Spike, roped in by his desire to be every bit the heroic vampire-with-a-soul that Angel is, agrees to infiltrate a high-security lockdown -- a "treatment center" for supernatural types like himself -- to rescue an innocent half-demon imprisoned there.

But Spike has never gotten the whole look-leap notion down too well, and besides -- a lot of the other inmates at the Mosaic Wellness Center know, fear, hate and/or want to kill him.

Spike won't be having a pleasant stay.

Spike: Asylum is a strong entry in IDW's continuing saga of Blondie Bear in his post-Buffy, post-Angel world. This story features a nice appearance by Lorne, the green-skinned demon crooner from Angel, as well as a solid nod to Firefly, Buffy creator Joss Whedon's short-lived and much-lamented science-fiction/western series.

Kudos to writer Brian Lynch and illustrator Franco Urru who captured the look and feel of the character so perfectly. This could almost pass as an episode written and directed by Whedon (who himself has only praise for the book).

With Buffy well in hand over at Dark Horse, it's gratifying to see that Spike hasn't been forgotten by IDW. Let's hope for more quality material like this in the future!