It's almost certainly because of what weekend it is...
I have this very strong feeling - and, mind, I've made this prediction on multiple prior occasions and have been proven wrong every time - that Spike #8* is the Destination of the journey that started in "Seeing Red." This is not to say that I won't be reading of his exploits over in the Dark Horse universe, that we will now be parting ways. Instead, I expect that (ironically enough) what follows from here* will be, for me, the "extended canon" of Spike's life, while Lynch's stories are cemented as True (to me) Canon. I am still bitterly disappointed in things I had problems with in #7 and some new things in #8 (essentially, the main plot of #8 and how, despite Lynch's best efforts to set it up, it comes out of phrackin' nowhere...), but that is entirely because Lynch and IDW - very admirably - sacrificed the story they clearly wanted to tell in order to dovetail as gracefully as they could into whatever the hell it is BS8 thought it was doing.
Having actually bought and read the entire core Angel series and nearly all of the spin-offs, I'm fairly confident that the move to Dark Horse can only _help_ the average quality and coherence of the plots**. But, at the same time, it's clear that no good will come of it, as far as truly liking the characters goes. I hold steadfast to the theory that BtVS the series and the characters Buffy and Angel in particular were saved by the spinning off of Angel. I want the characters to be able to be together as much as the next absolutely-not-a-shipper-but-I-still-love-the-characters-and-want-to-see-them-happy fan, but - and maybe I'm wrong (though Twilight makes me think I'm not) - they are not yet in a place where it will be a good thing. Throw Spike into the mix, and it's only going to get worse. After all, it was only after he, too, got away from Sunnydale that he went from a character I kind of hated myself for loving to truly being one of my Triumvirate of Favourite Characters (which I suppose is now a Quorum of Four, isn't it? Unless he actually bumped Lorne out... Hmm... I'm going to have to think about this.)
Now, maybe, MAYBE Spike will be allowed to parlay what he learned from his relationships with Fred, Gunn, Illyria, Lorne, Jeremy, Beck, George, Spider, and - face it, Spikey - Angel into healthier relationships with the Buffy characters, and he will indeed continue to grow. I can't say as I'm holding my breath, though...
Two quick things, and then I need to get to bed (read: get to reading Chapter 5 of Sandman: The Kindly Ones):
The one thing I really didn't like in #8 was the implication that he doesn't intend to see any of them again. I understand this is the same reason they haven't been allowed to use the name "Buffy" in Angel since the second season: different copyright holders. And in this case, it's at least somewhat justified, since they are Lynch/IDW's characters and Whedon/Dark Horse don't have any rights to them (btw, if I were Lynch/IDW I damn sure wouldn't let them GET those rights, after what they pulled***). The writers have successfully danced around having two characters unable to use the first name of the woman they have been living their recent undead-existence for, though, and several of the characters have had off-screen/off-page sojourns to meet up with characters who couldn't crossover. I am having a difficult time imagining Spike never visiting Las Vegas again, sentimental Fool for Love that he is, and all it would take would be a brief absence from the comics every now and again and a comment made in passing about having old friends to check up on. That sounds much more like the Spike we know than just leaving them in the desert with no plans to ever return. It's really the least Whedon could do, considering.
And, the realization dawned on me while watching my hamster groom himself a few days ago, his dark red eye catching the light and showing its jagged black rim, that Lorne is never coming back. His one-shot left things pretty wide open for an eventual return, and I always assumed they would bring him out of "retirement" somewhere down the line****, but that won't happen, now. I'm pretty sure Gunn isn't even getting a bus pass over to Dark Horse, and he has consistently been a core cast member since Wesley was still a newbie. So, that average-ish (but still sniffle-inducing) one-shot truly was Lorne's last hurrah. Pity. His final scene in "Not Fade Away" seemed a much truer send-off for him, even if it was exactly the opposite tone.
* I'm including the final volume of BS8 in this, since I have not yet read it, and since it DOES follow from the Spike series, in the twisted, frantic, quasi-reverse-retcon way this whole (sudden, forcible, surprise) reintegration has been going.
** A sentence I type with a straight face even after reading through Twilight. The vast majority of non-Lynch Angel comics are _bad_, you guys.
*** Actually, if I were Lynch/IDW, I would do a Mosaic series. I know almost for certain it would be a more enjoyable comic than the BtVS line...which is definitely enjoyable, just, Lynch gets the balance of serious storytelling and fun adventure in a way that was only seen in the first four seasons of BtVS and certain stretches of Angel.
**** It would have been lovely to have done this for the Spike series, since some of Lynch and Urru's best work is in the back-and-forth and reluctant friendship between those two, but the group of characters they wound up with was so imminently***** satisfying that I cannot wish the cast different******.
***** Every time I think of this word, I hear it sung by Gorilla Grodd.
****** I feel the greatest sacrifice of story outside of the ensoulment business was Groo's disappearance halfway through the series. I understand why he has always been used sparingly, but he is a character with SUCH potential as a really interesting regular.
I have every intention of being back tomorrow evening with a contest thingie. I've secured a pretty kick-ass first prize, and all participants will get something this time, so I'm pretty excited.
Having actually bought and read the entire core Angel series and nearly all of the spin-offs, I'm fairly confident that the move to Dark Horse can only _help_ the average quality and coherence of the plots**. But, at the same time, it's clear that no good will come of it, as far as truly liking the characters goes. I hold steadfast to the theory that BtVS the series and the characters Buffy and Angel in particular were saved by the spinning off of Angel. I want the characters to be able to be together as much as the next absolutely-not-a-shipper-but-I-still-love-the-characters-and-want-to-see-them-happy fan, but - and maybe I'm wrong (though Twilight makes me think I'm not) - they are not yet in a place where it will be a good thing. Throw Spike into the mix, and it's only going to get worse. After all, it was only after he, too, got away from Sunnydale that he went from a character I kind of hated myself for loving to truly being one of my Triumvirate of Favourite Characters (which I suppose is now a Quorum of Four, isn't it? Unless he actually bumped Lorne out... Hmm... I'm going to have to think about this.)
Now, maybe, MAYBE Spike will be allowed to parlay what he learned from his relationships with Fred, Gunn, Illyria, Lorne, Jeremy, Beck, George, Spider, and - face it, Spikey - Angel into healthier relationships with the Buffy characters, and he will indeed continue to grow. I can't say as I'm holding my breath, though...
Two quick things, and then I need to get to bed (read: get to reading Chapter 5 of Sandman: The Kindly Ones):
The one thing I really didn't like in #8 was the implication that he doesn't intend to see any of them again. I understand this is the same reason they haven't been allowed to use the name "Buffy" in Angel since the second season: different copyright holders. And in this case, it's at least somewhat justified, since they are Lynch/IDW's characters and Whedon/Dark Horse don't have any rights to them (btw, if I were Lynch/IDW I damn sure wouldn't let them GET those rights, after what they pulled***). The writers have successfully danced around having two characters unable to use the first name of the woman they have been living their recent undead-existence for, though, and several of the characters have had off-screen/off-page sojourns to meet up with characters who couldn't crossover. I am having a difficult time imagining Spike never visiting Las Vegas again, sentimental Fool for Love that he is, and all it would take would be a brief absence from the comics every now and again and a comment made in passing about having old friends to check up on. That sounds much more like the Spike we know than just leaving them in the desert with no plans to ever return. It's really the least Whedon could do, considering.
And, the realization dawned on me while watching my hamster groom himself a few days ago, his dark red eye catching the light and showing its jagged black rim, that Lorne is never coming back. His one-shot left things pretty wide open for an eventual return, and I always assumed they would bring him out of "retirement" somewhere down the line****, but that won't happen, now. I'm pretty sure Gunn isn't even getting a bus pass over to Dark Horse, and he has consistently been a core cast member since Wesley was still a newbie. So, that average-ish (but still sniffle-inducing) one-shot truly was Lorne's last hurrah. Pity. His final scene in "Not Fade Away" seemed a much truer send-off for him, even if it was exactly the opposite tone.
* I'm including the final volume of BS8 in this, since I have not yet read it, and since it DOES follow from the Spike series, in the twisted, frantic, quasi-reverse-retcon way this whole (sudden, forcible, surprise) reintegration has been going.
** A sentence I type with a straight face even after reading through Twilight. The vast majority of non-Lynch Angel comics are _bad_, you guys.
*** Actually, if I were Lynch/IDW, I would do a Mosaic series. I know almost for certain it would be a more enjoyable comic than the BtVS line...which is definitely enjoyable, just, Lynch gets the balance of serious storytelling and fun adventure in a way that was only seen in the first four seasons of BtVS and certain stretches of Angel.
**** It would have been lovely to have done this for the Spike series, since some of Lynch and Urru's best work is in the back-and-forth and reluctant friendship between those two, but the group of characters they wound up with was so imminently***** satisfying that I cannot wish the cast different******.
***** Every time I think of this word, I hear it sung by Gorilla Grodd.
****** I feel the greatest sacrifice of story outside of the ensoulment business was Groo's disappearance halfway through the series. I understand why he has always been used sparingly, but he is a character with SUCH potential as a really interesting regular.
I have every intention of being back tomorrow evening with a contest thingie. I've secured a pretty kick-ass first prize, and all participants will get something this time, so I'm pretty excited.