Having fought to regain his soul after falling in love with the Slayer Buffy, the once-terrifying vampire villain Spike has been a bit less fearsome (to humans, at least). On his own adventure, Spike is forced to examine the man he once was, the man he is now, and the man he still hopes to become.
As master of a steampunk ship filled with loyal, oversized alien cockroaches, Spike embarks on a journey to the dark side of the moon, setting into motion an adventure filled with demons, witches, and others who brew new evil in the world without magic!
Spike has such a unique voice – a combination of flippant snark and deep seated pain. He's a favorite, and I held out great hope that the character I love would show well in this mini. The first issue was a perfect mix of pathos and wry humor. The bugs are great, from start to finish. We have a fun setup for the remainder of the series with the introduction of a mysterious group of creatures that make Spike's life miserable. I'm sold on the concept and ready to enjoy this storyline. Read Full Review
I'm not familiar with Paul Lee's pencils, but he has certainly left an impression after the first issue. The majority of this issue is internal monologue, and Lee handles it well. He has Spike make small facial movements to match the thoughts, that I'm surprised more pencilers don't do. While the artists on Buffyhave been having trouble matching the look of the stars who originally played the characters, Lee nails the look of Spike. He looks exactly like James Martsters. Lee has the comedic timing needed for a book like this. The quick action scenes look great, and the monster designs giving the book a different feel than the rest of the Buffybooks. Paul Lee has suddenly become a penciler to put on my watch list. Read Full Review
Victor Gischler writes a pretty depressing issue, but it's also filled with comic relief. Surprisingly there is a lot of laugh-out-loud natural humor in this issue. Especially with Lee on board to draw Spike's specific facial expressions to match his internal monologues perfectly. It all comes together quite well for a great first issue. Read Full Review
There are a few cute bits. The solarium idea is nice, and when one of the bugs screams, "Amphibapocalypse is upon us!" when the moon frog attacks I laughed. But "Spike" #1 is the sort of comic that doesn't present any hook for the reader to continue, save for perhaps an abiding love for the title character. At this point, I'm not sure that's strong enough for most. Read Full Review
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