The end to Cyborg’s first arc is here and while the ending may wrap up just tightly enough that you could call this comic overall a mini-series everything changes, and David Walker leaves just enough for fans for an emotional payoff and give a glimpse at a new future for Victor Stone.
Angel and Faith #18 has all the elements of a good Whedon-y tale, including female characters with agency that aren’t necessarily Amazon warriors (Fred and Mary in this case.), some witty dialogue, and a nice use of monsters of metaphors. It doesn’t hurt that this metaphor is driven home by a formidable and entertaining villain in Drusilla, whose role as Mother Prior in the last Angel and Faith series gets expanded upon in this issue. Some of Cliff Richards’ figures seem overly posed, especially in the fight scenes, but his storytelling is clear, and Michelle Madsen adds a special fiery “Oomph!” to vampire staking parts.
While Angel is off dealing with Old Ones, demon lords, and Spike actually dating Buffy over in Buffy Season Ten, Angel and Faith Season Ten #16 focuses on Faith, Fred, and Magic Town’s (An area of London where demons and various magic and “special” folk live) top cop Brandt’s more “low key” work. Victor Gischler writes Faith as both wistful and sassy as she moves out of the apartment she and Giles used to share and starts to investigate some mysterious killings at a prep school. She and Fred have a nice buddy dynamic, but Cliff Richards draws their faces in a similar manner and it is hard to tell them apart. Richards’ combination of hyper detailed figures and less detailed backgrounds give the art a static feel, and there isn’t much in the way of facial expressions even if his anatomy and monster designs are on point.
Well Earth 2 returns once again and the best that can be said is, it’s not as bad as last time. Granted that’s not saying much, but when a series sets its bar so low it’s subterranean one should take what they can get.
Earth 2 #30 Written by Marguerite Bennett & Mike Johnson Art by Andy Smith & Trevor Scott, Tyler Kirkham, Cliff Richards & Thony Silas Published by DC Comics At this point, reviewing what is in theory Earth 2 seems like a moot point. If the last two issues say anything, it’s that this series is …