ATF TradePaperBacks

[The Ferg]

Is there any? If so, what issues are in them.

[Allycat]

There aren't any. There are Hard-Cover collections. Volume 1 is already out it collects issues 1-5. Volume 2 is announced and that one will collect 6-8.

[Lindsey McDonald]

Volume 2 as in First Night? It's only three issues? That's dissapointing. Especially considering it cost me more that ATF. It also has the same page count, so I suppose we get lots of extra goodies.

[LittleMissLikesToFight]

I just got volume 1 after amazon delayed the pre-orders from being shipped. its nice :)

[andrewcutter]

i thought the art in the back extras of volume one were better charter art than in most the issues. illyria looked like illyria

[Randy Giles]

I'd be shocked if Angel Volume 2 doesn't contain 6-10. It wouldn't make any sense for them to only include three issues.

[Superstar]

I'd be shocked if Angel Volume 2 doesn't contain 6-10. It wouldn't make any sense for them to only include three issues.
Then prepared to be shocked.
Issues 6-8 are First Night.
9 & 10 pick up where issue 5 left off.
It makes no sense to include those in a First Night collection.

[Tranquillity]

I just got the two hardcover volumes and Number two didn't cost as much as number one (i got them from Amazon). They are beautiful and well worth getting, lots of nice little extras - cover gallery, original story proposals, sketches, commentary, drinking game etc...

[pernilleborup]

I haven't heard of any...yet.
But hey, have hope, it might come :D

[Allycat]

I just got the two hardcover volumes and Number two didn't cost as much as number one (i got them from Amazon). They are beautiful and well worth getting, lots of nice little extras - cover gallery, original story proposals, sketches, commentary, drinking game etc...

The original story proposals sound interesting. Anything you can tell about them?

[Tranquillity]

Allycat said:
The original story proposals sound interesting. Anything you can tell about them?

Here is an overview of the Original Proposals (issues 1-5):

Issue One:
The First issues’ proposal is almost identical to what eventually became the comic. It begins with Angel rescuing the looting lawyers, telling them to go to Connor and flying off on the dragon. He has the run-in with Burge and son and the feudal organisation of LA is explained. In the proposal it is made clear that Burge has been protecting Angel – the other Lords want to kill him but Burge feels they owe him a debt of gratitude for sending LA to Hell and enabling them to have claim power over the humans. Burge orders Angel to ‘stay in’ as punishment for interfering with his minions. Interestingly, there is no mention of Wesley appearing in this scene (as he did in the final product).
Santa Monica: goes down exactly as proposed. The lawyers arrived at Connor’s; he guesses who sent them; Nina and Gwen are there. The Sun/Moon effect on werewolves is described.
Back at Wolfram & Hart: Angel is more explicit about wanting to ‘break the barrier’ that separates LA from the rest of the world and Wesley says this is not likely to be possible because it is powerful magic and they have exactly nothing to counter it with. Wesley is in favour of taking out the lords so that they might protect the people who have inadvertently been taken to hell with them (which kind of explains why Angel is kind of shirty that this is exactly what Spike and Connor have been doing already). Angel thinks they should look at the big picture – i.e.: getting everyone out of Hell-A. Wesley suggests that Angel is ‘gun-shy’ about taking a stand after his last attempt went so bad, but encourages ‘baby-steps’ towards rectifying the situation. Of course – Angel can’t fully trust Wesley and Lynch notes that (and I quote) “Neither. Can. We.”
In the proposal they know that Kripp (who became Kr’ph) has the glowy thing (which was originally a Black Cat Eye) and it is there that they intend to start with Angel’s ‘baby steps’… But of course (as we know) Gunn beats them to it. Kripp had Betta George and it is noted that the glowy thing actually amplifies George’s telepathy powers too, enabling him to influence the behaviour of Kripp’s ‘minions’ (or slaves, whatever). Gunn arrives, quickly makes short work of Kripp and his people, captures George and grabs the Cat’s Eye.
Back at Wolfram and Hart: Wes goes to the white room. His eyes burn white and he begins his regular communication with the “higher-ups” (as Lynch refers to them) at W&H. Angel does NOT know this happens but the Higher-Ups are not happy with Wesley’s work – it is not his job to inspire Angel to pick up arms and fight. Wes says if they are not happy with him then they are free to release him from his contract. The “higher-ups” can hurt Wes, even in his ghosty form and proceed to do so to punish him for his insolence. Lynch never refers to the Higher-ups as the Senior Partners - interesting?
Meanwhile…Son-of-Burge is rounding up humans. Angel is moving a large object across a room and internal monologue explains that he’s feeling guilty for getting the city and his friends sent to hell. He doesn’t know if they are all right, or even where they are (that changed in the final product, didn’t it). Angel throws the desk down to son-of-burge and says it is “recompense” then proceeds to shoot said son through the head with a crossbow. Angel knows this will mean all out war with the lords.
Meanwhile…Gunn's men paint Sanskrit words on the walls using the blood of the ‘rescued’
Big Reveal – Gunn is a vampire.

Issue Two:
Pretty much exactly written as proposed with only a couple of teeny, tiny differences.
Angel goes to warn Connor that he might be in danger because of the whole killing Burge’s son thing. “In reality, this is probably subconsciously Angel’s very ham-fisted attempt to let Connor know he’s back in action and probably force-play a situation where Connor has to stick close to Angel”
Connor is in Westwood doing his bit against the warring demons who are looking to take control of the now-vacant lordship. Angel is a little shamed that he’s been doing nothing while his kid is like a regular super-hero. Angel doesn’t let Connor see him but heads to the ‘scene of the crime’
Next we see Gunn put the Cat’s Eye into a “disturbing mesh of demon parts and skin.”
Gunn is building an altar of some sort completely out of bits and pieces of creatures and humans. George tries to influence Gunn into letting him go but gunn is prepared. “This Gunn guy is on the ball”.
Connor and Angel meet, share a moment about each-other being careful.
Angel goes to Beverly Hills and visits his old pal Spike. As we know, Spike is living in the playboy mansion; the proposal makes it fairly clear that this, uh, ‘lifestyle’ is pretty much a cover story for his other ‘activities’ and that he wants Angel away, like now. Angel and Spike were originally going to have a fight, as in a punch up here. (I’m glad they didn’t).
Cliff-hanger finish: Illyria’s entrance. She ain’t happy to see Angel either.

Issue Three:
Spike is worried that Illyria is making her location known and wants her to go back inside. Not surprisingly, Illyria doesn’t listen. Angel wants to know if she or Spike has the Black Eye (the glowy thing from Kr’ph). Illyria beats up Angel all the while time is shifting into different periods. Angel keeps asking about the Westwood incident, Illyria gets angrier and the area affected by the time-slips gets larger and larger so much so that soon it is effecting nearby streets. Spike tries to intervene but gets punched for his troubles. Angel is eventually knocked into a “safe-house full of humans”. Angel jumps to the wrong conclusion that Illyria and Spike are enslaving humans just like all the other lords. Illyria is about to finish Angel when Connor arrives with (on?) the dragon and dragon fire saves Angel’s ass. Illyria orders Connor to take the Humans. Spike assures Angel that Illyria had nothing to do with the killings in Westwood. A) She wouldn’t leave handwritten notes on the wall; b) she hardly needs any little trinket to amp up her powers and c) not her style. Connor loads the humans into buses and Angel realises something that “wounds our hero more than any blow could…” That Spike and Connor are working together to save people while he, Angel, has been sitting on the sidelines.
Illyria retreats to a room with many locks and is obviously very upset/disturbed. Spike says she is not to be bothered for a few hours. He decides that their location has been compromised and that it’s time to move.
The Connor/Spike thing spurs Angel into action. Angel (after getting a bigger sword and picking up Wes) heads to a Lord meeting and throws down a challenge to them all
Big Reveal: Angel isn’t a vampire any more.

Issue Four:
Begins with a flashback – night of the ally fight after Not Fade Away; pretty much exactly how it appears in the comic.
Present Time, Wolfram and Hart – Angel being ‘healed’ also unfolds very much as proposed.
The Glowy-angel ladies from arrive to bring him to Silverlake. Originally the drive to Silverlake was going to make the divide between LA and the rest of the world very obvious and Gwen was going to be there trying to use her electricity against the barrier – with no success. The display attracts some demons. Connor and Nina come to Gwen’s aid (who is drained from using all her strength against the barrier).
Silverlake is described as a commune – a safe haven of positive thinking and sing-a-longs. Lorne knows about Angel’s plan to take down the Lords and wants Angel to sing for him to see how it will turn out. Angel refuses but a ‘Sweet-Like’ (from OMWF) demon forces him to sing. Now Lorne knows Angel’s big secret about not being a vampire. Lorne suggests that he should get his old allies back together but Angel is adamant that he wants NO ONE fighting his battles for him. So Lorne offers him the Groosalug to use as his ‘champion’ in the fight. Wes and Lorne also have a little chat –Wes offers to sing but suspects that in his current state, Lorne would not be able to see anything anyway.
The B story in this issue was originally proposed to be Spike and Co. moving to new digs and being attacked by some of Gunn’s gang. Lynch stresses the reason for the attack should not be clear and that the demons that Spike had working for him suddenly turn against him once they are offered money to do so. Spike defeats the attackers and the need to move becomes even more imperative.

Issue Five:
…or as Lynch refers to it, “Battle royale hell’s-a-poppin’ issue”
Originally Groo was going to provide Angel with some mystical, magical weaponry and armour, notably, a very thin magical armour that is 'much more effective than it looks'. Also his vampire glamour was going to be amped up a notch by Wes to allow him to appear as a vampire for short bursts of time. Wesley says he won’t go to the fight but he’ll be there in spirit (ha ha)
Planned inter-cutting between 3 events -
Event 1
La Brea Tar Pits – humans and demons gather to watch, what is known in the supernatural community as “the slaughter of Angel” Burge tells the crowd that Angel is responsible for bringing them to Hell. Matthias Pavayne was proposed to be Burge’s ‘champion’. Pavayne’s powers to bend reality to his will while a ghost are extra special and extra powerful here in hell and he has a wee problem with Angel for putting him in a box. Pavayne is able to torture and weaken Angel with visions of his dead and injured friends and ‘family’ and how Angel is largely responsible. Dragon is kept at bay by the lord’s minions.
Event 2
Lorne goes (via astral projection) to Connor and Spike and asks them to get into the fight. Lorne also projects to see Gunn but sees him at his altar of human remains, senses that all is not well with Gunn’s world and gets his ass-tral projection out of there. Gunn knows he was there and smiles, knowing that he’ll see Lorne again very soon…
Event 3
Wesley is being punished by the ‘higher-ups’ for interfering. Wes agrees that he’s doing a crap job and again advises that they should fire him and send him on his way. They don’t agree.
So, anyway, Angel is fighting the ‘champions’ doing his best but getting overwhelmed. At the last moment the cavalry arrive: Spike, Connor, Groo, Nina. Angel tells them to go but they don’t listen. Connor wants to know why Illyria isn’t joining in, Spike tells him that she’s ‘not been herself lately’. Angel and Co. win the fight and force the Lords into submission. Angel is, for all intents and purposes, Lord of the whole of LA, the city he sent to hell in the first place. Ironic.
Spike says he’d like a part of the monarchy – he helped beat the bad guys and now he’d like his prize, notably a penthouse view from W&H…however as the conversation progresses it becomes obvious that it’s not so much about the penthouse as it is about getting help with Illyria, who he is genuinely worried about. Illyria makes her presence known at the exact moment Wes also appears. Illyria reacts with a punch (which goes through spirit Wes) then starts to get upset. Time starts to jump. Spike tells Wes to go away and demands a place to lock Illyria up. They get her to the W&H basement and lock her in. On one side of the door is Angel, Spike and Wes not really knowing what kind of power is being unleashed, on the other is Illyria turning into Fred…

End of first arc.

Hope that made some sense...