Review by Andy Williams

A “joke” character invented by artist Keith Giffen to be “Bugs Bunny as a super-villain”, Ambush Bug first appeared as the foe in a Superman and Doom Patrol team up. Donning an alien onesie, Irwin Schwab gains the power of teleportation and, naming himself after an obscure insect, initially becomes a super-villain before deciding to go “straight”. Following half a dozen anarchic appearances gumming up the works for Superman and other DC heroes, Ambush Bug earned his own self-titled miniseries, which is where the character really hits his stride and plays with the sillier aspects of the DC Universe.

Able to break the fourth wall, Ambush Bug knows he’s a comic character in a comic world and knows how to manipulate and break the conventions of the medium. The stories are a lot of fun, packed with obscure characters, absurd situations and an almost constant stream of gags. There’s little point in attempting a plot synopsis as any scenarios are there mainly to set up untold funny business and tomfoolery.

This technique plays to Giffen’s strength as plotter and penciller, with able support from his collaborators. He has a traditional superhero style that becomes more cartoony and experimental as the stories progress. Paul Kupperberg scripts a couple of the earlier stories and Paul Levitz does another, but Giffen really seems to click with Robert Loren Fleming who works on all subsequent outings. Hilarious in places while amusingly obtuse in others, the creators’ sense of mischief shines through.

A knowledge of comics history in general and DC continuity in particular will add to an enjoyment of the material, but the strokes are broad enough to appeal to a wide audience. Fans of absurdist comedies such as Airplane and The Naked Gun with their scattergun humour will appreciate the high turnover of jokes and one-liners littered throughout the 400+ pages. A bumper package of fun covers two miniseries, a couple of one-off specials and various appearances in other titles. While an antidote to much of the grim and gritty comic fare out there, it is probably too much of a good thing for a single sitting.