Is social media evil? Is vanity demonic? These are questions raised by Angel #2 from Boom! Studios.

This issue continues the mystery of the self-harming teenager from issue #1, as Angel begins investigating the situation and the demon behind everything claims another victim. This issue also introduces another member of the core cast of the Angel TV series--Winifred Burkle, here found in a very different situation from her introduction on the show. 

Writer Bryan Edward Hill has a firm handle on Angel’s voice here and does a great job deepening the mystery and keeping the reader engaged. It’s still unclear why this story needs to be a part of the new Buffy universe, though Fred’s introduction helps mitigate that issue. This issue also continues the flashbacks of Angel’s evil alter ego Angelus siring and corrupting a holy warrior, though exactly how these flashbacks tie into the main plot remains to be seen.

Gleb Melnikov’s art is sketchy and gritty in the best way, and competently and clearly tells the story. Like all of Boom! Studio’s Joss Whedon licensed properties, Melnikov makes the smart choice of not working too hard to create photorealistic likenesses of the actors who played these characters on TV. The colors, by Menikov and Gabriel Cassata, are appropriately moody, and letterer Ed Dukeshire does excellent work as well.

Hill, Melnikov, and the rest are doing compelling work here, building a supernatural mystery of the type that the TV show’s Angel Investigations might take as a case and slowly assembling the show’s core cast. Despite all their exceptional work, however, something is still missing--possibly a connection to the larger universe, maybe the history that these characters had pre-reboot in the Buffy universe. Perhaps the upcoming crossover between the Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics will remedy that.

Grade: B+