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Buffy the Vampire Slayer (mini-series)
Angel: The Hollower
In a graphic novel based on the popular television series, Angel, a young vampire, confronts an ancient enemy from his past, the Hollower, a hideous creature that preys on vampires. Original.
117 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Joss Whedon
484 books4,334 followersJoss Whedon (born Joseph Hill Whedon) is an American screenwriter, executive producer, film and television director, comic book writer, occasional composer, and actor, and the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures.
He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)', 'Angel (1999–2004)', 'Firefly (2002)' and its film follow-up 'Serenity (2005)', and 'Dollhouse (2009–2010)', as well as the web-series' 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)'. Whedon co-wrote and produced the horror film 'The Cabin in the Woods (2012)', and wrote and directed the film adaptation of Marvel's 'The Avengers (2012)', the third highest-grossing film of all time.
Many of Whedon's projects have cult status and his work is notable for portraying strong female characters and a belief in equality.
credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon
He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)', 'Angel (1999–2004)', 'Firefly (2002)' and its film follow-up 'Serenity (2005)', and 'Dollhouse (2009–2010)', as well as the web-series' 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)'. Whedon co-wrote and produced the horror film 'The Cabin in the Woods (2012)', and wrote and directed the film adaptation of Marvel's 'The Avengers (2012)', the third highest-grossing film of all time.
Many of Whedon's projects have cult status and his work is notable for portraying strong female characters and a belief in equality.
credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 27, 2025
not a huge fan of the art and it lacked some scooby charm but it was still a solid angel focused issue. the hollower - a demon that literally sucks the soul out of vamps - was an interesting threat and i liked the flashbacks to 1892 angelus. that said, it didn’t hit as hard as it could’ve, and the potential for deeper character stakes kind of fizzled. still, worth it for buffy/angel tension and lore expansion.
even though angel didn’t want to risk others just for the chance of becoming human, i couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if his demon soul had been taken *sighs*
even though angel didn’t want to risk others just for the chance of becoming human, i couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if his demon soul had been taken *sighs*
December 15, 2016
I'm not a big fan of graphic novels but I am a Buffy/Angel fan so I'll read those when I come across one. This story jumped back and forth between current day and 1892, and sometimes I got confused, and sometimes I just got some of the characters mixed up and was confused until I figured out who was actually talking.
August 29, 2017
An unfortunate by-the-numbers Angel/Buffy book that isn't worth telling. The plot is very basic and Christopher Golden has done much better work. The art by Hector Gomez is very rushed and sketchy. The dialogue wasn't up to par for these treasured characters. Overall, a supreme letdown.
December 19, 2024
A figure from Angel's past arrives in Sunnydale with the news that an old enemy, the vampire-eating demon known as the Hollower, has returned.
This book was released before Angel actually got his own spinoff TV series, which is to say that it's from the early days of Buffyverse comics which were, largely, awful.
The plot here is pretty boring and the hints of Angel risking his life to use the Hollower to destroy his vampire-self are never actually explored the way I would've liked them to. Instead it's just mentioned that there's a chance he could become fully human again but that idea goes nowhere.
Worse for me than the bland plot was the terrible artwork. None of the characters (with the possible exception of Giles) looks like their onscreen counterparts, the design of the Hollower itself is pretty unimaginative and some of the vampires are bright green (something that seems to be a common theme among Buffy comics for some reason).
The only reason I've not rated this as a 1 out of 5 is that the handful of scenes exploring Angel's history as Angelus in the 19th Century were actually pretty interesting.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
This book was released before Angel actually got his own spinoff TV series, which is to say that it's from the early days of Buffyverse comics which were, largely, awful.
The plot here is pretty boring and the hints of Angel risking his life to use the Hollower to destroy his vampire-self are never actually explored the way I would've liked them to. Instead it's just mentioned that there's a chance he could become fully human again but that idea goes nowhere.
Worse for me than the bland plot was the terrible artwork. None of the characters (with the possible exception of Giles) looks like their onscreen counterparts, the design of the Hollower itself is pretty unimaginative and some of the vampires are bright green (something that seems to be a common theme among Buffy comics for some reason).
The only reason I've not rated this as a 1 out of 5 is that the handful of scenes exploring Angel's history as Angelus in the 19th Century were actually pretty interesting.
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
September 14, 2025
got some more angel comics in. this is actually the first one - technically part of the buffy series rather than the angel series, and including buffy and giles, which is fun. the art was not my favorite but the story was cute, including flashbacks to the old days with darla, spike, and dru - there was a really cute panel with dru.
December 8, 2017
Only read the single issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comic #18. The comic was great and I would continue reading to see what happens. However, I probably wont search for the entire series if its a crossover with Angel. Wasn't a big fan of his.
November 8, 2020
Fun little lore minisode :-)
December 31, 2024
2.75 stars
April 29, 2015
And so we come to Angel: The Hollower, Dark Horse's first tale focused specially on everyone's favorite vampire-with-a-soul. The Hollower was originally published as a three-issue miniseries, available either in its own collection or in Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume IV.
According the the mythology of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the process of conversion involves a person's soul being banished from their body and replaced with a demon. The resulting creature retains the memories and some of the emotions of that person, but without any of the pity or morality that comes with having a soul--the original person you may have known is dead and gone, and the vampire left in their place would just love to eat your face. The demon is the only thing keeping the vampire's dead body alive and moving, and were it to be destroyed or banished somehow the body would disappear in a cloud of dust just as effectively as if a certain spunky Slayer had rammed Mr. Pointy through their non-functioning heart.
Angel, however, is a special case. After becoming a vampire he cut a swath of destruction and cruelty across the world, taking a perverse joy in torturing his victims to their limits before feeding on them or turning them into vampires themselves. All that ended when a clan of gypsies laid a cruel curse on him in vengeance for his preying on one of their own--Angel's human soul was returned to his body, existing alongside the demon in a constant struggle for control. Even more torturous, his conscience was returned along with his soul. For the past hundred years Angel has lived a solitary existence, attempting to atone for all the pain he has caused while never allowing himself a moment of perfect happiness lest the curse rear its ugly head once again and return him to the soulless killer he once was....
As it turns out, besides the Slayer, vampires have only one natural predator: the Hollower, a tentacle beast that exists by sucking the demons from vampires and leaving their empty bodies to disappear in a puff of dust. Sounds like a potential ally, right? Guess again. Once it has ingested enough vampires, it spews forth those captive demons once again to inhabit whatever bodies they can find, forming an army of enslaved newly-turned vampires. Angel fought the thing once before, back before he was re-ensouled, and merely managed to chase it away to feed somewhere else. Now its shown up in Sunnydale, and Angel is forced to face the possibility that this could be his final redemption, his way to escape the demon forever....unless he plays the hero and kills it before it can possess the entire town, of course.
On the whole, this was an interesting tale. There were a few inconsistencies, such as Angel stating that he thought the Hollower destroyed forever, then in the flashback detailing their earlier encounter stating that it was only injured and would someday return, but oh well. Otherwise I enjoyed it, and I'm always happy to see Spike and Dru make an appearance. The good news is that Hector Gomez's art was stellar this time around, from Buffy to Angel's Errol Flynn 'stache he sports in the flashbacks, everyone was definitely themselves. The dialogue was always spot-on, and I thought Golden and Gomez even managed to nail a number of the characters' particular mannerisms. Timeline-wise, this is set soon after the sprawling Bad Blood arc, or in other words somewhere in the middle of Buffy's third season.
CONTENT: Mild profanity. No real sexual content, but some flirting and innuendo as well as a couple instances of scantily-clad females. Violence consistent with the Buffy television show, both vampiric and otherwise. Occult-wise, these are Buffyverse vampires. I leave it to you to decide whether that counts.
According the the mythology of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the process of conversion involves a person's soul being banished from their body and replaced with a demon. The resulting creature retains the memories and some of the emotions of that person, but without any of the pity or morality that comes with having a soul--the original person you may have known is dead and gone, and the vampire left in their place would just love to eat your face. The demon is the only thing keeping the vampire's dead body alive and moving, and were it to be destroyed or banished somehow the body would disappear in a cloud of dust just as effectively as if a certain spunky Slayer had rammed Mr. Pointy through their non-functioning heart.
Angel, however, is a special case. After becoming a vampire he cut a swath of destruction and cruelty across the world, taking a perverse joy in torturing his victims to their limits before feeding on them or turning them into vampires themselves. All that ended when a clan of gypsies laid a cruel curse on him in vengeance for his preying on one of their own--Angel's human soul was returned to his body, existing alongside the demon in a constant struggle for control. Even more torturous, his conscience was returned along with his soul. For the past hundred years Angel has lived a solitary existence, attempting to atone for all the pain he has caused while never allowing himself a moment of perfect happiness lest the curse rear its ugly head once again and return him to the soulless killer he once was....
As it turns out, besides the Slayer, vampires have only one natural predator: the Hollower, a tentacle beast that exists by sucking the demons from vampires and leaving their empty bodies to disappear in a puff of dust. Sounds like a potential ally, right? Guess again. Once it has ingested enough vampires, it spews forth those captive demons once again to inhabit whatever bodies they can find, forming an army of enslaved newly-turned vampires. Angel fought the thing once before, back before he was re-ensouled, and merely managed to chase it away to feed somewhere else. Now its shown up in Sunnydale, and Angel is forced to face the possibility that this could be his final redemption, his way to escape the demon forever....unless he plays the hero and kills it before it can possess the entire town, of course.
On the whole, this was an interesting tale. There were a few inconsistencies, such as Angel stating that he thought the Hollower destroyed forever, then in the flashback detailing their earlier encounter stating that it was only injured and would someday return, but oh well. Otherwise I enjoyed it, and I'm always happy to see Spike and Dru make an appearance. The good news is that Hector Gomez's art was stellar this time around, from Buffy to Angel's Errol Flynn 'stache he sports in the flashbacks, everyone was definitely themselves. The dialogue was always spot-on, and I thought Golden and Gomez even managed to nail a number of the characters' particular mannerisms. Timeline-wise, this is set soon after the sprawling Bad Blood arc, or in other words somewhere in the middle of Buffy's third season.
CONTENT: Mild profanity. No real sexual content, but some flirting and innuendo as well as a couple instances of scantily-clad females. Violence consistent with the Buffy television show, both vampiric and otherwise. Occult-wise, these are Buffyverse vampires. I leave it to you to decide whether that counts.
August 5, 2011
In Angel: The Hollower, Christopher Golden creates a comic book extra to the Buffy the Vampire television series, set during the period of time when Buffy and Angel were beginning to get to know each other and fall in love and before Angel returned to being evil Angelus. Golden does an excellent job of taking Joss Whedon’s characters and furthering their mystique without being repetitive or making them seem out of character. Angel, in particular, has great insight into his former inhuman self.
The plot hinges on the reemergence of a monster called the Hollower, whom Anelus had previously battled. The Hollower feeds on the demon inside vampires until it acquires three hundred thousand such demons and then regurgitates the demons back up. Once the demons are released from the Hollower, they seek human flesh to occupy and can even take over a live body.
Scary stuff, even for Angel. As a result, he has to team up with an old vampire friend in order to defeat the Hollower. Being that he’s brooding Angel and not exactly forthcoming with his emotions or the details of his existence, he keeps Buffy and Giles and the gang out of the loop until it is almost too late. Angel, it seems, has a lot to learn about fighting as a team player.
This is what makes the The Hollower a successful story: an action-based plot coupled with a challenge that is particularly difficult for the characters involved. Buffy, while living a violent life, is still naïve about trusting others. By necessity, she has to trust Giles and Xander and Willow, and she believes that she can trust Angel, but there is still something shady about him. She knows that he is a vampire, and she has an inkling that he has a past, but she still does not know the full extent to which Angel’s nature endangers them all.
Call it text and subtext—call it thing and other thing—The Hollower couples character desire with plot, a combination that is difficult in any narrative. What makes the story worth reading, however, is not just Golden’s ability to create a multi-layered narrative, but it is also interesting and full of danger. Decidedly not boring.
The plot hinges on the reemergence of a monster called the Hollower, whom Anelus had previously battled. The Hollower feeds on the demon inside vampires until it acquires three hundred thousand such demons and then regurgitates the demons back up. Once the demons are released from the Hollower, they seek human flesh to occupy and can even take over a live body.
Scary stuff, even for Angel. As a result, he has to team up with an old vampire friend in order to defeat the Hollower. Being that he’s brooding Angel and not exactly forthcoming with his emotions or the details of his existence, he keeps Buffy and Giles and the gang out of the loop until it is almost too late. Angel, it seems, has a lot to learn about fighting as a team player.
This is what makes the The Hollower a successful story: an action-based plot coupled with a challenge that is particularly difficult for the characters involved. Buffy, while living a violent life, is still naïve about trusting others. By necessity, she has to trust Giles and Xander and Willow, and she believes that she can trust Angel, but there is still something shady about him. She knows that he is a vampire, and she has an inkling that he has a past, but she still does not know the full extent to which Angel’s nature endangers them all.
Call it text and subtext—call it thing and other thing—The Hollower couples character desire with plot, a combination that is difficult in any narrative. What makes the story worth reading, however, is not just Golden’s ability to create a multi-layered narrative, but it is also interesting and full of danger. Decidedly not boring.
December 12, 2010
I really enjoyed this story line. The Hollower is a demon that is plaguing the vampire population; it sucks their demon souls out and leaves a hollow dead shell of a body. Some may wonder, "How is that a bad thing? Is the Demon not doing everyone a favour?" well in a sense yes, but it comes with a price, a very costly price. Angel has dealt with this creature before in the past, but was unable to destroy it. It's now up to Buffy, Angel and Giles to get to the bottom of how to destroy this ancient evil.
I was actually a little disappointed in the lack of the Scooby gang in this story. I'm so used to having Willow, Xander, Cordy and Oz around that it feels kind of weird when they are not. Almost wrong! ;o)
Another Great story by Christopher Golden :0)
Worth the read for any Buffy Fan
I was actually a little disappointed in the lack of the Scooby gang in this story. I'm so used to having Willow, Xander, Cordy and Oz around that it feels kind of weird when they are not. Almost wrong! ;o)
Another Great story by Christopher Golden :0)
Worth the read for any Buffy Fan
September 20, 2010
Meh - not the best Angel GN I've read so far. Mr Golden gets the voices of the characters perfectly, but there's just not enough page space in there to tell anything more than the most perfunctory story. Plus, the art REALLY didn't do it for me in comparison to the amazing Buffy s8 comics
September 27, 2018
Another big tentacle-y bad who sucks the demons out of vampires...I liked the flashbacks to the days of Angel, Spike, and Dru. This comic, like most of the Omnibus Vol. 4, takes place before Sn. 3, Ep. 20 "The Prom" where Angel breaks up with Buffy. 😭
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2008
Lame as far as Angel fans are concerned.
July 15, 2014
It's City of Angels in book form. Cute.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews