Dopplegangbang *Blush*

(BUFFY: SEASON EIGHT #7 IS REVIEWED BELOW)

What Is It?: Spike: Shadow Puppets Issue #4. This is the fourth and final issue in the "Shadow Puppets" mini-series written by Brian Lynch and penciled/inked by Franco Urru. It's also the final "ANGEL" comic before "After the Fall" comes out.

Timing: Four months after "Spike: Asylum", and although the second issue of the series hinted that it takes place sometime late in Season Five due to a scene with Angel/Wesley/Illyria, the presence of "Spoiler Wesley" and references to "Old Friends" lead me to believe that it's Post-Not Fade Away. Which I'll get into later.

REVIEW: Today was a glorious day. Only a Buffyverse fan knows how good it feels to walk into a comic store and get handed four crisp, unread Buffyverse comics. Buffy: Season Eight #7 and Shadow Puppets #4. Each with the original and variant cover. Sigh. Needless to say, I may've cracked the speed limit with the force of Olaf the Troll God's hammer to get home and read these issues. I already gave you guys my take on Buffy #7, so here we go with the conclusion to Shadow Puppets...

Funny, visually stunning, and bursting with references to the show. You can either love or hate the puppet idea (even the biggest puppet lovers of us have to admit that having so many puppetized characters is a bit fan-wanky), but the simple fact that it works better in comics than it did on television isn't up for debate. Both Lynch and Urru are great at hitting every comedic beat, and I can't tell you how impressive it is to make a drawing of a puppet look expressive. The story did actually feel a bit crammed this time (there is so much happening), but a second read-through will make you appreciate the issue a lot better than the first go around. I loved the previous three installments, and this was no different. The idea of Puppet Angelus was great, and the interactions between the various puppets (I'll provide a list below) were well done and hilarious. There were a few jokes that went over my head (Spike talking to Puppet Drusilla: "If you were Drusilla, you'd be so orgasmic that you were turned into a doll you couldn't bloody well function.") because of iffy syntax, but it was made up for with the side-splitting panel in which Smile Time goes global. That panel is too tasty for me to even give you a hint at what you see.

The climax isn't handled with the quite deliciously chaotic finesse that "Spike: Asylum" was, but it did make for an enjoyable read. There were a few parts of the book that I found myself torn on (the genius of the idea of the three different Wesley puppets vs. the tastelessness of 'Spoiler Wesley') but overall, I'm happy with the way it ending. Both Lorne and Spike are done flawlessly, and Brian Lynch's invented characters Beck, Tok, and Betta George continue to steal the show. The final page of the issue is all at once sweet, funny, and a perfect note to end the story on, keeping the theme of team-work and friendship going strong until the final panel.

Art: Manifique! ...If that's a word. I mentioned in a separate review that Franco Urru is the master of action scenes, and he comes through nicely here. He handles the action, comedy, and even the subtle dramatic moments perfectly. He had to interpret multiple new characters from the show and--though I didn't recognize Puppet Cordy and Puppet Connor--he, for the most part, did a stellar job with the puppetizing of our favorite characters.

Characters We Know: Spike, Lorne, Ratio Hornblower

Puppets: Angelus, Wesley (three different versions), Gunn (two different versions), Fred/Illyria, Drusilla, Connor, Cordelia

Speculation: This wouldn't normally get a speculation category, but with "Angel: After the Fall" coming out next month, I had to do it. The presence of "Spoiler Wesley" introduces that fact that this--maybe--might take place after "Not Fade Away." If so, Gunn is alive... (REMEMBER everyone, this section is, as the title says, pure speculation). Lorne was talking to a 'Charlie' on the phone, trying to convince him that they should do children shows. If so, it means that Lorne is still hanging with--at least some of--the Fang Gang.

Rating: 8/10