maggie2 | One Page Preview for #36

One Page Preview for #36

sueworld2003 pointed to this one page preview for #36

http://forum.slayalive.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=buffyseason8&thread=10896&page=10#228614

A few reactions below the cut:

1. OMG, it's so good to see Spike again after all these years. And that's *so* very, very Spike.

2. Angel is obviously insane. OK. Not *obviously* insane. But insane is a pretty good explanation for those three panels. He's already at the tailor having the costume made when he 'hears' the tailor telling him to have the costume made. Also? Talking bird? Usually evidence of being batshit insane. To me it matches his expression in the reveal panel in #33 -- which always struck me as batshit insane. We still don't really know, though. But you know where my money is.

3. Sooooooo good to see Spike again. I guess I already said that. Look! He's drinking! IDW forgot that Spike drinks. a lot. Look! He's not hitting on the girl who is definitely making herself available. IDW forgot that Spike can sometimes talk to a woman without wanting to hump her. Look! He's in a ship's cabin alone! IDW forgot that Spike spends a hell of a lot of time alone. And white socks. So cute. I just want to nuzzle him.

4. Love, love, love the way the last two panels play. And that line is just exactly Spike. I love that he IDs Angel right off. I love the implied contrast with Buffy who so didn't ID Angel even after a whole battle/conversation with him. Spangels 1, Bangels 0.

5. Timing. The Angel panels are well in advance of the Spike panels. The Spike panels are all post Harmonic Divergence. I'm pretty sure that's Harmony's magazine on the bed next to Spike. The protest follows the Harmonic Divergence stuff -- and the girl has incorporated Twangels propoganda -- the men in the castle are now the 'slayer's victims'.

Joss has a big mountain to climb in this arc, but boy this one page is great. Did I mention that it's Soooooo good to see Spike again?

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"Ooh, that'd be Angel, then"

*Smirk. Side to side head movement. Tongue planted behind teeth*

Yeah, good to see Spike again.

Looks like Joss realized that we needed some more background on Angel and how in the freaking hell he got to where he is.

Posted a longer comment to you at Sue's journal - but yes, it's good to see Spike being Spike. Good to see Angel being batshit insane (I love to mock and I'm not afraid who knows it!), and good to know Spike wears socks, because even with the vampire's lack of working sweat glands, those Doc Martins must have been smelly.

All I can say is SPIKE! OMG it's "our" Spike. God, I've missed him. :) At least he's acting like Spike, let's hope it continues. And like you said...he's drinking, he's not jumping on the girl, he's alone(and he's wearing white socks lol).Aww I wanna snuggle him too. Are you taking notes IDW? And is he in his Punk! Steamship of Doom? Cause it looks like it. =) I'm just so giddy right now that I'm afraid it'll be a big letdown when the issue actually comes out but I'll just be happy tonight. I agree with you maggie...Angel is batshit crazy and so far is not redeemed at all in my eyes.

Joss has a big hole to climb out of, I hope he can. Cause I've been seriously doubting it. This made me a little more apt to believe that maybe it's possible.

Again..Spike, Spike, Spike! OK I'm seriously excited. Thanx for posting this maggie. =)

~Ami

Spangels 1, Bangels 0.
LOL! :)

Yay! I'm so pleased. Though, less with Jeanty's rendition of Spike in these panels. The details are nice, but Spike's face is more a blur without any detail. But the writing is pitch perfect.

Remember when we felt like the lone two people in the world thinking this was going to happen? Oh, and looking forward to it happening?

I love Spike so much. ♥

IDW forgot that Spike drinks. a lot.,/i>

Did they forget? Seems to me the most recent time we see him he's stumbling drunk in #34.

But it's important to note that in this preview page, the drinking isn't a big deal. Spike just drinks all the time, not a big deal. That's the difference. S8 treats it as background, IDW treats it as a big deal, a character defining trait. When it's really not. He just smokes and drinks--it's a habit, but not something that wholly defines him.

2. Angel is obviously insane. OK. Not *obviously* insane. But insane is a pretty good explanation for those three panels. He's already at the tailor having the costume made when he 'hears' the tailor telling him to have the costume made. Also? Talking bird? Usually evidence of being batshit insane. To me it matches his expression in the reveal panel in #33 -- which always struck me as batshit insane. We still don't really know, though. But you know where my money is.

Also, it'll solve something else: if he meets Dawn and doesn't immediately start babbling about yoghurt and green glow, we'll know she's not the Key. :)

I like that Spike's steampunk ship is actually literally steam-driven.

You kinda covered up all the good stuff.

Good to see Spike is back and Yay, the black polish nail is gone.

OMG noes! Spike is totes OOC! He would never wear white socks! *rage*

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. *g*

He looks so cute all curled up in bed with his laptop. Somebody make icons!

This is by far my favourite page since Turbulence.

I don't think this is intentional--but the girl sitting on the bench looks a lot like Cordelia to me. That really fits with Cordelia-as-guide and Angel's PtB connection. I'm going to choose to interpret her as a Cordy-analogue even if it's not intended--in Angel's crazy brain.

The two panels here have done more to convince me of what's going on with Angel than all of Twilight--there's still obviously gotta be a reason why Angel's crazy, but the lines he's being fed seem SO MUCH like the ones Angel would buy. And there's a talking owl. I'm dying.

And Spike. Just brushing past the vamp-groupie. Getting his info from the news.

"No one can know."
"Oh, that'd be Angel then."

Love love love.

Oh man. Joss might be able to pull this off.

Nice to see Spike, yes, but the sheer stupidity of the "vampires are good" plot stops me from being engaged even in Spike's participation in it. My brain just blocks the whole thing.

And I agree that Angel behaves like he's bonkers in those panels, and it's cute that Spike recognizes him. But ugh, that storyline grates so much...

It's nice to see you back. I've read your other post and found it very interesting, but not reading season 8 does often make commenting on it quite impossible for me except for little things or things that tie in to the TV series. So yay for Spike return! It's curious to how in only three panels he has shown much more layers than the boring dumb jerk IDW is trying to make us think is Spike.

And apart Spike, this page is decidedly full of interesting and intriguing potential. And yay for the little touches of humour too, like the superposition of the two last panels: "No one can know"/ "Ooh, that'd be Angel, then". Perhaps I'll buy this last series though I'm not keen on the characters turned from living actors to flat drawings. There'll always be something essential lacking for me from this POV.

Look! He's in a ship's cabin alone! IDW forgot that Spike spends a hell of a lot of time alone. And white socks. So cute. I just want to nuzzle him.

Awwww. Yes. And he's all curled up with his laptop on his tummy...

I'm still waiting for y'all to tell me if it's good. But if Spike's in character, well, that goes an awful long way.

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