Angel & Faith #25

by Tori B. on August 28, 2013

It’s the final issue for Angel & Faith. Now that Giles is back a bigger problem that has been lurking in the background of all this peaks and of course it’s up to our heroes who have already been through so much to keep the balance in order.
 
 
Writer: Christos Gage | Artists: Rebekah Isaacs & Dan Jackson
Cover: Steve Morris | Publisher: Dark Horse
 
 
What a finale it is. Of course considering the universe that this takes place in, a finale of an apocalyptic nature is pretty much expected but what makes this different than most of the other apocalypses that Angel and Buffy and Co. have fought against is that this isn’t merely a battle of good versus evil where the light beats the darkness to save the world, it’s about maintaining balance.
 
For there to be good, there needs to be a semblance of evil, but at what cost. Naturally Angel argues that the cost is not worth the sanctuary Whistler thinks he’s meant to bring—so they fight. Their battle is a grand display of both Isaacs and Jackson’s talent and what they have brought to the series. Whistler looks very much like the half demon, half agent of the powers that be that he is and it’s looks awesome. He glows mystically and his horns have texture, and the art is just mind blowing.
 
With the small dose of magic that gets thrown into the community thanks to Whistler’s actions, it’s like a small dose of life has been thrown back into a previously darker world, and maybe that the balance was less about good and evil but about a balance between magic and none at all. As we see with those who were touched by magic as this entire ordeal went down. Some people are embracing their newfound abilities, others, not so much. But there’s a balance, and it was restored by magic and less so between good and evil.
 
Yes Angel and Co. sort of save the day, they’re heroes, it’s what they do but they’re also not the only heroes of the issue—Giles’ great aunts seem to think they saved the whole world themselves, but everything about this issue just sets up other events that’s bound to happen throughout Buffy Season 9 and this is certainly not the end for anyone. Faith clearly has plans after the entire ordeal, and it looks like Giles is ready to start carving himself his own new destined path.
 
It was a fantastic 25 issue run that was fun for 2 years but the timing seems perfect as it ends. While the potential for Angel to carry out on a solo series is there, it could easily turn redundant and ring too similar to his television show as he helps the helpless but with an open ending like this, it finishes on a positive note. Doors are opened and possibilities are endless within the universe. Of course there’s a lot of  rhetoric about making tough decisions and the strongest thing we can do is keep living no matter what life throws at us and it’s all fairly uplifting and mildly cliché in Buffyverse fashion. It’s a solid end to a solid series.

Our Score:

8/10

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