Once Upon A Time In Horrorwood
Boom! Studios’ meta new Angel series is set in a parallel Tinseltown
TV PRODUCER Christopher Cantwell has drawn on his own experience on shows like Halt And Catch Fire for his new Angel eight-parter with artist Daniel Bayliss, which takes place in an alternate LA where our leading man and co-star Cordelia are monster hunters who also star as sleuths in a popular TV series.
“The story is a continuation of the previous Angel comic, which ended with them arriving in an alternate dimension and encountering other versions of Spike and Angel, which I’ve twisted by setting it in yet another universe,” he tells Red Alert. “For an La-based show, Hollywood is something Angel didn’t touch on a lot, so I thought I’d work in some aspects of that.
“The big thing for me is that I got to reshuffle the characters and their roles, so it’s all the people we love, but they’re a bit different. That’s what’s genius about comic books set in this world, as they don’t have to literally follow the TV show. It’s almost like Marvel’s What If…? but set in the Buffyverse instead.”
James Garner’s ’70s TV series The Rockford Files is one touchstone. “I’ve always loved that show, and there are clear parallels between Jim Rockford and Angel, so our story calls that out a little bit,” explains Cantwell. “Cordelia always had one foot in her acting career, but in this universe she’s had an inordinate amount of success.”
We can expect to see many other familiar faces, too. “Cordi is also a big star, but it’s gone to her head,” he teases. “Wesley is here in a very similar capacity, but his professional dynamic with Fred has been heavily switched up, as has Fred’s whole role on the team. Basically, I changed one major thing in the Buffy mythos and let the effects spiral out from there.” SJ
Angel #1 is out on 19 January.