cover image Avengelyne: Devil in the Flesh

Avengelyne: Devil in the Flesh

Rob Liefeld, Mark Poulton, and Owen Gieni. Image, $24.99 (184p) ISBN 978-1-60706-493-0

A warrior angel must readjust to life on Earth as she fights old foes and reunites with old friends as a new creative team revisits creator Liefeld's battle between the forces of heaven and hell. Avengelyne first finds herself with a minor case of amnesia as her soul has been taken from her body and placed inside the body of adult film star Heaven Starr. Her old body has been possessed by her old enemy Red Dragon, the Prince of Darkness, and Avengelyne will need the support of Passover, the warrior angel of death, and priest Fr. Peter Clifton to stop Red Dragon and recover her body. In a second story, Avengelyne and Passover must investigate a series of vigilante killings that are traced back to Fr. Michael O'Bannon, an ex-military man who hears voices he believes are from God. The two stories are an overcomplicated mix of reintroducing old characters that have little importance in the current stories yet also assume readers are already familiar with the backgrounds of certain important characters. Gieni's art is best at portraying fantastic battles between hypermuscular angels and horrific demons. But his manga-influenced style is a strange choice to portray Avengelyne herself. (Feb.)