Is this comic ready for preorder yet???? I think it looks and sounds like an awesome story. Just want to make sure I get mine ordered before they sell out. I know...I know...I am so paranoid....

kathylovesspike | June 21, 05:16 CET

It's in next week's previews, definitely check it out and ask your local comic shoppe (note the "pe" added to shop, Spike's British ways are rubbing off on me). Can't thank you guys enough! You're the best!

Brian Lynch | June 21, 05:58 CET

Looks good, Brian! :-D

UnpluggedCrazy | June 21, 08:02 CET

Brian, I'm not a comics person, but I'm getting this. Looks good, fella! :^}

SangChaud | June 21, 08:24 CET

Thanks so much, guys. And just for you, I've added dialog to the scene. It is, as follows:

PANEL ONE

(Cityscape, Spike's limo rolling down the street)

SPIKE: (from inside limo) ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP! GITS! SODS!

PANEL TWO

(Big panel, Spike is inside the limo. Snake Eyes and his twin brother are mad at Spike. Contest Winners Barry and Virginia Lutz look on, mortified)

SPIKE: ROOOOOOOOOOAD TRI---? Oh bloody fine, no one join in. You guys are lame. Especially you, second Snake Eyes.

BARRY LUTZ: You know, when we entered the "win a trip to Fort Lauderdale with Spike" at our local WENDY'S, we assumed we'd be taking a plane.

VIRGINIA LUTZ: And we also assumed it was Spike Lee. Not some pale British guy who is so drunk he talks to his cigarettes.

SPIKE: OH BUGGER OFF!

PANEL THREE

(Spike takes out his cigarettes.)

SPIKE: These gits are lame. Not like you, cigarettes.

CIGARETTES: We love you Spike!

And scene!

What'd you guys think? It's a pretty dramatic departure from Spike, but I think it's pretty daring.

Brian Lynch | June 21, 09:03 CET

What's wrong with talking to your cigarettes? LOL!

Thanks a bunch Brian.

SpikeBad | June 21, 09:05 CET

ROTFLMAO! My god, Brian. Please do more of these! I was gonna buy it just 'cause, you know, Spikey love/lust. But this is great!

Nailed 'im in one! (Just please don't do it for real.) (The nailing.) (Like, literally.)

SangChaud | June 21, 09:20 CET

Also. Erm. Wendy's?? Gotta be backstory on that, guy.

Seriously--thanks, Brian.

SangChaud | June 21, 09:23 CET

Wow, that was AWESOME. Hilarious.

UnpluggedCrazy | June 21, 09:43 CET

This sounds a right hot. Getting this the minutes it's released.

sueworld2003 | June 21, 11:34 CET

I just want to erroneously claim that I have been clamoring for a G.I.Joe/Buffyverse crossover for years! C'Mon, why do you think Snake Eyes (and second Snake Eyes) are always all covered up, never letting the sunlight touch them? Vampires, obviously!

BTW: Still waiting for the trade like with the other minis, but very much looking forward to this one.

[ edited by Telltale on 2006-06-21 11:58 ]

Niels | June 21, 13:50 CET

Mr Brian Lynch I suspect you are not being entirely serious.

Derf | June 21, 13:50 CET

Brian, i really can't wait for your series, are there going to be lots of fights since that's one of the most impressive qualties i admire about Spike.

sethsky | June 21, 14:03 CET

Along with his other impressive qualities like...uhhhhmmmm... chiseled cheekbones, taut, toned abs, incredible baby blues, and of course the sexy snark....gotta have the snark!!!!
Would love to see Spike get a hug but definitely bring on the fights! Spike is one hell of a scrapper. Loved how he opened up a can of 'kick ass' on Angel in Destiny. That was long overdue IMHO.
Anyway...this looks great and I can't wait to get it.
Shoppe???? Oh dear Brian....you ARE channeling William the Bloody or maybe even Giles for sure.

kathylovesspike | June 21, 15:48 CET

Cheers for that Brian, hi-larious ;). It's just a pity you couldn't get the rights for Storm Shadow too (damn lawyers, surely being against a GI Joe/Spike cross-over is the same as hating America ? Can't you guys arrest them or guantanamo them or something ?).

Gonna be getting the singles of this, definitely not waiting for the trade.

Saje | June 21, 15:59 CET

Come now, when has Brian Lynch ever been "not entirely serious"? That is crazy talk!

zeitgeist | June 21, 17:07 CET

I hope most people buy it issue by issue, because if books don't sell well in monthly form, they don't GET a trade. Besides, there are huge things happening in each issue, and every time I wait for a trade on a book, the internet ruins big surprises by the time it comes out.

Trust me, get the monthly! Then we'll meet back here and chat about it!

Oh, and, as for fights. Yes, lots of them. And equal amounts of snark.

Brian Lynch | June 21, 20:19 CET

COOL!!!! Hey Brian...will IDW offer a subcription for this or is it just issue to issue? I know I got the Spike vs Dracula as a subscription...that way my feeble mind does not forget to order each time they come out. It doesn't matter to me as I will somehow get them all...but a subscription is nice, especially if there will be several issues (I hope many...many issues ) to come!!!

Oh and hey...uhhmmmm what is a trade????? Hate to sound stupid but I am new to the comic world...sigh...only came into it for Spike.
Ahhhh the things we do for love.

kathylovesspike | June 21, 20:43 CET

A trade, short for trade paperback, is a collection of all the issues that comes out when the series is done.

Or, in the case of a monthly, continuing comic, a trade collects a storyline, usually about five or six issues.

There might be one for SPIKE: ASYLUM, months after the entire series ends, but I would assume it has to sell a certain quantity to warrant a trade.

As for subscriptions, I'm not sure. I'll ask Chris Ryall over at IDW.

Brian Lynch | June 21, 20:50 CET

Ok great...but whatever...I will definitely be getting this!!!!

kathylovesspike | June 21, 21:12 CET

I just love the art work. I love all the vivid color and how well it captures Spike. Spike actually looks like Spike.

Charmuse | June 21, 21:44 CET

"I hope most people buy it issue by issue, because if books don't sell well in monthly form, they don't GET a trade."

Brian, really don't think you have to worry about that here. Not only is IDW one of the new breed of publishers that is already as much in the TP business as in the singles business, but also, TPs are more accesible to non-comic book readers, which pretty much guarantees a collection for a property like Angel.

(I'll admit that I'm biased against people trying to talk me into buying single issues, because I happen to prefer reading books in TPs, and people have been trying to make me feel guilty for it for years, while publishers keep moving more and more toward TPs--but honestly, I believe a TP here is pretty much guaranteed.)

Niels | June 21, 21:55 CET

Actually, Telltale, you're wrong. Sales have to warrant it. Plain fact, spelled out to me, etc. etc. Bottom line: nobody's gonna publish a collection of something that didn't sell in the first place.

So yeah, waiting for the trade hurts the possibilty of a trade, 100 %.

Also, not for nothing, but trust me when I say huge things happen in the comic, the cliffhangers every issue have been written so that it plays out like a serial, so while collected would rule, this comic is meant to be read month-to-month, with breaks.

One last thing: trust me on this or don't, but if you wait for th e trade, stuff will be spoiled, stuff you should see as it happens and not know about ahead of time. One issue in particular ends with such a shake-up, and I pray that the majority of the readers don't know about it. It's an awesome, big surprise.

On a more happy note: this site is awesome and everyone's support really fuels the writing for it. I was knee-deep in writing issue 3 when you guys started talking about it, and I made to sure to listen to what everyone likes and wants in the series. So I thank you all.

And I know it's not much, but I put one of your names in the comic as one of the names of the characters in the book. Not gonna say the issue, I'll let it be a surprise, but I will do it more if I get another crack at an ANGEL or SPIKE series (which depends on the sales for the first couple of SPIKE: ASYLUMses, another reason I would love for everyone to read the book and not wait for the trade). I would have done it more with ASYLUM if I had discovered this site when I started.

Anyway, thanks again everyone!

Brian Lynch | June 21, 23:32 CET

Sounds great Brian, you can defanitly count me as one of the fans who will buy it monthly. Well, i have to be honest, mainly because i'm a Spike fan. But i do love you're orginal idea's, and the way you go about it.

sethsky | June 21, 23:48 CET

I'm really looking forward to this comic! It's been on my order list at my local comic place since it was first announced.

I love the idea of a serial with cliffhangers. And the shake-up has me intrigued. This is going to be fun.

pindara | June 22, 00:36 CET

Thanks for hanging out with us Brian...and don't worry...Spike fans will definitely be tuning in for this one.

kathylovesspike | June 22, 03:41 CET

"Actually, Telltale, you're wrong. Sales have to warrant it. Plain fact, spelled out to me, etc. etc. Bottom line: nobody's gonna publish a collection of something that didn't sell in the first place."

Hm... Well, I guess this *is* the first Spike book they're doing in this format, so I guess they think they can't rely on the Angel trades sales numbers for comparison.

It's true, sometimes it's a bit of a leap of faith to decide to wait on a trade, and I sometimes support the singles on books that I think might not make it to trade but deserve to. I try to keep an eye on sales figures. But still, I'm not overly worried about this one (and you can take that as a compliment on the previews as well as as my ideas about the franchise/modern comic book publishing).

Niels | June 22, 13:31 CET