Who Was Who Is Who #1

So for want of anything better to write about on a Monday, and with DC's New 52 well under way (how long are they keeping that title do you think?) I'm going to go through all my copies of Who's Who and see who's made it over to the new DCU, who might make it and who hasn't got an Aegeus's chance.

ABEL - portly keeper of the House of Secrets and late of the Dreaming, I've no idea whether Abel made it through. The number of Vertigo titles I pick up has dropped over the years to approximately none. Not a single one. Anyone seen him around lately?

ABNEGAZAR, RATH & GHAST - really, these should have been listed under Demons Three, don't you think? Can't see these guys coming back any time soon.

ABRA KADABRA - long time (pun intended!) Flash villain it wouldn't surprise me if he came back in some new, updated fashion.

ADAM STRANGE - now here's one I'm pretty certain is going to find his way back to us, either in the pages of DC Universe Presents or Justice League and my bet would be on the latter title. Geoff Johns is an unashamed fan of the silver age and Adam Strange was always popping in to the satellite headquarters before dragging the League off for some adventure or another so it wouldn't surprise me at all to have the bloke turn up before the end of 2012. There you go: my first solid prediction.

AEGEUS - seriously? A Greek terrorist riding Pegasus, flinging thunderbolts at Wonder Woman? Hands up who thinks this guy will ever be seen again.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #128

Deadshot espouses his own particular outlook

Monday Memes #1

During last summer I had a bit of fun looking through my cover scans and posting my favourites every Monday.

This year I'm going to throw out covers which share a theme or an idea, hence Monday Memes. First up: Homages:

Nothing is sacred to Ambush Bug and I thank heaven for that - not even the cover of Superman #1 excapes him.

Nor the cover of Flash #123 which introduced the world to the DCU Multiverse, spawning either a hugely rich vein of imaginative storytelling possibilities or hideous over-complication depending on your point of view.

You know what? Despite a bunch of mini-series, a handful of specials and currently appearing in Doom Patrol, I still think there's not enough Ambush Bug in the world. Just saying.

In The Flesh

Never really seen the appeal of the whole cos-play thing - maybe I'm just too uptight and British for it.

Over at Newsarama, though, there's a gallery of folks dressed up as comic/film characters from New York Comic Con. Of note are a rather good Zatanna (#14), a moody looking Thor (#17) and is the girl in the middle of #26 wearing a dress that#s meant to be a Dalek?!

All of which pale into insignificance against this guy:

Ambush Bug lives!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #101

You won't find Anna Fortune getting teary eyed with nostalgia

• THE BOYS #47 - aw, crap . . . Wee Hughie loses it with Starlight in a scene that had me cringing. You know you're emotionally invested in fictional characters when you just want to grab them and say "Stop f*****g things up!"
• BRIGHTEST DAY #11 - Firestorm throws down against his evil counterpart while Aquaman and Black Manta have a huge fight. Oh, and the Black Lantern version of the twelve resurrected characters reappear. Strangely, the best part of the issue for me was that last two page spread of a huge forest covering the surface of Mars.
• DOOM PATROL #15 - the Chief goes completely off the rails as the Kryptonian powers he's absorbed send him more than a little crazy. The fight between the Doom Patrol and the Chief is touching and sad though I somehow doubt that this is the end of Caulder. And who'd have thought a pelican could look so startled?
• FREEDOM FIGHTERS #2 - another solid issue as Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters go up against the renegade shamans from the past . . . and get their butts kicked. A little standard, plot wise - issue 1 introduces the threat, issue 2 the threat beats the heroes, issue 3 the heroes try but fail to beat them before realising/finding a key idea/item, issue 4 the heroes beat the threat - but no less enjoyable because of Palmiotti and Gray's cracking dialogue and the lovely art by Travis Moore. Once passed this story which is establishing the team for new readers, I've no doubt this series will really kick into gear.
• JSA-ALL STARS #11 - did Atom Smasher miss the meeting about giant-sized fights in the middle of a city? Can't help thinking that's not his brightest move. Elsewhere, Cyclone's back, Power Girl recuperates (how else is a solar powered hero going to recharge other than by sun-bathing!) and Atom Smasher and Anna Fortune start some serious flirting.
• Co feature LIBERTY BELLE AND HOURMAN - so this story that's been drawn out a little too long comes to an end. As I've said before, it's good - the characters are well written and the art's great - but it's just felt a bit stretched. But hey, a nice resolution.
• SECRET SIX #26 - if ever there was a place where Bane fitted in, it looks like it's Skataris. The two teams go head to head a lot sooner than I'd expected and that last page . . . not sure where that's going to go next issue.

And what made me smile:

Oh, Ambush Bug, you are a one.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #98

Screw-on Head has the nation's safety at heart when disposing of criminal geniuses

• THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD - Utter genius. Some friends had bought me the animated version of the title story of this collection last Christmas and it was crazy and brilliant enough that when I saw this collection advertised, I just had to have it. Mignola's art is just gorgeous and the stories are simply wonderful - The Magician and The Snake manages to be both funny and heart-wrenching in just five pages while The Prisoner of Mars is simply elegant. An excellent book thoroughly recommended.
• BOOSTER GOLD #36 - Giffen and DeMatteis manage to squeeze in a Justice League: Generation Lost tie-in almost in one caption as well as bringing in the Giffen written summer cross-over event from years back, Invasion! Chances of getting Snapper Carr and the Blasters to show up next issue?
• DAWN: NOT TO TOUCH THE EARTH - Delayed by months, this book finally lands and I have to think why? I like Linsner's longer works - the Dawn series are pretty good - but this smacks a little of self-indulgence. It doesn't bring anything new to Dawn as a character nor is it a particularly fulfilling one-shot. Bit of a disappointment, really.
• DOOM PATROL #14 - Ahh, what's not to like here?! From Ambush Bug's opening song recapping the last few issues, to Rita hurling Mento out over the ocean, to the team finally, really bonding. And then, of course, there's the Chief absorbing Kryptonian powers and completely losing it. I love this series!
• GREEN LANTERN #57 - The Predator's back in town! I've always like the Predator, at least the look of the thing - wonderfully 80's. True it's been through a couple of incarnations but Geoff Johns appears to have decreed that this is what it is: the entity behind the Star Sapphires, as Ion is to the Green Lanterns and Parallax to Sinestro. And why's Jordan so pissed that Carol Ferris had to kiss the Predator's host? It's not like he isn't seeing Jillian Pearlman. Remember her, the girlfriend we haven't seen in months?
• JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #9 - Rocket Red once again steals the scene as Max Lord's scheme seems to show its first sign of fragility. Not a bad issue all told, but not that hot either.

And what made me smile:

Now that's an ambition!

Monday Covers #13

Ambush Bug #1

It's Ambush Bug.

Taking the piss out of a classic Superman cover.

Why wouldn't this be in my list?

Friday Night Fights - When Universes Amalgamate Again

The whole thing with Minimum Clonage is that we fighters can't us the same main characters more than once; due to my earlier fights, Spacebooger says I can't use Catwoman, Hal "Green Lantern" Jordan, Joker, Guy Gardner, Starman, Superman or Talia A-Pocalypse.

He didn't say anything about not using the same fraggin' amalgamated universe though!

Everybody say hi to Lobo the Duck and Ambush the Lunatik, two of the most ridiculously fun things to come out of the whole Amalgam experiment!

Of course, this being Friday Night Fights, there's little time for discourse . . .

Hey, maybe if we all write to Keith Giffen he can have Ambush Bug fight Lobo for real in the pages of Doom Patrol?

Despite my love for Ambush Bug (or even this pale pretender) there's only one winner here:

Remember, folks, head over to Spacebooger by clicking on the picture below, check out the other fights and then vote for your favourite.

This frankly bizarre battle first appeared in Lobo The Duck, cover dated June 1997, written by Alan Grant, with art by Val Semeiks and Ray Kryssing though the scans come from the Return to The Amalgam Age of Comics: The DC Comics Collection trade paperback.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #85

Black Alice produces the best Etrigan rhyme ever!

Bumper week this week following the no-show of my comics last weekend.

• Booster Gold #33 - understandable that the title's tying in closely with Justice League: Generation Lost and the whole hunt for Max Lord thing, but it was nice seeing the JLI-era League once more.
• Brightest Day #3 - nice, too, to see J'onn J'onnz being a detective once more, working out who was brought to Earth before him; and is it me or is Ronnie Raymond looking waaaaaaaaaaay younger than ever before?
• Doom Patrol #11 - oh man, and they thought Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol was weird! This is cool, though, with Ambush Bug helping the team out - the line about "saving that for last" almost got the Cocktail post this week as I literally snorted when I read it!
• JSA All-Stars #7 - from the cover you'd expect the service to be a closed casket affair as Damage is laid to rest; there's a touching eulogy from Judomaster which runs throughout most of this issue, giving it a quieter, respectful air. Very well done.
• Co-feature Liberty Belle & Hourman - the good guy / bad guy team up continues to make this an enjoyable story even if it is starting to drag a little.
• Justice League: Generation Lost #3 - it's Fire's turn to be tricked by Max Lord into becoming a renegade as the team, now with extra Blue Beetle which is always good, continue the hunt. Great line from Ice when she explains she doesn't know what the OMACs are - "I'm pretty sure I was deceased when they showed up the first time!"
• Justice Society of America #39 - now that, my friends, is a cliffhanger! Excellent issue!
• PunisherMax #8 - three stories running in parallel this issue with lines being crossed by the end of it.
• Secret Six #22 - aside from the splendid rhyme quoted above, this issue had several cool moments ranging from the cold with Catman and his father, to the sad with Black Alice and her father, to the funny with Ragdoll . . . just being Ragdoll, really.
• The Stand: Hardcases #1 - the focus of the story shifts to the bad guys as Flagg begins gathering his troops.
• Superman: New Krypton Vol 1 - picked up the trade of this pretty much on a whim so will read it over the next few days.

And what made me smile:

Booster Gold stands up for the JLI!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #78

You don't miss it till it's gone, do you? I've had no net access for the last couple of days and at the moment it's kinda patchy so I'm waiting on an engineer to arrive tomorrow. No Cocktail post last week either as I was away. Anyhow, in the meantime: comics!

• The Boys #41 - Oh poor Wee Hughie's getting in deeper and deeper and Butcher's thinking the worst. Paranoia's a bad thing, people.
• Doom Patrol #9 - I'm really enjoying this series so am just waiting for the cancellation notice to arrive. Like The All New Atom, Blue Beetle and Shadowpact over the last couple of years, this is a fun comic that's probably not going to survive more's the pity. Trust me, people: if you're not getting this, add it to your pull list before it's too late.
• JSA All-Stars #5 - I'm liking Anna Fortune, the All-Stars' new spell caster; she's presumably British (unless my ear for dialogue's completely off) and has a cool look. More of her, Mr Sturges, more I say!
• Liberty Belle & Hourman co-feature - this is really working out to be kinda cool as well with the two teams . . . er . . . teaming up and bickering. Shame they'll end up as enemies once more after this.
• Project Superpowers: Chapter Two #8 - holy crap! None of them can die! Lady Satan dies and gets a name change; the Green Lama strikes a deal; and the real Kid Terror's reaaaaaaaaaaally pissed off! This series seemed to be wandering for a bit but it looks like it's back on track.

And what made me smile:

I love that badge (button for the American readers) that Ambush Bug's wearing! And why does that symbol on the belt look so damn familiar . . . ? Anyone?

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #75

Gee, would you look at that - 75th edition of Who'd Like A Cocktail?

• Doom Patrol #8 - a quick one page summary of Blackest Night and Giffen's right back to his own storyline. It should be nutty enough to please fans of the old Morrison run but, for my money, nowhere near as needlessly pretentious. This is good, solid (if weird) superheroics.
• Justice League: Rise And Fall Special - poor old Green Arrow's gone and done a bad thing and all his friends are angry with him and "have to stop him -- before he kills again!" Strange as it's not the first time he's done it but there you go. I like the character so will tag along for the ride and see what happens.
• Magog #7 - with the whole Mother of Magog sub plot bubbling away, it looks like next issue we get a visit from Tommy Tomorrow and the Planeteers!
• Punishermax #5 - the Kingpin storyline concludes, nicely leading in to the next round where Bullseye looks to be getting a pseudo-Colin Farrell makeover. This is shaping up to be a cool series, and not just for the Steve Dillon artwork.
• Secret Six #19 - Black Alice and Ragdoll getting sweet? Awww, how nice! That last page, though? Can't wait for the next issue!

And what made me smile:

Never has a next issue box looked so good! (Giffen + Doom Patrol) x Ambush Bug = Awesome!

What's Behind The Cover Of Blackest Night #7 (Part 1)

So what's behind the Top Secret cover of Blackest Night #7?

I sneaked into the DC officers, grabbed a few copies, took a coin to the covers and gave it a scratch and what do you know? That black cover comes off nicely . . .

So that's what happened to it after all . . .

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #59

With the wonders of technology, I'm not even here when I'm posting this!

• Ambush Bug #7 - the mini-series that almost died finishes in typically bizarre fashion. Marvellous series but I think this might be the end of the Bug.
• Blackest Night #4 - Damage is done for! 100%! Nekron rises! Oh crap!
• Blackest Night: Titans #3 - who'd have thought Dove would turn out to be the saviour of the day?
• Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink #6 - a bit up and down, this series, but at least that ending's kinda cool.
• Green Lantern #47 - waaaaait a second . . . did Sinestro just get a first name after almost 40 years? Or have I somehow missed that in the past?
• Justice Society of America #32 - Power Girl gets ready to hit someone!
• The Last Days of Animal Man #6 - and this mini-series wraps up nicely. Really enjoyed this and, if you haven't been reading it, I recommend picking it up once it's collected.
• Teen Titans #76 - Beast Boy acts like a dick; Aquagirl and Bombshell bitch about each other; Blue Beetle and Static bitch about Beast Boy. That's the entire issue. Anyone remember the days when this team liked each other?
• Ravager co-feature - Ravager over steps herself and, for the first time in a while, gets her arse kicked.

And what made me smile:

The bare faced cheek of Keith Giffen!

Ambush Bug #7?! Bwah-Ha-Ha!

Ambush Bug: Year None #7 due next week!

Man, I love Keith Giffen.

Oh, Bug Where Art Thou?

I swear the only reason I read those 20 Answers & 1 Question With Dan DiDio columns over at Newarama is to find out what's happening with Ambush Bug: Year None #6 and every month it's the same:

DiDio: Didn't anyone ask about Ambush Bug?

Nrama: We honestly only had one person ask about Ambush Bug, I think.

DiDio: I'll give you this one without wasting a question. I got a message directly from someone about Ambush Bug that was hilarious, and so I just want to tell everyone that I wish there was some exciting story about why there is not an Ambush Bug #6, but quite honestly, all the stories that everybody else is coming up with are much better than the truth. So please, keep coming up with your great suggestions on what happens in that book, because you're making me laugh, and Keith as well.

Argh! Give me Ambush Bug #6, damn you!

I Want It Now!

Just read this over at the Dan DiDio 20 questions piece at Newsarama:

9. A pretty simple question from a reader: Will we see Ambush Bug #6 before Blackest Night #1? 


DD: (laughs) It’s good that we hit this question every time. I know exactly where Ambush Bug #6 is - it’s still in the same place it is the last time I was asked this question. I might have put my money on "yes" for a while given those choices, but now, I’m going with 50/50. 


NRAMA: What’s the holdup? 


DD: We’re just working out some of the last changes on it, and right now, everybody’s plate is full, to be honest. We’re ready to roll with it as soon as Keith is ready to go - Keith’s been working vey hard on Doom Patrol and Magog, and really doing great stuff. Once he has that stuff in hand at reaches a point where he can catch his breath, we’ll get it out. 


NRAMA: So really, Keith just drew every character in every panel on every page flipping the bird? 


DD: (laughs) See, I only wish it was that interesting.

C'mon - give us our Ambush Bug #6!

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #26

After a month off due to a hectic work schedule, the Cocktail post returns as I run through what I've bought this week.  And what a bumper week to return, as well, as there seemed to be shed-loads of comics.

Ah, Ambush Bug, the DCU is a better place for having you in it.  Ambush Bug: Year None #5 continues the irreverant, nonsensical but above all funny exploits of Keith Giffen's wonderful creation as he hops from one alternate world to another, searching for . . . well . . . a job and . . . er . . . Dan Didio?! It lurches from one gag to another with little regard for plot, let alone continuity, and is all the richer for it. It'll be a shame when this finishes with the next issue but we can hope the Bug will show up somewhere in the DCU soon - hopefully with the Heckler in tow!

Booster Gold #15 picks up from #12 and now regular writer Dan Jurgens carries on Chuck Dixon's unfinished story of museum thefts and time-travel. After a brief visit to the 16th Century where Booster's sister Goldstar turns out to be the model for the Mona Lisa, they return to the present to find Rip Hunter and his lab missing, all because a knife wasn't replaced following the museum theft from several issues back. Cue more time travelling and an awkward reunion with the Elongated Man and a mysterious villain before Booster ends up stuck in what appears to be World War I.

The nastiness (and that's putting it mildly) continues in the pages of Crossed courtesy of Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows as the survivors struggle to come to terms with their new world. A simple mistake by one of their number means they're on the run once more and are quickly made to realise that the diseased Crossed are smarter than they first might appear . . . and a damn sight more disgusting as well. They come up with a novel way of spreading their disease (and yes, that's a pun) which results in another death among the survivors as they move off, heading for a safe haven. It's a tough, visceral story that makes me wonder how it's all going to end.

The Project Superpowers universe expands a little more as well with The Death-Defying 'Devil #1. The silent martial artist with the steel boomerangs gets his own series and, apparently, his own set of bad guys, one of who is dressed the same as himself but with green instead of red on his costume. I'm enjoying the new world these old characters are establishing and am looking forward to the rest of the specials spinning out of Project Superpowers.

Final Crisis #5 finally arrives and starts to tidy things up a little. The whole Green Lantern/deicide charge is brought to a close with the revelation that Granny Goodness is inhabiting Alpha-Lantern Kraken and the Guardians of the Universe charge Hal Jordan with saving the universe.  In 24 hours, no less. Poor old Dan Turpin has been subsumed and is now simply Darkseid who intends to end the entire world while Mr Miracle attempts to save it with the help of Checkmate. An assortment of heroes attack Darkseid's base in Bludhaven prompting a fight between various Shazam powered characters. Meanwhile the exiled Monitor, Nix Uotan, begins to remember things about his previous life as Libra heralds the arrival of his dark lord. It's all going very wrong for the heroes and I like it but, despite the tie-in series, it still doesn't feel like a big enough event. Something like this should have been a crossover series in the truest sense - we should have had to pick up half a dozen issues of series we don't normally buy because as it is at the moment the DCU we're seeing here isn't reflected in any of the normal monthly series. How can this be a universe-shattering event if no-one else knows it's going on?

Talking of the Final Crisis tie-ins, Final Crisis: Revelations #4 was out as well and I still think it's one of the better tie-ins, if only for the central conceit that long-time villain Vandal Savage is actually Cain, the Biblical murderer. With the use of the Spear of Destiny he manages to separate the Spectre from his mortal hose and subjugate it. The Question puts up resistance with the aid of the Radiant and Huntress but it seems to be too little, too late as Savage/Cain uses the Spectre to release the Anti-Life Equation on the world.

In what appears to be the definition of "jumping on point for new readers" new writer Andrew Kreisberg gives us all a run down of who Green Arrow is in Green Arrow/Black Canary #15. It's neatly done, as well, running us through his origin in a handful of pages before, via a flashback, we get a scene where he sweeps out the supporting cast. Ollie's son Connor, fresh from the Judd Winick written "coma and new powers" nonsense, decides to split just as Speedy decides to leave as well as her new boyfriend lives in London. All of this is sandwiched between a framing scene where Ollie and Dinah take down a low-level thug and appear to have (unknowingly) created the new Fiddler. Not a bad issue, but Kreisberg seems to think the title of the comic is still Green Arrow - where's Black Canary's origin? If it's not in the next issue, there will be words.

Justice League Of America #27 had me at a bit of a disadvantage. That nice two page spread where a whole bunch of characters are introduced? I had no idea if they were brand new or part and parcel of the whole Milestone Comics event that happened a few years ago. Still, I went with the flow and the story's shaping up nicely. Best part of the whole issue, though, was Black Canary finally standing up as the leader of the League and chewing out Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman over their secret meeting room.

More Garth Ennis goodness as he and long time collaborator return to the Punisher with Punisher: War Zone #1. It's been a while since I've seen any of Dillon's art work and it's nice to see it again; his clean lines and excellent facial expressions are a joy to see. Couple that, of course, with Ennis's writing and it's going to be no surprise that this Punisher series will be a success even if the dreadful looking film it shares a title with isn't. Chimps flinging junk, lesbians beating up men and the return of Ma Gnucci whom the Punisher killed years before all add up to the sort of story that defines entertainment, at least in my home. I think I might need some help.

Gail Simone fills the gap left by The All-New Atom's demise with her run on Secret Six as the gang try to get the Get Out Of Hell Free card across the country. As Tarantula keeps saying, the card plays on their fears and guilt and they slowly begin to turn against each other before they arrive at Las Vegas only to find that the monstrous Junior is already there, along with a whole host of super-powered mercenaries. Chief among them is Cheshire who saves the mercenaries the bother of killing the Six by having poisoned their last meal.

Finally Trinity #28 continues the whole alternate Earth storyline as the should-have-been friends of the main heroes try to set about bringing the missing Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman back to where they're needed. While that's going on, the villains of the piece are causing problems for the Society of this world by releasing villains from all sides before Tomorrow Woman arrives and attempts to help. It's still good fun that romps along at a cracking pace and while it may be unfair to compare it to Countdown, you can't help but think that this is how that series should have been handled.

Who'd Like A Cocktail? #23

Once again a little late with this due to being away on the weekend visiting relatives and enjoying myself. Anyhow, onwards -

Ambush Bug: Year None #3 gave me my first laugh out loud moment ("Finally, I'm going to get some face time!") in comics for what seems far too long. I love Ambush Bug! I've said it before and I'll probably say it again at some point, but Giffen's ridiculously surreal character just makes me grin. Just the idea that Bug got married is crazy enough, but to Dumb Bunny?! Hey, least she got out of comic book limbo which probably explains why she wasn't shown hanging round there with Merryman in Superman Beyond 3D #1 the other week. A round trip to find a way to divorce his new wife includes a run-in with the Earth-Two Superman and Lois Lane, along with Alex Luthor, in their own limbo as well as Darkseid who greets him with "Irwin, baby!" He eventually realises, though, that Dumb Bunny's the one for him and seems to settle down as a happy family unit that includes Cheeks, The Wonder Toy . . . yeah, right, like that's going to last.

But what's this? Something other than a superhero title showing up on Crisis On Earth Prime? Yep, 'fraid so, folks. In Back To Brooklyn #1 things are about as far away from a spandex suit as you can get. It's the first issue in a new mini-series by two of my favourite writers, Garth Ennis and Jimmy Palmiotti. It's the story of a mob boss, Bob Saetta, wanting to get out of the game for some unknown reason but, as he offers a deal to the cops, they receive word that the mob has his wife and kid. Worse, it's the mob's big boss, Bob's brother Paul himself who has them. Bob gets a weekend to try and get back to Brooklyn, find his family and get them out again before the cops charge in, running the risk of his wife and children being killed in the cross-fire. It's nice and taut with gorgeous, understated art work and promises to be a good read.

As I'm sure most of you do, I get my comics on a weekly basis from my local comics shop. The guy who runs mine, Terry, is a good bloke and often throws titles my way based on what I'm reading, like the aforementioned Back To Brooklyn. Every now and then, though, things get a little fouled up which is why, when I got home to find Blue Beetle #31 in my bag, I was a little confused as I read it. It didn't seem to make much sense and I thought it had been a while since I read it last. A quick check in my boxes and, sure enough, I'd missed Blue Beetle #30. So even though I've got it, I've only read the first few pages so can't really say more than that at the moment.

Another slight foul-up was DC Special: Cyborg #5 which I should have had last week but Terry forgot to put that in as well (not to mention Tangent: Superman's Reign #7 which I'll need to get this week). I'll admit it's all gotten a little confusing right now with Cyborg battling future versions of himself as well as facing off against a bunch of military personnel who've been fitted with technology based on his own, not to mention the newly formed Cyborg Revenge Squad . . . It seems to be one big, long fight that's just dragging out to six issues and unless writer Mark Sable pulls something unexpected and fantastic out of the hat in the last issue next month, I'm just going to be glad this is over.

Project Superpowers #6 has, like DC Special: Cyborg, become a little crowded but at least the pace is a little less frenetic. More time has been spent with the likes of the Green Lama and the Fighting Yank, perhaps because they needed to be introduced to many readers for the first time. Things are building to a climax nicely as the machinations of the Dynamic Family are revealed to have simply been the will of a hidden cabal, The Supremacy, who plot the end of the returned heroes. A nice touch was the Scarab (who started out as the original, Golden Age Blue Beetle) giving Samson his origin story which was based around finding a stone shaped like a scarab. As Samson assumes the stone to be the source of the Scarab's powers, the Scarab simply tells him he sold it and made a fortune! Trapped by members of the Frankenstein troop, Scarab and Samson are joined by the other heroes but they are all quickly overwhelmed but, due to the plots of The Supremacy, are unable to escape.

Double Giffen this week as Reign In Hell #3 came along as well. The various heroes wandering through Hell are, unsurprisingly, having a rough time of it, getting annoyed with each other and/or falling sick. Black Alice appears to have completely gone over to the dark side as she sets the denizens of Hell on to the new Ibis, runnign away and leaving him to his fate. Trying to strike a bargain with Satanus, Blue Devil ends up having to fight Etrigan (who, last I saw, was turned to stone in the pages of Shadowpact) in order to rid himself of his demonic aspect. Meanwhile, Dr Occult wanders round trying to find his (literal) other half Rose Psychic.

A lot of the comics I read are because of the characters rather than the writers or artists though there are exceptions. Team books, particularly, lend themselves to this as there's a lot of characters to like and this week Teen Titans #63 cheered me up no end as it brought back a character that, I thought, has a lot of potential but who was tossed aside in her first real outing. Bombshell is back in the pages of Teen Titans and even though it's not completely clear to the others whether she's on the side of the angels or not, I'm glad to have her back. True, she seems a little too much like Ravager at the moment with the whole facing off against Wonder Girl thing, but at least she's no longer lying dead on a slab. Good to see Wendy survived last month's team-up with Wonder Dog as well, and Lycus and Ares seem to be making things difficult for Wonder Girl.

Things seem to be getting difficult for Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman in Trinity #17 this week. The bad guys have succeeded in unleashing . . . something . . . which seems to have pretty much screwed up the world. And we finally got some back ground on Konvikt as well which saves him from being a bog-standard alien villain. I'm still enjoying it though it seems a little thin on the whole; maybe it'll benefit from being read in one long run once it's all complete?

BUGger Me!

Just a quick note of happiness: Ambush Bug is coming back!

Now if only we can get Giffen to do something with The Heckler . . .