By Matt Fraction (Writer), Terry Dodson (Pencils), Rachel Dodson (Inks), and Justin Ponsor (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Since hitting the big #500, Uncanny X-Men has been extremely hit or miss. As such, the bigger picture being created by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker has felt extremely disjointed. On top of that, the first arc, while fun at times, was marred by some odd characterization, a fairly generic story, and divisive artwork. That said, with the beginning of the second arc featuring a new artist and a single author, I can’t help but feel that Uncanny can still be straightened out rather quickly.

The Story: This issue is all about setting up the new story arc, introducing multiple situations involving each character in the team.  While doing some soul searching, in an effort to get past the death of Kitty Pryde, Colossus is confronted with an old enemy. In addition, Emma Frost heads into the mind of Cyclops in an attempt to figure out why he has been acting strangely since the encounter with the Hellfire Cult. Also, Beast and Angel have a meeting with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Nemesis regarding the state of mutantkind and what can be done to reverse the effects of the Scarlet Witch.  Oh, and the Mojoverse comes into play as well.

What’s Good: Though very light on action, this is the best issue of Uncanny X-Men since the move to San Francisco took place. While consisting almost entirely of set up, Uncanny X-Men #504 does a good job establishing the direction of the series for the near future through interesting, entertaining character moment,s and impressive visuals. As a fan, I couldn’t be much happier with the way the issue addresses and handles the various story threads surrounding the X-Men in general.

Truth be told, the book is filled with successful moments. In particular, the surprisingly poignant Colossus segments, Matt Fraction’s extremely well-written handling of Dr. Nemesis, and Emma Frost’s encounter with the residents of the high class hotel (or mental bordello?) located within Cyclops’ mind.

What’s Not So Good: My only real complaint has to do with the overall structure of the series itself. I like how Fraction and Ed Brubaker are looking to explore all aspects of the X-Men (and mutant characters/enemies in general), but it seems as though it comes at the cost of a cohesive, long-term vision. While I have no doubt that they will be able to pull all the various threads together when the right time comes, it leaves each issue feeling a bit light. There is a bigger picture for mutantkind, but it feels like we only get a small feel of it with each passing month.

Conclusion: A stylish, well-written book all around, Uncanny X-Men #504 is easily the best issue of the series in quite some time. While I wish it had a little bit more meat to it, I can’t complain too much about something so thoroughly entertaining.

Grade: A-

Looking for a Response: Is it just me, or does the news report at the end of the issue feel long overdue? Seems to me as though the shockwaves of the event should have been felt a long time ago. Anyone else agree? Or is my grasp of the “X” timeline a bit off?

-Kyle Posluszny

Do you think Bobby Drake and Warren Worthington wrote the typical messages in their Xavier Institute yearbooks? You know, all of those “have a great summer” lines and “remember that time we gave Cyclops a wedgie?” quips. I would conclude that they did, indeed. Why is that? Well, for the simple reason that the two of them seem to be inseparable in the Marvel Universe. So what makes these two heroes such tight teammates?

Let’s try to find some answers, shall we? Angel and Iceman made their first appearances in X-Men #1 way back in September 1963. Since that time, you rarely see one without the other. They remained on the original X-Men team through issue #94 in August 1975. My first inclination would be to say that they were so used to being teammates, that when the first incarnation of the X-Men split, Angel and Iceman thought it would be best to continue on together. Beast was too cool for school and had already left to join the Avengers. Cyclops stuck around to lead the new team. And Jean Grey was too busy being killed and reborn for nearly 12 years to be bothered by any sort of continuity.

Being post-teen mutants in the swinging 70’s must’ve been too much for Warren and Bobby, so they decided to take a cross-country trip to Los Angeles and join the most disparate group of comic book weirdos ever assembled (since trumped by nearly every Defenders gathering ever). Until January 1978, they were members of The Champions. Evidently, writer Tony Isabella wanted The Champions to be just Angel and Iceman, but editorial intervention brought in Black Widow, Hercules and Ghost Rider (and later, Darkstar…with Black Goliath and Jack of Hearts waiting in the wings). Aside from the completely obvious pairing of two mutants with a Russian spy, a Greek demigod, and a flaming demon on a motorcycle, The Champions was most noteworthy for having the team face off against Swarm, the Nazi beekeeper. That was good stuff.

Times must have been tough after that powerhouse group disbanded. For the next couple of years, Angel and Iceman make scattered appearances, primarily in a few issues of Spectacular Spider-Man , Marvel Two-in-One and What If? And, while Iceman was busy on his big television debut in Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Angel had a recurring role in early Dazzler issues.

Angel & Iceman somehow dragged themselves out of character purgatory and dove headfirst into the eighth circle of Marvel hell, the Defenders. In October 1983, they joined their fellow former X-Man Beast in the New Defenders (Beast having joined up with the non-group after his run with the Avengers). I don’t have the issue in front of me, so I can only assume that Bobby and Warren agreed to come aboard after a conversation with Beast that involved a lot of crying and begging on his part. I don’t know. Maybe they lost a bet? That seems likely.

When that group broke up for good in February 1986, the duo came together with their Xavier Institute alumni to form the original X-Factor. Yes, they were saved from falling back into obscurity by becoming mutant hunters. See, X-Factor (aside from unbelievably bringing Jean Grey back to life and facilitating Cyclops leaving his wife and newborn child) was set up on the basis of reverse psychology. They “hunted” mutants, but were secretly mutants themselves and only “hunted” other mutants in order to save them from persecution. Shh! Don’t tell anyone.

Of course, realizing that calling yourselves mutant hunters was probably bad PR for mutants in general, they soon abandoned that premise and were promptly taken over by the government who quite enjoyed the mutant hunting notion. By this time, the main catalyst for keeping the original X-Men from rejoining the flock (Magneto as leader) had been removed and Angel & Iceman were free to return to the fold. Oddly enough, the two of them continue to come and go together from the X-Men pretty much up through present day.

Are they just good friends? Are they MORE than friends? Is it something about their powers that work well together? Is Bobby Drake really shallow and just hanging out with Warren Worthington because he’s rich? Is Angel sticking close to Bobby because his powers are cooler and make up for Angel’s inadequacies?

There HAS to be an underlying theme here!

It’s interesting that you bring these two up as a couple, since there were rumors swirling in the late 90s and early 00’s that Iceman was gay. That would have supplied an interesting reason for why he hung out with Angel so much; he had an unrequited crush on our winged mutant. However, Marvel, no doubt feeling that one gay mutant was more than enough, quashed these rumors pretty quickly, and started trying to give Iceman feelings for any woman he came in contact with, which always struck me as being incredibly forced and uncomfortable. I’m not saying I think Iceman is gay, as much as I’m saying that having a crush on every girl he met had never been his thing before, and trying to shoehorn it into his personality now just didn’t seem to work.

In the end, I think these two have a nice little bromance going and they certainly have spent more time together than any other mutant duo I can name, except for Cyclops and Jean or Havok and Polaris, which isn’t really helping their claims of being no more than a bromance. Iceman, we may remember, actually did try to break up the Angel/Iceman bromance with an actual romance; when Polaris was first introduced, her boyfriend was Iceman, and the two were rather inseparable. Well, inseparable for all of about ten issues, until Havok was introduced. His golden hair, chiseled features and Summers boy ability to have women fall all over him quickly seduced Polaris, and she left a very hurt and angry Iceman to chase after a man who couldn’t control his powers, and could emit mortal blasts of concussive force at any time. Polaris wasn’t too bright in her early appearances.

It is interesting that Iceman and Angel have ended up together so often. If one reads the early issues of the X-Men, when they appeared together, or even the issues of X-Factor in which they starred, they don’t tend to pal around much. Both of those books almost always paired Iceman off with the Beast; they were the Scooby and Shaggy of the mutant set. I would consider Angel the Daphne of the group (some might think Jean should have that position, but I would argue no; after all, Daphne is useless, which fits Angel, Jean has red hair, just like Velma, and in the end, Angel is prettier than Jean), and we all know that Daphne never runs around with Scooby and Shaggy. Indeed, Angel usually spent time with Cyclops and Jean, especially in the early issues of the title, when Stan Lee and subsequent writers were desperately trying to create some tension in the Cyclops/Jean relationship by making us think that Angel might sweep Jean away before Cyclops got his chance. Sadly, it’s difficult to build that tension, since it was obvious that Jean had no romantic interest in Angel by her thought balloons, so unless Angel was going to kidnap her and force her to marry him at gunpoint, the reader could be confident that Jean and Cyclops would eventually be together.

Iceman and Angel both have tried to separate themselves; they’ve both had limited series and one-shots, and as I’ve mentioned before, Iceman even went back to college and became a Certified Public Accountant. Surprisingly, this career does not appear to have held his interest. Apparently, he preferred dealing with Magneto over dealing with the IRS.

I don’t believe their powers are incredibly compatible, and they don’t seem to complement each other much in that regard. Of course, as we’ve noted, except when he had the metal wings created by Apocalypse, Angel is basically worthless. In 1963, as I’ve also mentioned before, most of Marvel’s heroes (except for Thor and the Hulk) were much weaker; the whole Marvel Universe was probably a 1/3 of the power that it is today. Over the years, both heroes and villains got stronger, and where the ability to fly was relatively unique and interesting in 1963, by the mid-80s almost everyone in the Marvel Universe could fly, even Aunt May (that time she became the herald of Galactus). Upgrading Angel to Archangel and giving him metal wings was a very necessary way of keeping the character relevant, but it has sadly been reversed, and he is now useless once more. Certainly, as I’ve said before, the personality is more important than the power, but when your power is the ability to flutter around the villains, smacking at them with your little pink fists, you become difficult to write, and generally frustrating to read about. Hey, I liked Cypher of the New Mutants too, but the ability to understand languages earned him a grave before he was out of his teens.

I’m sure the real reason that Iceman and Angel so often find themselves on teams together is because someone in Marvel editorial feels that, by placing them both on a team, you can get some of the magic of the original X-Men. This is also highly absurd, as the original X-Men had no magic; if they had, their book would not have been bimonthly and they wouldn’t have been in reprints for two years in the 70s. Still, putting either Iceman or Angel on a team means nothing, and conjures up no images. Putting them together makes one think of the original mutants, and that means something. Storywise though, it also makes a certain amount of sense. If you’re launching a new venture, surely you’re more comfortable with an old friend at your side. Since the original X-Men were rather insular and didn’t mix much with the rest of the Marvel Universe (much like the current X-Men, come to think of it) Angel and Icemen don’t have a lot of friends beyond their immediate teammates, and the original X-Men class certainly shares a bond that would be hard to break. I would imagine that it’s this very sense of camaraderie that keeps these two close through thick and thin.

I agree with you for the most part. I’m trying to recall any significant romances that either Angel or Iceman have had in their documented existences. Iceman had a fling with Opal Tanaka, who ended up leaving him for a former villain. He dated Lorna Dane on and off over the years. And he flirted with Havok’s nurse Annie for a bit. Angel has done slightly better for himself, pursuing both Jean Grey and Dazzler, bagging Candy Southern during the Champions years, hooking up with Psylocke later on, becoming close with a police officer as Archangel and even having an implied fling with the much younger Paige Guthrie.

Angel has always come across as being above everyone else around him (perhaps that’s a subliminal reference to his angelic name and abilities). He was a superhero on his own before being located by Xavier. He helped house and fund both the Champions and the Defenders for some time. And he supposedly left the X-Men for a while because he thought Wolverine was a “brute.” Seems pretty metrosexual to me.

Bobby plays like more of a hanger-on. He’s younger than Warren and probably more unsure of himself and his place in the world. At the same time, he’s also more laid back and easy to get along with. Iceman, as you’ve noted, has palled around with Beast and is friendly with Spider-Man.

I, for one, was completely horrified when Angel lost his wings. And then, when Apocalypse turned him into Archangel, I was pretty ticked off. It wasn’t so much that they had messed with one of my favorite characters, it was that they used that lame villain to do it. I can’t stand Apocalypse. Archangel’s metal wings seemed like a pure 90’s thing to me. And they were out of place for such a grounded character whose entire identity was originally based around trying to hide his wings and then learning to live with them. Man, the writers really put him through the ringer emotionally during those years too. His wings are cut off and replaced, he watches his girlfirend be killed, then he has to deal with Apocalypse. Poor guy.

His lack of significant power doesn’t bother me. He just has to be used as more of a tactical weapon than a powerful one. And he has his purpose…he flies up high and looks at stuff. Whee! Plus, I think his newly revealed secondary mutation of having “healing blood” is much more in line with the angel imagery.

As far as the idea of constantly placing Angel and Iceman on teams together, I think there is some resonance for readers. Sure, the beginning publishing history of the X-Men is laughable at best, but over the years the characters have become rather iconic. There are worse things that Marvel has done than trying to build a team around a few original mutants (*cough*Spider-Clone*cough*). Hell, there wasn’t any other common thread holding the Champions together, was there? And the Defenders actually started to feel like a team when Beast was leading a group that included a couple former teammates and friends.

Honestly, it’s weird for me to think of Iceman and Angel in separate lights. They’ve been side-by-side for so long that one without the other just seems odd. I was completely taken aback when Iceman was on TV with Spider-Man. It just didn’t make sense (not to mention how much better the show would have been with Iceman AND Angel). And the few runs where Warren worked in tandem with the Avengers just felt awkward to me. I remember being excited to see Angel and then feeling dirty after reading the issues…like I just witnessed something I shouldn’t have. Of course, those weren’t the best years for the Avengers either.

Maybe this entire history is why I suggested we set Bobby and Warren up as leaders of the X-Men. The two characters have been ingrained in my brain as a permanent team. Man and man, side-by-side. Two former schoolboys sticking up for each other through thick and thin. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Via Tao of Tattoo.

1. Sterren!

Iedereen weet meteen waar ik het over heb. Iedereen en zijn/haar tante heeft er 1. Haha behalve mensen die ECHT van tatoeages houden. Nee, hoe kan het dat de meest populaire tattoo ook het meest gehate is in de tattoo-wereld. Persoonlijk vind ik dat mensen vaak te slordig met tatoeages omgaan, en vaak wordt er gekozen voor sterretjes. Aan de andere kant vind ik het soms prachtig om te zien (zie foto).

2. Engels!

Of in de vorm van een daadwerkelijke engel of engelvleugeltjes op ruggen. Jammer dat alles altijd zo hypocriet in het leven gaat…mocht ik ooit een engel tatoeëren dan wordt het gewoon Mr. Worthington (blijf een geek…). Alleen Van Damme en Chewbacca zijn sexier.

3. Tribal!

Ooo jeetje…tribal…de voorloper van meest gehate tatoeage! Nog steeds denk ik dat het er heel goed uit kan zien, maar een bandje om je biceps meneer…not a good look!…

4. Bloemen!

Schattig…ja ja…whatever…hangt ook echt van plaatsing en creativiteit hoe geweldig dit kan zijn, maar waarom is nooit iemand origineel en heeft gewoon een tatoeage van ms. Audrey II!

5. Celtic!

Is dit echt nog steeds populair? Zie het niet meer zo vaak voorbij vliegen. Niet mijn ding…mischien logisch…

6. Zwaluwen!

Waarom zwaluwen? Ja je vraagt het je af, maar er zijn wel redenen. Gevangenen, matroosje, pornoster of retro-ist. Wat ben jij?

7. Tramp stamps!

Jaja de beruchte tatoeages op de onderrug! In de tattoo-welt noemen ze dit de tramp-stamp. Heb je dr een = je bent een sletje! Ze worden ook meestal gezet om seksuele aantrekkingskracht te vergroten…dus? ik ga dr ook een nemen! Watch me!

8. Vlinders!

Zeg eerlijk, je hebt er ook 1 op je voet he? Dacht ik al…

9. Kanji!

Ooo man, wat is het altijd geweldig om te horen als niet-chinezen Kanji-tekens nemen die iets anders betekenen dan ze dachten. Dit heeft inderdaad te maken met het internet en de foute websites waar je namen kunt omzetten naar Kanji…wat een ellende…In ieder geval weten sommige mensen het wel goed te doen (tweede foto, geweldig gedaan). Sjeez…ik zit er wel over na te denken “douchebag” op z’n Kanji te laten zetten. Ill!

10. Black & Grey!

Favoriet van menig geekminded…Black & Grey werk slaat op alle tatoeages die gevormd worden door gebruik te maken van zwarte inkt, af en toe een beetje inkt en schaduwwerking. Niet iedereen kan dit en is vaak weggelegd voor tatoeëerders die er gespecialiseerd in zijn. Er is nog wel vaak een associatie met criminelen, met name in Amerika, gezien de vorm populair werd in de gevangenis waar de gedetineerden zelf tatoeage machines maakten en elkaar bewerkten. Denk aan 50 Cent en zijn rug of andere rappers en wat voor ideeën het meestal teweeg brengt. Echter de engel en de zwaluwen bijvoorbeeld behoren ook tot deze vorm van kunst. Jammer die vooroordelen…

By Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost (Writers), and Clayton Crain (Artist)

I have to admit, this one surprised me quite a bit. I never thought that Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost would manage to get a satisfying conclusion out of the increasingly convoluted “Angels and Demons” arc, but, lo and behold, they have. While there are a few things keeping X-Force #6 from being truly great, it is easily the best issue yet.

In an effective change of pace, the storyline is framed within a status report given by Wolverine to Cyclops. Long story short, all hell breaks loose at the Purifier base as all the various tensions and plotlines explode into an orgy of violence. Wolverine breaks up a standoff between Risman and Bastion, Archangel goes on a rampage against the choir, X-23 and Warpath kill a lot of Purifiers before facing off with someone changed by Magus, and Rahne stands up to her Purifier father. All of it works extremely well to bring the first arc of the re-launched series to a satisfying and appropriately, open-ended conclusion. That said, I have to acknowledge that are a few gaps in the storytelling that I wish Yost and Kyle would have taken the time to explain. While I won’t spoil anything here, the gaps involve the nature of Magus and transformation of Warren Worthington.

I have to hand it to the writers for changing the storytelling style for this issue. The decision pays off in a big way and allows the few plot holes to be fairly understandable given the context. If I have one complaint, however, it is that Wolverine’s narration is a little bit heavy on the “tough guy” image from time to time. Also, he swears quite a bit (which actually works well in giving the narration a conversational tone) and it made me realize the series would be much better off as a MAX title. Clayton Crain’s artwork (which I’ll get to in a moment) is already shockingly (MAX level) graphic, so why the need for censorship for some commonly used swear words? I know that’s a discussion for another day, but I feel it’s worth bringing up.

Crain’s artwork (see, I told you I would get to it) has never been better. The color palette is still a bit too dark and the characters occasionally look oddly proportioned, but those flaws can’t overshadow how visually compelling the action in this issue is. It is brutal, disturbing, and (oddly enough) beautiful all at the same time. Some of the pages have to be seen to be believed.

I really don’t know how much more I can say. I went into X-Force #6 fearing the worst and came away from it more than pleasantly surprised. If the momentum from this issue can be sustained, X-Force is going to be one series worth keeping an eye on. Action fans and “X” fans, consider this one a must buy. (Grade: B+)

- Kyle Posluszny

By Charlie Houston (Writer), Jefte Palo (Artist), and Lee Loughridge (Colorist) Jason Aaron (Writer), Werther Dell’Edera (Penciler), Antonio Fuso (Inker), and Andrew Crossley (Colorist)

I am just going to cut right to the chase with this review and say that I have two major complaints about this book.

So here it goes.

This one-shot feels completely unnecessary and, in some ways, incomplete. It’s unnecessary because we already have more than enough Wolverine stories to last the rest of the year both in stores and in the pipeline. While not a total loss, there really is no reason for the Ain’t No Dog tale to even exist. As for the other major complaint, the book feels incomplete because it fails to include a story for X-23, the third and, in many ways, most interesting character of the current X-Force team. Instead of something about X-23, we get another Wolverine story and, to be honest, that just rubbed me the wrong way. With those things said, however, taken as stand alone stories, you could do worse than what’s offered in this book.

Ain’t No Dog is about a Cyclops directed mission for Wolverine to retrieve a computer chip that is implanted inside a person of interest. Needless to say, the “all too easy” capture of the person is a trap and Wolverine must kill a lot of people before figuring out a way to get the computer chip. A simple, brutal story that, as I said, is quite unnecessary. Unlike something like Kick-Ass, which uses violence as a means to tell a story, the insane amount of violence here seems forced. This is shocking violence just to have some red on the page because it sells books and goes well with the X-Force style of violence.

Charlie Houston does a decent enough job setting up and executing the story, even making an interesting point about the phrase “ain’t no dog,” but there is nothing that makes it memorable or unique. As for the art, Jefte Palo draws some ugly, gritty characters (his Cyclops reminded me of Steve Buscemi) and then turns the violence up to eleven. At times there is some well done, though unnecessary, gore and Lee Loughridge does some great work with the bright red blood and dark shadows presented on nearly every page, but taken as a whole, the art is pretty mediocre.

Hunters and Killers is definitely the better of the two stories, though it is predictable and brings little to the character of Warpath that readers of the X-Force series wouldn’t already know. In a nutshell, Hunters and Killers is a tale about Warpath contemplating the difference between a hunter and a killer in relation to his Indian heritage while he goes about stalking a bear. As with his recent treatment of Wolverine during the Get Mystique arc, Jason Aaron does a nice job bringing some depth to Warpath through the inner monologue that drives the story. He brings a philosophic touch to the concept of what a hunt is and what results. It is pretty compelling stuff, even if the ending of the tale can be seen from a mile away. As for the art, the team does a nice job staging the hunt, though there really wasn’t anything memorable about the presentation. This is a more intimate tale and the art reflects that well.

Overall, I can’t help but feel that this X-Force special will only satisfy certain types of people. Wolverine and Warpath fans will get a decent enough fix and those looking for some comic book carnage will find themselves satisfied with the mass bloodletting in the Wolverine story, but all the rest can easily skip this book. There is nothing in this book that adds to the current X-Force storyline, the art isn’t strong enough to elevate the basic tales, and there is no X-23. If you haven’t noticed, I was looking for a lot more than I got. (Grade C-)

-Kyle Posluszny

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Writer), Adam Pollina (Art), and Matt Hollingsworth (Color Art)

On sale 5/29/08

Before I get into the review, let me say that this series grabbed my interest when the solicitation revealed the unique, religiously inspired cover. Angel has always been an interesting character to me and the prospect of a series highlighting his religious connections definitely grabbed my interest. I admit that I have some hopes built up for this miniseries, but I find myself disappointed by how things have started. Angel: Revelations #1 left me with a number of mixed feelings due to the equal number of high and low points present in the issue.

The bulk of Angel: Revelation #1 has to do with Warren Worthington III’s senior year at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School for Wayward Boys. The guy who will eventually become Angel is a popular track star dealing with girlfriend issues, a jealous teammate, and a coach who is suspicious about how his student has improved so much in so little time. What makes this familiar story unique is Warren’s sense of confusion about the change his body is going through as he finds himself rapidly becoming more athletic. A letter to his parents offers some nice insight into the character and the confusions of growing up. This sets the stage on how Warren’s story will most likely progress. The issue also introduces a priest who seems to perform exorcisms and while his work is only shown briefly, it threatens to overshadow anything told in Warren’s portion of the story. Another issue or two will decide whether this subplot is a good or a bad idea, but at least I can say with certainty that the scenes are incredibly effective.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing is quite strong at times, but overall I found it to be frustrating. The problem is that Warren comes across as a thoroughly unlikable, angst-ridden, teenage cliché at one point, than a sympathetic, complex character the next. I can appreciate the complex inner feelings of a character, but when every interaction that Warren takes part in leaves him looking like a moody jerk. It is hard to care about the guy.

It will be interesting to see how Warren is written in the coming issues. As I said, the letter to his parents was excellent, but outside of that, Warren came across as a tired cliché. The rest of the characters don’t fare much better; they come across as a generic stereotypes. The priest and his client are the only characters that truly grabbed my attention, but to avoid spoilers I will just say that the priests dialogue is incredibly effective.

Adam Pollina’s artwork also frustrated me because his people look like bizarre caricatures. The look is quite fitting for the surreal exorcism scenes and it actually adds quite a bit of atmosphere, but everything with Warren just looks incredibly odd. The look for the characters is unique, that’s for sure, but I found it to be more sloppy and ugly than satisfying. That said, Pollina knows how to create some nice scenery and architecture. The color work by Matt Hollingsworth is easily the visual high point as everything has an appropriate tone, especially the darker scenes. His use of color in darkness impressed me quite a bit and it helped create some interesting imagery.

Overall I found this issue to be quite disappointing and inconsistent. I’ll keep reading simply because I find the priest character to be compelling, but I don’t think I could recommend this to anyone that has little or no interest in Angel. This one is probably best for fans only. (Grade C-)

- Kyle Posluszny