And yes, we’re going to be tough on spoilers this time. Why do you think we shrinkwrapped the book?
99 comments on “FALLEN ANGEL #14 — whatdja think?”
Can’t read it. If I open the bag, it won’t be mint anymore. 😉
I can see the problem of having a meaningful discusion without spoiling…lot’s of stuff. The big surprise at the end came and hit me like a 2×4 to the back of the head. I was totally unprepared, though I supposed I should have been.
I was also taken totally off-guard by Benny’s little secret. I’d pretty much discounted him as a simple bit player in Bette Noir and I suppose I haven’t seen anything to change that assessment. However, his secret a little surprise to prep for the big surprise. It also evokes a certain amount of irony because it goes very well with Asia’s “drinking problem” in my mind.
The giant robot was the best.
Wait, that was an advertisement? Shoot.
It made me sad.
How can a book I love reading so much be so close to going bye bye? It is sorta like the last few sweet breaths of air before sinking beneath the waves.
Great pacing. Amazing characters. Perhaps one of the best written books out there (oh, yeah, and the art’s good, too). Nice bomb dropping ta boot.
And the Benny thing was priceless. I love that it was left it hanging.
If it get’s cancelled, I hope you’ll find somehere else to continue Lee’s story. It would be a shame otherwise.
Later,
Chip
Fallen Angel is getting cancelled?
No, what’s he’s saying is that if sales don’t turn around, then the series would be cancelled. Or if we don’t move a ton more of the trades.
Buy copies for friends to give as gifts.
PAD
Seriously, despite my flip comment above about the ‘centerfold’, this really was a surprising and vibrant issue with a least two “OH MY GOD” moments. I read it last out of my stack of weekly comics—and that’s a compliment, because the anal retentive fan in me reads my weekly stack o’ comics in a personally-arranged order: the ones I’m most excited about and want to read most, I read last. FA #14 didn’t disappoint. It has a visual image in there that will be with you for a long, long time.
There’s a lot of good books out on the stands this week: I especially enjoyed BATMAN ADVENTURES and, God help me, SHE-HULK, but FALLEN ANGEL was the pick of the lot this week. Don’t miss it. Buy one for yourself, one for a friend, buy one for the dog, don’t pass it up.
And if you are picking up X-FORCE #1 this week and not FALLEN ANGEL, well, mercy on your soul, pal.
Now this was, by far, the best issue of the series thus far.
The writing was great, two moments bìŧçh-šláppëd me out of nowhere and the art was actually very excellent here.
But I almost got in a wreck twice trying to get the dámņëd thing out of the plastic on my drive home…ARGH!
I am so frustrated. I rarely get flustered due to the fact that most situations are salvageable if not outright fixable but this case is an exception. I
Well, my store must’ve ripped off all the shrinkwrapping (which would explain why it took so GD long to put it on the shelves). Anyway, my no-spoliers review would be “low-key but good.” I really liked how Asia’s handling what happened last ish. Benny’s, um, thing freaked me the hëll out. And the ending… well, like Dolf said, Scheisse. Heilige Scheisse.
Also liked the BID column in the new issue of CBG. “Amazonian 2×4.” Heh.
did fallen angel just jump the shark????
This was the first issue I’ve bought since #3. I’m not sure who everyone is except for Lee and Dolph, but it was… intriguing. I’ll be picking it up next month.
Thanks PAD.
The two surprise moments totally knocked me for a loop. And I loved Asia’s playing with strraws, too…
Quoth Michael Pullman: And the ending… well, like Dolf said, Scheisse. Heilige Scheisse.
Okay, nit to pick…don’t mix your English and German idioms, mate. I never heard a German say the above–actually “Ach du Scheiße!” is pretty much the equivalent. (Don’t ask how it translates…)
That said, to sum up FALLEN ANGEL #14, powerful revelations and all: “Ach du Scheiße!”
Issues like this one remind me why I love comics as a medium so much.
Thanks, PAD!
~Gary
Well, actually Heilige Schei
*grumbles* I must’ve been in the wrong section of Germany then, lol…
Hmm, maybe they bášŧárdìzëd the usage from us?
~G.
This may trouble you, Mr. David, but I wasn’t all-out surprised by the “big surprise.” In fact, the fact that a “big surprise” was sprung in a book with troubled sales should be expected. I mean, if “Fallen Angel” was surpassing “Spider-Man” in sales, there’d be no need to change anything, right?
From my (admittedly limited) time as a comics reader, it seems that many books on the verge don’t try to shake up things to avoid cancellation. Admittedly, doing so is very difficult, when titles are shipped to the printer something like 3 months in advance of the release date. Perhaps everyone thought everything was going fine, and couldn’t react in time when the sales dipped.
Also, when you’re trying to build a consistent body of work, and not do “stunting” as we call it in TV, it’s possible for this to backfire.
I’m pleased there was a “big surprise,” but I wonder if it was “big” enough to change things. It will affect everyone who’s been reading the book a while, but will it draw in folks who’ve never read it before?
Awesome issue. I think this is one of the few comics where the one issue stories are as strong as the arcs. Hellacool cliffhanger, I’m on the “didn’t see that one coming” team too.
I am relying the sales problem to my fellow fans here on the East Coast. I don’t believe in trades as a rule, but for this book we will be more then happy to be vocal as heck on how much we like it. I’m getting tired of losing quality books. Don’t get me wrong, I love my share of retreded super-hero hype books, but they only stand up if we got some really good stuff to stand up with it.
So PAD you can count on Montclair New Jersey, Manhattan and Brooklyn comic book stores to start hearing some noise on Fallen Angel. I got my E-Mail and Word program fired up for some serious letter writing too. Who’s with me?
PS my daughter wanted me to post that she loves Fallen Angels hood, she wants to be Fallen Angel for Holloween. See, you got fans in the most interesting places (even if I can’t let her read a lot of the stories. Sorry dude, she’s only six.)
“This may trouble you, Mr. David, but I wasn’t all-out surprised by the “big surprise.” In fact, the fact that a “big surprise” was sprung in a book with troubled sales should be expected. I mean, if “Fallen Angel” was surpassing “Spider-Man” in sales, there’d be no need to change anything, right?”
What’s really sad is that it hasn’t occurred to you that I haven’t “changed anything.” The developments in issue #14 were foreshadowed in dialogue as early as issue #3 and were set into motion in the opening pages of issue #7 which, if you go back and re-read, you’ll realize. It wouldn’t matter in the least whether the book was outselling Spider-Man or X-Men. I wasn’t sitting there, looking at the sales charts and thinking, “Oh, I know what I should do to boost sales!” This series has a storyline and is actually ABOUT something, and it’s at this point that the readers are learning what precisely that is.
PAD
Surely you don’t suggest that I open the bag? I’d sooner cut off my left arm than de-mint this collectible!
I am german, and we usually say (if at all, of course) “Heilige Kacke!” which means the same as “Heilige Scheisse!”, just another word for “šhìŧ”. “Ach du Scheisse”, “Oh Scheisse” or just “šhìŧ” (which is actually the most common word) are used even more often.
I haven`t got that issue yet, therefore I just want to say I am really hoping that Fallen Angel will continue!
I had to smile when I read about the use of a certain German swear word. It always amuses me that at least the stronger swear words are often frowned upon in English episodes and it seems also comics (Well, of course on the other hand there are exceptions like “Bad Boys II” but this is a movie, of course!)but it is ok to use foreign ones. “Merde” means the same as “Scheisse”, by they way, and I assume “Grozit” as well.
By the way, my husband still doesn`t believe me that there is no “Scheisskopf” (“šhìŧ hëád”) swear word in the German language :).
“did fallen angel just jump the shark????”
Of course not. If she tried, the Shark would run screaming…
This was a great issue for many reasons and I can only hope the book’s sales pick up. If I talk about the book any more at my comic book store, I think they are going to gag me.
While I enjoyed issue #13, I felt it slowed the momentum that the book was gathering. I can’t forget my response to Lee’s smile at the end of #11. And #12 was a nice flashback explanation of the beginning of the Lee/Juris relationship. This provided a nice backdrop to #11 since Juris’ had just dumped Lee. Then the trade got released.
Then came issue #13 which seemed to slow down the main story. And any new readers brought in by the trade would read a cipherous story in which Lee has little or nothing to do.
I liked #13, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I loved #14.
As for the major twist dropped at the end of the issue, I hope it doesn’t diminish the emotional impact incident that Lee re-lived while holding the shard.
“This series has a storyline and is actually ABOUT something, and it’s at this point that the readers are learning what precisely that is.”
Now I’m REALLY tense. PAD, please tell me Lee’s story will continue should DC make the stupid decision to cancel it. I’ve enjoyed the HÊLL outta the journey to date, and I’d hate to think I might miss what this book is “actually about”.
I am intrigued to no end.
Later,
Chip
“I am german, and we usually say (if at all, of course) “Heilige Kacke!” which means the same as “Heilige Scheisse!”, just another word for “šhìŧ”. “Ach du Scheisse”, “Oh Scheisse” or just “šhìŧ” (which is actually the most common word) are used even more often.”
Which is actually what Dolf says, just in case there’s any confusion. In the book, Dolf, upon learning of a situation, simply says “Scheisse.” To which the Angel ruefully replies, “Yeah. Deep Scheisse.” Which of course isn’t an attempt on her part to speak German but simply empathize with Dolf’s reaction.
PAD
I haven’t had a chance to hit the store yet this week and pick it up, but there is something I’ve been wondering. I think Fallen Angel is a good book, although I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite work by you.
What I’m curious about is just why it’s not set in the mainstream DCU. Is it creator owned? I was under the impression that it wasn’t. I know people, a good amount of people, people who I don’t necessarily blame, who would pick it up just because it was in continuity. And it didn’t have to be deep into continuity. Is it a matter of pride?
I’m sure you could get away with avoiding crossovers and what not. Before there was a vertigo line, I certainly don’t remember Sandman having to crossover with War of the Gods. Maybe it’s just that Fallen Angel might not work in a “world with Superman in it.” But you hardly have to use him. There are certain characters who would fit in and out of this world fairly well: Vic Sage, Cameron Chase, Detective John Jones.
I’m not trying to offend, or tell you how to do your job. I’m just curious, as I like the book and want it to succeed, and I’d see this as a way of considerably boosting sales.
Matt
The ending of this issue floored me.
And call me sick, but I thought the Benny scene was pretty dámņ funny.
“I’m not trying to offend, or tell you how to do your job. I’m just curious, as I like the book and want it to succeed, and I’d see this as a way of considerably boosting sales.”
I would be perfectly happy to have the book set in the DCU, or at least relate to it. Granted, the book is creator owned, but I don’t believe for a second that legalities couldn’t be arranged so that DC characters could guest star. After all, if Marvel and DC have found ways to publish character crossovers for the last twenty five years, I hardly think that having Clark Kent show up in a book that DC is *already publishing* is an insurmountable challenge.
I swear, if “Sandman” had been published under the obstacles that “Fallen Angel” has faced–no DCU guest stars, a “For Mature Readers” label, a price increase in less than a year, minimal publicity–I wonder if it would have made it beyond the first year. And in today’s market, with the same strictures? Forget it.
PAD
Great issue.
It does continue to improve.
the last page reveal didn’t suprise me…I think I already suspected, but it was still revealed in a nice and moody way.
Benny’s secret was much more suprising (also it didn’t happen on the last page – so that sort of stuff always has more of a chance to suprising me) and will make me look at him different from here on out.
Do we know why Angel wanted to talk to the Boston guy? I don’t think so – I will have to reread it tonight – but I look forward to finding out.
Also further exploration of Angel’s powers are always interesting.
So all in all – lots of good stuff.
Great art as usual.
Keep it up!
But you are not ALLOWED to have guests stars? I always assumed it was your decision NOT to have any. Thats too bad. I am not a fan of crossovers, but I don’t like the idea of them being not allowed. I hope sales start improve on this great title!
“But you are not ALLOWED to have guests stars? I always assumed it was your decision NOT to have any. Thats too bad. I am not a fan of crossovers, but I don’t like the idea of them being not allowed. I hope sales start improve on this great title!”
Nope, not allowed. DC reps made a point of saying–at conventions and on line, no less–that “Fallen Angel” is outside the DCU. Which was, from a sales point of view, akin to painting a huge sign on the book that says, “You Can Skip This Title.” Which many fans, and retailers, have done. More and more I keep hearing about fans complaining that local stores don’t carry it (as we’ve seen mentioned yet again on this very thread). Or fans who are interested in finding the back issues cannot do so because the stores ordered minimally or not at all.
This is not to be confused with the stores which do stock it and claim that readers won’t give it the time of day…because, of course, it’s not in the DCU.
I don’t know how the hëll we’re supposed to turn around sales when the greatest tool a comic can have–positive word of mouth, which we have in abundance–runs smack into the twin brick walls of retailer unavailability and fan resistance to something not DCU.
PAD
With the no DCU guest stars edict, could you not sort of get around that similar to the Thomas/could be Batman issue?
Wouldn’t the Phantom Stranger lend itself to this type of idea? After all, no one knows what the hëll he is.
As for Superman, (just spit balling here) what about a perfect imperfect clone sans any costume? a messed up face, no S-costume, zombie-like appearance and nature but some familiar and dámņ scary powers.
Maybe with the deck stacked against you, a little in house “we told you no DCU guest stars” controversy would get the book talked about.
The latest ish was amazing by the way. The only series I’ve ever read where I think each new issue is the best one of the series.
I don’t know if plugging stores is allowed here, but the comic book store I go to stocks the book on the shelf as well as for subscription customers.
Best Comics & Hobby stocks it.
1300 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY.
I thought the issue was terrific, and I have to say you’ve been doing a great job lately of writing issues that are friendly to new readers but are still entertaining for people who’ve been around for a while. That must be a tricky thing to do.
I haven’t read it yet, so I skipped over all the other comments to post this:
Man, I hope DC pulled in a lot of money for that “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” promotion. Ten of the comics I picked up this week were bagged with that disc. TEN!! That means I now have a dozen copies and there are still two shipments left to go for this cover month…Coasters, anyone?
Paul
If you want to be pedantic, couldn’t you argue that Dolf has appeared before in DCU comics?
I’ve been reading Fallen Angel since the first issue came out, and unfortunately it has just never caught on for me. So I’ve been reluctant to chip in on these threads. But since I have some points in mind, this seems like as good a time as any to air them.
It’s hard to pin down where exactly it’s falling short for me. My best guess at this point is that it doesn’t feel grounded, by which I mean I still feel – 14 issues in – like I lack a vast amount of context necessary to appreciate the story.
All of the characters still feel like ciphers to me. Lee of course is the ultimate cipher, full of secrets such as where she came from, why she’s in Bete Noire, why she does what she does, what her life is really like. While a few small facts have been tossed out here and there, she’s not someone I understand or can relate to, and I haven’t gotten the feeling like she’s being either revealed or developed. The other characters tend to be undeveloped (Dolf), enigmatic (Juris), or downright unpleasant (Mariah and Asia).
As a result, it feels like Fallen Angel is a series without a protagonist: We can’t see the world through Lee’s eyes, because we can’t get inside her head, and no one else is important enough to provide the series’ point-of-view. So it reads to me like a series of events happening to characters I don’t really care about, viewed only from the outside.
I also find Bete Noire perplexing. Where is it? Is it supposed to be in “our world”, or some strange parallel world? Is it an unusual city, or do all cities in this world have these peculiar happenings occurring in the shadows? If it’s unusual, why is it unusual? What brings all these weird people to this city? (Clearly not to socialize with each other and build a community, since they spend much of their time kicking the crap out of each other.)
I’ve been reading hoping for some moments of revelation, when I’ll come to understand everything better, but don’t feel they’ve happened. Contrast with other series with similarly unorthodox settings and casts of peculiar characters – say, GrimJack or Dreadstar – both of which were constantly setting up and resolving major mysteries, where I felt there was always the promise of something important happening right around the corner.
Now, all this may say more about me than about the series – perhaps I haven’t been paying enough attention (I will admit I have not gone back and re-read the series, so I haven’t read the early issues since they came out a year or so ago and my memory is probably lacking at this point). Or about both – Fallen Angel is delivering things that other people enjoy but which don’t grab my interest. Or maybe all of my analysis here is horsehockey and the series is just “not for me”, and leave it at that.
In the end, the two bits of information about Lee revealed in #14 felt like just two more bits of information. While Lee had strong emotional reactions to both, the first was clearly not to be resolved until a future confrontation, while the second I felt lacked depth. She’s upset because…? Well, there are lots of possible “becauses”, and I don’t understand her character well enough to know (or even guess) which one is truly the reason.
It didn’t resonate with me.
(P.S.: I am in no way claiming that my reactions explain why other fans aren’t buying the series. This is just my own perspective.)
The reveal of Benny’s secret and his nickname were very good.What did the young bostoninan want??I found the deja vu conversation between Lee ,Mariah,Slate funny when considering the opening exchange was exactly the same(of course its deja vu right?)Does everyone drink gin and tonic in Bete Noir?
Without spoiling is the “revelation ” about her powers related to the the revelation at the end,or are they unrelated ?
BTW the Captain Sky or whatever promotion is very annoying.Why not just have a slip or website inside the comic?I hate feeling like im wasting things by throwing the dámņ disks away.
All things revealed in the issue were good as usual,and really hopt the series sticks around or you are able to find another outlet in the event of the unthinkable cancellation of Fallen Angel.
Peter:
I like FALLEN ANGEL a lot. The current issue did not disappoint. The scenes with Benny were very amusing. You are doing some of your best writing on this title. On the other hand, I am a 42 year old comic junkie. I wonder what the demographics are for this title. What age bracket is buying this title? I know one thing, forget the sex and violence, this is still a very mature title.
Has anyone pointed out that like the other Angel(the tv character), Lee’s journey through life is one of seeking redemption?
Hey Peter, if DC won’t let you use their characters to guest star, what about a Marvel crossover?
I can see the Hulk blowing in to Bete Noire. Really.
Wasn’t Chris Claremont’s “Soverign Seven” from a few years back was a creator-owned book that was set in the DCU? (I think he used Darkseid and Power Girl, if I remember correctly.)
Peter,
I didn’t realize that it was DC’s edict and not your own. Then again, I wasn’t sure if it was creator owned or not either, so what did I know? Well, I suppose that’s fairly rough, then. It’s a shame you can’t get the proper editorial support on this one.
Matt
Posted by Michael Rawdon:
We can’t see the world through Lee’s eyes, because we can’t get inside her head.
Posted by J. Alexander:
Has anyone pointed out that like the other Angel(the tv character), Lee’s journey through life is one of seeking redemption?
—
See, I don’t know about you guys, but I think Lee’s almost on a quest for punishment. She punishes herself every day, doesn’t feel that she deserves happiness, and yet paradoxically, still has some residual urge to do what’s right, even if it comes out twisted sometimes. She’s in denial of almost everything she is, like a, shall we say, supergirl 😉 who has failed in everything she’s tried to do, and yet tries anyway. She says she doesn’t care about anything. Yet she tries to make a difference, even though it seems at times that she’s setting herself up to fail or to do something she knows is wrong – i.e. torturing Mariah to get the Shard. She knew she was doing something reprehensible and didn’t care. At least on the surface. It’s almost as though, for every act of good she does, she tries to make herself do something horrible, because she doesn’t feel she deserves to be heroic, doesn’t feel she’s worthy of the mantle of a hero. She’s in constant flux in her own beliefs. She’s as fallen a hero, as fallen an angel, as one can be. She’s given up. She doesn’t try to be a hero because it’s the right thing to do. I think she tries to be a hero because it’s the only thing she knows how to do. I get the sense of Lee being almost on autopilot in her life. Reminds me a lot of Season Six-era Buffy, actually (or even of Apropos at the end of “Tong Lashing”). Nothing makes sense to her, her life doesn’t make sense, but she goes on ahead with what she does because it’s all she has left. She’s so devoid of feeling and yet so full of emotion. I love Lee. She’s the best character in almost any medium and she’s such a self-made paradox. Psychoanalyzing her is delicious.
Last thing – I think the most telling statement about Lee was from issue #10:
DOLF: Why? You claim to care about nothing.
LEE: Could be I’m full of šhìŧ.
God, I love this character. Peter, PROMISE you’ll do something with her in novel form if the comic gets cancelled. I think she’s the richest character you’ve ever created and I couldn’t bear to see her just fade away into nothingness and obscurity, like Anima back in the mid-Nineties.
Stupid DC.
good character issue – i loved the little mini-storylines for several characters that were all acomplished in a single issue – or even 2 or 3 pages no less. Now that’s storytelling economy, good work. Nice bunch of 3, count ’em, 3 different bombs that were dropped this issue to varrying degrees. I loved Asia Minor’s drunk scene. The straws in the ears slightly bent at the bendy part – GREAT detail. Did you write that in or was that the artist on thier own who did it? “Thirsty customer” is a great line and I’m gonna use it as often as I can from now on.
Total fanboy pointless flip comment moment – the book has been good, but I don’t think we’ve seen any smashie-smashie since Lee took out that hëll dog way back in issue 9 I think it was. Sure the book isn’t about smashie-smashie, but you can write action man, give a brother a little head cracking. (ok, I just realized that there was the short sequence in issue 12, that was a real good one too, but you know what I mean. smashie-smashie, man!)
“See, I don’t know about you guys, but I think Lee’s almost on a quest for punishment. She punishes herself every day, doesn’t feel that she deserves happiness, and yet paradoxically, still has some residual urge to do what’s right, even if it comes out twisted sometimes. She’s in denial of almost everything she is, like a, shall we say, supergirl 😉 who has failed in everything she’s tried to do, and yet tries anyway. She says she doesn’t care about anything. Yet she tries to make a difference, even though it seems at times that she’s setting herself up to fail or to do something she knows is wrong – i.e. torturing Mariah to get the Shard. She knew she was doing something reprehensible and didn’t care. At least on the surface. It’s almost as though, for every act of good she does, she tries to make herself do something horrible, because she doesn’t feel she deserves to be heroic, doesn’t feel she’s worthy of the mantle of a hero. She’s in constant flux in her own beliefs. She’s as fallen a hero, as fallen an angel, as one can be. She’s given up. She doesn’t try to be a hero because it’s the right thing to do. I think she tries to be a hero because it’s the only thing she knows how to do. I get the sense of Lee being almost on autopilot in her life. Reminds me a lot of Season Six-era Buffy, actually (or even of Apropos at the end of “Tong Lashing”). Nothing makes sense to her, her life doesn’t make sense, but she goes on ahead with what she does because it’s all she has left. She’s so devoid of feeling and yet so full of emotion. I love Lee. She’s the best character in almost any medium and she’s such a self-made paradox. Psychoanalyzing her is delicious.”
Trust a woman to completely and totally get it right.
PAD
Trust a woman to completely and totally get it right.
Okay, but we’re still gonna get some smashy-smashy, right? 😉
Yes, Mr. David, you did foreshadow the “Big Surprise.” But you didn’t have to pick up that particular thread. Again without spoiling things, similar “threads” have been left in many other books, and no one bothers to pick them up.
I hope you don’t think I was accusing you of doing cheap pandering to get new readers. You don’t do that, or if you do, I haven’t seen it. But it was entirely possible to avoid the current situation as you plotted this book. Steering directly into the situation indicates a conscious choice to…to use the only metaphor my sleepy brain can come up with…”ramp up the voltage.”
Now if you had done something like bring out qualities in Lee that had no preparation and no evidence in previous issues…like a certain nearly-forgotten Marvel cowboy from about a year ago…that would be a cheap stunt and undeserving of you.
I’m awaiting the moment when the spoiler warning is lifted and this can be talked about more directly.
I have to confess that I’ve been on the verge of dropping this book for months. I think the only reason I haven’t is because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop – something of some importance was surely going to happen, Lee had to show enough of her character that I’d finally feel some empathy, if not out-and-out sympathy, for her. I couldn’t care less if the book was in the DCU or not, it just wasn’t inspiring me. The characters all seemed to have potential to be interesting, but nothing was working for me.
I think that changed with this issue. In fact I think it changed with the first page of the issue – Bete Noir went from being just another sleazy, slightly enigmatic New Orleans knock-off, to some kind of analogy to Purgatory, or to the Outer Circle of Hëll thatdidn’t make it into Dante’s Inferno. And that peaked my interest.
Then we get the stuff in Dolph’s (and I just put the name of his bar and his name together – I confess I’m being a bit slow – so there’s another thing going on there – just an in joke, or something more significant) with all the characters coming together, the revelation about Lee’s powers (finally some foreshadowing I can eb concerned about) and the final revelation, which I didn’t find shocking, just interesting…
The short of it is, I finally feel that my investment in the rest of the series might be worth it after all, and I’m certainly going to stick around for another half dozen issues at least.
“…and I’m certainly going to stick around for another half dozen issues at least.”
Here’s to fervent prayer that you have 6 more issues to stick around for.
Or that Peter continues Lee’s tale somewhere (or some way) else.
Chip
Something related:
I had a look at Amazon UK and noticed that the Fallen Angel trade is now also available there. The problem is, if you type in Peter David and Fallen Angel, the search engine doesn`t find anything. But when typing in Fallen Angel, it finds the entry.
I could read that there was just one copy left and that they are waiting for a new shipment. It seems I was lucky 🙂
I sent a correction message to them. Not that I am optimistic it will do the trick, but at least I tried.
I can`t even blame Amazon this time. The hook at the end of Angel on the cover looks quite a lot like an “s”.
• 
Can’t read it. If I open the bag, it won’t be mint anymore. 😉
I can see the problem of having a meaningful discusion without spoiling…lot’s of stuff. The big surprise at the end came and hit me like a 2×4 to the back of the head. I was totally unprepared, though I supposed I should have been.
I was also taken totally off-guard by Benny’s little secret. I’d pretty much discounted him as a simple bit player in Bette Noir and I suppose I haven’t seen anything to change that assessment. However, his secret a little surprise to prep for the big surprise. It also evokes a certain amount of irony because it goes very well with Asia’s “drinking problem” in my mind.
The giant robot was the best.
Wait, that was an advertisement? Shoot.
It made me sad.
How can a book I love reading so much be so close to going bye bye? It is sorta like the last few sweet breaths of air before sinking beneath the waves.
Great pacing. Amazing characters. Perhaps one of the best written books out there (oh, yeah, and the art’s good, too). Nice bomb dropping ta boot.
And the Benny thing was priceless. I love that it was left it hanging.
If it get’s cancelled, I hope you’ll find somehere else to continue Lee’s story. It would be a shame otherwise.
Later,
Chip
Fallen Angel is getting cancelled?
No, what’s he’s saying is that if sales don’t turn around, then the series would be cancelled. Or if we don’t move a ton more of the trades.
Buy copies for friends to give as gifts.
PAD
Seriously, despite my flip comment above about the ‘centerfold’, this really was a surprising and vibrant issue with a least two “OH MY GOD” moments. I read it last out of my stack of weekly comics—and that’s a compliment, because the anal retentive fan in me reads my weekly stack o’ comics in a personally-arranged order: the ones I’m most excited about and want to read most, I read last. FA #14 didn’t disappoint. It has a visual image in there that will be with you for a long, long time.
There’s a lot of good books out on the stands this week: I especially enjoyed BATMAN ADVENTURES and, God help me, SHE-HULK, but FALLEN ANGEL was the pick of the lot this week. Don’t miss it. Buy one for yourself, one for a friend, buy one for the dog, don’t pass it up.
And if you are picking up X-FORCE #1 this week and not FALLEN ANGEL, well, mercy on your soul, pal.
Now this was, by far, the best issue of the series thus far.
The writing was great, two moments bìŧçh-šláppëd me out of nowhere and the art was actually very excellent here.
But I almost got in a wreck twice trying to get the dámņëd thing out of the plastic on my drive home…ARGH!
I am so frustrated. I rarely get flustered due to the fact that most situations are salvageable if not outright fixable but this case is an exception. I
Well, my store must’ve ripped off all the shrinkwrapping (which would explain why it took so GD long to put it on the shelves). Anyway, my no-spoliers review would be “low-key but good.” I really liked how Asia’s handling what happened last ish. Benny’s, um, thing freaked me the hëll out. And the ending… well, like Dolf said, Scheisse. Heilige Scheisse.
Also liked the BID column in the new issue of CBG. “Amazonian 2×4.” Heh.
did fallen angel just jump the shark????
This was the first issue I’ve bought since #3. I’m not sure who everyone is except for Lee and Dolph, but it was… intriguing. I’ll be picking it up next month.
Thanks PAD.
The two surprise moments totally knocked me for a loop. And I loved Asia’s playing with strraws, too…
Quoth Michael Pullman: And the ending… well, like Dolf said, Scheisse. Heilige Scheisse.
Okay, nit to pick…don’t mix your English and German idioms, mate. I never heard a German say the above–actually “Ach du Scheiße!” is pretty much the equivalent. (Don’t ask how it translates…)
That said, to sum up FALLEN ANGEL #14, powerful revelations and all: “Ach du Scheiße!”
Issues like this one remind me why I love comics as a medium so much.
Thanks, PAD!
~Gary
Well, actually Heilige Schei
*grumbles* I must’ve been in the wrong section of Germany then, lol…
Hmm, maybe they bášŧárdìzëd the usage from us?
~G.
This may trouble you, Mr. David, but I wasn’t all-out surprised by the “big surprise.” In fact, the fact that a “big surprise” was sprung in a book with troubled sales should be expected. I mean, if “Fallen Angel” was surpassing “Spider-Man” in sales, there’d be no need to change anything, right?
From my (admittedly limited) time as a comics reader, it seems that many books on the verge don’t try to shake up things to avoid cancellation. Admittedly, doing so is very difficult, when titles are shipped to the printer something like 3 months in advance of the release date. Perhaps everyone thought everything was going fine, and couldn’t react in time when the sales dipped.
Also, when you’re trying to build a consistent body of work, and not do “stunting” as we call it in TV, it’s possible for this to backfire.
I’m pleased there was a “big surprise,” but I wonder if it was “big” enough to change things. It will affect everyone who’s been reading the book a while, but will it draw in folks who’ve never read it before?
Awesome issue. I think this is one of the few comics where the one issue stories are as strong as the arcs. Hellacool cliffhanger, I’m on the “didn’t see that one coming” team too.
I am relying the sales problem to my fellow fans here on the East Coast. I don’t believe in trades as a rule, but for this book we will be more then happy to be vocal as heck on how much we like it. I’m getting tired of losing quality books. Don’t get me wrong, I love my share of retreded super-hero hype books, but they only stand up if we got some really good stuff to stand up with it.
So PAD you can count on Montclair New Jersey, Manhattan and Brooklyn comic book stores to start hearing some noise on Fallen Angel. I got my E-Mail and Word program fired up for some serious letter writing too. Who’s with me?
PS my daughter wanted me to post that she loves Fallen Angels hood, she wants to be Fallen Angel for Holloween. See, you got fans in the most interesting places (even if I can’t let her read a lot of the stories. Sorry dude, she’s only six.)
“This may trouble you, Mr. David, but I wasn’t all-out surprised by the “big surprise.” In fact, the fact that a “big surprise” was sprung in a book with troubled sales should be expected. I mean, if “Fallen Angel” was surpassing “Spider-Man” in sales, there’d be no need to change anything, right?”
What’s really sad is that it hasn’t occurred to you that I haven’t “changed anything.” The developments in issue #14 were foreshadowed in dialogue as early as issue #3 and were set into motion in the opening pages of issue #7 which, if you go back and re-read, you’ll realize. It wouldn’t matter in the least whether the book was outselling Spider-Man or X-Men. I wasn’t sitting there, looking at the sales charts and thinking, “Oh, I know what I should do to boost sales!” This series has a storyline and is actually ABOUT something, and it’s at this point that the readers are learning what precisely that is.
PAD
Surely you don’t suggest that I open the bag? I’d sooner cut off my left arm than de-mint this collectible!
I am german, and we usually say (if at all, of course) “Heilige Kacke!” which means the same as “Heilige Scheisse!”, just another word for “šhìŧ”. “Ach du Scheisse”, “Oh Scheisse” or just “šhìŧ” (which is actually the most common word) are used even more often.
I haven`t got that issue yet, therefore I just want to say I am really hoping that Fallen Angel will continue!
I had to smile when I read about the use of a certain German swear word. It always amuses me that at least the stronger swear words are often frowned upon in English episodes and it seems also comics (Well, of course on the other hand there are exceptions like “Bad Boys II” but this is a movie, of course!)but it is ok to use foreign ones. “Merde” means the same as “Scheisse”, by they way, and I assume “Grozit” as well.
By the way, my husband still doesn`t believe me that there is no “Scheisskopf” (“šhìŧ hëád”) swear word in the German language :).
“did fallen angel just jump the shark????”
Of course not. If she tried, the Shark would run screaming…
This was a great issue for many reasons and I can only hope the book’s sales pick up. If I talk about the book any more at my comic book store, I think they are going to gag me.
While I enjoyed issue #13, I felt it slowed the momentum that the book was gathering. I can’t forget my response to Lee’s smile at the end of #11. And #12 was a nice flashback explanation of the beginning of the Lee/Juris relationship. This provided a nice backdrop to #11 since Juris’ had just dumped Lee. Then the trade got released.
Then came issue #13 which seemed to slow down the main story. And any new readers brought in by the trade would read a cipherous story in which Lee has little or nothing to do.
I liked #13, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that I loved #14.
As for the major twist dropped at the end of the issue, I hope it doesn’t diminish the emotional impact incident that Lee re-lived while holding the shard.
“This series has a storyline and is actually ABOUT something, and it’s at this point that the readers are learning what precisely that is.”
Now I’m REALLY tense. PAD, please tell me Lee’s story will continue should DC make the stupid decision to cancel it. I’ve enjoyed the HÊLL outta the journey to date, and I’d hate to think I might miss what this book is “actually about”.
I am intrigued to no end.
Later,
Chip
“I am german, and we usually say (if at all, of course) “Heilige Kacke!” which means the same as “Heilige Scheisse!”, just another word for “šhìŧ”. “Ach du Scheisse”, “Oh Scheisse” or just “šhìŧ” (which is actually the most common word) are used even more often.”
Which is actually what Dolf says, just in case there’s any confusion. In the book, Dolf, upon learning of a situation, simply says “Scheisse.” To which the Angel ruefully replies, “Yeah. Deep Scheisse.” Which of course isn’t an attempt on her part to speak German but simply empathize with Dolf’s reaction.
PAD
I haven’t had a chance to hit the store yet this week and pick it up, but there is something I’ve been wondering. I think Fallen Angel is a good book, although I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite work by you.
What I’m curious about is just why it’s not set in the mainstream DCU. Is it creator owned? I was under the impression that it wasn’t. I know people, a good amount of people, people who I don’t necessarily blame, who would pick it up just because it was in continuity. And it didn’t have to be deep into continuity. Is it a matter of pride?
I’m sure you could get away with avoiding crossovers and what not. Before there was a vertigo line, I certainly don’t remember Sandman having to crossover with War of the Gods. Maybe it’s just that Fallen Angel might not work in a “world with Superman in it.” But you hardly have to use him. There are certain characters who would fit in and out of this world fairly well: Vic Sage, Cameron Chase, Detective John Jones.
I’m not trying to offend, or tell you how to do your job. I’m just curious, as I like the book and want it to succeed, and I’d see this as a way of considerably boosting sales.
Matt
The ending of this issue floored me.
And call me sick, but I thought the Benny scene was pretty dámņ funny.
“I’m not trying to offend, or tell you how to do your job. I’m just curious, as I like the book and want it to succeed, and I’d see this as a way of considerably boosting sales.”
I would be perfectly happy to have the book set in the DCU, or at least relate to it. Granted, the book is creator owned, but I don’t believe for a second that legalities couldn’t be arranged so that DC characters could guest star. After all, if Marvel and DC have found ways to publish character crossovers for the last twenty five years, I hardly think that having Clark Kent show up in a book that DC is *already publishing* is an insurmountable challenge.
I swear, if “Sandman” had been published under the obstacles that “Fallen Angel” has faced–no DCU guest stars, a “For Mature Readers” label, a price increase in less than a year, minimal publicity–I wonder if it would have made it beyond the first year. And in today’s market, with the same strictures? Forget it.
PAD
Great issue.
It does continue to improve.
the last page reveal didn’t suprise me…I think I already suspected, but it was still revealed in a nice and moody way.
Benny’s secret was much more suprising (also it didn’t happen on the last page – so that sort of stuff always has more of a chance to suprising me) and will make me look at him different from here on out.
Do we know why Angel wanted to talk to the Boston guy? I don’t think so – I will have to reread it tonight – but I look forward to finding out.
Also further exploration of Angel’s powers are always interesting.
So all in all – lots of good stuff.
Great art as usual.
Keep it up!
But you are not ALLOWED to have guests stars? I always assumed it was your decision NOT to have any. Thats too bad. I am not a fan of crossovers, but I don’t like the idea of them being not allowed. I hope sales start improve on this great title!
“But you are not ALLOWED to have guests stars? I always assumed it was your decision NOT to have any. Thats too bad. I am not a fan of crossovers, but I don’t like the idea of them being not allowed. I hope sales start improve on this great title!”
Nope, not allowed. DC reps made a point of saying–at conventions and on line, no less–that “Fallen Angel” is outside the DCU. Which was, from a sales point of view, akin to painting a huge sign on the book that says, “You Can Skip This Title.” Which many fans, and retailers, have done. More and more I keep hearing about fans complaining that local stores don’t carry it (as we’ve seen mentioned yet again on this very thread). Or fans who are interested in finding the back issues cannot do so because the stores ordered minimally or not at all.
This is not to be confused with the stores which do stock it and claim that readers won’t give it the time of day…because, of course, it’s not in the DCU.
I don’t know how the hëll we’re supposed to turn around sales when the greatest tool a comic can have–positive word of mouth, which we have in abundance–runs smack into the twin brick walls of retailer unavailability and fan resistance to something not DCU.
PAD
With the no DCU guest stars edict, could you not sort of get around that similar to the Thomas/could be Batman issue?
Wouldn’t the Phantom Stranger lend itself to this type of idea? After all, no one knows what the hëll he is.
As for Superman, (just spit balling here) what about a perfect imperfect clone sans any costume? a messed up face, no S-costume, zombie-like appearance and nature but some familiar and dámņ scary powers.
Maybe with the deck stacked against you, a little in house “we told you no DCU guest stars” controversy would get the book talked about.
The latest ish was amazing by the way. The only series I’ve ever read where I think each new issue is the best one of the series.
I don’t know if plugging stores is allowed here, but the comic book store I go to stocks the book on the shelf as well as for subscription customers.
Best Comics & Hobby stocks it.
1300 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY.
They also do mail order, the website is http://www.bestcomics.com
I thought the issue was terrific, and I have to say you’ve been doing a great job lately of writing issues that are friendly to new readers but are still entertaining for people who’ve been around for a while. That must be a tricky thing to do.
I haven’t read it yet, so I skipped over all the other comments to post this:
Man, I hope DC pulled in a lot of money for that “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” promotion. Ten of the comics I picked up this week were bagged with that disc. TEN!! That means I now have a dozen copies and there are still two shipments left to go for this cover month…Coasters, anyone?
Paul
If you want to be pedantic, couldn’t you argue that Dolf has appeared before in DCU comics?
I’ve been reading Fallen Angel since the first issue came out, and unfortunately it has just never caught on for me. So I’ve been reluctant to chip in on these threads. But since I have some points in mind, this seems like as good a time as any to air them.
It’s hard to pin down where exactly it’s falling short for me. My best guess at this point is that it doesn’t feel grounded, by which I mean I still feel – 14 issues in – like I lack a vast amount of context necessary to appreciate the story.
All of the characters still feel like ciphers to me. Lee of course is the ultimate cipher, full of secrets such as where she came from, why she’s in Bete Noire, why she does what she does, what her life is really like. While a few small facts have been tossed out here and there, she’s not someone I understand or can relate to, and I haven’t gotten the feeling like she’s being either revealed or developed. The other characters tend to be undeveloped (Dolf), enigmatic (Juris), or downright unpleasant (Mariah and Asia).
As a result, it feels like Fallen Angel is a series without a protagonist: We can’t see the world through Lee’s eyes, because we can’t get inside her head, and no one else is important enough to provide the series’ point-of-view. So it reads to me like a series of events happening to characters I don’t really care about, viewed only from the outside.
I also find Bete Noire perplexing. Where is it? Is it supposed to be in “our world”, or some strange parallel world? Is it an unusual city, or do all cities in this world have these peculiar happenings occurring in the shadows? If it’s unusual, why is it unusual? What brings all these weird people to this city? (Clearly not to socialize with each other and build a community, since they spend much of their time kicking the crap out of each other.)
I’ve been reading hoping for some moments of revelation, when I’ll come to understand everything better, but don’t feel they’ve happened. Contrast with other series with similarly unorthodox settings and casts of peculiar characters – say, GrimJack or Dreadstar – both of which were constantly setting up and resolving major mysteries, where I felt there was always the promise of something important happening right around the corner.
Now, all this may say more about me than about the series – perhaps I haven’t been paying enough attention (I will admit I have not gone back and re-read the series, so I haven’t read the early issues since they came out a year or so ago and my memory is probably lacking at this point). Or about both – Fallen Angel is delivering things that other people enjoy but which don’t grab my interest. Or maybe all of my analysis here is horsehockey and the series is just “not for me”, and leave it at that.
In the end, the two bits of information about Lee revealed in #14 felt like just two more bits of information. While Lee had strong emotional reactions to both, the first was clearly not to be resolved until a future confrontation, while the second I felt lacked depth. She’s upset because…? Well, there are lots of possible “becauses”, and I don’t understand her character well enough to know (or even guess) which one is truly the reason.
It didn’t resonate with me.
(P.S.: I am in no way claiming that my reactions explain why other fans aren’t buying the series. This is just my own perspective.)
The reveal of Benny’s secret and his nickname were very good.What did the young bostoninan want??I found the deja vu conversation between Lee ,Mariah,Slate funny when considering the opening exchange was exactly the same(of course its deja vu right?)Does everyone drink gin and tonic in Bete Noir?
Without spoiling is the “revelation ” about her powers related to the the revelation at the end,or are they unrelated ?
BTW the Captain Sky or whatever promotion is very annoying.Why not just have a slip or website inside the comic?I hate feeling like im wasting things by throwing the dámņ disks away.
All things revealed in the issue were good as usual,and really hopt the series sticks around or you are able to find another outlet in the event of the unthinkable cancellation of Fallen Angel.
Peter:
I like FALLEN ANGEL a lot. The current issue did not disappoint. The scenes with Benny were very amusing. You are doing some of your best writing on this title. On the other hand, I am a 42 year old comic junkie. I wonder what the demographics are for this title. What age bracket is buying this title? I know one thing, forget the sex and violence, this is still a very mature title.
Has anyone pointed out that like the other Angel(the tv character), Lee’s journey through life is one of seeking redemption?
Hey Peter, if DC won’t let you use their characters to guest star, what about a Marvel crossover?
I can see the Hulk blowing in to Bete Noire. Really.
Wasn’t Chris Claremont’s “Soverign Seven” from a few years back was a creator-owned book that was set in the DCU? (I think he used Darkseid and Power Girl, if I remember correctly.)
Peter,
I didn’t realize that it was DC’s edict and not your own. Then again, I wasn’t sure if it was creator owned or not either, so what did I know? Well, I suppose that’s fairly rough, then. It’s a shame you can’t get the proper editorial support on this one.
Matt
Posted by Michael Rawdon:
We can’t see the world through Lee’s eyes, because we can’t get inside her head.
Posted by J. Alexander:
Has anyone pointed out that like the other Angel(the tv character), Lee’s journey through life is one of seeking redemption?
—
See, I don’t know about you guys, but I think Lee’s almost on a quest for punishment. She punishes herself every day, doesn’t feel that she deserves happiness, and yet paradoxically, still has some residual urge to do what’s right, even if it comes out twisted sometimes. She’s in denial of almost everything she is, like a, shall we say, supergirl 😉 who has failed in everything she’s tried to do, and yet tries anyway. She says she doesn’t care about anything. Yet she tries to make a difference, even though it seems at times that she’s setting herself up to fail or to do something she knows is wrong – i.e. torturing Mariah to get the Shard. She knew she was doing something reprehensible and didn’t care. At least on the surface. It’s almost as though, for every act of good she does, she tries to make herself do something horrible, because she doesn’t feel she deserves to be heroic, doesn’t feel she’s worthy of the mantle of a hero. She’s in constant flux in her own beliefs. She’s as fallen a hero, as fallen an angel, as one can be. She’s given up. She doesn’t try to be a hero because it’s the right thing to do. I think she tries to be a hero because it’s the only thing she knows how to do. I get the sense of Lee being almost on autopilot in her life. Reminds me a lot of Season Six-era Buffy, actually (or even of Apropos at the end of “Tong Lashing”). Nothing makes sense to her, her life doesn’t make sense, but she goes on ahead with what she does because it’s all she has left. She’s so devoid of feeling and yet so full of emotion. I love Lee. She’s the best character in almost any medium and she’s such a self-made paradox. Psychoanalyzing her is delicious.
Last thing – I think the most telling statement about Lee was from issue #10:
DOLF: Why? You claim to care about nothing.
LEE: Could be I’m full of šhìŧ.
God, I love this character. Peter, PROMISE you’ll do something with her in novel form if the comic gets cancelled. I think she’s the richest character you’ve ever created and I couldn’t bear to see her just fade away into nothingness and obscurity, like Anima back in the mid-Nineties.
Stupid DC.
good character issue – i loved the little mini-storylines for several characters that were all acomplished in a single issue – or even 2 or 3 pages no less. Now that’s storytelling economy, good work. Nice bunch of 3, count ’em, 3 different bombs that were dropped this issue to varrying degrees. I loved Asia Minor’s drunk scene. The straws in the ears slightly bent at the bendy part – GREAT detail. Did you write that in or was that the artist on thier own who did it? “Thirsty customer” is a great line and I’m gonna use it as often as I can from now on.
Total fanboy pointless flip comment moment – the book has been good, but I don’t think we’ve seen any smashie-smashie since Lee took out that hëll dog way back in issue 9 I think it was. Sure the book isn’t about smashie-smashie, but you can write action man, give a brother a little head cracking. (ok, I just realized that there was the short sequence in issue 12, that was a real good one too, but you know what I mean. smashie-smashie, man!)
“See, I don’t know about you guys, but I think Lee’s almost on a quest for punishment. She punishes herself every day, doesn’t feel that she deserves happiness, and yet paradoxically, still has some residual urge to do what’s right, even if it comes out twisted sometimes. She’s in denial of almost everything she is, like a, shall we say, supergirl 😉 who has failed in everything she’s tried to do, and yet tries anyway. She says she doesn’t care about anything. Yet she tries to make a difference, even though it seems at times that she’s setting herself up to fail or to do something she knows is wrong – i.e. torturing Mariah to get the Shard. She knew she was doing something reprehensible and didn’t care. At least on the surface. It’s almost as though, for every act of good she does, she tries to make herself do something horrible, because she doesn’t feel she deserves to be heroic, doesn’t feel she’s worthy of the mantle of a hero. She’s in constant flux in her own beliefs. She’s as fallen a hero, as fallen an angel, as one can be. She’s given up. She doesn’t try to be a hero because it’s the right thing to do. I think she tries to be a hero because it’s the only thing she knows how to do. I get the sense of Lee being almost on autopilot in her life. Reminds me a lot of Season Six-era Buffy, actually (or even of Apropos at the end of “Tong Lashing”). Nothing makes sense to her, her life doesn’t make sense, but she goes on ahead with what she does because it’s all she has left. She’s so devoid of feeling and yet so full of emotion. I love Lee. She’s the best character in almost any medium and she’s such a self-made paradox. Psychoanalyzing her is delicious.”
Trust a woman to completely and totally get it right.
PAD
Trust a woman to completely and totally get it right.
Okay, but we’re still gonna get some smashy-smashy, right? 😉
Yes, Mr. David, you did foreshadow the “Big Surprise.” But you didn’t have to pick up that particular thread. Again without spoiling things, similar “threads” have been left in many other books, and no one bothers to pick them up.
I hope you don’t think I was accusing you of doing cheap pandering to get new readers. You don’t do that, or if you do, I haven’t seen it. But it was entirely possible to avoid the current situation as you plotted this book. Steering directly into the situation indicates a conscious choice to…to use the only metaphor my sleepy brain can come up with…”ramp up the voltage.”
Now if you had done something like bring out qualities in Lee that had no preparation and no evidence in previous issues…like a certain nearly-forgotten Marvel cowboy from about a year ago…that would be a cheap stunt and undeserving of you.
I’m awaiting the moment when the spoiler warning is lifted and this can be talked about more directly.
I have to confess that I’ve been on the verge of dropping this book for months. I think the only reason I haven’t is because I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop – something of some importance was surely going to happen, Lee had to show enough of her character that I’d finally feel some empathy, if not out-and-out sympathy, for her. I couldn’t care less if the book was in the DCU or not, it just wasn’t inspiring me. The characters all seemed to have potential to be interesting, but nothing was working for me.
I think that changed with this issue. In fact I think it changed with the first page of the issue – Bete Noir went from being just another sleazy, slightly enigmatic New Orleans knock-off, to some kind of analogy to Purgatory, or to the Outer Circle of Hëll thatdidn’t make it into Dante’s Inferno. And that peaked my interest.
Then we get the stuff in Dolph’s (and I just put the name of his bar and his name together – I confess I’m being a bit slow – so there’s another thing going on there – just an in joke, or something more significant) with all the characters coming together, the revelation about Lee’s powers (finally some foreshadowing I can eb concerned about) and the final revelation, which I didn’t find shocking, just interesting…
The short of it is, I finally feel that my investment in the rest of the series might be worth it after all, and I’m certainly going to stick around for another half dozen issues at least.
“…and I’m certainly going to stick around for another half dozen issues at least.”
Here’s to fervent prayer that you have 6 more issues to stick around for.
Or that Peter continues Lee’s tale somewhere (or some way) else.
Chip
Something related:
I had a look at Amazon UK and noticed that the Fallen Angel trade is now also available there. The problem is, if you type in Peter David and Fallen Angel, the search engine doesn`t find anything. But when typing in Fallen Angel, it finds the entry.
I could read that there was just one copy left and that they are waiting for a new shipment. It seems I was lucky 🙂
I sent a correction message to them. Not that I am optimistic it will do the trick, but at least I tried.
I can`t even blame Amazon this time. The hook at the end of Angel on the cover looks quite a lot like an “s”.