You may have already seen the news that swept across the Intardwebz that Joss Whedon’s Angel series is returning to Dark Horse Comics in 2011. For the last five years, Angel has been published with IDW Publishing, and when the word first broke it seemed to catch a lot of people by surprise.
“Dark Horse really regrets that this news was released before a joint statement from both companies was issued,” said Dark Horse Senior Editor Scott Allie on the Dark Horse blog. “Behind the scenes, we’d been working closely with IDW to ensure that the hand-off went smoothly. It was never our intent to catch ANGEL or IDW readers unaware. We’ve been working directly with Chris, Mariah and Brian on the interaction and the overlap between the storylines, and we think it’s gonna be a lot of fun for everyone.”
The final six-issue Angel story arc kicks off from IDW Publishing in November 2010, which should make the transition back to Dark Horse fairly easy for fans. According to IDW Publishing Joss Whedon, Dark Horse, and IDW Publishing are working hard to make this happen.
“We’ve loved the half-decade of publishing the exploits of both ANGEL, and the fan support has been truly inspiring and appreciated,” said IDW’s Chief Creative Officer Chris Ryall. “The fact that steps are being taken by both companies to tie the books more closely together is something I’ve long wanted to do. This will not only ensure a smooth hand-off back to Dark Horse, it will also give the fans a cohesive storyline and explain some of the lingering questions they might have. While I hate to see Angel go, I know Joss has a vision for where things are headed and I’m excited to be a part of that.”
“I’ve always regretted letting Angel go in the first place,” said Scott Allie in a prepared statement. “So we’re really excited about getting him back, as well as all his supporting cast. It’s necessary for how Joss wants to handle season nine, details of which will start spilling out in the months to come. Right now, we’ve got to wrap up season eight, and IDW still has a good long run of books before season nine starts.”
“I know change is hard for fans – and us publishers, too,” Ryall said, “but I want to remind everyone that we’re still going strong and have big plans for ANGEL well into 2011. Another point in our favor here is that the reversion nevertheless allows us to keep all of our Angel books in print long after we’ve stopped releasing new ANGEL comics. So the news might be surprising but the fact is, the stories you’ve loved aren’t going away any time soon. We’ve still got one last, big year to come, and we’ll fight the good fight until the end. Angel wouldn’t have it any other way.”
So, Dear Reader, are you more interested in reading Angel now to see how the transition back to Dark Horse works? Are you eager to see Joss take on Angel once again?
via IDW Publishing and Dark Horse Comics
5 Comments
This is good news to me. Willingham is a good write but does not get the characters of Angle at all. I cringe reading his version of Angel. He’s tried too hard to “make it his own.” Hopefully all his crap will not be considered canon.
First of all, love that picture!
I’ve always been put off with reading the Buffy/Angel/Spike comics because of the continuity mess. I started reading them when Season 8 was announced to be in continuity with the show. I’ll read anything that’s in continuity. I tend to ignore anything that’s not. So this leads me to my question: From what I hear, the Angel books publishes by IDW have had several continuity errors with Dark Horse’s comics. Will this new title be following the story the way Joss wanted it (past tense) to go or the way that IDW took it?
I think the best thing to do at this point is to just pick up Angel from the end of Season 8 and not mention the events of IDW’s books. That way they can be included or not if a reader wants it to.
So many questions… so many uncertainties.
(P.s. – if anyone knows exactly what (specific) books are considered canonical to the Whedon-verse, please let me know. All I own is Season 8 and Spike:After the Fall)
The Angel and Buffy comics have really been going downhill lately…But ya gotta dig the Hell-Cover.
The current Angel stuff at IDW is cannon. The final IDW Angel arc is supposed to dovetail into Buffy Season 8, I believe (bringing Angel to the point he becomes Twilight).
I’m more interested in Angel-by-Whedon than Angel-by-Anyone-Else, so that’s a point in it’s favor for sure.