Angel & Faith #8
Executive Producer: Joss Whedon
Script by Christos Gage
Art by Rebekah Isaacs
Colors by Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Covers by Steve Morris, Rebekah Isaacs with Dan Jackson
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 28, 2012
Cover Price: $2.99

Geez… miss a couple of months of a comic book series and everything is different. Lots of introspection in this issue leads me to believe I need to go get the missing comics and play catch up. Sure, Faith is still leading the slayers around but she seems to have her hands full at it.

What makes a slayer turn on one of her sisters? It seems guilt does. Though they seemed well matched at first, Faith gains the upper hand and disarms her fellow slayer. A very sensitive Faith gives the other girl some rather helpful advice but allows her to deal with the pain in her own way, though not as she would have her do.

Returning home, we find Faith’s father, Pat Lehane, awaiting her. He isn’t going to win any father of the year awards, that’s for sure. What he asks her to do borders on ludicrous. It’s something no real dad would every beg of their child. But in the end, she shows what she is really made of, not just what others would have her be.

Angel takes a very back seat in this issue. We focus mainly on Faith and her growth, both within the circle of slayers and regarding her father. The story turns dark at the end, though we get glimpses of what is to come. The portrayal of Faith’s father is absolutely spot on for a dead beat dad, trust me on this. He is a user and gets written as such. Christos Gage shows that character in the perfect light, giving just the right amount of attention to Lehane’s persona. The art was a bit underwhelming for me, it felt a little flat and uninspired. I think it was less the linework by Rebekah Issacs and maybe more to do with the shading or coloring. But whatever it was, it didn’t detract from the focus of the comic too much. The writing kept me firmly rooted in the story.

As I alluded to earlier, I can usually stick this series in the “take it or leave it” category. Meaning it isn’t something I rush out to grab. But the story in this one is so much more character oriented that I feel like it might be worth it to just watch how Gage develops Faith. So that is how I will rank it. If you want to get a better feeling for Faith as a person and not as a slayer, pick this series up. If you are on the fence, it might not be for you… but who knows, you might get surprised like I did.