Graphic Novel Review: SPIKE: SHADOW PUPPETS

Everyone's favorite villains from Season Five of Joss Whedon's ANGEL are back and better then ever! I'm talking about the vampire-with-a-soul Spike who crossed over from the television show BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER to it's spin-off ANGEL and who has now gone solo in several IDW series in particular this one SPIKE: SHADOW PUPPETS which pits Spike against the puppet demons of the kids television show Smile Time (also villains from the fifth season of ANGEL).

If you remember from that episode of ANGEL (self titled "Smile Time") Angel went up against the soul stealing demon puppets and was himself turned into a puppet by a giant egg-like, soul-stealing thing. After being destroyed by Team-Angel in that episode the demons of Smile Time return to menace the children of Japan. Lorne has enlisted the aid of Spike to help him bring down Smile Time once and for all before the demons are able to send all the children of the world into mindless and comatose children.

Spike and Lorne get into more trouble then they bargain for when the demons of Smile Time release a horde of evil mini-Ninja puppets with only one desire, which is to kill Spike at all costs. If you've been following the Spike series then you'll recognize many of the supporting characters that come to Spike and Lorne's aid but not in time to prevent them from being turned into puppets themselves. Great fun and hilarity is had at the expense of seeing Spike & Lorne turned into puppets. More fun is had when, in order to defeat puppet-Spike, the demons of Smile Time create puppet versions of all Team-Angel including the infamous Angelus (one of the greatest moments in any of Spike's solo series).