It’s been some time now since the end of Angel season five and Spike has decided he’s had enough of teamwork, it’s high time he strike out on his own. After all, he is a champion. Setting up shop and a small apartment Spike seems to be enjoying the life of a freelancer, that is until a familiar face from the past pops back into the picture. Lorne‘s tracked Spike down and he has a mission for our favorite bleached blonde bad boy.
Remember Smile Time, those loveable demon puppets from season five that sucked the life force from the wee lil’ tykes of L.A. through the television and turned Angel into a puppet in the process? Well, they’re back, cuter than ever and up to their evil tricks again. This time however, they’ve set up shop in Japan. Spike’s not too fond of the idea of heading to Japan to play hero but heck, he is a champion (it also doesn’t hurt that he happens to owe money to a demon from the third rung of hell who is determined to collect) so it’s off to the land of the rising sun for Spike and Lorne.
Our two heroes are barely off the plane when they’re ambushed by a squad of ninja assassins, only these ninjas are as adorable as they are deadly. Lead by Marco, the roommate of Smile Time’s former leader Polo, Smile Time will do whatever it takes to keep Spike from interfering in their plans to zap the energy from the kids of Japan. Anything, including turning Spike and Lorne into a pair of wee little puppet men! It’s a good thing our heroes have some friends in Japan including Beck, a pyrokinetic Spike met while stuck in an asylum for the supernatural (Spike: Asylum), a psychic betta fish named George and Tok, a ninja who specializes in fighting the supernatural that Beck found on ‘Crage’s List’.
Can our puppet vampire with a soul still save the day or will Smile Time’s ‘Operation: Duck and Cover‘ be a complete success? Read Spike: Shadow Puppets to find out!
Spike: Shadow Puppets is written by Brian Lynch with pencils and inks by Franco Urru. Oh, and if reading about puppet Spike just isn’t enough for you hard core fans you can even get a puppet Spike of your very own. (I know what I’m asking Santa for!)
-Chris
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