Here's a nifty comic seldom seen or discussed on the Journals.

The story of Aria Angela Heavenly Creatures heralds us back in time to the heart of the Victorian Era and The Empire, in the afterglow of its most golden jewel, London, in the dark catacombs and complex web which is the English Aristocracy.It is a time ironically known as "The Age of Wonders". An Age where young and noble impressionable minds are dream-filled with endless possibilities contrasted by the suffering and oppressed minds of the lower classes, whom toil and die in the filth and pestilence which is the stark reality of poverty and class separatism... as their Elite Masters practice absolute decadence at the expense of human lives. This fantastic tale to be told is one which is virtually unknown and seldom spoken yet equally wondrous and horrific... where the Elysian Fields' greatest Bounty Hunter and Avenging Angel, Angela, has found herself trapped in the clutches of an equally sinister being... a Living Nightmare, and only one could save her: the immortal Lady Kildare, Princess of the Faeries, known to few as Aria. Okay... What the hell am I talking about?!I'll tell you (If you could believe this fantastic scenario)... but somehow our lovely red-headed fury, Angela, has been captured and held prisoner of a mysterious Theatre Company run by Dr. Peter Traum (think of Mr. Dark from Ray Bradbury's classic novel: Something Wicked This Way Comes!). In the back alleys and auspices of London's seediest underbelly, this Theatre Company puts on a phantasmagorical performance of sideshow freaks and other curiosities, to titillate and excite the most jaded audience member. Our beloved Angela, shackled in chains, is dragged out on stage as the freakshow's main attraction. And one day, Lady Kildare/Aria happens to attend a matinee, and cannot believe her eyes... to see one of God's creatures humiliated and defiled in such fashion. Here's an excerpt: Dr. Peter Traum (to the audience): "And now for my latest and greatest acquisition. A being whose kind is fabled through every land across the globe... cast down from brightest heaven, for trespasses we cannot imagine. She is possessed of unspeakable beauty, and unimagined power! Please direct your attention to the center stage. I guarantee you, you've never witnessed the likes of this before!"Aria, sitting a few rows up in the Orchestra Section with her two companions, is bored and turns her eyes momentarily away from the spectacle on stage. Aria (sighs): "Not likely. Are you two ready to go..."Aria turns her gaze back to center stage and is startled to discover...Aria: "Bloody Hell!"...Angela, shackled in chains, and dressed in rags, has been dragged to the stage for all to see. Angela (to Dr. Traum): "Mark my words... I will destroy you for this!"Dr. Peter Traum (to the audience): "Behold! Heaven's exile, the celestial siren... I give you the Fallen Angel! As her true name is unpronounceable to the mortal tongue, I simply call her Angela!"Later, back stage, Dr. Traum, assisted by two burly stage hands, confronts Angela.Dr. Peter Traum: "Well, that was a rather lackluster performance. Let's see if we can't do a bit better for the evening show."Angela: "Though my race is sworn to protect yours, make no mistake: release me now or I will kill you. Slowly, and very painfully."Angela (con't): "I will bite off your ballsack, spit it out in your mouth... I'll deliver you to Hell myself."Dr. Peter Traum: "Tsk, tsk. Such talk from one so exhaulted. It really has grown tiresome."Angela: "Slowly... And very, very painfully..."Dragging Angela to a bricked cellar, the stage hands open a bolted steel door revealing a cell cast in absolute obsidian. Dr. Peter Traum: "Throw her in."Angela: "Don't think I'll forget about you two. I'll blister the flesh from your bones."Stage Hand 1: "Shut yer Gob, Miss."Stage Hand 2: "Just doin' our jobs Miss."A helpless Angela gets shoved head first into the awaiting darkness.Angela: "I'll..."Dr. Peter Traum (Off-Camera): "And don't bother to feed her. She doesn't need it."The vault-like door closes and the darkness consumes the fallen angel.Narrator (Voice Over): "I cannot imagine what she must have felt, that poor creature, locked away in some dank, dreary cell."Narrator (VO): "A once proud Warrior of Heaven, humbled by mortal mischief. God's crowning achievement, laid low by God's greatest blunder."Narrator (VO): "I can picture her there, anger seething in the darkness, dreaming of escape... their pride, you see, is quite beyond our imagining. So too, is their vengeance."End of excerpt.And that is just a small sampling of this brilliant comic. Brian Holguin's lush and highly detailed -script is the perfect avenue to tell this ambitious dark fantasy, rendered to visual life by Jay Anacleto's skilled hand, whose equally detailed illustrations gloriously capture the essence of this magical fable. As the tale unfolds, it is revealed, many battles and war campaigns fighting for Heaven, has left Angela sorely depleted. Virtually powerless, she crash lands on Earth like a meteorite falling from the cosmos. Found unconscious by the sinister forces of Dr. Traum, Angela's war paint, winged helm, bejeweled lance, dagger, ribbons, belt, and golden breast plate are removed and confiscated. As a prisoner, Angela is cast in a very different light. For the first time, her eyes (a pair of deep coral-blue pupils), betray an innocence and beauty I've never seen in her before. Anacleto renders her strikingly beautiful; in my collective memories, no other artist has yet to capture Angela in a most vulnerable moment.And, as you can imagine, her savior comes in the form of Aria, who, having recognized Angela for what she truly is (Lady Kildare is endowed with the vision to see beyond our world into the supersensible world, where magical beings recognize one another), comes to her rescue. In typical fashion, the two team-up against a common enemy. I highly recommend this 2-part mini series for fans of Angela, Aria, and Dark Fantasy alike. And this mini-series is readily available and very inexpensive. You should be able to procure copies through eBay or your local LCS. The adjoining image is my copy of issue 1, variant cover, which has recently returned from the CGC. I'm happy it got a 9.8. You'll note it was signed by cover artist, J G Jones.As always, thanks for reading and happy collecting.SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.