5/5 Beautiful book, fun read
  by J. Nygren (Sandpoint, ID)
As a Spike fan, I'm always on the lookout for new stories with Spike, but as a rule I avoid graphic novels (or as they used to be called, comics) because I usually find the drawings bare little resemblence to the people they are supposed to represent. I was thrilled with this Spike graphic novel, as the pictures do look like the actors - they are some of the best graphics as I've seen, with most of them very photorealistic.

Besides the graphics, I also really enjoyed the stories. The first story takes place in Season Six BTVS, after Buffy's birthday party. "Old Times" brings Halfrek and Spike together with an explanation on how they know each other, and some closure for Spike. The next 2 stories takes place in ATS season 5, after Spike has become corporealized and before Fred becomes Illyria. "Old Wounds" flashbacks to Spike in LA in 1947 to solve a present day murder, while "Lost and Found" brings Angel and Spike together on a quest to find a second "Gem of Amarra" ring. I found the stories entertaining and enjoyable, with the personality of each character accurately portrayed. The collection of stories is printed on glossy, high quality paper, and there is a classic Spike photo at the start of each story. I would consider it a must have for any Spike fan.

5/5 There's No Spike Movie, But At Least We Have This
  by Pat Shand (Freeport, NY USA)

With one story by Peter David ("Old Times") and two by Scott Tipton ("Old Wounds" & "Lost and Found") and art by the spectacular Fernando Goni all bound into one thick trade paperback, "SPIKE" is an impressive addition to IDW's Angel/Spike catalogue.

+ Old Times: Spike decides to leave Sunnydale for a while to bother Angel. Instead, he runs into Halfrek the Vengeance Demon, and decides to thwart her from killing a man on his thirtieth birthday. There's complexity, plot twists, hell there's complex plot twists! The story reads well, though it is not as engrossing as the other two. --Set in Season Six of Buffy, Season Three of Angel--

+ Old Wounds: When Angel and co. suspects him of being the infamous Black Dahlia killer, Spike enlists the adorable Fred to help him prove his innocence. Not only does this story elaborate on the oddly tender Spike/Fred friendship in Angel's final season, there is also an awesome battle in the end. Reading this feels as if you're watching "ANGEL." --Set in Angel Season Five--

+ Lost and Found: The last section of this book is the best. "Lost and Found" feels like a lost episode of Angel, even more so than "Old Wounds." Complete with flashbacks and startlingly poignant moments between Angel and Spike, this story tells the tale of the vampire duo hunting down a vampire who has bought a second Gem of Amarra off the Internet. If there was a buddy flick of Angel and Spike, this would be it. --Set in Angel Season Five--

These three one-shot comics, each roughly twice as long as regular comics, are very fulfilling. Goni's photo-realistic art is stunningly on point. With luck, IDW will use him again for the ANGEL or SPIKE series. This volume is well worth it.

SIDE NOTE: I'm not sure if it is just my copy, but the binding of this trade paperback wasn't the best. A page fell out, and it looks like a few more may follow suit.

9/10

3/5 Good stories, but disappointing art
  by Mariet
As the title of my review shows, I have mixed feelings about this Spike comic book. In a nutshell, I liked the stories but not the art (at least not half as much as I had hoped I would).

After having seen some Spike comic books where the "hero" (well, protagonist) hardly bore any physical resemblance to Spike as we know him from the Buffy TV series, I was really looking forward to the "photo-realistic" art of this one. The cover really looked promising in this respect. However, when I read it I was disappointed. Not because the art is not photo-realistic or because Spike doesn't look like James Marsters - it is and he does, on 95% of the panels at least - but because it is a bit TOO "realistic". It is clear to see that the procedure followed by the artist was simply to paint over Buffy / Angel vidcaps that showed Spike in some position appropriate for the story. Many of the shots that were used are very easy to recognize, for example in the story "Lost & Found" that has Angel visiting Spike in his apartment while he is playing a video game. The entire scene is based on vidcaps from the Angel episode "You're welcome", when Lindsey visits Spike. The images have been copied in every detail, except that Lindsey has been replaced with Angel in some of the panels. I don't like this; it just feels like a cheap trick. I would much prefer to see original art. Also, the limitations of the procedure are clear. In cases where the artist had no full example to copy, the art clearly deteriorates. For example, in the post-WW2 flashback scenes in "Old Wounds", Spike's face and body look like they don't belong together at all (which is of course due to the fact that no vidcaps of Spike in a contemporary suit were available, so his face had to be "glued on").

On the positive side, I did like the stories, in particular the first and the last one. "Old Times" gave a satisfying closure to Spike's history with Cecily/Halfrek; I particularly liked the twist at the end. The only thing I didn't find very believable about this story is that Spike would leave Sunnydale and travel to LA in the middle of his relationship with Buffy in Season 6, but that's a very minor detail. "Lost & Found" I liked, among other things, because of the interaction between Spike and Harmony (the "e-Pay" thing was just hilarious) and because of the end, which showed that Spike really had come a long way since "In the Dark", the Angel episode referenced in this story.

5/5 Beautiful to look at, fun to read.
  by Leahna Hoxie (Sheridan, WY United States)
The first story, Old Times, is fantastic. It gives us the satisfaction of seeing Spike get a little of his back. The characters were written true aside from the fact that this is definately post=Buffy, and we all know that Halfrek, the vengence demon died in season 7. But that really doesn't matter because the story was just too satisfying to worry about it. Old Wounds and Lost and Found are also well done. Both writting and Artwork are great throughout the book. Well worth the time, and if you are an Angel/Buffy fan, it is a must have.

5/5 Great book!
  by Working Mom (Seattle, WA)
Really enjoyed this book. It kept me glued to the pages till the very end!