Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike & Dru

Spike Comics (Buffy Vampire Slayer)

by Christopher Golden, James Marsters, Ryan Sook

Four tales of the most vile, murderous, and destructive -- not to mention codependent -- couple ever to visit Sunnydale are presented in one volume, covering an entire century of bloodshed, from China in 1900 to Rio in 1999. This 96-page book collects the original Spike and Dru one-shot by TV star James "Spike" Marsters, Christopher Golden, and Ryan Sook, which was heralded by Buffy creator Joss Whedon as the model for future Buffy comics. Also included are the two follow-ups by Golden and artists Sook and Eric Powell, plus the final word on the duo, the 10-page epilogue "Who Made Who?" telling the story of their final farewell in Brazil, refered to but never delved into on the show.

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

96 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

About the author

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a teenager I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer and my favourite character then as well as now is Spike so I was really pleased when I found this in a comic shop. Unfortunately for me I just couldn't really get into it and I didnt enjoy the stories themselves apart from the last one. I hoped this was going to be a twisted love affair story and even though it was it wasnt what I expected as there were more fight scenes than anything else. 2 stars just because I still love Spike and Drusilla and I did like the last story. Think I'll stick to the books and the show itself.

[ElsaMakotoRenge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the Spike and Dru stories themselves a lot, and they acted in character to me, but the art was not great. They didn’t really look like themselves in many panels and seemed ‘off’ art-wise. I found that very very disappointing, hence the three stars. I’d still recommend this book to Buffy fans though, especially if you wanted to see more of Dru and Spike on the show.:)

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Spike and Drusilla stories outside of the ones that we see in the Buffy/Angel series. Although, in some of them Dru didn't truly sound the same but none the less they were interesting and exciting. I loved seeing the couple away from Sunnydale, at their worst, hurting each other more than anyone else! Overall, I'm super excited to read more comics in the Buffyverse!!

[Natalia L · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot believe I'm giving a Buffy-related comic this low of a rating, especially considering it was written by (Christopher Golden and) James Marsters, who actually played sexy, bad-boy Spike--brilliantly, I might add.

I was so excited to find this book in the store, I think I squeed out loud.

Perhaps it would be fair to argue that I expected too much (hence the out loud squeeing in public)and was therefore too easily disappointed. I like this option. I really do. Let's go with that. Stop reading here.

Alternatively, I may not have liked this book very much because not much happened, in terms of plot. Many of the lines, even the ones that rang true to the characters, seemed somehow overdone, bordering on lazy. The artwork was simplistic and very disappointing. And something--the layers of meaning and wit in the Whedonverse and the plots and characters who populate it?--was just missing.

There were occasional moments that were enjoyable and felt right, but overall... hugely disappointing.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic is a collection of tales about Spike and Dru. It spands over a certain time period and gives us a good insight in the lives of my favorite vampire couple as they, in the first two stories, go to such places as the science fair in 1933 and a floating casino in the present. The last two stories tells us what happened after they left Sunnydale at the end of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" season two and what happened after Spike went to find her after showing up in the season three episode "Lover's Walk", respectively.

My favorite of these stories was definitely "Paint the Town Red" set post-season two, a story which James Marsters himself has co-written, and I would have bought the book just for that one.

All in all, a nice comic, very relaxed. If you want to know more about the doings of the couple, you should read it. If you're expecting something with a major plot line, read something else. These stories satisfied my hunger for more about Spike and Dru, but it's not a major stand-alone.

[kory. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#3 buffy the vampire slayer: spike & dru ★★★☆☆
#19 the blood of carthage ★★★☆☆
#22 buffy the vampire slayer: out of the woodwork ★★★☆☆
#24 buffy the vampire slayer: false memories ★★★☆☆
#27 buffy the vampire slayer: ugly little monsters ★★★☆☆
#29 buffy the vampire slayer: the death of buffy ★★★☆☆

this kinda filled that need for more stories about spike and drusilla.

[Rhiannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3, down from the 4 i gave it ten (!!!) years ago.

The artwork across all four stories left much to be desired, but tbh I find that with most comics. I thought the first two stories were so much fun but didn't enjoy the second two much at all. I love Spike and Dru, so seeing them post-s2 hurt. I just want more stories about them matching each other's freak to a degree that's dangerous to the public!!! it's all I want

[Laura Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tragically disappointing. I've loved almost every Buffy & Angel comic I'v read so far, and this one was so bad. Bad art and a VERY badly written Drusilla. Only every other thing she said sounded like her. I write a better Drusilla. I write a very good Drusilla, but I still expect as good or better from someone writing in the Buffyverse.

[Suvi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had no problem with the writing, Spike and Dru sounded pretty much liked them, but they looked nothing like themselves. The artwork was just disappointing overall, and the stories weren't that exciting either. Apparently Marsters himself was disappointed in the result, and felt cheated by the crew because they didn't interpret his story very well. Understandable.

[Nirrvana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this issue! Spike and Dru are two of my favorite characters in the Buffy Universe. I got my copy signed by James Marsters and have to say he was thrilled that I had it and to this day is one of the nicest celebs that I've ever met.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked seeing more Spike and Dru, we didn't get enough of them in the show! I think that this kinda showed how much he loved her!

[Dave Farrance · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Quiet day at work yesterday, so grabbed a quick read.

This title was clearly aimed at a Teen audience. It was for the most part a very loose set of stories held together by the artwork. The first story didn’t float my boat much, but they did get better as they went along.
What bugged me most was the speech. I know Dru is meant to be a bit bat-poop crazy, but 80% of her lines were complete gibberish, meaning most of the text in the whole book was just utter crap.
The stories themselves, bringing various dark elements such as elder gods etc into the mix was fun, and I did enjoy the tale where there was a magician who could raise the dead, but for the most part this was not really a collection I would recommend to anyone I cared about.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am just trying to be a completist and go back and obtain and read the buffy comics I don't yet have. I've probably said this in other reviews, but it gets super complicated because I buy the trade paperbacks but I started buying them after the tv show ended, so the stuff that was published before I am playing catch up on and a couple of different companies had the various licenses and then things get collected in various ways, so I have spent hours in the weeds looking up on fan wikis to see what got collected where and how I could get everything. I'm trying to buy the boom studios ones in real time so this doesn't happen.

anyway, this wasn't fantastic but like I said, completist.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of four stories following the titular vampires as they munch their way towards Sunnydale over a couple of hundred years. The stories were okay, with no real plot to them and the artwork changed from story to story, sometimes it's fine, other times it's not great. Overall, it was okay, just nothing special.

[Mel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Spike and Dru as characters but I didn't particularly enjoy this.

[Fernanda Martins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like the stories. Too shallow and predictable

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is inconsistent, and Dru's psycho-talk gets old very quick, but the underlying tales are good.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun. Love spike and Dru

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Spike is one of my favorite characters from the Buffyverse. I hear that’s a common reaction, actually–he apparently became an instant fan favorite with everyone when the show first aired. Drusilla is cool too, of course, completely off her rocker and occasionally hilarious, but there’s something about Spike’s attitude and panache….They’re both very nuanced characters, more so than any other vampires in the Buffyverse.* Anyway, this being the case, I was very much looking forward to reading this set of stories featuring everyone’s favorite duo of co-dependent vampires.

This is usually labeled a miniseries, but it was more accurately a series of three one-shots with the same billing. Also included in the TPB reprint (and this review) is the Spike & Dru story from the Lover’s Walk one-shot for a total of four stories. (I arranged them chronologically, though they were actually published in a different order.)

-- All’s Fair (#3: Written by Golden, Drawn by Powell): Prologue set in China during the Boxer rebellion, with the main body focused on Spike and Drusilla in Chicago, 1933, as the World’s Fair is in full swing. Very well written, to the point where I can hear the characters say their lines. I also liked the art better than any of the previous stories, which I again admit is a matter of taste.
-- The Queen Of Hearts (#2: Written by Golden, Drawn by Sook): Spike and Drusilla are on their way to Sunnydale, fresh from Prague (as seen in the story The Problem With Vampires , in Tales Of The Vampires ) when they get sidetracked in St. Louis. This one was really well written, with everyone’s lines just flowing perfectly. I could hear James Marsters or Juliette Landau saying their lines as I read, it was great. The art was okay, as with Paint The Town Red I’m not a huge fan of that style, but that’s a matter of personal taste. I did kind of laugh at one point though, there’s a bouncer who looks exactly like Hellboy, so much so that I wondered if the writers decided on a crossover at the last minute. It can’t be accidental, and I appreciate the tip of the hat.
-- Paint The Town Red (#1: Written by Marsters & Golden, Drawn by Sook): After the events of the Buffy season 2 finale, we rejoin Spike and Drusilla on the western coast of Italy as they try to patch their relationship back together, hindered by Spike’s temper and Drusilla’s continuing obsession with Angel. This particular story was…decent. I can totally see the story unfolding this way, and Spike’s lines were spot-on for his character (as you would expect, given that Marsters himself was one of the writers), but Drusilla’s lines only sounded like her about half the time. I also wasn’t a fan of the artwork, but that’s just my stylistic taste. That style works for Mignola on Hellboy books, but I’ve never really warmed to it elsewhere.
-- Who Made Who (From the Lover’s Walk OS: Written by Golden, Drawn by Powell): Set soon after the Buffy season 3 episode Lover’s Walk, we revisit Spike and Drusilla in Rio. The good news is that Spike’s plan to “torture her until she likes me again” actually worked. The bad news is that she’s up to her old tricks again, cheating on him with a fungus demon of all things....As with All’s Fair, I preferred Powell’s art to that of Ryan Sook. Again, a matter of taste. The writing was pretty good, as I’m coming to expect from Christopher Golden.

Obviously you could track down the TPB that collects these four stories, and that would be that. If you’re reading the Buffy omnibuses (omnibi?), All’s Fair is featured in Volume 1, Queen Of Hearts and Paint The Town Red in Volume 2, and Who Made Who is in Volume 4.

CONTENT: Mild language. Vampire violence, as you would expect from a book of this nature. In The Queen Of Hearts and Who Made Who characters visit a strip club, in both cases the dancers are wearing panties, in one case they have star-shaped stickers (I assume they’re stickers, anyway…) over their breasts and in the second case they are facing away from the reader. So not too explicit, but still a factor. Occult-wise, these are Buffyverse vampires (and so possessed by a demon), and there are actual demon characters to boot. There’s also a sorcerer who can command dead flesh. There’s a case to be made that Buffyverse demons are not the same as those of Judeo-Christian mythology, but that’s a whole post to itself. Maybe I’ll do that someday, maybe I won’t. We’ll see….

*Except Angel, of course, but he doesn’t count since he’s got his soul. Spike & Dru are both soulless, and yet still demonstrate a depth of human emotion that is rare for the vampires in the Buffyverse.

[Sonia Mcintosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

#ReadHarderChallenge2018 #18

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enought story from the Buffyverse but the main reason for excitement was that it is autographed by James Marsters aka Spike! Even if it had been crap I'd be keeping it forever!

[DeCarabas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quality's a bit hit or miss. Might as well skip the last story, end on a higher note; but the book's worth reading for Queen of Hearts alone.

[⋆☆☽ Jen ☾☆⋆ · Rating 1 out of 5]

UGH, la conferma del fatto che vale la pena guardare solo la serie di Buffy, mentre conviene lasciar perdere 'ste cavolate. Che flop, ci sono rimasta male :(

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot stand Dru. The way she talks grates on my nerves. I can just picture it in my mind the way she talks all slow and dreamy and irritating.