Buffyverse Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Buffyverse Wiki
Btvs The subject of this article is non-canonical.
While created as part of licensed material, it has not been confirmed as part of the "real" Buffyverse continuity.
Angelwings

Spike: Old Times is a one-shot graphic novel from the Spike comics meta-series. Written by Peter David and illustrated by Fernando Goni, it was originally published on August 24, 2005, by IDW Publishing.

Synopsis[]

Spike returns to the comic book world in this special one-shot written by fan-favorite writer Peter David! On a dark night in 1880s London, a young poet named William was humiliated by an elegant woman named Cecily and fled into the night… not realizing it would be the first night of the rest of his unlife. But Cecily had a few secrets of her own. Now it's over a century later, elegant Cecily is a vengeance demon named Halfrek endeavoring to destroy another young poet, and William the Vampire — the renowned Spike — is squaring off against her to try and even the scales.[1]

Summary[]

In 1880, Spike, at the time "William the bloody awful poet," leaves a house in humiliation, telling Thomas Wexler he wished that the ones at the party were the bloody ones. Unknown to him, Cecily is the vengeance demon Halfrek, and she fulfills the wish making all present bleed from their eyes and their blindness cause a deadly fire.

Now, by complete coincidence, Spike and Halfrek bump into each other in a bar in Los Angeles. Spike soon discovers she was after another hopeless poet, Lenny. He is descendant of one of the party-goers, both cursed to die on their 30th birthday, like the rest of the Wexler family, by Halfrek herself.

At that point, Spike makes his goal to save Lenny, just to spite Halfrek. He manages to get Lenny past attacking Serparvo demons and an almost-accident with a truck, until he takes him to an orphanage. Using the children as a cover of sorts, he makes Halfrek lift the curse. Lenny is so overjoyed that he does not look where he was going and falls out of a window.

Later, Halfrek seeks Spike to tell him that one of Lenny's ancestors was the first man she ever cursed, which had attracted D'Hoffryn's attention and made her a vengeance demon. Spike then kisses, lays her on the floor, and tells Halfrek: she is the one beneath him.

Continuity[]

  • The flashback takes place immediately after William leaves the party in "Fool for Love."
  • The unidentified gentleman in "Fool for Love" is named Thomas Wexler in this story; the also non-canon novel These Our Actors had named him Cyril Lasher.
  • Halfrek had been killed by D'Hoffryn in "Selfless," making her appearance in this story conflicted to canon.
  • This story mentions Spike's last name for the first time, which will also be used in the canonical stories Spike: Asylum, Disempowered, and Finale.
  • Spike and Halfrek recall being reunited in "Older and Far Away," when she mentioned her preference in being referred to as a justice demon.
  • Spike suggests that musician Billy Idol was inspired by his look and not the other way around, as Buffy hinted in "Sleeper."
  • Spike describes being in Los Angeles to annoy someone; as he is corporeal, this story takes place after "Destiny."
  • Spike mentions seeing Bela Lugosi perform as Dracula on stage, an event that will appear in the issue Spike vs. Dracula, Part Two.

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Objects[]

Death count[]

  • Unknown number of partygoers, including Thomas Wexler, died in a fire (in flashbacks).
  • Lenny, fallen through a window.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • The photo cover features a promotional picture taken for Angel season 5.
  • As a cameo, a theater in the background of the story announces "Buffy and Angel movie."

Distribution[]

  • Spike: Old Times was the 192nd best selling comic issue in its publishing month, with 7,894 sales in August 2005 at comic specialty stores.[2]

Collections[]

Pop culture references[]

  • Halfrek compares Spike's look with musician Billy Idol.
  • Spike compares Halfrek's exit with fictional character Endora from Bewitched television show.
  • Spike visits Bela Lugosi's grave.
  • Spike quotes the philosopher Voltaire.

Goofs[]

  • The Serparvo demon species is incorrectly spelled as "Sepavro" in this comic.

Gallery[]

Covers[]

Cover artwork[]

References[]

  1. "Spike: Old Times." IDW Publishing. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017.
  2. "Top 300 Comics Actual--August 2005." ICv2, September 19, 2005.
Advertisement