Spike Omnibus

[TheGrandmaster]

Just ordered this from amazon. It's the first of the comics that I will be reading. Basically ordered it because it is chronologically the best place to start (or so I have been told) and because Spike's one my favourite characters. Just wondering if anyone else has read it, and what they thought of it?
The stories it contains are:
Lost and Found
Old Wounds
Old Times
Spike vs Dracula
Asylum
Shadow Puppets

 

[AndrewCrossett]

I have the omnibus. I read Brian Lynch's two stories... Asylum and Shadow Puppets... but not the others yet. Asylum was very good. Shadow Puppets was good too (it's kind of a sequel to Smile Time), and is mainly a comedy.

 

[Frketson]

I've got Shadow puppets which i enjoyed. I am ordering the spike Omnibus series soon as well as i want to read those other stories.

 

[Spike Angelus]

I've read most of them, and I'm working my way though "shadow Puppets" now.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

Lost and Found =good
Old Wounds =Baaaad. So out of character, and from what I remember, the art was to "stiff", because the artist cared to much about likeness.
Old Times=good
Spike vs Dracula =great
Asylum =awesome
Shadow Puppets =awesomer and funny

So you will roll your eyes, laugh and be excited at times.

 

[Mazikeen]

Re:

I glanced at it while I was at Borders not too long back. Actually had it in my stack of books to purchase and wound up putting it down and getting the three Anita Blake graphic novels. I plan on going back and getting it soon.

 

[TheGrandmaster]

Review

Ok having finished the book here's a little review of each of the stories.

Old Times - this was a pretty good story. I liked how it tied up some minor characters that appeared in the tv show. The art was fantastic, but sometimes it was hard to imagine spike saying some of the things he does is this story.

Old Wounds - this too was enjoyable, linking spike to the black dahlia murder. I won't spoil it for you by revealing whether he did it or not 😛. Again good art and interesting appearances from some of the tv shows minor characters.

Lost and Found - this was definitely the low point of the Spike Omnibus. The sory was, frankly, boring and the interaction between some of the characters were flat and uninspiring. Also Spike does something rather out of character in this. Dissapointing.

Spike vs Dracula - an entertaining and comical reading with some laugh out loud moments. Good art and well voiced. All characters act in a believable manner.

Asylum - probably the best one in the Omnibus. An interesting story and diverse concept. The fact that this is longer in length than most of the others allows the story arc to develop much more interestingly, and the characters have more space and time to interact. A good read.
Shadow Puppets - Again a good story, although it is very similar to the Angel Season 5 episode smile time. However it has a great ending, and at points was funnier than I thought I comic ever could be.

Overall I thouroughly enjoyed the Spike Omnibus. As it was the first buffyverse comic I have read I was very pleased with it and will be delving into Angel: ATF soon.

 

[Skytteflickan88]

What was the out of character moment in Lost and found? It was a while since I read it.

 

[sending signal]

Personally, I think it's best to start with the darkhorse stuff (omnibus and angel trades, tales) work your way to the IDW stuff, and then hit after the fall after reading both Angel and Spike omnibus volumes... but really almost all the stuff before ATF can be read in different orders. As long as you've already seen all of the show, almost all of the stories seem to just take place around or in the far past until you get to Spike and Angel, and then those are probably half canon at most.