The Curse, Part One

The subject of this article is non-canonical.
While created as part of licensed material, it has not been confirmed as part of the "real" Buffyverse.

The Curse, Part One

Publication

June 29, 2005

Length

22 pages

The Curse #1

Next
The Curse, Part Two

The Curse, Part One is the first issue of the "The Curse" comic book miniseries. It was written by Jeff Mariotte and illustrated by David Messina.

Synopsis

Joss Whedon’s classic vampire character returns to comics and IDW’s got him! In this first issue of a new Angel tale, Angel has survived the conclusion of his TV show and finds himself in a mysterious Romanian forest. There, his search for the Gypsy tribe that cursed him years ago takes a turn for the worse. This book, written by fan-favorite Angel author Jeff Mariotte, under the creative guidance of Joss Whedon, will be of sure-fire appeal to fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel alike!^[1]

Continuity

Angel recalls the events from last time he was in Romania, as seem in "Five by Five".
Angel reflects on the events around the loss of his soul in Sunnydale, from "Surprise" to "Becoming, Part Two".
Angel thinks of the group of friends he had previous to "Not Fade Away".

Appearances

Individuals

Angel
Nina Ash (Only in flashbacks)
Corneliu Brasov (Only mentioned)
Winifred Burkle (Only in flashbacks)
Cordelia Chase (Only in flashbacks)
Darla (Only in flashbacks)
Charles Gunn (Only in flashbacks)
Magda Kalderash (Only in flashbacks)
Lorne (Only in flashbacks)
Buffy Summers (Only in flashbacks)
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Only in flashbacks)
Kalderash Girl (Only in flashbacks)
Kalderash Elder (Only in flashbacks)

Organizations and titles

Clan Kalderash
Slayer (Only in flashbacks)
Team Angel (Only in flashbacks)

Species

Deathwok Clan (Only in flashbacks)
Human
- Werewolf (Only in flashbacks)
Vampire

Locations

Romania
- Brasov's Castle
United States (Only in flashbacks)
- Los Angeles (Only in flashbacks)
- Sunnydale (Only in flashbacks)
  - Sunnydale Cemetery (Only in flashbacks)

Weapons and objects

Cross
Stake
Torch

Rituals and spells

Ritual of Restoration (Only in flashbacks)

Death count

Ten vampires, dusted by Angel.
An unidentified vampire, burn in the sunlight.
Six vampires, dusted by Angel (only mentioned in The Curse, Part Two).

Behind the scenes

Production

This issue is the first Angel story published after the end of the television show, as well as the series’ debut at IDW Publishing.
The comic had a total of eight covers, by artists David Messina, Tim Bradstreet, Ben Templesmith, and Igor Kordey, as well as three photo covers by Frank Ockenfels III, and a second coloring for Bradstreet’s variant.
The photo covers include promotional pictures for Angel’s second, fifth, and fourth seasons, respectively.

Distribution

The Curse, Part One was the 152º best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 15,357 sales in June 2005 at comic specialty stores.^[2] It was also among the 300 best selling of July 2005.^[3]