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lunchlander's review
4.0
Peter David's Fallen Angel was an interesting blend of his usual sense of humor and solid superheroic genre writing and a darker, supernatural-tinged noir. The result was maybe David's best book, which was published by DC Comics but seemed to be outside their universe.
The city of Bete Noir was like a supernatural Casablanca, where the heroine was a fallen angel (hence the title), her best friend was a guy who ran a bar called Dolf's and *might* have been a reformed Adolph Hitler, her nemesis was also her lover, who ran the city, and... well, there was just a terrific ensemble cast.
The artwork was by David Lopez and Fernando Blanco, and it was beautiful stuff. Reminiscent of Stuart Immonen, Barry Kitson and especially Darick Robertson, the book looked beautiful, and the art emphasized the superhero elements as well as the noir darkness, which made the whole thing work.
This first volume is also probably the best, as it introduces the cast of characters and then sets the lead up against an invisible, powerful, murderous beast.
The book got a second collection from DC (against all odds) but sadly, the third volume, which would have completed the series with a fine ending, remains available only in single issues. Peter David has also continued the series at IDW, but with a different artist, and I'll have more on that when I write up the IDW hardcover collection.
The city of Bete Noir was like a supernatural Casablanca, where the heroine was a fallen angel (hence the title), her best friend was a guy who ran a bar called Dolf's and *might* have been a reformed Adolph Hitler, her nemesis was also her lover, who ran the city, and... well, there was just a terrific ensemble cast.
The artwork was by David Lopez and Fernando Blanco, and it was beautiful stuff. Reminiscent of Stuart Immonen, Barry Kitson and especially Darick Robertson, the book looked beautiful, and the art emphasized the superhero elements as well as the noir darkness, which made the whole thing work.
This first volume is also probably the best, as it introduces the cast of characters and then sets the lead up against an invisible, powerful, murderous beast.
The book got a second collection from DC (against all odds) but sadly, the third volume, which would have completed the series with a fine ending, remains available only in single issues. Peter David has also continued the series at IDW, but with a different artist, and I'll have more on that when I write up the IDW hardcover collection.
vzrivera's review
5.0
Best Christmas present ever. I got the Omnibus #0. The original series. I love Peter David. I became a fan of his during his run with DC on Supergirl during the 90s and I think I'll be a fan for life. I was glad to see IDW bought the rights to and released the series and to even add to it (because the original series was canceled because no one wanted to buy the "comic." They wanted to buy the "graphic novel"). Unfortunately Omnibus #1 costs anywhere from $100 to $300. I should have bought it when it came out in 2009 but I was hesitant because of the Buffy the Vampire eliminate. I missed out big time. I'm always going to regret it. I'm not a fan of Buffy the Vampire series. I bought Omnibus #2 (it was only $20) and he was still the same great Peter David style. So I worried for nothing. Maybe some day I can afford Omnibus #1 maybe not. I highly recommend the Fallen Angel series. It's gritty with a strong female heroine who at times seems more like an anti hero. She's not an Angel. Not in the least. She will cross the line and not lose any sleep. She'll make the hard choices no one else will.
heypretty52's review
4.0
Weird and entertaining despite not being particularly unique. The building of the town stood out more than anything, but I would definitely read more Fallen Angel.
xterminal's review
4.0
Peter David, Fallen Angel (DC, 2004)
David kicks off a new, and very intriguing series, with an introduction from Harlan Ellison. Yeah, that Harlan Ellison, the old version of Mikey in the Life commercial-- the guy who hates everything. Curmudgeon though he may be, Ellison has some high praise for Peter David and his new series. I am certainly not more than a pale shadow of Harlan Ellison; I could spend the rest of my life working on my writing and I'd never get anywhere near that good. So all I can say is, well, the man is right.
Fallen Angel is probably the closest thing I've read in the past twenty years (save a few one-offs like Gaiman's Eternals) to a traditional superhero comic, but like [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649], this ain't your momma's superhero. Lee, the fallen angel of the title (we do not yet know if the title is literal or not), has come to the small Louisiana town of Bete Noire and set up shop to help the hopeless and downtrodden. There are, of course, a host of bad guys, though as things go in comics these days, once we meet them, we have to wonder if they're all bad, and the henchmen, of course, are varying shades of grey (usually in direct relation to their intelligence). Everyone's playing everyone against everyone else.
There's a grittiness to the language that reminds me of 100 Bullets without the dialect, though David grabs ahold of his story arc from the get-go (unlike Azzarello, who took four or five volumes to unload everything on us), and it does make for some fine reading. The action is fast, David has thought well ahead into his seemingly minor characters, and the artwork fits the story like a glove. This is quite a beginning. Can't wait to see where he goes from here. ****
David kicks off a new, and very intriguing series, with an introduction from Harlan Ellison. Yeah, that Harlan Ellison, the old version of Mikey in the Life commercial-- the guy who hates everything. Curmudgeon though he may be, Ellison has some high praise for Peter David and his new series. I am certainly not more than a pale shadow of Harlan Ellison; I could spend the rest of my life working on my writing and I'd never get anywhere near that good. So all I can say is, well, the man is right.
Fallen Angel is probably the closest thing I've read in the past twenty years (save a few one-offs like Gaiman's Eternals) to a traditional superhero comic, but like [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649], this ain't your momma's superhero. Lee, the fallen angel of the title (we do not yet know if the title is literal or not), has come to the small Louisiana town of Bete Noire and set up shop to help the hopeless and downtrodden. There are, of course, a host of bad guys, though as things go in comics these days, once we meet them, we have to wonder if they're all bad, and the henchmen, of course, are varying shades of grey (usually in direct relation to their intelligence). Everyone's playing everyone against everyone else.
There's a grittiness to the language that reminds me of 100 Bullets without the dialect, though David grabs ahold of his story arc from the get-go (unlike Azzarello, who took four or five volumes to unload everything on us), and it does make for some fine reading. The action is fast, David has thought well ahead into his seemingly minor characters, and the artwork fits the story like a glove. This is quite a beginning. Can't wait to see where he goes from here. ****
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