Reading Angel

As they say, an oldie but a goodie:

Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off with a Soul

Ed. Stacey Abbott
Imprint: I.B.Tauris
Publisher: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd

Paperback
ISBN: 9781850438397
Publication Date: 27 May 2005
Number of Pages: 256
Height: 215
Width: 140
In 1999 Angel's creator Joss Whedon moved the vampire with a soul from the successful series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to his very own spin-off series "Angel". With a cast of characters as tormented by their pasts as is Angel himself, the spin-off has developed its own preoccupations, exploring a darker vision of alienation, atonement and the fight for redemption, with humour and a fine, noir style. The series will complete its run in 2005 and this first discussion and celebration of Angel as a distinct entity explores the full five seasons, with a complete episode guide. The cinematic aesthetics of Angel, its music, shifting portrayals of masculinity, the noir Los Angeles setting, impact of comedy, the superhero, horror, and the influence of corporate and global evil in the form of Wolfram & Hart are just a few of the subjects addressed in this tribute to Angel for its many fans who will be going into mourning in 2005.

Table of Contents
Kicking ass and singing 'Mandy' : a vampire in LA 1 -- Stacey Abbott
1 Angel : redefinition and justification through faith 17 -- Phil Colvin
2 Ubi Caritas? : music as narrative agent in Angel 31 -- Matthew Mills
3 Transitions and time : the cinematic language of Angel 44 -- Tammy A. Kinsey
4 A sense of the ending : Schrodinger's Angel 57 -- Roz Kaveney
5 Los Angelus : the city of Angel 75 -- Benjamin Jacob
6 Outing Lorne : performance for the performers 88 -- Stan Beeler
7 'LA's got it all' : hybridity and otherness in Angel's postmodern city 101 -- Sara Upstone
8 Gender politics in Angel : traditional vs. non-traditional corporate climates 117 -- Janine R. Harrison
9 The rule of prophecy : source of law in the city of Angel 132 -- Sharon Sutherland and Sarah Swan
10 The dark avenger : Angel and the cinematic superhero 149 -- Janet K. Halfyard
11 'And her tears flowed like wine' : Wesley/Lilah and the complicated (?) role of the female agent on Angel 163 -- Jennifer Stoy
12 From rogue in the 'hood to suave in a suit : black masculinity and the transformation of Charles Gunn 176 -- Michaela D. E. Meyer
13 'Nobody scream ... or touch my arms' : the comic stylings of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce 189 --  Stacey Abbott
14 Angel's monstrous mothers and vampires with souls : investigating the abject in 'television horror' 203 -- Matt Hills and Rebecca Williams
15 Afterword : the depths of Angel and the birth of Angel studies 221 -- Rhonda V. Wilcox and David Lavery
16 'We'll follow Angel to hell ... or another network' : the fan response to the end of Angel 230 --  Stacey Abbott