Broken Frontier

When I was growing up, it seemed Marvel had all the best characters. They had Wolverine, Power Man and Iron Fist, and Spider-Man. Richly defined characters with personality and verve.

DC’s characters seemed like sticks in the mud. Superman was staid, Wonder Woman was a bit too reserved, even Batman was stuffy.

There was one notable exception, however. That exception was Ambush Bug.

Ambush Bug made his first appearance in 1982 in the pages of DC Comics Presents #52 and he was a villain. Created by Paul Kupperberg and Keith Giffen, he appeared to be a routine villain of the month, a bad guy wearing a suit that allowed him to teleport from place to place using a series of tiny robotic bugs. Sure, you could see flashes of what he would become, but he seemed fairly disposable.

Keith Giffen didn’t think so, however, and brought him back several months later in DC Comics Presents #59. This is where the concept started to take on a life of its own. It almost seemed like Ambush Bug had gotten away from his creators and developed a unique personality all his own.

It is in this issue where Ambush Bug became silly. Think the Marx Brothers, add a little Woody Allen, mix in a bit of Monty Python and you might come close to understanding the spirit and the nature of the Bug.

Paul Kupperberg tried to take the character back, giving him an appearance in a Supergirl story he wrote, but the Bug would forever be tied to Giffen. The writer/artist, now joined with scripter Robert Loren Fleming, showcased Ambush Bug in a series of back-ups in Action Comics and another appearance in DC Comics Presents—this time earning a title card on the front cover. You could tell the character was ready for the big time. But was the big time ready for him?

Apparently, yes. The character received a four-issue, self-titled miniseries in early 1985. And if you thought he was wacky in his guest appearances, well, brother, you hadn’t seen anything yet.

The constraints of having to force Ambush Bug into a guest star role in someone else’s book were off. How did Giffen and Fleming exploit this new found freedom? By giving Bug an origin—of sorts. The Ambush Bug suit was sent to Earth by Brum-El of the planet Schwab. Brum-El sent his whole wardrobe, but the ship was attacked by a giant radioactive spider and only two items survived: the Bug suit and an argyle sock.

He also got an arch-enemy. He was Argh!Yle! who just happened to be that sock from the previous paragraph. Oh, and in addition to being able to think and talk, the sock was in the habit of wearing a metal mask that looked like Dr. Doom’s.

If that wasn’t silly enough, Ambush Bug also got a sidekick. Cheeks, the Wonder Toy was, well, a toy doll that Bug thought was living. And as sidekicks usually did back in those days, Cheeks had a habit of dying.

And have you heard of breaking the fourth wall? Well, Ambush Bug completely demolished it. He knew that he was a comic book character, knew he "worked" for DC Comics, and he let the readers know about it.

The miniseries was Giffen and Fleming’s instrument to poke fun at the conventions of comics books. They parodied other companies’ books, they parodied DC’s books, they made fun of some really lame DC characters. Nothing was safe from their satire.

Ambush Bug was followed the next year by another miniseries, Son of Ambush Bug. Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer special came a year later, with Ambush Bug Nothing Special hitting stores in 1992. That last one was the Bug’s last hurrah for a while, as the character faded into the background.

He made an appearance here and there in stories by authors other than Giffen. Fans thought the true Ambush Bug was gone forever. Giffen appeared to be in no hurry to return to the green suited madman. That is, until 2003.

Giffen was writing a miniseries for another DC character he was identified with—Lobo. In the pages of Lobo Unbound #4 he gave fans an unexpected treat. Ambush Bug appeared in that issue and the one after it. Finally, Giffen had come back to the Bug.

Fans were hopeful to see more of Giffen and Ambush Bug together. But for that to happen, they would need a fan like them on the inside, working for DC. Luckily, they had one. Editor Jann Jones was a major fan of the character and made the point known at convention panels across the country. I’m sure she used all her influence to convince Giffen to come back to Ambush Bug and for DC to publish the result.

Well, her influence worked. This week, Giffen not only reunites with Ambush Bug for a new miniseries, but also with scripter Robert Loren Fleming. Now, a whole new generation will be able to experience the manic glory that is Ambush Bug. And old fans like me will get to experience him again.

Ambush Bug: Year None #1 goes on sale this week from DC Comics priced $2.99.