Dark Horse; $17.99

After two seasons of stories, Angel and Faith has ended and Angel is starring in a solo Season 11 story. Kind of. Now he’s working with Fred and – in dire circumstances – Illyria, the Old One who shares her body. It seems the pair have fallen back into the roles as supernatural detectives, helping where they can when people are in need.

They’ve traveled to Ireland to perform an exorcism on a hotel owned by one of Angel’s friends, when he has a vision. Angel sees pieces of his violent past combined with strange plants and a plethora of bugs. Feeling threatened, Illyria emerges to confront Angel and show him that his vision may indeed have some merit on a coming situation. A situation that may need some assistance from Angelus himself.

Not only has Angel reverted to a solo series, sans Faith, the title has picked up a new creative team. It was written by Corinna Bechko with art by Geraldo Borges and colors by Michelle Madsen. Stylistically there are some obvious differences, which will require adjustment time on the part of the reader. But, it’s off to an interesting and imaginative start.

Since the comics introduced Fred/Illyria’s ability to transition between both beings, the character has grown and become more interesting. On the show, Fred was loveable and when Illyria took over, the goddess was unwelcomed. But now that we can have both, it’s exciting when Illyria shows up.

-Amanda Sheriff