Spike - After the Fall #2
Aug. 9th, 2008 06:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roginUnfortunately I rarely have the time to post during the week anymore so I'm posting my review on the weekend again, when everyone is up and away *hangs head*. Anyway this book is too much fun to let an issue slip plus there's a lot of mysterious stuff to discuss speculate about in it, so here we go!
We pick up where issue #1 left of with Spike facing the dragon, complaining that Angel didn't slay it contrary to his statement in the alley. Then he tries to make up ways to kill (or get himself killed by) it. Again, I find myself totally in love with Brian's Spike voice. Might be that Brian's Spike is a little more thoughtful and responsible than I used to see Spike on the show, but it makes sense that he'd get a little more responsible having so many people depend on him now.
The dragon brings Spike to W & H, where he shows him a weird glowing man. I have to say, I'm not really sure what to make of that one. First my scan was to blurry to decipher the first bubble of the glowing man (I could only read the "why now, why now" in the end). I'd be really grateful, if someone with the book could tell me what else he is saying there?
In the bubbles with the normal sized print he's speaking to someone we can't see ("Now I know how you must have felt"). it seems like he is in pain and Spike observes that someone is "powering up" here.
shapinglight said in her review that it's probably Angel, healing up.That makes sense, especially with the "now, why now". After all it was the worst possible time to become human and Wes says somewhere that Angel needed time to heal at first. Also the question where Angel got the vampire mojo was never answered. The person he's speaking to in his painful trance could maybe be Darla (who became human too) or Buffy ("I want to be.. what you always knew I could be").
Spike doesn't know what to make of glowing man and gets zapped by him with the pain. This is entirely mysterious to me and makes me wonder if it really is Angel or rather some kind of power circuit W&H used for the transfer to hell. Hm, I'd love to hear some theories on it?
To the dragon's disappointment Spike takes off then and returns to his flock only to find that they have been taken by the Spikettes in spe. He's devastated of course and it's obvious how new he still is at the being responsible thing. Between the rubble he meets a mumbling Spider. Her ramblings are a bit weird "I've been around, maybe not this body, but this mind, this heart...", the only thing that's clear is that currently she's the underdog in her bunch. When they see each other she "spiders" and he vamps out (I still think Urru should work a little on his gameface, it just looks like the eyes are falling deeper into the face).
Cut to the Spikettes in spe and the humans. Here we get to meet the villain of Spike-AtF, I'll call her Non, since that seems to be the first part of her name. She doesn't want said name mentioned to the humans though, which is interesting since it is implied that she is some kind of demonic pixie. Doesn't fairyfolk usually make a lot of fuzz about people knowing their true names? If that's the reason she doesn't want her name spoken I think it's a nice touch.
I loved how Fred and Jerry were stepping up when she started menacing people around. Fred seemed for the first time like herself again. The whole Fred is absolutely helpless and needs to be protected thing was starting to annoy me a little. Of course Illyria is much stronger, but Fred always was pretty brave and capable herself.
Jerry is absolutely great. Unfortunately he's so sweet I'd almost bet he's not going to survive the comic. I hope he'll get some more scenes before he finds a messy end.
When Spike enters the scene crashing in with a truck, Non- proves her bitchiness by using Fred as a shield, transforming her into Illyria. Once Illyria starts to hurt her, she sucks power from the humans, zombiefying them in the process. Spike's busy with the Spikettes and can't do anything about it.Considering how hard he tried to keep them alive and be a good leader for them this is a jossworthy mean development (meaning I love it).
After beating Spike and Illyria, the evil pixie does the thing most people on the show did with Spike, she chains him up (are there already icons of that, btw.? Zoe?). The evil twist is that she leaves him with his zombiefied flock. Poor Spike.
So how long do we have to wait for the next issue???
Oh, and a little thing on the artwork: I think Urru's faces are really improving. If I compare his first pictures of Fred/Illyria to this book, she looks a world of better.
The dragon brings Spike to W & H, where he shows him a weird glowing man. I have to say, I'm not really sure what to make of that one. First my scan was to blurry to decipher the first bubble of the glowing man (I could only read the "why now, why now" in the end). I'd be really grateful, if someone with the book could tell me what else he is saying there?
In the bubbles with the normal sized print he's speaking to someone we can't see ("Now I know how you must have felt"). it seems like he is in pain and Spike observes that someone is "powering up" here.
shapinglight said in her review that it's probably Angel, healing up.That makes sense, especially with the "now, why now". After all it was the worst possible time to become human and Wes says somewhere that Angel needed time to heal at first. Also the question where Angel got the vampire mojo was never answered. The person he's speaking to in his painful trance could maybe be Darla (who became human too) or Buffy ("I want to be.. what you always knew I could be").Spike doesn't know what to make of glowing man and gets zapped by him with the pain. This is entirely mysterious to me and makes me wonder if it really is Angel or rather some kind of power circuit W&H used for the transfer to hell. Hm, I'd love to hear some theories on it?
To the dragon's disappointment Spike takes off then and returns to his flock only to find that they have been taken by the Spikettes in spe. He's devastated of course and it's obvious how new he still is at the being responsible thing. Between the rubble he meets a mumbling Spider. Her ramblings are a bit weird "I've been around, maybe not this body, but this mind, this heart...", the only thing that's clear is that currently she's the underdog in her bunch. When they see each other she "spiders" and he vamps out (I still think Urru should work a little on his gameface, it just looks like the eyes are falling deeper into the face).
Cut to the Spikettes in spe and the humans. Here we get to meet the villain of Spike-AtF, I'll call her Non, since that seems to be the first part of her name. She doesn't want said name mentioned to the humans though, which is interesting since it is implied that she is some kind of demonic pixie. Doesn't fairyfolk usually make a lot of fuzz about people knowing their true names? If that's the reason she doesn't want her name spoken I think it's a nice touch.
I loved how Fred and Jerry were stepping up when she started menacing people around. Fred seemed for the first time like herself again. The whole Fred is absolutely helpless and needs to be protected thing was starting to annoy me a little. Of course Illyria is much stronger, but Fred always was pretty brave and capable herself.
Jerry is absolutely great. Unfortunately he's so sweet I'd almost bet he's not going to survive the comic. I hope he'll get some more scenes before he finds a messy end.
When Spike enters the scene crashing in with a truck, Non- proves her bitchiness by using Fred as a shield, transforming her into Illyria. Once Illyria starts to hurt her, she sucks power from the humans, zombiefying them in the process. Spike's busy with the Spikettes and can't do anything about it.Considering how hard he tried to keep them alive and be a good leader for them this is a jossworthy mean development (meaning I love it).
After beating Spike and Illyria, the evil pixie does the thing most people on the show did with Spike, she chains him up (are there already icons of that, btw.? Zoe?). The evil twist is that she leaves him with his zombiefied flock. Poor Spike.
So how long do we have to wait for the next issue???
Oh, and a little thing on the artwork: I think Urru's faces are really improving. If I compare his first pictures of Fred/Illyria to this book, she looks a world of better.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 09:43 am (UTC)"Hurts alive alive have to stay can't move why now why now"
I'm pretty sure it's Angel, magically recovering from breaking every bone in his body. And I thought your suggestion that "Now I know how you must have felt" is referring to human-Darla was a pretty good one.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 10:25 am (UTC)And I love the character development Lynch has given Spike in this issue. It flows rather more directly from the previous Spike he's written in Asylum and Shadow Puppets than it does from the last we saw of Spike in canon. However, it seems very believable to me.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 04:08 pm (UTC)I had no clue about the glowing thing until I read shapinglight's review.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 04:58 pm (UTC)I'm still a bit at a loss about the zapping though. Spike didn't even touch him. And there's that panel where it looks like the big glowing hand is pressing Spike to the floor. Do you have an idea, what that could have been about?
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 05:04 pm (UTC):) Yes I saw, already snatched myself one :)
I agree with what you said about the character development. In Asylum and Shadowpuppets Spike was pretty much in search of his own way to do the hero thing. In ATF he's starting to find it.
It really works out and I love to see that Spike is becoming so independent. Stepping out of Buffy and Angel's shadow.
I think you're right about Angel, I still don't get why he zapped Spike though.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 05:20 pm (UTC)I was pretty much at loss about the glowing man too at first.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 06:17 pm (UTC)I really enjoyed the second issue, I'm so happy with both Spike atf and Angel atf!!
The glowing man must be Angel. His speech was just heartbreaking, I wanted to hug him. I like your idea that he was talking to Darla and it's quite possible for some part of his speech at least, then it could be Cordy or Buffy. Maybe he was talking to several people. And about the zapping... I wonder if he took power from Spike, and I really hope this moment was significant because it's very interesting.
And Fred/Illyria was awesome in the issue.
*kisses you* xxx
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 06:50 pm (UTC)I agree, glowing man is most likely Angel and I like your idea that he was talking to Cordy too. After all she was in that coma for a while and she always did believe in Angel, so both remarks would fit.
I wonder if he took power from Spike, and I really hope this moment was significant because it's very interesting.
I hope so too, maybe he was giving something to Spike. In the final panels, Non- said that Spike and Illyria were powerful, but that she could not tap into their power. That might have been about his vampire powers, but in the end they are pretty common, so maybe it was about something else.
I loved that we had the real Fred back for a few panels!
And squee! I'm already wearing the shiny icon you made :)
*hugs'n'kisses*
no subject
Date: 2008-08-10 10:06 pm (UTC)As for the big glowing hand, I think it's a trick of perspective: we're behind Angel looking at Spike, and Angel's hand is dangling down into the frame close to the 'camera'. It's not actually touching Spike, it's at least a metre away from him.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-11 08:33 am (UTC)I think you're right about the perspective thing. It looked somewhat meaningful though.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-11 02:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-11 04:41 pm (UTC)I had a similar impression, before I could read all of his text and had read shapinlights review. Seems like Brian confirmed that it's Angel in a message board.