Fallen Angel artwork by J.K. WoodwardAfter months of waiting, I finally picked up the newly-relaunched Fallen Angel today. This was a bit of a challenge. My usual comic store hadn’t ordered it for some reason (despite the “Fallen Angel” note on my pull list. Maybe it was still listed under DC? They figured out when Angel moved from Dark Horse to IDW, and even picked the right cover for me.

So I stopped by my other regular comic store this afternoon—the one near home instead of near work—and picked up Fallen Angel and Night Mary. In the rain. And had to get them not only back to the car, but from the car up three flights of stairs, around the apartment building, and up to the landing without getting them wet. While carrying three bags of groceries and two umbrellas.

Anyway, the book is well worth it. Peter David launches a new story with all the major players 20 years later. Some of the dynamics have changed, some are the same… and some look about to be altered significantly. Lee still fights the good fight in Bete Noire, Juris is still Magistrate, even Dolf still runs his bar. But there are new players in town, including Juris’ wife and 18-year-old son (who he thinks is his firstborn)… and a figure from Lee’s past who comes to her with a tantalizing offer (an actual “Whoa!”-out-loud moment). It looks like we may be learning the Fallen Angel’s origin soon. We’ve only just learned her real name…

Yes, this comic is good. It’s pricy at $3.99, but the story’s great, and J.K. Woodward’s art is fantastic. (See the cover? The whole thing looks like that!)

Fallen Angel artwork by J.K. WoodwardChadwick H. Saxelid reviews the relaunched Fallen Angel book, which should be out sometime next month. There was a preview a couple of months ago, with just the first few pages of J.D. Woodward’s artwork, and it was stunning.

The series never sold well enough for DC, but the numbers were good for an indie book—and it was creator-owned. Peter David shopped it around a bit, and IDW offered Lee, Juris and Bete Noire a new home. The dark fantasy setting should fit in quite well there.

At the risk of repeating myself: I am so looking forward to this!

(via Peterdavid.net)

Fallen Angel artwork by J.K. WoodwardNewsarama has posted a preview of the new Fallen Angel book in the form of the first seven pages of issue #1 (due in December). JK Woodward’s art looks great on the cover, and it looks amazing on the interior work. Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers—it’s just a montage of a typical day in Lee’s life. Also, the first issue gets an alternate cover by David Lopez, the series’ original artist.

Reportedly the first story arc will at last reveal the title character’s origin.

I am so looking forward to this!

(via Cognitive Dissonance)

Edit: Peter David has also mentioned the preview.

Two bits of news on some of the less conventional “Angels” of comics.

Fallen Angel artwork by J.K. WoodwardWriter Jeff Mariotte reports that Joss Whedon and Fox have approved a second Angel comic book miniseries to come out late this year, which may interest fans of the show who want to know what happened after the final episode:

While The Curse is strictly an Angel solo story with the other characters just showing up in flashback, this one will include most of the gang (those who survived NFA, anyway)—although some of them in unexpected ways. More than that I will not say. It’s the only approved, official continuation of the TV series, though

Meanwhile, Peter David has confirmed that the new artist on Fallen Angel is J.K. Woodward, and posted this sample of his art style. This isn’t just a cover—this is what the interior art will look like!

You know, I should have made the connection when Fallen Angel moved to IDW that it’s the same publisher that picked up the Angel (as in the vampire with a soul™ from the Buffy-verse) license. And I should have remembered that Peter David is writing a Spike one-shot comic book that should be out soon (August, apparently).

So it really shouldn’t surprise me that Spike: Old Times will feature a full-page ad for the new Fallen Angel series.