ANGEL

For all its cool, grit, and darkness, it can be easy to miss the humor in William Gibson’s work. From Neuromancer to his scattered forays into culture criticism, there’s always been a current of sharp wit beneath his techno-apocalyptic topsoil. Hop over to Twitter, where Gibson’s handle is @GreatDismal, and you’ll find his timeline littered with retweets of missives both dire and hilarious. Archangel, the foundational cyberpunk author’s first foray into comics, alongside co-writer Michael St. John Smith and artists Butch Guice, Alejandro Barrionuevo and Wagner Reis, isn’t “funny haha,” but in the series’ final panel, it’s clear the narrative hinges on a bleak, cosmic joke. As the sci-fi adventure concludes, our unnamed, tattooed hero, the Pilot finds himself in 2016. Fresh from preventing the deranged Vice President Junior Henderson from rearranging history back in 1945, the Pilot finds his world’s no longer an irradiated wasteland, but it’s… well, it’s something else. Something fam

The two first scenes of William Gibson and Butch Guice’s “Archangel” #1 combine for an attention-grabbing, concise setup of the primary conflict. There are some daunting mentions of “atoms” and “quantum transfer,” but the underlying bones are familiar and simple: an evil guy travels back to 1945 to take his grandfather’s place. The man in question is an American vice president, and his real mission — dubbed “Archangel” — is left sketchy on the details, to be fleshed out in future issues. Gibson throws the reader right into the action, avoiding any information dumps. After the antagonist is in place in 1945, Gibson quickly introduces several other important characters in both 2016 and 1945. “Archangel” #1 is military fiction even more than it is science fiction, and the revelation of Major Torres’ true allegiance and her strategy also have a strong flavor of spy fiction. The conversation between Torres and Dr. Davis is enlightening, but one wonders why Torres didn’t blow things up be

“Angela: Queen of Hel” #6 begins its second arc with high humor and style. Marguerite Bennett and Kim Jacinto establish Angela, Sera and Leah’s new life in Brooklyn just in time to shake it all up with a series of horrific magical deaths. The creative team’s warmth toward these characters is infectious, and any too-arch or too-cutesy moments are easy to forgive in light of the ruthlessly efficient plot and well-earned character moments. Best of all, this is a genuinely funny issue. I’d have been sorry to see “Angela: Queen of Hel” go in any circumstance, but issue #6 just made me even sorrier. Marvel Cancels “Angela: Queen of Hel,” “Howling Commandos of SHIELD” Unfortunately for those who might have been looking forward to it, the cover-touted confrontation with Thor isn’t much of an event. After a few pages, it’s quickly over and the heroes get to solving the real problem: the plague of New Yorkers who have been suffering hexed, karmic deaths. Bennett and Jacinto handle this elemen

Two central conflicts take place in “Angel & Faith: Season 10” #24: Illyria versus the embodiment of magic and the rest of the crew versus the demon lord Archaeus and his minions. Victor Gischler and Will Conrad never resort to the same tactic for both problems, which is what makes this issue work as well as it does. As Illyria has been a longtime problem for the crew in “Angel & Faith,” it makes sense that stopping her didn’t involve a simple beat down. Not only is her power level rather high, it would have also reduced any potential for future conflict. It’s nice to see her stopped with words and reasoning, even as it also provides some good character growth. Koh no longer has a desperate need for vengeance, and that plays out well in his interaction with Illyria; similarly, Illyria’s reaction to Koh and the rest of the cast as they explain the situation and point out where she was wrong is a big step forward for her. Illyria was a reluctant but ultimately trustworthy ally

As a whole, “Angel & Faith: Season 10” has traveled down an interesting road. Victor Gischler and Will Conrad inherited the setup from the previous “season,” which had the two characters heading their separate ways, and — though they took their time in reuniting the duo — it’s a plan that’s paid off well. “Angel & Faith: Season 10” #23 continues the final storyline by pulling together multiple plot points from the past two years, giving readers something to get excited about. Part of what makes “Angel & Faith: Season 10” #23 work so well is seeing our protagonists be proactive. Their confrontation with Brandt could have easily been set up as a huge surprise, but – instead — our heroes come across as in control of the situation and able to use it to their advantage. That’s really important, since it makes them come across as heroes who have genuine victories. With Archaeus’ own plans coming together, there needs to be some sort of balance to keep “Angel & Faith Season

In “Angela: Queen of Hel” #1, writer Marguerite Bennett establishes Angela’s status quo early on before focusing on some of her past. Artists Kim Jacinto and Stephanie Hans split the art duties, with Jacinto beautifully and cleanly illustrating the issue’s main sequence within the halls of a rather lavish looking Hel. Hans just as gorgeously paints a sidebar sequence with a more surreal touch, giving the entirety of the issue an attractively diverse appearance, while also giving Bennett’s somewhat disjointed but nicely characterized story a bit more punch. Jacinto opens the issue with a pair of nicely constructed pages, the first showing the more familiar “classic” Angela alongside her companion Sera on an otherworldly battlefield, and the second introducing the new incarnation of Angela, who appears to relish her new role as a queen. Each page is not only stunningly laid out but nicely colored by Israel Silva, whose palette enhances the detail in Jacinto’s lines, making both pieces

“Angel & Faith: Season 10” has been in a difficult position. After Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs’ previous series ended up being a success (and critically eclipsing its parent title), the creative team moved over to tackle Buffy, leaving poor “Angel & Faith” behind under new hands. Victor Gischler and Cliff Richards’ “Angel & Faith Season 10” #18 has taken the step of firmly tying this series to what’s happening in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10,” and it’s a smart move on all counts. By having the same major villain behind the events of both titles, not only does “Angel & Faith Season 10” feel a little more “critical” in terms of reading, but it also gives Archaeus a bit more of a strong presence in each title. Gischler’s script wisely places Archaeus in the role of manipulator, showing that it was his hand that moved Drusilla into St. Cuthbert’s to prey on the students. It helps keep Drusilla at a place where she can still be a little crazy but also have an a

Some series skate around their genre, downplaying and softening anything that could seem strange, but “1602 Witch Hunter Angela” #1 embraces its historical fantasy premise with open, elaborately armored arms. From Marguerite Sauvage’s inviting court farces to Stephanie Hans’ magnetic, dark monsters, this is a fully and exuberantly imagined issue. Despite a tonal shift between Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett’s sections that will jar some readers, “1602 Witch Hunter Angela” #1 is a gorgeous, vivid read. The two-story structure hasn’t always worked smoothly in “Angela: Asgard’s Assassin” but, in this issue, it reads winningly. After a dark opening page, the story transitions to Windsor Castle. Angela and Serah, hunters of the “Witchbreed,” arrive to see the King, and things proceed rather unexpectedly from there. The physicality in Sauvage’s artwork almost approaches farce. Lord Essex’s cries of “Regicide! Traitor! Heresy!” are accompanied by cartoonishly distressed facial express

Considering that the two title characters were only reunited at the end of the previous issue, “Angel & Faith Season 10” has been a series that has succeeded in spite of the odds stacked against it. Victor Gischler, Will Conrad and Michelle Madsen continue to make it a fun series to read, and it’s nice to see the comic in good hands. Even though the issue flags a tiny bit in the face of a huge exposition dump, there’s still more than enough here to make this a good purchase. While the reemergence of Fred — who is struggling to stay free of Illyria — is a big moment, “Angel & Faith Season 10” #12 veers away just a bit from that to finally explain the back story of supporting cast demon Eldre Koh. It connects with Fred/Illyria, so its emergence at this point in time makes sense. At the same time, though, Koh’s probably been the least interesting aspect of “Angel & Faith Season 10” so far and having a huge spotlight on the character hasn’t made him feel any more exciting. T

“Angela: Asgard’s Assassin” #3 is, in many ways, a lot like the previous two issues. Phil Jimenez, Stephanie Hans and Le Beau Underwood’s art is attractive and consistent and Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett give them a lot of interesting things to draw. Although three issues in, however, I’m still not entirely sure what about “Angela: Asgard’s Assassin” is supposed to make readers want to come back for another installment. Gillen and Bennett are certainly trying to make the series work, continuing to plunge Angela and Sera on a chase through the various worlds of Asgardian cosmology. I like the writing setup with Gillen on the present day (with Jimenez and Underwood’s art) and Gillen and Bennett co-writing the flashbacks (with Hans’s art). Gillen is definitely continuing his path of building up Marvel’s Asgardian history that he’s been working on for quite a few years now. On paper, it sounds like it should work. The big problem, though, is that Angela isn’t that exciting of a