Image Credit: Dark Horse

At the end of the most recent issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9, Spike and Buffy went their separate ways. (Well, it was actually Buffy’s consciousness inside a robot version of Buffy, but let’s not get too technical.) Spike had had it with having his non-beating heart jerked around by Buffy’s inability to fully commit to him, and he blasted off in his spaceship piloted by a loyal crew of giant alien cockroaches. Naturally.

That’s pretty much exactly where the five-issue spin-off miniseries Spike (written by Victor Gischler and pencilled by Paul Lee) starts off, and EW has an exclusive sneak peek at how well — or, really, not well — Spike is handling his self-imposed separation from Buffy.

You can read the full issue when it arrives in stores Aug. 22, but you can check out EW’s four-page first look here.