Review of "Ambush Bug 1," by DC Comics

Review of

Ambush Bug 1, by DC Comics

Four out of five stars

 This comic is a parody of the entire superhero genre in general and the DC character Superman in particular. His baggy costume is colored similarly to that of Superman, complete with the cape. The “focus” of the comic is explicitly stated in the dialog balloons on the front cover. They are: “Hey, check it out! I am leaping tall buildings with a single bound!” and “Stay right where you are! I’ve gotta locate a speeding bullet!”

 The action is a series of pointedly logically inconsistent events, each of which is designed to take a satirical shot at some aspect of comic and real life. For example, when there is a standoff between a group of terrorists in a warehouse and the police, there are the two dialog balloons from the police, “We understand that you all had unhappy childhoods! We want to help!” and “Our courts are ready to pamper you.” The terrorist are stupid and pout dialog like, “Eat my ammo, ya left-leanin; social-security supportin’ commie coddler!”

 None of the dialog is particularly witty or clever, it is all at the level of the stupid. Yet, this comic is a very good parody of the comic genre, where the good guys and gals always triumph, even when their powers are dwarfed by those of their adversaries. I enjoyed it.