We’re not past that failed Buffy reboot yet, and the timing here makes that clear. Just months after Hulu dropped Buffy: New Sunnydale before cameras even rolled, the franchise is moving forward in a different lane. This time it is print, not streaming, and it is happening with full backing from a publisher that sees an opening.
More than twenty years after he walked into that final alley, Angel is back. Dynamite Entertainment confirmed that Angel #1 will hit stores on August 19. That comes four weeks after Buffy the Vampire Slayer relaunches on July 22. The rollout is not random. It is structured to rebuild a shared story at a moment when the live action version stalled out.
David Boreanaz first played Angel in season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He moved from supporting player to breakout star, then led his own series, Angel, for five seasons from 1999 to 2004. That show ended on a cliffhanger that fans still talk about. This new comic run picks up that long hanging thread, but it does so in a way that tries to bring in new readers at the same time.
Dynamite has placed both books in the hands of uber-feminist writer and Eisner Award winner Kelly Thompson. She writes both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, with art by Stephen Byrne and Giulia Giacomino. The plan is clear. These are not isolated titles. They were designed as an interlocked continuation of the same story.
That approach matters more now because there is no competing screen version. Sarah Michelle Gellar bitterly confirmed in March that Hulu canceled Buffy: New Sunnydale. The project had director Chloé Zhao attached and was expected to revive the brand for a new audience. Instead, it stopped cold and after the script leaked, many fans were thankful. With Disney holding the rights and no series moving forward, these comics now stand as the only active continuation of the Buffyverse.
Thompson has framed the project carefully. She told fans the series is not an origin reboot and not a simple aging up of the cast. She described it as a new entry point that still rewards longtime followers. That is a narrow path. Past comic runs have tried similar strategies with mixed results, but the Buffyverse has a history of extending its canon on the page.
The story itself leans on familiar ground. Angel returns to Sunnydale after years in Los Angeles. A new threat called Leviathan forces that move. The first issue connects directly to Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1, with Angel narrating events from his perspective. The goal is to rebuild the shared world quickly, then branch out again.
Editor Nate Cosby made it clear this was a focused hire. He said Thompson was the only writer he wanted for both titles. The launch also comes with a heavy push. Angel #1 will ship with a main cover by David Nakayama and multiple variants from Clayton Crain, Meredith McClaren, Meghan Hetrick, and Jenny Frison. That signals a publisher expecting strong sales, not a quiet test run. I wouldn’t be too sure of that.
Angel has appeared in comics before, including a 2021 run from BOOM! Studios. This new version lands at a different moment. The TV revival is gone, but an audience still exists. Dynamite hopes to step in to fill that gap, and this time the stakes actually feel a little higher because there is nothing else on the board.
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English (US) · 