[3] The first series was illustrated in the typical pen-and-ink method of the comic book industry by penciller David López and inker Fernando Blanco.

In August 2004, in response to complaints that some retailers weren't stocking copies of Fallen Angel for interested fans to purchase, David announced that he would be producing a limited-edition autographed bookplate which could be attached to the Fallen Angel trade paperback, which he would send to both interested retailers and fans.

[5] In January 2005, David confirmed that he had been told Fallen Angel would not continue past issue #20, despite a reportedly successful promotional effort.

[6] At the 2005 WizardWorld: Philadelphia convention, DC Comics representative Bob Wayne stated that Peter David had decided to move Fallen Angel to IDW Publishing.

[8] Several days later, David and IDW Editor in Chief Chris Ryall discussed the move in an interview, in which they revealed that while López retained his ownership in the property, he would not be the artist on the new series.

The series was relaunched in July 2009 as Fallen Angel: Reborn, a four-issue mini-series featuring the character Illyria from Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.

The city is completely riddled with corruption, and supernatural characters who emerge at night, and is managed by the Magistrate, who answers to a mysterious organization.

[18][19] When entering and exiting Bete Noire, Lee experiences the city as simply appearing or vanishing around a deserted road.

[23] Liandra leads a joyous life as a guardian angel—"The Boss's favorite"—until one of her charges, a girl named Holly, develops the ability to see her.

[31] For some time, she maintains a sexual relationship with Bete Noire's Magistrate, Doctor Juris, who in many ways is her counterpart in the city.

He first appears as an infant (with tiny emerging wings on his back) at the end of the first series, when Lee leaves him at an orphanage shortly after his birth.

Many years later, Malachi appears to Lee and claims that "The Boss" is offering her a chance to regain her wings and return to angelhood.

[33] Unlike Lee, Malachi has retained the full scope of his angelic powers, which include the ability to survive indefinitely without breathing.

[30] Shortly after Lee's arrival in Bete Noire, she destroys Mariah's white slavery ring and drives her out of town.

[15] Living in a mausoleum in a graveyard,[41] Asia Minor is an Asian drug lord who for various reasons often finds himself aiding Lee.

[44] Peter David brought two previously published characters, Sachs and Violens, into Fallen Angel in issue #19 of the DC Comics series.

Co-owned by David and artist George Pérez, the characters had previously appeared in their own limited series from Marvel Comics's Epic imprint in 1993.

Although the characters were owned by the creators, David says their appearance in Fallen Angel nearly didn't happen due to the legal costs involved.

Juanita "J.J." Sachs and Ernie "Violens" Shultz come to Bete Noire to find and destroy a child pornography ring.

[14] According to Peter David, "the story is set early in Illyria's involvement with Angel & Co. Having been deprived of her power by Wesley, she is drawn to Bete Noire as a potential source for not only becoming what she was before, but even achieving her previous status.

Fallen Angel includes many references to Christianity and other religions, some of which provide an unusual perspective on faith and worship.

She states that humanity was intended to be God's crowning achievement, and was prepared to move on after its creation, but the constant prayers of people on Earth prevent him from being able to do this.

[25] Peter David acknowledged that this is a somewhat unusual and controversial take on God: The fun thing is that I ran it past a reform rabbi I encountered at San Diego con and he told me he was reasonably sure he hadn't heard anyone else come up with it before.

[50]Lee states that Hell does not exist, and that a loving God would not subject people to endless torment without the opportunity to learn from the punishment.

[40] Jesus Christ seems to appear to Shi, and guides her towards the town of Yellow Springs,[21] which is revealed to be Yomi, the Japanese realm of the dead.

[51] In late September 2008, IDW Publishing received a letter from the Department of Corrections in an unnamed U.S. state, informing them that copies of issues #1 and 2 of Fallen Angel that were mailed to a subscriber incarcerated in their prison were confiscated.

The letter explained that the issues contained "material that violates Operating Procedure 803.2, Incoming Publications, and could be detrimental to the security and good order of the institution and the rehabilitation of inmates."

Peter David, in a blog entry on his website titled, "Buy Fallen Angel so that criminals don't get their hands on it!

[56]Furthermore, in the Fallen Angel Premier Edition hardcover, a bonus story was revealed detailing Malachi's transfer out of God's service.

This story portrayed God as being a young boy wearing a baseball cap and holding a metal golf club, similar to Wally the God-Boy from Peter David's run on Supergirl.