Con and checked it out. It looked great and I was excited that some fans were still so passionate and excited by the show and movie to make a fan film – especially a fan film that was 90 minutes long – so I pre-ordered it. And the other day my mailbox rewarded me for all the times I opened it to junk mail and bills by giving me, “Browncoats: Redemption.”

The movie picks up 3 months after the signal went out in Serenity and the universe got hip to what the Alliance did on Miranda. Civil unrest is starting to brew so the Alliance is looking to squash any Independents who might be looking to rally the people. Their mission includes the arrest of one Captain Laura Matthews who is hiding a secret so large that uncovering it threatens to divide and break her crew apart.

I have to be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting much. I was expecting a vaguely familiar universe with a passable script and characters trying to be the original crew. As a fan, I just wanted to see the film so I could have an opinion one way or the other. But what I got was a great story with crew members who had unique personalities and even a twist (Captain Laura Matthew’s big secret) that I never saw coming.

The crew is a likeable bunch who are easy to root for and who I want to see more of. There’s definitely a treasure trove of back-story in these characters, like the reason Lux gave up a successful boxing career or Cam’s history with Laura. There is one scene where some of the crew are sitting around sharing stories and laughs and it felt like a real moment of bonding between old friends and new shipmate, “Pete.” If this movie was the pilot episode, it would have been good enough to bring me back. I would even enjoy fan-made sequels just so I could spend more time with these characters.

Unlike Serenity which is a Firefly class vessel, Redemption is a Scarab class vessel so the good folks at NEO f/x volunteered their time to animate this new ship and scores of skilled volunteers worked tirelessly to build a set that rivaled Serenity’s full-sized set (in Firefly and Serenity, the ship was built so that a camera could follow a crew member throughout the entire ship, giving the viewer a sense of how large the ship is) and pulled it off. The film is shot in the same way the series was (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it) so it’s familiar and comforting. The story is sprinkled with inside references from the episodes of the show and the movie. There are even a few outside film references that you might pick up. The film even features cameos from actors who were on the show and in the movie (I won’t ruin the “Who?” or “In what context?” for you).

I only have two complaints. The first is the varying sound quality. The second is a scene in which a rocket sort of explodes next to Redemption and there’s no explanation as to where it came from and the crew sort of ‘under-reacts’ to it. But those two complaints are pretty minor taking the film as a whole. I’ve walked out on movies that took millions to make (“In the Name of the King” and “Crank” come to mind) and have stopped movies before the end, put them in the Netflix envelope and sent them back (“Domino” and “Ninja Assassin” come to mind), but I watched this film straight through and watched all the behind the scenes material.

And the DVD is packed with “making of,” “behind the scenes,” stuff that was amazing. This film was a real labor of love with an all-volunteer force of Browncoats who came from everywhere to pitch in and help and donated funds to the cause. There was a nice feature called, “I am a Browncoat” that features fans filming themselves saying “I am a Browncoat” in varying ways (in varying video qualities) that I thought was really cool. In a film made by a ton of fans, it was one more way to include the fans. There was also a bunch of great interviews between cast and crew of the original by cast and crew of “Browncoats: Redemption.”

For those of you who wondered like I did, “How can they do this without getting sued,” the makers of the film reached out to Fox, Universal, and Joss Whedon to get permission to make film and sell it with the proceeds going to charity.

If you live in LA, the upcoming “Creation Entertainment Salutes Firefly, Buffy/Angel & Dollhouse” in November is playing the film on Saturday of the convention and selling copies of the film (hopefully some of the cast will be there signing). The film’s crew are hoping to sell 32,396 copies of the movie which is the number of copies that the Serenity Collector’s Edition sold on its release weekend (the Collector’s Edition came out a few months after the initial DVD was released) and would give each charity about $80,000 each. And who are the charities? The charities are, Equality Now, Kids Need to Read, The Dyslexia Foundation (TDF), The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, and The Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. These are all charities that are supported by the cast Firefly cast and Joss Whedon.

The film was completely worth ordering, fun to watch, and I’m looking forward to seeing it again and again.

Browncoats: Redeption official site
The Facebook page

Whedon Statue Wishes (aka where Xander and Giles at?)

A few lines of statues for Serenity and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have come out in the last few years. They’ve been great if not complete. What I mean is that while a few statues have been released, not all the main characters have been represented.


Serenity started out with its Diamond Select statues. Each one featured a character in a pose from the movie with a base that matched. For “Inara Strikes,” Inara is standing behind a barrier while taking aim and for “River Trumphant,” she is standing on a base of Reaver bodies just as she was in the film. After the release of these two statues, “Zoe’s Revenge,” was announced and never released. The statues were great even if the actual likenesses weren’t great.

River Triumphant from Diamond Select

Then came Quantum Mechanix’s series, Little Damn Heroes. It’s been about a year since the last maquette, Jayne, came out and no other characters have been announced so I’m guessing that the series has ended. It was an amazing series – affordable, unique, and fun. Each figure was ‘toon’ style on a plain base but all holding or wearing episode specific items like Mal’s trench coat and gun, Kaylee’s overalls (with teddy bear patch) and umbrella, and Jayne’s hat and ‘Vera.’

Kaylee from Little Damn Heroes

For those keeping score at home, if you were to put together the Diamond Select statues with the Little Damn Heroes, you get: River, Inara, Mal, Jayne, and Kaylee. We’re missing Zoe, Wash, Book, and Simon.

Then, from my favorite show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, we have the “Essence of” series of statues from Diamond Select. These statues showed the characters in situations that weren’t show-specific but very cool (Buffy in action with a vamp being dusted, Willow levitating, etc.) and each one had a unique light-up bases. Unlike the Serenity statues, the “Essence of” statues had great likenesses. But after four great statues, the line ended.

All of the statues from the "Essence of" line

Now we have the ‘Tooned Up’ series from Electric Tiki. This series, I am very happy to say, is ongoing. The statues were ‘toon’ style and is what the highly-anticipated-and-never-delivered cartoon series would have looked like. The Buffy statue comes in two or three different episode-specific outfits (same pose) with different hands that contain a stake, bo staff, and the slayer scythe. Willow comes in ‘Vengence’ (from the time she went after Glory) and ‘Dark Willow’ versions (again, same pose – just different paint jobs). Every statue so far (except for Glory) has had different versions but all have been awesome. The ‘Tooned Up’ version of Faith just came out and has an interchangeable hand so that she can hold a stake or her signature knife.

Buffy, Glory, and Dark Willow from the 'Tooned Up' series

Buffy, Angel, Spike, and Willow each got “Essence of” statues from Diamond Select. Electric Tiki has put out ‘Tooned Up’ versions of Buffy, Willow, Glory, Faith, and has just finished a sculpt for Spike (with a human and vamped-out version).

The forthcoming Spike statue looks awesome

There have been a lot of great statues but no line has lasted long enough to give me the core group of characters from either Serenity or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve already mentioned the characters that are missing from Serenity core characters. As far as Buffy statues, Buffy and Willow are in both series but I want a Xander and Giles statue. Cordelia would be nice too but I’ve always considered Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles the core of the series and it would be great to be able to have those four united on a shelf.

The problem with a statue series is that the items come out one at a time and take a month or a few months between releases and don’t last very long before they’re discontinued. Most of the items are limited which means that you have to get the pieces that you’re interested in before they sell out and hope that they come out with other characters you want.

Now Sideshow Collectibles has another Buffy statue series. Their first statue, “Buffy: Throne of the Slayer” is due in September. If I order the first statue, will they eventually release a Willow, Xander, and Giles statue. Probably not, but I still ordered the first statue and will hope for the best.

Sideshow Collectibles' "Throne of the Slayer"

Angel - Cordelia M.I.A.

I’ve just finished re-watching Angel from the beginning (five seasons in six weeks). I’ve only seen Angel all the way through once so this is my second complete viewing. That said, I do remember most of what happened in the series and I realized something re-watching season four.

At the end of season three, Cordelia is made a ‘higher being’ and sent to a ‘higher plane’ to serve the powers that be. At the beginning of season four, we see Cordy, surrounded by light and bored out of her mind as she tries to communicate with her ex-peers and get off the ‘higher plane.’ But I realized that from the moment she regains her memories in episode 6 (ep 72, Spin the Bottle) until season five’s ‘You’re Welcome’ (ep 100), Cordelia isn’t Cordelia. I started the grieving, knowing that Jasmine was pulling the strings all through season 4 and I wouldn’t see the real Cordy until season 5.

Technically, with the memory loss, we only see Cordy for three episodes in season four and that’s lousy because there were a lot of great Angel/Cordy moments (minus the ‘icky’ (Fred’s word, not mine) stuff with Cordy and Conner).

When the team questions Skip about Cordelia’s whereabouts in ‘Inside Out,’ they discover that Cordy’s been a cocoon since the beginning of the season but that going from the higher plane to The Hyperion might’ve been too much even for Jasmine, thus the memory loss.

That means that when Angel and Cordelia finally sit down to decide what they mean (or meant) to each other in ‘Spin the Bottle,’ not-Cordy tells him that they were in love. It’s a great moment where Cordy tells him, “We were in love.” It may have been Cordelia’s sentiment (we know she felt that way at the end of season three) but it was delivered by a doppelganger.

I didn’t realize it wasn’t Cordy the first time around because no one knew she was possessed until she stabbed Lilah, but watching it through the second time, I could see a lot of subtle manipulation going on.

Despite how I feel about Cordy’s participation in season four, it was a good storyline for a pregnant Charisma Carpenter. Besides, we all get a ringside seat in ‘Awakening’ for how the perfect day with Cordelia leads Angel to lose his soul. That moment was great (even if it was manufactured by a Shaman) because it means that Angel loved Cordelia as much as he loved Buffy but the writers never got the opportunity to play with that relationship because Charisma left the series.

Of course for a while after Jasmine is born late-season, Charisma’s role is ‘woman in coma’ before having one more adventure in season 5 before dying from that coma (in ‘You’re Welcome’). I loved the part at the end where the real Cordy does confirm that she loved him. It was an amazing and unexpected death but so unnecessary (except for the final vision) since we lose Fred three episodes later in ‘A Hole in the World.’

If Cordy had lived through season five and she really ‘left’ as she told Angel she was doing in ‘You’re Welcome,’ she might’ve shown up in the amazing IDW series set during season six.

So, in conclusion…Cordy dying, after an entire season of fake-Cordelia running around, sucked.

Oh, and Conner being constantly confused, gullible, and angry throughout season three and four was super-annoying. But Conner had an outstanding season five (I forgot about Wesley breaking the memory cube thing) and he became a character instead of a plot device.

From Angel's 100th episode, 'You're Welcome'