Originally I thougt this was going to be an original story because I hadn’t heard anything about it before and wouldn’t think otherwise. My store pulled it aside for me because I get the main Angel series and since I was at the register, I didn’t bother flipping through it. I wish I had becaue I wouldn’t have bought it if I did. I’ve seen the episode before and if I wanted to experience it again I could have just watched the DVD. Actually, I will confess that this issue made me go back and watch the episode again . However, since I’ve seen what happens next, I’m not really inclined to buy the other two issues even though it’s one of my favorite episodes.

Now that all of that is said, it’s time to actually review the issue. The first thing I noticed before I even started to read this issue was the art. Longtime Angel artist David Messina provides the art for this series, and boy do I miss him doing Angel. If this wasn’t just an adaptation of the Smile Time episode then this would have been a great Christmas present being another Smile Time story with Messina on art. But that’s the problem it’s an adaptation. I can’t really give the writing any credit since it’s all someone else’s ideas and words. You could probably sit and quote the book as you watch the episode, even the pedophile like puppet dialogue at the beggining. Overall, I say check this out if you love the episode because it’s a great adaptation of it and scan it if  you never saw it but like Angel. Just know what you’re getting into first.