I went by a comic book store on accident the other day, and went inside for two reason: Part III of "No Future for You," and I heard some good news about the Angel comic "Auld Lang Syne," a Angel and Spike...series.  Bought them both and read them later that night.

"Auld Lang Syne" was not as good as "Spike: Asylum."  However, what made it displeasurable to me because Spike's voice was just completely wrong a third of the time, which is a huge chunk.  The terms that was used ("filly" was used about five times, and kinda made me cringe), and the fact that Spike would say "me" instead of "my" everytime...Me coat, me shirt, me favorite...How did this get a greenlight?  Didn't anyone with an iota of knowledge to the character read this before it went to print?  Apparently not.

Sorry, it just left a sour taste in my mouth...

That sounds like a really bad fan fiction.  I wouldn't read anything if it was so out of character, especially Spike.  It sounds like they made him Irish or something.  I'm just not a fan of any of the comics to be honest.

Tammy, "Spike: Asylum" was really good, though!  But I think the difference is...Brian Lynch wrote it, and not this one.  I'm pissed cause I spent twenty bucks on it, and I know I probably can't take it back.  *sigh*

EBay it, honey. Someone will buy it.

Ebayers will buy anything, so yeah, do that. My friend used to sell her crappy fanart on there and make money... and if you watch Leno with his stuff we found on ebay segments, then you have even more proof they'll buy anything, lol

How did this get a greenlight?  Didn't anyone with an iota of knowledge to the character read this before it went to print?  Apparently not.

Nope. Except for the season 8 comics and Angel: After the Fall, no one associated with the show has ever had approval or editorial oversight of the Buffy or Angel comics. Occasionally, they'd hire writers from the show to do an issue, but they were done with "little or no involvement from Joss," according to Scott Allie.

Spike: Asylum is good, and that's the main reason Brian Lynch is in charge of the After the Fall comics - Joss read Asylum and liked it.

Well, I went and purchased both, but haven't read more than a couple of pages out of Asylum yet; I'm really enjoying that one so far.  It sounds like I wasted my money with ALS, though.  Does it have ANY redeeming features (i.e. good art work?)

Ebay it, I will :D  And Brian Lynch is clearly a Spike fan...I trust him.

And yeah--the artwork overall is high quality, like the Spike: Asylum one (in my opinion).

Yeah, i could have told you that. 

From a guys perspective, there were other things that botherd me.  The first issue, with Angel saving that baby, he was WAY overpowerd, it's like the writer didn't even view the shows.  Angel saying some sort of bullshit like it's been a while since he took out 20 people in less then 2 minutes or so, it might take him a bit longer?  When on the show we saw him lose most of his battles or run away from them, heck he was even got captured by a couple of humans.

Issue3, Spike sorta losing to Angel, when in fact a vampire can't lose by a broken neck, there was an episode where it had almost no effect.  And the way Spike fought was definitely not his style.  The writer made it out to be as if Spike is always a cheat-fighter, not having the balls to face Angel.  When it is infact Angel/us that has done the most backstabbing that resulted in death/dusting.  It was also Spike that forced Angel to fight him fair and all out in Destiny, he had a metalbar, he gave Angel one, when Angel threw his away, he also reverted back to hand to hand.  He didn't want anything to take away from his victory.

There's a good chance that Brian Lynch will lose his "Spike-voice" in After the fall, not because he doesn't like him, it's simply that it's now Angel's story.  This is the part were most writers fail.  We have already seen many interviews were they for some reason have the urge to constantly remind people that this is Angel's story, not Spike's.  I have no problem with that, except for why is it that Spike is still being held back?  If they had said that they will some day do a spin-off with Spike as the lead, then great.  But so far, all he's going to be is second fiddle in an Angel story, when the character has so much potential.   And it seriously can't be that hard to create another comic-series, i mean i understand movies,tv,ect.  But comics, come on, it still hard work but alot less people and budget are involded then say a tv-series.

I have no problem with that, except for why is it that Spike is still being held back?  If they had said that they will some day do a spin-off with Spike as the lead, then great.

He isn't really being held back. They've already done a comic with Spike as the lead - Spike: Asylum, and then Spike: Shadow Puppets. There's also the older series of Spike and Dru comics. 

After the Fall is supposed to be the official continuation of the series, so of course the character dynamics are going to remain the same as they were on the show. They're not going to suddenly shift and center it around a character other than Angel. (But that doesn't mean that other characters won't get arcs or stand-alone issues, like Faith in the season 8 comics.) Personally, I enjoyed Spike and Angel together in season 5, so I like the idea of continuing that in the comic. If I want a "Spike as lead" comic, then I'll read Asylum and Shadow Puppets.

Whoops, that was me. How did I get logged out??

~Eowyn

"He isn't really being held back. They've already done a comic with Spike as the lead - Spike: Asylum, and then Spike: Shadow Puppets. There's also the older series of Spike and Dru comics." 

Actually he is, as long as it's Angel's name on the cover it won't be about Spike.  The Spike and Dru comics are utter crap, Spike is a one-dimensional evil character that seems to have no redeeming quality, even JM tought they sucked.  Asylum and Shadow puppets are both pre-NFA, the big developments will happen on Buffy canon comics or After the fall.

"After the Fall is supposed to be the official continuation of the series, so of course the character dynamics are going to remain the same as they were on the show. They're not going to suddenly shift and center it around a character other than Angel. (But that doesn't mean that other characters won't get arcs or stand-alone issues, like Faith in the season 8 comics.) Personally, I enjoyed Spike and Angel together in season 5, so I like the idea of continuing that in the comic. If I want a "Spike as lead" comic, then I'll read Asylum and Shadow Puppets."

Why?  It's a different medium, one that can accomendate another spin-off series.
And why can't they shift the central story to Spike, he's just as much of an intresting character if not more for many then Angel.  Season8 Faith's arc was different, Joss could and should center around other characters, because there is only so much you can do with Buffy.  He has to prolong the season, and can't always focus on Buffy.  Spike is again different, he like Angel has got his own history,hopes,ideas,morals.  And yes while i did like Spike and Angel in season5 and also wouldn't mind the occasional crossover, i still believe that Spike can carry his own series(,future), especially in comic-format.  Don't get me wrong, i'm glad that Angel is being continued, but now that this series will go on for over a year, it means that no new Spike series will appear.

Well, I guess there's just no pleasing some people.

In "Auld Lang Syne," Angel and Spike didn't believe they were actually fighting vampires, so any difference in their fighting style can be attributed to that, since they thought they were fighting "the unknown."  And let's face it--though Spike's a way better fighter than Angel, in canon, Spike lost a fight to puppet Angel, which made no sense (unless, like I suspect, Spike let him win to let him look good, so he wouldn't look weak in front of all of those people and demons).

Also, I wish someone had told me it sucked--there should be a review section for comics and books, and let others know whether it's a two thumbs up or not.

And...yeah, their should be a Spike spin off.  Of course we won't get it.  But if the comic is like the show, we'll get some definite Spike time, and he won't be in Angel's shadow.  In fact, they made it a point in canon to show that Spike was a better hero than Angel, so I'm not worried about it.

And let's face it--though Spike's a way better fighter than Angel, in canon, Spike lost a fight to puppet Angel, which made no sense

I don't think it's that obvious that Spike is a way better fighter - Angel says in "Destiny" that Spike had never beat him before, and Spike takes just as much as he dishes out in that fight. So, I'd say at this point, they're probably evenly matched. I don't know if puppet Angel has the same strength and skill that real Angel has, but if he does, it's not that surprising that Angel would win - it could go either way, especially if Spike doesn't have the drive that he had in Destiny (wanting to take something away from Angel). He doesn't really seem to take the puppet seriously, and fighting with anything less than his absolute best would mean Spike probably loses to Angel.

I think it is...Up until Angel started the good fight, he didn't do much fighting.  Spike has tackled more warriors than Angel, and definitely been in more battles (whether he was fighting for good or not is irrelevant).  Angelus wasn't much for "unleashing it," cause their wasn't any artistry (in his opinion) behind it.  Therefore, it's fair to say Spike has had more experience overall.

And how many times have Angel and Spike gone head to head?  Besides fighting for Drusilla from time to time (which didn't seem to last long, actually), and "Destiny," they haven't really had the opprotunity to challenge one another much.

You're right, we haven't seem them fight a lot. But when they did, regardless of their history or experience, they were pretty evenly matched. If Angel fights better than you think he should, you could always attribute it to Angel's innate advantage in being a hundred years older than Spike, which would make him stronger and faster.

Scarlet Ibis:"Also, I wish someone had told me it sucked--there should be a review section for comics and books, and let others know whether it's a two thumbs up or not."

Yep, that could have been an option but then again there aren't that many Spike fans that have bought it.  And for some it is good enough, those that want/enjoy a Spike/Angel pairing.  Not me ofcourse, i definitely disliked it for the same reasons above. 

"Spike lost a fight to puppet Angel, which made no sense."

That fight was hardly made to be taken seriously, it was a comedy fight, sorta like in the Girl in Question, how both of them are being played by a couple of gangsters and they are jumping around like idiots trying to catch the head.  Destiny was the only serious fight between them that season and Spike won that hands down.

Eowyn315:"If Angel fights better than you think he should, you could always attribute it to Angel's innate advantage in being a hundred years older than Spike, which would make him stronger and faster."

But Angel wasn't shown to be faster or stronger, such things can clearly be seen if one is superior.  Spike didn't win by adapting and finding other means to reach victory in his fight against Angel.  He fought on the same level, when it was pure brawl, he did that, when it was technick and skill, he did that,ect.  And Scarlet has a point, because of Spike's active history of fighting and doing so many battles, he has become alot stronger then his own age, suggesting that vamps can become better trough training and not simply because of your bloodline and age..  Another thing, he is the only vamp shown to have defeated a vampire twice his age(in fair-combat).  While Angel didn't even have the guts going up against the Master, fully believing that he could never win.  Spike did just that, he went up against a vamp twice his age and defeated him in fair-combat.  It was also Spike that had the status of legendary warrior, not once was Angel's past exploits about combat mentioned as legendary. 

Their fight in Destiny was the first,serious full-out fight they had since they became evenly matched.  The had a tussle in "In the dark", but Spike motivation wasn't on defeating Angel, he just wanted his ring back and he left when Cordy and Doyle arrived.  All those little fights they had a century ago, Spike was at a clear disadvantage, he simply couldn't win back then against a much older vamp in fair combat, which is the way he wanted to win.  I think it is only after his second slayer that he has bridged that gap and could have won against Angel if he truely wanted to, but back then he didn't have a soul.  It's the soul that drove him to fight it out with Angel and get some of his "honor" back, the soul forced him to make Angel look at him as an equal.   Which for me was one of the best things he got by getting the soul, he doesn't see the world trough glasses anymore.