Angel: Crown Prince Syndrome

Angel: After the Fall (collected editions)

by Bill Willingham, Brian Denham, Elena Casagrande

Now that Angel's back in charge, he struggles to keep his relationship with Connor from getting messy and discovers weird new things about Illyria as she tries to woo the prodigal son. Meanwhile, Spike gets into the prophecy business, Laura Kay Weathermill has some strange ideas, and a demon army of warrior women tries to "fix" L.A. You know, just another day for Angel and crew.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Vampires, Horror, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Urban Fantasy

148 pages, Hardcover

First published December 22, 2010

About the author

In the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many years. He contributed stories to Green Lantern and started his own independent, black-and-white comics series Coventry which lasted only 3 issues. He also produced the pornographic series Ironwood for Eros Comix.

In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables

Reviews

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5 stars.
The overarching story within these collected issues was more Connor centric, which keeps to the tone of the last collected volume and that pays off by the end of the final issue. I will say that a lot of the smaller plots were...random? The little plot lines that were introduced in each issue felt confusing as they weaved around the main story. They weren't focused on enough and ended too quickly (or not at all!) They could be leaving threads open to deal with later on but this volume just felt incomplete. I did like the fact that there was real world and mythos building and I can't wait to see what they do in the last few issues!

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Angel the TV series.

I picked this up in the library, flicked through and decided the title was a coincidence. The main characters are that unrecognisable in every way.

I quite liked the plethora of weird characters that are not in the Teeve version and it might read ok if I had read number one. I don't think it would ever be better than ok though and it certainly lacks the Joss' brilliance and subtlety.

The artwork is average to bad. Average in that it is standard hack work graphics with little inspiration. Bad in that Angel, Conner and Spike should not be so difficult to draw that they are unrecognisable. Quite odd really, several of the 'Fables' books are quite nicely drawn.

I won't look for more.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel's out getting his blood drained and his son is pissing everyone off. Meanwhile, a new researcher joins the team. What could go wrong? Who betrays whom, first? Find out next, on Angel, MD.

[Emily Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Angel: Crown Prince Syndrome Angel Investigations is betrayed by one of their own. James, who had claimed to be an angel, attacks new member of the team, Laura Weathermill, when she calls him out on his lie. James injures her and Angel considerably. The incident is interwoven with a letter between James and his sister, offering to buy Earth. Turns out James is one of a powerful alien family.

Spike is having a soul problem. Conner is sought by multiple females, though none of them human. Later in the volume, Charles Gunn makes an appearance.

I am not quite sure of the chronology in the Buffyverse, but it is sometime after the end of the Angel television show. Everyone has a memory of hell, but also the belief that it did not happen.

There are lots of new characters with whom I am not familiar and the plot lines were a bit thin. I found this volume kind of meh.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't even finish this. And I wouldn't read the last volume of IDW's Angel graphic novels because I disliked this so much. Spike didn't sound like Spike to me at all in this or the previous volume. I won't place this on my Goodreads shelf labeled "Whedon" because I love Joss Whedon and this just doesn't measure up. I'm relieved that Angel & co. are back at Dark Horse where they belong.

[Anastasiaadamov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story and many plots. Some were a bit conffusing and still are. The story made up for funky artwork too.

[pianogal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this one. Good story about Spikes soul. And Illyria is always entertaining. Interested in seeing what happens with the new watcher chick.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline and so-so art. Angel meets his match in James, a demonic god masquerading as an Angelic emissary, who severs the vampire's feet and hands, temporarily disabling him. In the meantime, Illyria attempts to seduce Connor, igniting passion and lust in the members of Angel, Inc. The true mission of the female warrior demons worshipping and protecting Connor becomes clear. This volume also contains an interesting tale of Eddie Hope vs Charles Gunn. I very highly recommend this second book in the trilogy.

[Thereysa Tabert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comic is actually part of the After The Fall #8 (out of 9).

It was alright. The storyline was all over the place with too many characters and random plots. There were so many things they didn't explain at all... (ending of Chapter 5 for example). The plot wasn't well thought out with too many sub plots that were just fillers.

[Love_booksforlife Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why but this series of Angel is my least favorite. They started off okay but then decided to almost rewrite the last book by killing off new characters (I actually found Dez interesting!) and then made others evil. Kind of annoying. Plus the characters just don't read the same, namely Angel. I'll keep pushing through just to finish

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting any of this! Further adventure with Angel and crew.

Connor taking center stage isn’t my fave but I enjoyed it. Bill Willingham continues to do good stuff.
Spike gets a silly but funny subplot. And chapter 2 was hilarious.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent entry in this series while I churn through my backlog of humble bundle books, but nothing particularly memorable

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was decent, but the art was spotty in some places.

[Risa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ish

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The weird thing about this volume is that it was super true to the tone of the show. The ending with Angel and Connor on the roof felt like something Joss would have put in there. Happily ever after but enough angst to make you want to pull out your hair.

Concerning the characters of Dez and James, I feel that the author has become forced to deal with them due to Kelley Armstrong's big mess up with "Aftermath". I feel that Willingham has done the best he could due to the circumstances of the "original characters".

I did really like the Spike arc in this volume. The possibility of Spike losing his soul was interesting. Although, not nearly as threatening as Angel losing his. Spike had adjusted to "doing good" without his soul and as long as he could do violence with Angel Investigations, could probably be talked into something like that again. However, Spike still has his soul, so there ends up being no reason to worry.

I did like the end bit with Eddie. I liked that there was finally a connection made with Angel Investigations and Eddie got taken down for going after one of their own.

[Sarah Weiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Immortality for Dummies and the promise of more Connor-centric storylines, I was excited for this one.

However, it wasn't as good as I hoped. Willingham does get points for getting rid of Dez and James - they were dragging the team down. But James being a god-like bad guy with a deranged sister is very boring, and Connor's Sisterhood of Jaro Hull are equally mysterious and one-note. Of course they were bad news.

That said, I liked the Angel/Connor bonding stuff a lot. And Spike trying to get out-of-work screenwriters to write him a prophesy was very funny - even if I don't believe there's anything wrong with his soul. People with souls are allowed to be ego maniacs.

[Izlinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't finished this graphic novel before I had to leave Borders after the Patrick Rothfuss signing. Matt did and describe the rest to me.

I was attracted to this mostly because Willingham (author of Fables) wrote it. I found the beginning very amusing with the effects of Illyria's pheromones. More confusion about the Jaro Hull and their obsession with Connor. I had to leave shortly after Angel and co. rescued Connor.

While some new revelations, I don't think it's worth buying, but definitely reading for free.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a couple of places where character's made grand epiphanies, and reading the text I just couldn't see how they got there. It's like Willingham wrote the story too long and then had to go back and remove pages. Aside from that, it was fun to be back in the Angelverse and I truly enjoyed the final scenes between Angel and Connor. What can I say, I'm a sucker for anytime those two aren't trying to kill each other.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall I've been unimpressed with Willingham's run on Angel. His villains are interesting in the lead up, but anti-climatic when they finally make their move and are easily defeated. Unsurprisingly to anyone know knows me, Spike was my favorite part of this book and I'm actually excited to see how his plot of a tarnished soul leads him into Buffy Season 8 canon. Though I actually really enjoyed Connor too, unfortunately everyone else was kinda a hot mess.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of good things about Willingham's run on Angel, he writes the characters well and often amusingly and he seems in general to have some good ideas for them, but somewhere the overarching story gets lost and I'm left with a feeling of not really caring what just happened or why. That's a real shame, this was something of a missed opportunity and it's also ultimately pretty missable reading. Still good fun for Angel fans, though.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, not as strong as Willingham's previous volume. There's still some fun here, and the characters still seem right, they just don't get as much time for characterization. The main problem is the plot, which is all over the place and gets really muddy in the last issue. And, we shall not even speak of the art, which is very uneven and has one horrid issue (#5).

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Connor's army show their true colours, and a demon tries to take over the world again. This is a very good plot with some great character moments. Illyria is feeling horny, Spike has a problem with his soul, and Angel is his usual self. This is fun, surprisingly so, after the first volume, this feels like the TV show. A very good read.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure why but this series of Angel is my least favorite. They started off okay but then decided to almost rewrite the last book by killing off new characters (I actually found Dez interesting!) and then made others evil. Kind of annoying. Plus the characters just don't read the same, namely Angel. I'll keep pushing through just to finish

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually when one of my questions about Angel's world is answered, three more questions arise. This installment answered a few questions, and didn't leave me hanging. The loose ends are coming together nicely.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part was when Illyria's hormones were making everyone horny.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This harked back to the original series in that there was an everybody's-crazy-in-a-specific-way-for-an-episode issue.