After the cancellation of Dark Horse Comics’ “Buffy” line in 2018, a longtime fan could accuse the franchise’s handlers (which is now – ugh – Disney) of not exactly having a plan for what’s next. Although there have been plenty of “Buffy” comics since then from Boom! Studios – and although the novel line returned in 2019 – most of the new fiction has been set in alternate timelines. (The Boom! comics, for instance, re-imagine Buffy as a member of Gen-Z.)
Back to the O.G. timeline
“Bloody Fool for Love: A Spike Prequel” (August 2022) marks the first original-timeline story centered on a major character since the end of Dark Horse’s comics, and the first novel of this type since 2008. By its very throwback nature, it’s refreshing.
Author William Ritter makes a respectful Buffyverse debut, penning a story directly in the wake of the early 20th century events of Season 5’s “Fool for Love.” In that classic episode (which pairs with “Angel” Season 2’s “Darla”), Spike bags his first Slayer. Spike, Drusilla and Darla realize their leader has been cursed with a soul; Angel then runs off.
“Bloody Fool for Love: A Spike Prequel” (2022)
Author: William Ritter
Series: “Buffy” Prequel Novels No. 1
Setting: 1900, London
Spike is a great character, and he’s also super easy to write. This is because he’s so versatile. Pair him with Dru, or Buffy, or Dawn, or Fred, or Angel, or Xander, or Lorne … he’s entertaining bouncing off all of them. He fits (or doesn’t fit, in an amusing way) in with the Scoobies, Angel Investigations, his own Las Vegas supernatural group, or interstellar bugs who worship him.
Ritter is the latest author to find Spike’s darkly comedic and humorously tragic rhythms, accurately writing the vampire as he looks to secure the affections of Drusilla, whom he fears will run off and seek out Angel. The author also writes Dru well – and gives an amusing backstory to a character I never realized needed a backstory: Dru’s doll, Miss Edith!
Darla is a little off, concerned in “BFFL” with London vampire underground politics. Her secondary arc is too much like something out of “True Blood.” While the idea of demon political groupings is not unheard of in the Buffyverse, their connections to human governments do strain the established canon. And it’s strange that the Watcher’s Council is not mentioned, especially since “BFFL” takes place in the city where it is headquartered.
No vision of the future
Ritter keeps the pages turning with a series of alliances, trickeries and heists, culminating in Spike’s attempt – within a larger scheme by morally decent (as soulless bloodsuckers go) vampire bigwig Hammond — to steal a mystical pinky finger from demon lord Gunnar.
That sounds complex, but it’s not too bad, and Ritter’s creation of the supporting cast is strong, including werewolf Rieka and purple-skinned superpowered Ermack, who can create soundproof bubbles. OK, “X-Men”-style superbeings in the Buffyverse do give me pause, but since I allow for “Angel’s” Gwen, I can’t be too picky. “BFFL” does load up on wildly unusual (or convenient – in the case of Spike’s new evil-magic-shop owner friend Gus) characters. But no more so than, say, the imaginative IDW “Angel” comics.
While Ritter’s knowledge of “Buffy” lore and real history (Darla reads “Dracula,” published in 1897) can’t be quibbled with, he could’ve had more fun. One missed opportunity has to do with the mystical finger. We’re told it will allow someone like Dru, who already has seer powers, to see clearer premonitions.
I was 95 percent sure Ritter would wrap the novel with a bizarre, foggy vision of Spike falling in love with a Slayer. Maybe he also could’ve thrown in a vision of Spike becoming a Watcher, as per the alternate-timeline “Frankie the Vampire Slayer” novels. Then even insane Dru would cast the finger aside, pronouncing it as hopelessly flawed.
For whatever reason, Ritter doesn’t go with this joke, nor does he provide any visions of the future. The finger is merely a particularly teasing maguffin.
Something old … but that’s OK
And while Spike certainly acts like Spike, “BFFL” is short on the zest we used to get from Christopher Golden’s writings of William the Bloody, particularly in “Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row” (2000). “BFFL” doesn’t offer new insights into Spike’s nature. While this tale immediately post-dates the important “Fool for Love,” it’s ultimately a random adventure.
We do get a rote exchange wherein Darla assures Spike of how much Dru adores him. But Ritter doesn’t go deep into the psyches of the title character nor anyone else. That’s sometimes the hook of these tie-in novels: They might not give us anything new, but they can revel in characters’ minds – a more intimate experience than what TV provides.
OK, so “Bloody Fool for Love” isn’t anything new, but that’s part of why I enjoyed reading it. It’s something old. It’s like uncovering a 2002 Spike novel that I had somehow never read. It reminds me that you can never go far wrong with a Spike story.