Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Spike and Dru [Paperback]

ALL'S FAIR- takes place during the World's Fair of 1933. The story follows Spike and Dru as they maim. Slash, and slay their way through the glitter and lights of the Fair. They also encounter hideous demons from another dimension and highly skilled assassins out for blood.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS- As the pair travel to Sunnydale to be near the Hellmouth, the star-crossed lovers stop in St. Louis to do a bit of gambling and cause major mayhem on a riverboat casino. But, their blissful vacation is cut short by river demons.

PAINT THE TOWN RED- this story takes place shortly after Spike and Dru leave Sunnydale at the end of Buffy's second season. Dru's renewed love for Angel drives a wedge between the lovers. The end result is both of them trying to hurt the other as much as possible- which is a whole lot! With James Marsters helping with the writing, and Ryan Sook's artwork, this is by far the best story of all four.

WHO MADE WHO- tells the tale of Spike and Dru's final break up in Brazil. This is an epilog to Buffy's season three episode " Lover's Walk".

The only downside to this graphic is the artwork. Highly stylized, it's a deterant to fans who like Spike for his rugged good looks.

Still, if you like Buffy, Dru, or Spike and can find a copy of this graphic, than by all means buy it!

Dru of course, is the mad mistress. Psychically hypersensitive and more than a little kinky, her relationship with Spike actually lasted for a very long time. Her beauty is hard to define and her mind is, well, let us just say she is a bit distracted. Sometimes it is hard to see what the two lovers saw in each other, other than Spike's willing compliance with Dru's every wish. Certainly, as Spike developed more independence, the relationship between the two deteriorated.

This trade paperback collects the contents of three Spike and Dru comics, two from 1999 and the other from the end of 2000. In addition, there is a short from the "Lover's Walk" comic issued in 2001. The stories run from the Chicago World's Fair in 1933 to a more contemporary Carnivale in Brazil. During this journey, we will learn much about what makes our anti-heroes tick.

"All's Fair" takes a short flashback to China and the Boxer Rebellion and then jumps forward to the Chicago Fair. Spike and Dru treat the fair as a giant delicatessen until they run into some characters bent on vengeance from their past and a demon who wants to make earth its home.

To open "The Queen of Hearts" the lovers eat an entire topless bar and then move on to a riverboat casino. No one seems to have warned Spike that winning too much draws the wrong kind of attention - in spades.

In "Paint the Town" Spike is so frustrated with Drusilla's obsession with Angel. He ends the relationship in a fiery blaze and heads of for Turkey for a prolonged escape. Unexpectedly Dru tracks him down with a new friend in tow - a necromancer. She wants to get even, but before long, everyone is in trouble.

The final story, "Who Made Who," is a short finds the newly made up lovers in Brazil. However, Dru's attention once again wanders and Spike spoils the party.

I don't care all that much for the pencil work in these stories. Two were done by Eric Powell and the other two are by Ryan Sook. The work isn't bad, just a little to simplified and roughed in for my tastes. Since Sook has become quite well known, I am probably in the minority. Regardless of the artwork, the stories are all excellent, Chris Golden doing the lion's share on all of them. Certainly, any Spike fan will find this required reading.