Spike (of course)

[silk_labyrinth]

As a Spike fan, what's the first thing to do when you get a copy of Lorna Jowett's Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan? Yup, you check the index and find that Spike has (no surprise) a huge number of entries ranging from 'accent' to 'and Wood'. (Stop snickering.) Well, if we're going to get double-entendres out of the way

Comments

[bmblbee]

What an amazingly perfect description of our favorite character.
He is, in short, versatile.

And I am delighted to know that despite his shorter stature,
he has the inches where they count most.

[silk_labyrinth]

In the Spike vs Angel debate, my two otherwise lovely children support Angel. (I am pondering an investigation into whether they were perhaps switched at birth.) But I may read that paragraph to them at Sunday dinner. It is indeed a perfect description of why Spike is such an intriguing character.

And then there are those inches....

[skargasm]

That (the bits I understood) actually made a lot of sense! I was reading a Spandery Dirty Dancing the other day and I wondered how the author was going to handle the dance at the Shelldrake - the way she did it actually worked very well for me simply because Spike is so ambi-sexual (I just be making up words all over the place!)

And *ahem* no surprise that he's got more inches than Angel

Bwahahahahahaha!!!

[silk_labyrinth]

Since I discovered Buffyverse fanfic, I've been attracted to AU plotlines with Spike -- precisely because his complex character allows a creative author to put him into almost any setting, any vocation, any time period, any position of power (or lack of it). Strong, commanding Spike? It works. Vulnerable, broken Spike. That too.

He was such a diverse character in the series, that even a writer who sticks to canon can spin off in all sorts of directions with him.

Sexy and versatile. And inches. ; )

[whichclothes]

Sounds like an interesting book! One of the reasons I enjoy writing Spike (aside from the obvious total sexiness, of course) is that I think I can pair him with almost anyone in a realistic and fairly canon-compliant way. I think he can be realistically be placed in a very wide variety of situations, too. I think that's because they managed to write (and JM managed to act) a character who's exceptionally complex and multifacted while still maintaining consistency.

[silk_labyrinth]

Honestly, off the top of my head I can't think of a television character who has been as complex and multifaceted as Spike. Part of that was the writing, but a lot of the nuance came from JM.

As a jack of all trades, Spike can inhabit fics that are totally AU or closely canon-compliant and, either way, the story will be an interesting yarn based on his characteristics. Spike really can be just about anything the author needs him to be. A wonderful chameleon for writers, which translates into nice surprises for us readers!

[skargasm]

Jack of all trades is absolutely right - maybe that's why so many of us love him? To different people he represents different things.

[silk_labyrinth]

I think that's an excellent observation!

[diebirchen]

I went on-line to the library, which has the Riess book ,but not the Jowett, which can probably be called up through inter-library loan. Interesting. Thanks.

[silk_labyrinth]

Same with me. The local library had the Riess volume, but I just got Jowett's book via inter-library loan. If you read one or both, I hope you enjoy!

I love some of the academic work that's been done with the series. If you're interested, also check out Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Rhonda Wilcox. Another excellent volume, referencing Dickens, Joseph Campbell, and more.