Spike: Into The Light

Spike Comics (Buffy Vampire Slayer)

by James Marsters, Derlis Santacruz (Illustrator), Dan Jackson (Illustrator)

Spike, the vampire who chose to have a soul, takes a break from hanging with Buffy. In a small California town, low on funds and food, he runs into his past hidden under the floorboards of an old store, as well as a patience-trying slimy monster, stolen children, and some trouble with his boots . . . And, of course, there's always a girl. How can a good guy catch a break when he's constantly trying to hide the vampire inside?

The original graphic novel (i.e. not previously published in comic book format), Spike: Into the Light is written by James Marsters, the actor who played Spike on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show.

• Get into Spike's head as only James Marsters can!
• An original graphic novel set in Buffy Season 7!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Vampires, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Horror, Supernatural

72 pages, Hardcover

First published August 12, 2014

About the author

AMERICAN actor, singer and songwriter James Marsters first found international fame playing punk-goth Brit vampire Spike in the critically acclaimed American TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the equally popular spin-off Angel.

Film roles include live action film Dragon Ball, romantic love story P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler and Kathy Bates , USA Original true-crime film Cool Money, independent thriller Shadow Puppets, Winding Roads, The House On Haunted Hill and Chance with Buffy co-star Amber Benson.

The Californian actor, who grew up in Modesto, has also played Brainiac in TV’s Smallville and guest starred in Without A Trace, Millennium, Andromeda, The Mountain, Saving Grace and mostly recently Caprica. James is currently filming in CBS’s Hawaii Five-O.

James’s voiceover talents can be found portraying Lex Luthor on the DVD release of Superman: Doomsday and he continues to read for the very popular Dresden Files books on tape series.

He has received numerous nominations and awards, including the Spacey Award, the Saturn Award, the Cinescape Face of the Future Award, the Golden Satellite Award, and the Teen Choice Award.

James attended New York’s prestigious Juilliard, the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and the American Conservatory Theatre and spent 10 years doing stage work before moving to LA to work in film and television.

He worked in Chicago’s famous Goodman Theater and also set-up and ran companies in Chicago and Seattle. One of his early television appearances was as a hotel bellhop in the television series Northern Exposure.

James is also a singer songwriter and has enjoyed sell-out concerts in America, Canada, Australia and Europe. He brought out his first solo album, Civilized Man, in 2005 and has followed it up with Like A Waterfall.

Reviews

[Arie ☂ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need a witch...I need a nerd...I need a...a...librarian!

Aside from some continuity issues, this was a fun and funny little romp with Spike. I really enjoyed the lighthearted tone of the story. It almost had a cartoon feel to it, especially with some of the expressions Spike makes [see above]. There's nothing too heavy here and it makes for a nice change from all the dark AtS comics I've been reading lately.



Spike's still getting the hang of this soul thing. Unfortunately, he can't really do the smash and grab thing anymore and he really needs new boots (some thug totally wrecked the sole on his favourite pair). He's also pretty hungry. Along the way to acquire new boots and get a decent meal, he'll face a monster that just wants to start a family, save some children, go on a date, try to retrieve a sizable stash of cash from back in the day, and probably get accused of being the monster himself.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I didn't know this existed until I received it for my birthday. A Spike book written by James Marsters...yes please!

This selection takes place towards the beginning of season 7 of Buffy - right after Spike gets his soul back but before he appears back in Sunnydale. Spike finds himself in a small California town dealing with all of his new feelings and trying to figure out where he goes from here.

The story itself was good. It definitely had Spike's charm which I attribute to Marsters knowing the character inside and out. Spike has always been one of my favorite characters from the show and I wish we had more stories about him from what we didn't see on TV.

But I had some issues and I think this is because I'm such a Buffy nerd that I couldn't help but notice all of the inconsistencies. The main being when we see Spike for the first time in season 7, he's a little crazy. I mean, he just got his soul back and it's bringing all of his evil deeds into light. And this comic shows none of that. Yeah, Spike mentions a couple times that he has a soul now, but it's nowhere near the level that we see on the show. So what changed?

Also, excuse me, but who are you Dylan? I find it hard to believe that Spike would find it so easy to move on from Buffy when he did all of this for her. But, that's also my Spike/Buffy heart talking.

Overall, it was entertaining but I wish it didn't mention a time frame so I wouldn't nitpick it apart.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun, short comic set early in season seven of the Buffy continuity, primarily notable because it was written by the actor who portrayed Spike, the main character. There may be a continuity issue, but it's all in fun. Dependable footwear is always important, and sometimes you need a librarian.

[Daria M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Major error, This book claims to take place near the beginning of season 7 which would mean Spike still had the chip and couldn't hit people without hurting himself (except when the first was controlling him), yet he beats up a thug on page 2 and is fine.

[I' · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siendo sincera, cogí este tebeo porque era de Spike, y Spike me encanta. Además pensé que al estar guionizado por el actor de Spike sería genial en ese sentido. Y lo ha sido. Mientras leía podía escuchar la voz de Spike en mi cabeza, en el sentido en que el personaje se sentía real, tan real como si proviniera de la pantalla de la televisión directo de la serie a mi imaginación. Me ha encantado porque ha sido como volver a ver una nueva aventura de un personaje que me gusta mucho.

Siguiendo con la sinceridad, la trama en sí no es nada del otro mundo. Ni es necesaria para la historia ni imprescindible leerla para nada. Pero me parece un detalle bonito para con el personaje de Spike poder verle en su propio elemento y sin estar Buffy de por medio, que como todos sabemos Spike tiende a ser ligeramente obsesivo con ella.

Muy fiel al sentimiento de la serie, asi que si sois fan de la serie y el personaje os gustará. Eso si, no esperéis una trama muy compleja ni imprescindible porque no lo es. Para mi cumple con su función de entretenimiento y hacerme pasar un buen rato.
Por cierto, si no habéis terminado con la serie, tampoco lo recomendaría porque SPOILERS.

[Fran · Rating 2 out of 5]

A perfectly voiced Spike, as you'd hope with James Marsters penning it, but a somewhat unsatisfying plot. It doesn't really anything Spike's story, in S7 or beyond, and the 'big bad' for the piece, while entertaining, never actually had it's motives explained at all. Just why was it collecting babies? I'd have liked to have known that. And, as Spike didn't actually defeat it, did it just go back to collecting babies?. The whole thing just felt a little unfinished, like there should be another volume to continue the story.

The art, however, is a different story. I really like it; Derlis Santacruz captures Spike excellently, and it's always very clear what's going on in each panel. I'd much rather he was doing the art for the Angel & Faith title than Will Conrad, so it's nice to see that he'll be a guest artist for at least one issue.

I wonder if the whole thing was really a bit of a trial for James Marsters, to see how he can write and how DH might use him in future on the Buffy lines. Hmm.

[kory. · Rating 3 out of 5]

spike: shadow puppets ★★★☆☆
spike: old times ★★★☆☆
spike: asylum ★★★☆☆
spike: alone together now, vol. 1 ★★★☆☆
spike, volume 2: stranger things ★★★☆☆
spike: after the fall ★★★☆☆
spike: into the light ★★★☆☆
spike: a dark place ★★★☆☆

not the best, but i now know who the fuck dylan is.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need a witch...I need a nerd...I need a...a...librarian.

Oh, Spike, yes you do. I read this one because I didn't understand a reference to it in the newest Buffy graphic novel. And because I love Spike. I still don't understand the significance of the reference Dylan showing up at the end of the last Buffy issue seemed important and ominous, but she's just someone he knew for a few days after he got his soul back and wasn't crazy yet. Huh.
The story was short and fun.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Obviously James Marsters and Derlis Santacruz have their fans, but the only thing I can add is that they write it in such a way that you do not need to be a Buffy expert to enjoy it. I've never seen a single episode of Buffy, but after reading this great book out of the blue, now I want to!

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice and sweet short story about Spike. Written by James Marsters himself, so he nails Spike's voice perfectly. Some very good artwork here, too.

[Buffyanne Summers · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read "Spike into the light"..again...I want to say I'm dissapointed for this, because I was very excited about James Marsters getting back into Buffyverse. About the book,the art is great (is the possitive thing about the comics) because the story go exactly against the entire season 7, in every sense.The timeline was choosen very wrong (Scott Allie said it was at start of season 7) The characterisation was bobbing around a bit but mostly the problem was that the writing was pretty terrible and of course,off the character all time,this is nothing like Canonical Spike in the series. He beats up two humans at the beginning so he has no chip (no chip before season 7??) and as the previews showed, he has his coat which he doesn't get back until ep15 of Season7 in the series. It wouldn't work during the season either, especially later on, because he says he has gone there for a 'fresh start' and when he gets badly injured it states in the text it takes weeks to get better. Spike once dechipped/untriggered wouldn't have left like that, it would totally break a season arc of him Buffy relying on each other emphasised by her having asked him to stay (and doesn't match at all with Scott Allie saying it was a little over 24hrs). It just simply doesn't fit either pre or during S7 because Spike was crazy at that time. It seems they just wanted to place it within canon and didn't properly consider where it would actually work, particularly if Spike is talking in the story as if he has gone off for a 'fresh start'. It obviously doesn't matter to the canon story and is a stand alone and they haven't really worked out how it fits in or there wouldn't be so many inconsistencies. Any love interest in the timeline they picked its HORRIBLE to see for any BTVS fan...In that time Spike was fully in love with Buffy and dealing with the scene of "Seeing Red", so of course no one wants to see Spike getting puppy eyes from some random girl (James Marsters said Spike fall for this girl...that's absolutely ridiculous). After he come back from Africa, he is broken and trying to return to Buffy. Marsters ignore all Spike's guilt for what he did to Buffy in this timeline,that's a big problem with this comics. Spike got his soul for the slayer. I understand a comics between season 7 and 6 should be very emotional and Spuffy. It is a really wasted opportunity though,they could explore an interesing time in Spike's life. Also I believe Spike with a new love interest is not possible because Spike left this very clear for Buffy :"Yeah, I talk to people. Women. Talk to them 'cause I can't talk to you.So, yeah. I go and pass the time... with someone. But that's all it is is time, 'cause, God help me Buffy, it's still all about you." Spike and this chit called Dylan, kiss in Marsters comics. Marsters Not fit to canon because Spike didn't start speaking to women after he's out of the basement, not so crazy, and living with Xander. This comic IS NOT CANON,and NOT OFFICIAL,is just a fanfiction wrote by an actor.I think when you write a comics (and if you actually played the character) you have to do it to people enjoy it, I mean these HUGE mistakes cant happen.....this is like a fanfiction of Spike in AU .Effectively it is fanfic with an alternative shipping preference thrown in (a shipper not canonical with some random girl..and yes putting personal life into Spike's life is not professional ,fans are not happy for this. The most found it disrespecteful.) I'm surprised they even considered it because this story does not fit in anywhere. Is a shame the way this story was taken because everyone was very excited and happy for James Marsters getting into the BTVS, and they had all the tools to make a great product .....Everybody can write fanfictions going out from characters ,I personally don't like reading them if they are like that.I prefer fictions where Buffy and Spike personalities are respected but, it's true everyone can write what they want and make experiments,but these fan fics don't come from some trustworthy and authority source as James M is. James writing a fan fiction like this (with all these mistakes) is really wrong and most of the fans won't accept it. In my opinion, they can't expect to have a lot of success if they dont respect the things that define to the series and the characters. As Spuffy shipper (as the most of fandom is) You will get mad because James ignore all Spike/Buffy love conflict. Spike saying "I came here for a fresh start" in the start of season 7 left the message: "He did something very wrong but he just ignores it,and try to move on,so he get a soul to start a new life but he couldnt and thats why he returns to Buffy again,because his new life failed. Is not about his love for Buffy,no about redemption, no about being a better man and being forgiven. He backs to Sunnydale because the rest didnt work right." That's not the Spike we saw and love in the series,the Spike who fight at Buffy's side. If James intention was to give Spike a story what shows the character wanting to be good for himself and not kill off anyone to get what he wants, he failed horribly.That intention is not showed in this comics.If you are a huge Spike lover,considering the reason why Spike fought for his soul, what triggered it, which he is still reeling from at the beginning of S7, it is nonsense and perhaps somewhat crass to say he would act like he did in this comics ,if you are a big BTVS fan and you dont care to ship any couple, probably you gonna get frustrated anyway.. because this story Completely doesn't work .. (You only need to watch the first two episodes of S7 to see that this is not possible.) So..I think people who could apreaciatte this comics are: fans that can ignore the series and read this like AU (alternate universe, forget all you know about Spike, and about Spike love for Buffy,and forget the timeline and what happen in season 7..and read this like..just a story, the story of a vampire dealing with a soul that has nothing to do with BTVS or with Spike as well) because in other way (into the series) this story is pointless. The chip mistake,the love interest mistake, the coat mistake..even an error was the inclusion of a t-shirt that says “Little Miss Sunshine.” The movie came out in 2006, but the in between time far Season 6 and 7 of Buffy was in 2002...
If it was in a different time set like after Angel series, probably could do this a little more acceptable to read,just a little..The sunlight issue was just one of many writing weaknesses in the story but definitely one of the worst. It wasn't even that he just smoked a bit he was on fire but didn't dust despite being burnt raw all over that took weeks to recover from. The execution and detailing in this story is pretty bad. The humour was also pretty ropey. I liked the bit with the mirror in her flat but the whole "I need a witch/nerd/librarian" (or some such) was just awkward scripting and that kind of thing was dotted throughout. I believe in this case Joss Whedon's product and his story weren't respected, they are using it to personal promotion. And honestly is not right. It is not a comic I would recommend sadly.

[Lucía · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
Lo he leído porque es Spike, porque me encanta desde que era pequeña y porque le echaba de menos.
La historia en sí es bastante sosa, no llega a ningún lado, pero tener de protagonista a Spike y estar dentro de su cabeza me ha encantado.
Le quiero tanto xD

[Beate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I need a witch...I need a nerd...I need a...a...librarian!"

I liked this story. Spike struggles with his conscience and staying on the straight and narrow, but he still manages to be heroic. I liked the drawings, and thought it did well on a screen. In summary: A cute, short, easy flick - now I need some more Buffyverse.

[Shane Kali Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, quick read all about soulful William the Bloody. It’s not canon, so don’t think too hard about it. Just enjoy the art and the character for a little bit. I thought it was super fun!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting graphic novel, filling a story featuring Spike. Good graphics throughout and story line was ok.

[Bubbles Hunty Honest & Direct Opinions · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's like one cliché after another with this book.

arrives in town and right away sees petit female enter dark alley alone who quickly becomes a helpless damsel needing the hero to save her from two thugs. Hero walks damsel home and the flirt awkwardly.

Hero leaves and someone approached by random woman asking for his help because her baby in trouble. Monster throws baby into a building that just so happens to be on fire. A rapidly spreading fire he jumps into and saves baby to return it to an in appreciative mother.

Cliché, cliché, cliché... I'm just rolling my eyes at how forced this seems and wondering where's the originality? Where's the story? Was this written soley to earn some bucks by preying on fans that would buy this expecting a quality story? I haven't even finished yet but all I can say is I'm disappointed with this.

during a fight sun is coming up so he takes off his trenchy, which was covering his skin but he takes it off?? WTMFF is this shit? He never took it off before.

The story, what little story there is makes no sense at all. What was the point? Wtf happened at the end? The monster wasn't developed at all. He kidnaps kids and is nice to them. He calls them his family. First it's a small town and no one notices their kids are missing? What does he want with the kids? There was one line where he said the kids would do something for him but never explained or expanded upon. Then at very end spike bites the monster so monster goes you win take my kids.

THAT'S IT?!?! That's the ending the monster and everyone walks away? What the monster going to go to abductors rehab and get reformed to not steal children for no apparent reason? This "story" more like a giant plot hole was like a giant fuck you to fans.

The only positive I found was the art work was great. Graphically it was awesome. Story wise it's a huge fail imo.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not bad, it's just not worth spending $12-15 on. Marsters, as you would expect, has Spike's voice down, and Derlis Santacruz's likeness of the character is on point. There just isn't much story here and really nothing like you would expect to see in the timeframe before Season 7. It doesn't shed any light on how Spike got from getting-soul-back to crazy-in-basement at the beginning of Season 7. Spike does not appear to be suffering much from getting his soul back, like he did in S7. The story is fairly meaningless and nothing significant happens. A missed opportunity, as the writing was fairly good.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pretty happy to take a copy of this book with me to a convention for an autograph last summer, and asked a question of the author, James Marsters. His answer was a delight, unexpected and funny.

That would describe this little book to a "T".

I don't know if he'd want me to share the question or the answer, so I will instead just tell you, this is a graphic novel. You can read it quickly, have a few giggles and possibly think of the same question to ask the author someday when you ask for his autograph.

However, he did tell me that no one had ever asked him that before, so...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading a comic with Spike's voice from the TV show! James Marsters did a fantastic job capturing the voice of Spike (unsurprisingly), and Spike was, as usual, conflicted about being bad and doing good. It was beautifully written, beautifully drawn, and my only complaint is that as far as I know it's just this one graphic novel and there aren't any more coming. I'd read an entire series following Spike through the dark times between seasons 6 and 7, or even during the current season 10.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by James Marsters, Spike himself, so you know the character's voice is spot on. This story takes place in the canon right after Spike gets resouled but before the First gets to him. Trying to find his place in the world, wanting to be a better person but still fighting his (real or otherwise) demons, he tries to walk the fine line as a creature of darkness who wants to walk in the light.

An amuse bouche of the Buffyverse, nothing substantial, but it tastes good going down.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Welp, this was a comic that happened. The story is light, the dialogue is far from the strength of any of the other books in the Buffyverse, oh, and right, it's basically a fan fic. The art doesn't suck. Sorry, James Marsters, I love you, I love Spike, but I don't love this book.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set near the beginning of the television season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer not long after Spike... well, changed the course of his existence in a significant way.

An enjoyable stand-alone story.

[Murat · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is very short.

[Neringa.Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little story where you trully can hear Spike talking in your head. Pitty there was some inconsistencies with a main story (but I knew it wasn't canon before reading it, so no biggie)

[Bridget Wilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I want to like this book more than I do. I feel like there is a very good flavor, as it nails Spike's voice solidly, and I love the hook of Spike's worn-out boots and the challenges a soul causes in trying to deal with something that would have been simple soulless. Unfortunately, it falls off in where it fits into canon and in certain aspects of the writing. While I am moved by the inclusion of James's (then) wife in the narrative, I find it Hard To Believe that a victim of assault would immediately thereafter invite another stranger into their home, even if he had been her rescuer, and there are other plot points that are even less believable, even in the fantasy world of Buffy. It is very clearly a debut work by a new author whose primary art is not fiction, and I wish the editors had pushed back more both to make this fit securely into canon and to make the plot less sophomoric. I can't say I didn't enjoy it at all, but I wish it had been better.

[A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my second favorite series of all-time (Charmed’s number one, I started watching it first, grew up on it, it can’t be beat even if I can admit that Buffy is technically the better show) and Spike is my favorite character, so when I saw that James Marsters’ wrote a graphic novel from the perspective of Spike — I immediately knew that I was going to read it! I’m a procrastinator, so I didn’t read it as soon as I saw it, but now I have and I loved it so much! I could hear Spike so clearly, unsurprisingly James Marsters did a fabulous job bringing Spike to life on the page and I absolutely loved getting to revisit him. Also the art was so amazing, the artist is extremely talented and captured Spike perfectly. Spike: Into the Light was fun, familiar, it tugged on my heartstrings a little and I just enjoyed it so much — I’m so happy I found it!

~ Sonja, 5 Stars

[A. Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit I haven't seen all of BtVS but I think I'm pretty solid on season 4 onward, so this felt pretty well in-character. Spike was true to form and recognizable.

That said, out if a 45 minute episode I think this graphic novel would be maybe 15 minutes around a commercial break. It's enjoyable but there's not much here.

If you like Buffy and Spike and want to read everything then this is going to be enjoyable. if you want more than say 20 minutes of distraction, you might want to skip it.

So, entertaining but light on substance.

[Sammi · Rating 3 out of 5]

the spike art is so good (drop me the link on the color of his eyes bc wowowowow) and James’ voice as Spike really shine through and i loved both aspects.

the plot was a little all over the place and inconsistent with canon and the spike we see in the beginning of s7. would’ve made more sense for this to be a story during angel s5 but okay. also can’t see spike ready to move on romantically with how bad he was beating himself up in the beginning of s7. wish we got to see him write more in spike’s pov though.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really good art couldn't salvage this. Marsters gets the chance to write his own character but unfortunately there isn't enough substance. Spike has a wealth of backstories to dive into but instead we get a very timid tale about Spike trying to be good with his newly regained soul. The art by Santacruz was spectacular but there just wasn't enough for to sink his teeth into. Overall, not much to see here.

[Aubrey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written by Marsters and set in Season 7, all sounds promising. For me though, outside of the occasional bloodies and blokes, it didn't sound like Spike. The story didn't really add anything, just felt like filler. The plotting and dialogue felt forced and amateur. I do hope he keeps at it though, for we all start somewhere. And I surely would like to see more set in the earlier (pre-comic) seasons, as long as they don't take away from that time.