Angel: After the Fall: First Night Volume 2

This is only the third comic book (or collection of comics) that I've ever purchased but my love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel tv shows prompted me to purchase these items. I was very impressed with Angel:After the Fall Vol.1 and couldn't wait to get my copy of Vol. 2 to find out what really went down the night LA went straight to Hell - without so much as a hand basket to cushion the crash landing.

Sadly, this collection is only OK. The story and plot lines often feel jerky and disjointed and the illustrations by the various artists contribute to the feeling. While each illustrators' drawings were amazing in and of themselves, I found it confusing that a character could morph within three or four pages based on the illustrator. I would often find myself flipping back and forth and studying the images in order to determine who was who. Case in point, look at how each of the artists draw the character of Fred/Illyra. It got confusing when every couple of pages there was such a dramatic change in her appearance, especially when the character was drawn so consistently in the first volume.

Overall, a good book for those who want to know what happened but the stories are largely independent of each other and there is no sense of the coming cliff, the boom, or how the big bad will respond next. Spike, being Spike, has some really great moments and it was nice to see Lorne again. Borrow this book before you buy because it may not deserve a permanent and prominent place on your bookshelf.