This is the best kind of ending for a story. One that doesn't mean the story is really ending, but shows that the creators know how to carry it off with fine style when the end does come. Yes, it seems clear from the press surrounding Fallen Angel that #18 might have been the last issue at one point,and it's clear that David and company knew that and wrote the story with that in mind. There are a couple of big reveals here, some truly deep emotional moments and an epilogue of sorts that ranks among my favorite things David has ever written. David is playing with fire in this issue, taking his characters and book into a place of real darkness, not unlike earlier issues where he had his lead character torturing a foe, but he manages to not only maintain that darkness but to provide an uplifting ending as well.
The shocking last page of Fallen Angel #17 had me eagerly anticipating the first page of this one, and the creative team doesn't disappoint. After a short flashback that establishes the meaning of the present day events for Shadow Boxer all the more strongly, they jump right into the story of what happens in his brief and violent encounter with Lee. Boxer's contrition makes an interesting counterpoint to his more ruthless anger with the character before, and Lee's quiet anger and threats are simultaneously understandable and deeply chilling. The subject of this issue is the kind of thing that's difficult to handle in comics - a similar peril in the pages of Geoff Johns's Flash remains to my mind one of the few real flaws of his run - but it fits in with the darker tone of Fallen Angel, and there's certainly a sense that something terrible and irrevocable has occurred.
Actually, it's more like somethings, plural. With an eye on a satisfying conclusion, David and company pull out a few shockers in this issue. The revelations about Kind and his role in the "Hurlyburly" story, Juris's absolutely compelling showdown of sorts with Boxer and the last few pages are all the sort of thing that fill in answers to questions I've had since very early on. The true nature of Bete Noir isn't fully explained, but a big piece of the puzzle falls into place, and suddenly everything that Juris is done is up for re-examination. More to the point, there's such emotion in that showdown, such personal betrayal on the parts of everyone involved, that the sequence is absolutely riveting. David even pulls out the "F" word for what might be the first time in Fallen Angel, and it's presence makes for a powerful statement as to how serious these events are.
Blanco and Lopez are up to the challenge this issue as well. The emotions in this issue, while powerful, are subtle, the kind of thing that comes when you've been drained of your passionate emotions and are just left with burning pain, regret and rage. Boxer's regret, Lee's pain and Juris's rage are all depicted with the perfect amount of subtlety, and the revenge that Juris performs on Boxer carries just the right methodical pacing to it as well.
Every so often, a comic is powerful enough that it affects me on a gut level, and Fallen Angel #18 is one of those comics. Lee's sacrifice, one that parents especially will empathize with, is an affecting moment, an uplifting bit of storytelling even as it puts the heroine through her own personal kind of hell. Early on, I said that "Hurlyburly" might be the best Fallen Angel story yet, and now that it's done, I think that is definitely the case. It would have been an excellent finale to the series, but I'm even more grateful that the creative team will be sticking around for a while, because it's clear that they have "clicked" together and are producing something really special. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If you're not reading Fallen Angel, you're missing out on one of the best experiences comics has to offer, and some of the best work Peter David has done in his long and distinguished career. 10/10
