Angel Writer Talks Biggest Differences Between the Comic and the Original Show

BOOM! Studios has relaunched the Buffyverse with two successful series in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, and now they're converging for the universe's first crossover event Hellmouth. At the helm of the Angel ship is writer Bryan Edward Hill and artist Gleb Melnikov, and we recently had the chance to speak to Hill all about the series thus far and what's coming down the road. One thing we definitely wanted to talk about are the differences between the original show and the new series, and how Hill decides what to change, what to modernize, and what to leave in its original form.

"I don't think about it in terms of limitation, Matthew, I think about in terms of creative opportunity," Hill said. "When you're working on established things, like writing Batman, I didn't create Batman, obviously. So, I'm working off of what's gone before, but I think it's important to retain the essence of whatever the source is, whatever that means to you as a creator."

"That's going to be different for everyone," Hill said. "I do try to distill it down into, 'What was this about for me? How did I emotionally relate to this? What are some of the pillars that are important?' Thinking about Angel, as a character, and his need for redemption, his loneliness, his personal discipline. The way that part of him is always seeking companionship, and love, and trust, but the other part of him governs that need because he's afraid of what could happen not only if he experiences happiness, but if something were to happen to someone he brought into his world because of his heroism."

For Hill, Angel lends itself to a more adult tone, and while it did need a modern touch here and there, the location and characters didn't need too much reworking.

"So, those things are always present, the mood and the tone," Hill said. "I always felt Angel was a little more adult than Buffy was. That it was a little more atmospheric, and it's in Los Angeles, which is a different environment than Buffy in Sunnydale and the Wes Craven suburbs of that world. Those things I think are ever-present. But we are in 2019, and time has passed and culture has changed a bit, so you have to reformat some things to make them, I think, work better for now to keep things relevant."

"But I look at it a bit like you're kind of covering a song," Hill said. "If I cover Stairway to Heaven, it's going to sound like Stairway to Heaven. But it might not be the exact one you remember, but hopefully, it will be equally as interesting."

You can check ou the current issue of Angel right now, and you can find the official description for Angel #6 below.

"A TIE IN TO HELLMOUTH! With Angel trapped in Sunnydale, the rest of the newly formed Angel Investigations is left to deal with the Hellmouth's fallout in Los Angeles. Will his team of supernatural crime-solvers be able to protect Los Angeles from the shockwaves of the Hellmouth's opening...and from newly arrived vampire Spike?"

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