IDW Publishing Forums

kat7892 · Private Joined: 10 Jun 2013 Posts: 1

Hi! Im new here, and to the whole comic genre.

Let me explain where im coming from...i was rewatching buffy/angel a little while ago on dvd and decided i just couldnt handle the whole angel 'ending that wasnt really an ending' thing again and decided to buy the comics.

So i bought Angel After the Fall and Buffy Season 8.

My question is, if everything past After the Fall, of the Angel series is not concidered cannon should i skip straight to the cannon Spike1-8 then finish Buffy (havent continuted cause i like to do things in order and i know Angel and Spike are in S 8) OR should i keep going and get them all?? Also how do you know when to stop, if youre going to go "not cannon" and if you do how much of the story is contradicted or rewirrten or not true because of the excistance of the cannon books??

OK! It was more than one question!

Please help! - Thanks,
Katherine

Buffyversefantic · Transforumer Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 2879

I would read them.A good story is a good story canon or not.And there is nothing in season 8 and 9 that really disputes the other IDW books.

Double Dutchess · Transforumer Joined: 28 Apr 2009 Posts: 1124

Welcome Katherine!

I voted "not important" because to me it does not really matter if a story is canon or not. Like Buffyversefantic said, if it's a good story then I'll enjoy it regardless of its canon status. So I would not advise you against reading the post-AtF stuff just because it's not canon. However, personally I think many of the post-AtF Angel comics were not that good. (There were some great off-shoots though.) So I'm not sure I would recommend reading them, with some exceptions.* In any case, it's safe to skip them if you want, because they are not referenced in the Dark Horse S8 comics. But as Buffyversefantic pointed out, you're also not going to run into contradictions if you do decide to read them.

*To be more specific, I'd say: skip Aftermath (issues 18 - 22), but do read Last Angel in Hell (issues 23 - 27). Of the rest, I would avoid the ones penned by Bill Willingham (not sure of the exact issue numbers).
Of the mini series, I definitely recommend the Illyria comics (Only Human, Haunted) even though the last one does not completely fit with the current Buffy comics.
And don't forget to read Spike: After the Fall if you haven't done so yet! Also the historical Angel stories (Blood and Trenches, Barbary Coast) are quite good.
Of course these are my personal preferences and your taste may be quite different!