By: Peter David Publisher: IDW Publishing Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 120 Publication Date: October 18, 2006 Studio: IDW Publishing
Product Description: Presenting an incredible Spike saga spanning centuries! A hundred and twenty years ago, a tribe of gypsies inflicted a terrible curse upon the vampire known as Angelus... a curse that brought a terrible vengeance upon the tribe in the form of Angelus' family: Darla, Drusilla and most notably, William the Bloody, a.k.a. "Spike." But the gypsy clan has a dark and powerful supporter: Count Dracula. Outraged over the slaughter of the gypsies, Dracula seeks revenge upon the three vampires... and thus begins a rivalry between Spike and Dracula that will cover decades. A rivalry steeped in blood... honor... and eleven quid.
Backstory Galore ^ "Spike vs. Dracula" is a graphic novel written by Peter David with art by various artists.
If you're like me, you probably found the BTVS episode "Buffy vs. Dracula" a bit underwhelming, both in its plot and its depiction of Dracula.
However, I can wholeheartedly say that "Spike vs. Dracula" surpasses the Buffy episode on which it is based.
In "Buffy vs. Dracula," Spike mentions that he and Drac are old rivals, and that Dracula owes him 11 pounds.
"Spike vs. Dracula" has an intricate, ever-changing plot as it details Spike and Dracula's encounters over decades and decades, starting from Spike's earliest days as a vampire all the way to Spike's time as an incorporeal ghost vampire with a soul at Wolfram & Hart.
Dracula's portrayal and backstory itself is much more interesting than what we got on BTVS.
The story starts out very strong, with Spike and Dracula's first encounter very humorous. We get to see exactly how Dracula owes Spike the 11 quid, or so he feels.
The book's tone and subplots keep shifting through all the various time changes. It reads more like a mini-series than one focused story, but it ties in very well to the canon of the TV shows. One downside is the artists keep changing as well, and the quality varies, but overall the artwork is good.
The one aspect that seems to tie it all together is Spike's never-ending quest to get his 11 pounds back. Does he get it back? Ah-ah, that would be telling!
One downside for Spike fans, though, that I think I should mention is that Dracula ends up becoming more Angel's rival than Spike's by the end of the story. And ultimately the always-shifting plot just leads to a punchline.
But this story adds a lot more to the Dracula mythos than the original Buffy episode did. And if Backstory's your thing, then this is definitely for you. It's also nice that we get to see Spike's change through the ages. If you like all forms of Spike, you get both Good and Bad Spike in this one.
Recommended.
Awesome Story ^ The rivalry between Spike & Dracula in the Buffy series was alluded to, but never developed. How could Dracula owe Spike 11 pounds? Not only does this comic (which is a collection of all 5 of the releases issues, complete with cover art for all the issues sans lettering) develop the rivalry between the two of them, but it also tells a little bit more of the story of the gypsies that cursed Angelus with a soul. If you like Spike (and how could you not?), this is a definite read.
Unexpected ^ I purchased this item not completely aware of what it was. When it arrived I was concerned, but I soon found a new way to enjoy the Buffy the Vampire Slayer saga. I would definitely continue to purchase more items just like this. If you like Spike, this is definitely a way to continue his story!
Uneven but worth a look ^ Having come across Peter David first through his Trek tie-in novels, he strikes me as being a writer who likes to incorporate canon into his stories and he does fairly well in getting the characters right. He's also good with humor and I think he shines most when he nails this aspect of Spike's character.
The story follows Spike across five chapters and different time periods in which the two characters run across one another. Some of these are better than others. I particularly liked stories 4 and 5. The artwork was also pretty good for most of the book but had some very strange and jarring transitions. While I thought it was ok to change to a different (and ok) artist in Chapter 5, both chapters 3 and 4 were done half and half, with two artists doing two different sections of the stories. One artist had done stories 1 and 2 (quite well, I thought) and then the other, whose style was pretty reminiscent of the awful drawings of the Spike and Dru standalone written by Christopher Golden and James Marsters, did parts of 3 and 4.
At least one thing that was nice about waiting for the individual issues to be compiled was the look of the book as a whole, and the inclusion of the various covers as well as bonus photos of James Marsters (for whatever reason). Especially for people who enjoy the Spike character this will definitely be worth reading. More general comics fans or Whedon fans will likely enjoy parts of it.
Story line not my fave... ^ I guess you really shouldn't rate something on whether you liked the story line or not...Dracula didn't deserve his own comic with equal billing with Spike. Novel idea, but...left a boring taste in my mouth. But still, it takes me back a bit, so I was ok giving it 4 stars.
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