rcsreads's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
yosafbridg's review
4.0
Yesterday/today (it's always so confusing in the wee hours what to call the day~because i haven't been to bed yet so it doesn't really seem like yesterday~but anyway...) was kind of a bitch~i was feeling like shit (have yet another cold and so does Dixie~if cats do indeed get colds i'm finding/getting conflicting information on that front~but the fact that my twelve year old cat is sneezing and congested/having trouble breathing disturbs me terribly.)
My library system started its summer reading program Friday and i didn't work until Saturday, so when i got to work one of the things i did was wander around looking for some of the display tape and other things my manager had said she was going to put up. So there i was, without my nametag (it's temporarily lost) meandering, looking like i had no idea where i was or what i was doing, when i had the sudden sense i was being followed; i turned around only to be assaulted by a couple of librarian questions... I was tempted to ask "Do i LOOK like i work here???" but of course i didn't, i very cooperatively helped them out like any good librarian should, but how the hell did they know?
Had a migraine ~towards the end i had to keep running to the bathroom to throw up and we still had customers every time i came out wanting things~i was late locking the doors and there were still people there asking to put holds on things and i told them "I'm sorry, i'm closed, you will have to come back another time," something which did not please them, and i usually don't do but i needed to get out of there (maybe if i threw up on them they would have sensed the urgency?)
Anyway, i get home, feeling, as i said, ooaoogy (you know what i mean, don't you?), and grumpy, to discover that Amazon has delivered the new Spike issue: SPIKE: Asylum. This discovery ignited in me a desire to read the other two Spike collections i already had, Spike and Spike vs Dracula (the second of which i discovered, interestingly enough, had two small bite marks in the lower right hand corner, which had me puzzled for a few minutes~was this a design feature {a bit much really for a mass produced graphic novel} or~a much more likely possibility~the result of Dixie's biblio-fascination?). So, i have spent the night, distracting myself from the extreme pain in my head in my neck and head, by reading about one of my favorite characters.
The (curiously-bite-marked) Spike vs. Dracula includes Spike's (as well as Darla's and Drucilla's) first meeting with the Dark Prince, which adds more back-story to Angel's curse. Then there's meeting at Bella Lugosi's play "Dracula". The next meeting occurs in 1943 Berlin (in case you didn't know there were some truly nasty characters roaming about then). Here we encounter a certain Nathaniel Osborne and have a prefiguration of a Uboat incident. Then, when Dru and Spike are living la Dolce Vita in Rome of 1959 they encounter the Comte de Saint-Germain (tho not a vampire as of yet, leave that up to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro) and Spike unwittingly makes the way for the first Buffy episode of season four. Their final meeting is in Los Angeles, 2003 with Spike in his ghostly form. This graphic novel is worth reading if only for the interlude of "What I Did For My Birthday" by... (well i won't give it away) alone.
My library system started its summer reading program Friday and i didn't work until Saturday, so when i got to work one of the things i did was wander around looking for some of the display tape and other things my manager had said she was going to put up. So there i was, without my nametag (it's temporarily lost) meandering, looking like i had no idea where i was or what i was doing, when i had the sudden sense i was being followed; i turned around only to be assaulted by a couple of librarian questions... I was tempted to ask "Do i LOOK like i work here???" but of course i didn't, i very cooperatively helped them out like any good librarian should, but how the hell did they know?
Had a migraine ~towards the end i had to keep running to the bathroom to throw up and we still had customers every time i came out wanting things~i was late locking the doors and there were still people there asking to put holds on things and i told them "I'm sorry, i'm closed, you will have to come back another time," something which did not please them, and i usually don't do but i needed to get out of there (maybe if i threw up on them they would have sensed the urgency?)
Anyway, i get home, feeling, as i said, ooaoogy (you know what i mean, don't you?), and grumpy, to discover that Amazon has delivered the new Spike issue: SPIKE: Asylum. This discovery ignited in me a desire to read the other two Spike collections i already had, Spike and Spike vs Dracula (the second of which i discovered, interestingly enough, had two small bite marks in the lower right hand corner, which had me puzzled for a few minutes~was this a design feature {a bit much really for a mass produced graphic novel} or~a much more likely possibility~the result of Dixie's biblio-fascination?). So, i have spent the night, distracting myself from the extreme pain in my head in my neck and head, by reading about one of my favorite characters.
The (curiously-bite-marked) Spike vs. Dracula includes Spike's (as well as Darla's and Drucilla's) first meeting with the Dark Prince, which adds more back-story to Angel's curse. Then there's meeting at Bella Lugosi's play "Dracula". The next meeting occurs in 1943 Berlin (in case you didn't know there were some truly nasty characters roaming about then). Here we encounter a certain Nathaniel Osborne and have a prefiguration of a Uboat incident. Then, when Dru and Spike are living la Dolce Vita in Rome of 1959 they encounter the Comte de Saint-Germain (tho not a vampire as of yet, leave that up to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro) and Spike unwittingly makes the way for the first Buffy episode of season four. Their final meeting is in Los Angeles, 2003 with Spike in his ghostly form. This graphic novel is worth reading if only for the interlude of "What I Did For My Birthday" by... (well i won't give it away) alone.
nannybooks's review
3.0
Reseñado en mi blog Nanny Books
Cuando pensabas que lo habías visto todo, te encuentras con Spike peleando con Drácula. Imperdible. Saben que amo Buffy y que Spike me parece el mejor personaje de la serie (aparte de la prota). Aunque odio a Drusila (por motivos obvios) y acá aparece mucho, me decidí (me tiré en pileta) a leer el primer tomo de esta mini serie.
Para quienes no lo sepan, Spike es un personaje de la famosa serie de televisión (disponible en Netflix) Buffy, la cazavampiros (reseña aquí). Es un vampiro muy diferente a los que conocemos en la literatura clásica. Sí, tiene muchos años y se ve joven, pero además mira Los Simpson, usa una campera de cuero (muy sexy) y tiene un humor ácido que lo hace único. Olvídense de Edward Cullen, lo mejor es un Spike regalándote una noche inolvidable.
En esta serie, Spike se enfrentará al famoso vampiro Drácula, quién apareció muy brevemente en la serie Buffy y que demostró tener un pasado en común con nuestro rubio oxigenado. Ahora sabremos qué fue exactamente lo que volvió lleno de rencores a nuestro príncipe del mal.
Como todo lo que protagoniza nuestro vampirito, el cómic está lleno de palabras soeces hacia el "marica" de Drácula, diálogos agudos y frases con doble sentido (algunas más ingeniosas que otras):
"Si alguien te va a llenar de algo, ése soy yo"
Si bien la historia me pareció bien planteada y respetando correctamente la esencia que conocemos de nuestros personajes favoritos, las ilustraciones... ¡Ay, que dolor! Me parecieron malas, al menos, no es mi tipo de dibujo preferido. Hay viñetas en las cuales las percepciones de tamaño se van a la mierda. El uso de tanto color para una serie que debería ser más bien gótica también me descolocó, aunque eso ya son gustos personales.
Pufff, eso me ha aguado un poco el día. Pero seguiré dándole una oportunidad a esta serie, porque el primer tomo me ha parecido muy entretenido y... bueno, porque está Spike y consumiría cualquier cosa donde aparezca. Recomendado especialmente para fans de Buffy y de los vampiros bizarros.
bloodandpoppies's review
5.0
Spike, Dracula--what's not to love? Fills in the blanks of what was mentioned in BtVS (TV show). Well written, entertaining, nice artwork. A couple of fun cameos. Joss Whedon--will you marry me?
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