Christos Gage's interview on Angel & Faith Issue 20 and why it doesn't fly for this Spike fan

[tennyo_elf]

Anyone following along knows I’m very against what the Buffy comics has turned into. A couple of weeks ago I was in a good place. I saw what they were doing with the Buffy character and knew I was done. I did my best to ignore the comics. However there still lingered a curiosity about what they planned for Spike. I still do have curiosity regarding

Comments

[feel_the_joy]

Hi, sorry my reply to this post is sooo late. I didn't forget it, I just wasn't able to get to it until now. So, here goes.

First, I read the issue to see what the fuss was about, and my thoughts about that are different from my thoughts about Gage's interview. I found the issue, on the whole, to not be that bad. Maybe it's just because went in expecting the worst, but I didn't think Spike was acting as horny as you and other reviewers made him sound. In fact, in the case of the aunts, it seemed like they were the ones who brought up sex to him, not the other way around.

Which is not to say none of the criticism was warranted. Spike's rants about Angel, Buffy, and his soul seemed very OOC to me, and off-putting. That also goes for the Harmony sex at the end, which was loathesome for the reasons you mentioned, as well as coming out of nowhere and creating an abrupt shift in tone from the rest of the issue, all in one blow. So not as bad as I'd expected, but still bad. Although, without those two scenes I could live with it.

As for Gage's interview, I pretty much agree with everything you said, except about his take on what a vampire is, which is the only thing he said that you agreed with(LOL)I don't think a vampire is a separate entity from the human even partially, just the human with their dark side amplified, new evil desires(drinking blood etc.) added, and their goodness limited. Which is close to what he was saying but not the same. But enough of that.

I agree Gage failed to provide a reason for
Spike's behavior in the book, and that a reason was necessary given that this took place immediately after his mini. If he ended that in a good place, then any change can't happen "just because". I understand that being around Angel makes him immature, but it shouldn't make him amoral.

More to come later!

[feel_the_joy]

I think that's the crux of the problem: these comic writers like regressing Spike(whether they see it as regression or not) "just because". They don't provide a good (or any) reason for it, they just do it because they find it amusing. It shows disrespect for Spike's character and disregard for the development he had before.

The rest of your post I pretty much agree with. Your point about responsibility lying with the writer to convey things rather than with the readers to see them without any reason to being apparent on the page is spot-on. Although I do have a few minor disagreements, I don't feel they are worth debating. So I'll just leave it at general agreement.

Finally, regarding your first paragraph, I have much sympathy. I went through that same phase of emotions a little earlier than you and eventually got to a place where I can more or less just roll my eyes at the comics, although it still irks me when DH is disrespectful to fans(like stringing Spuffies along). Hopefully you will be someday able to disregard the comics and regain your love for the characters and show, if you haven't already.

Oh, and Happy Birthday :)