New from the Whedonverse: Angel comic releasing on April 17
Angel will be getting a comic reboot of its own starting next week.
Given that the comics rights to the Joss Whedon properties Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible and Firefly have gone from Dark Horse Comics to BOOM! Studios over the past year, it isn’t surprising that Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel wouldn’t be too far behind.
What is surprising is that the rebooted Angel series will be releasing eight days after it was announced.
The Hollywood Reporter reported this news on Tuesday afternoon (April 9), and the first issue, Angel No. 0, goes on sale in comic book shops on Wednesday, April 17, not releasing digitally until Wednesday, May 1.
The series will be written by Bryan Edward Hill and illustrated by Gleb Melnikov.
As a spinoff of the rebooted Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, and given the characters’ intertwined history, Hill told THR that he understands the balancing act between the past and the present.
"It is a delicate balance, to retain the spirit of the thing while making sure that it’s at a cutting edge for current readers; I think we’re really happy with what we’re doing so far, and I think fans of both characters will be really happy and very pleased with what we have to offer them."
For those unfamiliar with the character, Angel/Angelus was a vampire played by David Boreanaz (Bones, SEAL Team) who possessed a human soul. He became Buffy Summers’ boyfriend and a part of the Scooby Gang, but after he was murdered (and resurrected), they broke up, Angel moved to Los Angeles and opened his own detective agency.
His eponymous TV series ran for five seasons from 1999-2004 on The WB, and also starred Buffy castmates Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) and James Marsters (Spike), along with frequent Whedonverse contributors Alexis Denisof (How I Met Your Mother, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), J August Richards (Conviction, Agents of SHIELD) and Amy Acker (Alias, Much Ado About Nothing, The Gifted).
Given that the character was originally from eighteenth-century Ireland, there will be plenty of unexplored history to delve into, which was something the series creators were excited about, Hill told THR.
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The series will be set in the present of 2019, like Buffy, and the character will be introduced in Buffy No. 4, which also releases on April 17.