Spike: Shadow Puppets

Spike Comics (Buffy Vampire Slayer)

by Brian Lynch, Franco Urru

Angel once put a stop to an evil children's show, but not before being turned into a puppet during his fight. Now, fresh out of the Asylum, it's Spike's turn! Writer Brian Lynch and artist Franco Urru (Spike: Asylum) reunite for a miniseries that sees Spike and Lorne heading off to Japan to stop the latest Japanese kids' show... Smile Time! Will they become "puppetized" themselves? And along the way, find themselves in a fight with hundreds of ninja-puppets, reuniting with fellow Asylum inmates, and be at extreme odds with one other? We're not telling (but, um, yes)! Fellow Angel-ofile David Messina (Angel: Auld Lang Syne) provides a cover of puppety variance, too!

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

32 pages, comic

First published July 18, 2007

About the author

Brian Michael Lynch is an American film and comic book writer.

Reviews

[Magdalena]

Spike and Lorne travel to Japan to take on the demonic puppets from Smile Time. What they don't image is that there will be some familiar puppet faces against them...

Spike is quite happy being alone fighting evil when Lorne drops by with a case for him that will take them to Japan and face evil puppets, but of course everyhting goes awfully wrong...



The puppet enemies have turned them into...puppets...



And now puppet Spike and puppet Lorne has to stop the evil puppets or they will suck the children in the world dry of their life force...
But Spike must also battle an old enemy...



Spike: Shadow Puppets was quite amusing to read, especially after Spike and Lorne were turned into puppets...

Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World

[Alice Rachel]

This was pretty funny. Not sure how Spike can bite with fabric puppet teeth, but still funny.

[Samantha]

this was a funny one. spike made so much fun of angel for being a puppet, his day had to come. lynch put a lot of homage to the muppet show into this, a major fandom for him.

I am completing my collection (and reading) of buffy comics. probably five or six times I have been in the buffy comics wiki, figuring out what I need in order to have everything (it's more complicated than you think). I have everything on my wish list now and I'm filling in the holes.

[Jenny Sparrow]

That’s just crazy fun! Loved it!!

[James]

I like a series that can poke fun at itself. Hooting Grimace.

[kory.]

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 ★★★☆☆

this one’s a bit nonsensical, but puppet spike is kind of adorable.

[Arie ☂]

All you really need to know about this volume is that Spike goes to Japan and gets to experience the joy of being a wee little puppet man just like Angel. I think that's karma.



Besides the hilarity of puppet shenanigans, there's tons of meta references to make you chuckle.



And sometimes it's the little details. Look at this adorable little Angel doll in the background at Spike's place.

[Claire]

This volume comes after Spike: Asylum which I haven't read yet. Though there was some back story to some characters new to me, it still read fine as a standalone.

I really enjoyed reading a tale from Spike's point of view, and this one is pretty light-hearted. Puppets, woo! If you enjoyed the Angel episode, "Smile Time," you should get a kick out of this book.

[Craig]

Well, this was fun. Spike and Angel go to Japan to face off against the evil puppets that Angel defeated in the Smile Time episode of the tv series. All of the in-jokes and sly references would be lost on anyone who wasn't very familiar with Buffy and Angel, but it holds a few chuckles for fans. Plus, evil ninja puppets, always entertaining.

[Kristina]

I like Spike. And he's great as a puppet. As well as Lorne. Green puppets are almost as cute as vampire puppets.

[Reese]

Spike and the gang as puppets? Come on now... what's not to love?

[周婉蓮 차우 크리스티나 Cass]

Shortest review ever for me:

Ninja puppets!!!

'Nuff said. :D

[Lady]

I really enjoyed this story. The episode of Angel where he fights Smile Time is one of my favorites. So, a Spike version is better IMO.

[Aubrey]

It's official, the pairing of Brian Lynch and Franko Urru is really working for me. This volume is a follow up to Asylum, where Lynch and Urru first worked together, and collects issues 1-4 of Shadow Puppets.

When I first learned this was a follow up, I wasn't sure how to get a hold of it. My library system didn't have it and it was slim pickings in ILL. However, I found it using Hoopla and tried that service out for the first time. While I've read some comics digitally, I was reluctant to do so with this one but really loved it. So a quick plug for Hoopla. Woot! Woot! If you're library has gotten Hoopla, give it a try! It's super easy to use and I love the panel to panel feature, which allows you not to see ahead, unlike reading a physical copy.

Anyway, I'm not a big fan of puppets and didn't anticipate liking this one as much. Yet again, I was impressed with Brian's grasp on the characters and universe. I can't recall how I felt about the Smile Time episode of Angel but now want to revisit. I love some of the subtle commentary about 'canon' work, his character callbacks and witty humor, normally left to Joss. Not to mention I love Urru's art more and more!

Another solid story from the two. Looking forward to the next!

[Sean]

Spike's puppety adventures were a hilarious good time. Brian Lynch does a really good job of calling back to the original Smile Time episode of Angel without being a complete redundant rehashing. It was done very well. Lynch's dialogue is fourth wall breakingly funny and the plot was good. The art by Frank Urru was good but muddy at times. Overall, a good piece of the overall Spike/Buffyverse collection.

[Miki]

A quite funny adventure of Spike and Lorne...as puppets! Telepathic fish Ben and a few more friends join them, and in the climactic battles quite a lot of old friends (and frenemies) show up as puppets too... Spike and Lorne together never disappoint!

[Fernanda Martins]

Seeing cast in puppet is definitely funny but the whole series have shallow plot. I knew what was going to happen at the end. Also I think they brought other cast members forcefully and nothing to do with the plot

[Megan]

The inside jokes cracked me up. Also Spike. Also wee little puppet men.

[pianogal]

I didn't like this one quite as much as Asylum, but I think that's cuz I'm not a big fan of puppets. Oh welll. Still a good read.

[Magali]

Well that was bad... Really bad, even my nostalgia for everything BTVS could not make me enjoy it...

[Mike Richardson]

Hilarious! It is essential for the reader to be familiar with the television show Angel to understand this comic. Also, I recommend reading Spike: Asylum beforehand, as well.

[Jim]

Brian Lynch returns to the Spike-iverse to tell a fun Smile-Time-esque story with Lorne and Spike. And a few favorites from Spike: Asylum. A good read.

[Amanda]

Goofy fun.

[Drululu]

Divertido! Spike y Lorne de puppets!

[Russel]

What can I say? This was an ok book, not bad, but not great. Perfectly good, but not great. It hits the obvious marks, but never really stretched the concept and even rushed some in places.

[Robert]

Cool continuation of the classic episode.

[Chelsea]

I'm reading a ton of Buffy and Angel comics in my Bewitched by Buffy reading vlog series over on Youtube. Full thoughts on this volume are in Bewitched by Buffy Episode 1: https://youtu.be/ZWNkX1J7Ikk

While I really appreciated that this story tried to be a sequel of sorts to Smile Time, I felt like I kept comparing the two and this one was just not as good as the episode. I loved seeing puppet Spike, but I felt that the scope of the comic was too wide. It tried to o what Smile Time did but on maybe too large of a scale. I still liked that it was more humorous and meta.

[Hooks & Books]

I am admittedly partial to Spike. So make him a puppet? Forget about it. Five stars.

[Thenia]

Spike is turned into a puppet, like Angel once did, with hilarious results.

Very enjoyable, with the usual snarky Spike humor that I find I've missed terribly.

[Hayley (Gory B Movie)]

Buffyverse and Muppets: two of my favorite things together in one action-packed Spike series! Anyone who has seen the Angel series episode Smile Time can remember the demonic children's show that turned the broodiest vampire with a soul into a wee little puppet man. Now Smile Time is back on the air, this time in Japan. Spike is recruited to save the day and backing him are Betta George, Beck, Lorne and a new character, a ninja named Tok.

Shadow Puppets has everything that is great about the Buffyverse: pop culture references, loads of humor, action, and a lot of heart. This is writer Brian Lynch at his best!

Also, if you liked Smile Time, you will love Shadow Puppets. There are loads more puppet characters this time around including Spike, Lorne and Betta George as the cutest plush heroes ever!

I applaud Lynch's ever-impressive grasp of the characters and the universe. When Lynch makes a joke about Spike living with Xander or mentions Andrew it shows that he knows and love this universe as much as the fans do.

There are also great puns and jokes in this issue about canon. First Spike is blasted by Smile Time's Official Cannon, a literal cannon. Then Betta George breaks the fourth wall by saying, "Seriously, I'm still feeling puppety. I can't go canon as a puppet. The internet is complaining about me as it is."

I can't recommend this mini-series enough. This is smart, endearing and laugh-out loud funny. A must-read for any Buffyverse fan, Muppets fan, or anyone looking for a hilarious read!