Warning: geek threat awareness level set to “Milhouse”!
“Postmodern fiction suggests that to re-write or re-present the past in fiction and history is, in both cases, to open it up to the present, to prevent it from being conclusive and teleological …. The question of whose history survives is one that obsesses postmodern novels”—Linda Hutcheon
So, with Infinite Crisis over, DC has (supposedly) finally consolidated all its multiverses and hypertimelines into one earth, New Earth, a stable and coherent place where everyone’s origin makes sense in terms of everyone else’s origin, where history flows in a clean, straight, single line. Smooth surfaces, sharp angles, and hospital corners—that’s the new DC. For now.
52 is the series devoted to exploring that new universe and clarifying the new status quo, and, for all my distaste for IC itself, I’m enjoying 52 quite a bit so far. But I overheard a conversation at the comics shop last week that raised a good question: with Keith Giffen doing breakdowns and being generally plugged in to the new DCU, and with characters new and obscure bound to elbow their way into a work as mammoth as 52, will Ambush Bug make an appearance?
This is an important question, I think, and by important I mean utterly pointless, but interesting to tremendous geeks. It’s interesting because Ambush Bug is the very antithesis of the one-world ethos that guides DC’s line these days. It’s not just that he’s a metafictional character who knows that he’s in a comic book, it’s that he remembers comic books that aren’t supposed to have happened anymore. He’s a walking, talking, teleporting, trickster reminder of the foolhardiness of attempting to maintain a stable, consistent shared universe in a medium as persistently ramifying as superhero comics. There are thousands of events happening every month, often with the same character having simultaneous adventures written by different creators in different contexts, and no attempt to force all of these divergent stories into one large narrative can ever be entirely successful. There is always excess, something left out or left unattended, some contradiction that doesn’t make sense, and Ambush Bug is the symbol of that excess, as well as a kind of lay historian of the characters, stories, and even storytelling styles that are constantly being eliminated from the official history of the DCU in favor of an alleged coherence. Ambush Bug points out the bumps and cracks and fissures in a historical narrative that strives to present itself as smooth as glass.
I was all prepared to offer the caveat that Ambush Bug didn’t always serve this function, and that he began his career in the early 80s as a generic crackpot villain—but then I glanced back at those early appearances. His first adventures were with the New Doom Patrol (DC Comics Presents #52) and the Legion of Substitute Heroes (DCCP #59), teams compoased of also-rans and nobodies, teams that represent the dark side—or the silly side, or at least the obverse side—of DC’s mainstream heroes. Indeed, Superman highlights this aspect of the New Doom Patrol’s nature (in the sort of condescending lecture that is on display at Superdickery) when he first meets them: says Supes, “If memory serves me—and believe me, it usually does—the Doom Patrol is dead—and even if they weren’t, I’ve met them and you’re not it!” Since the NDP doesn’t occupy a spot in the official memory of DC’s most iconic character, they can’t be real.
And during Ambush Bug’s romp with Infectious Lass, Chlorophyll Kid, Porcupine Pete, and the other Legion Subs, scribes Giffen and Paul Levitz include an editorial caption that reads “Don’t ask when this fits into Legion continuity.” Of course, editorial captions usually work to strengthen continuity, to show how the events of a particular story are happening before or between or after the events in another contemporaneous book that might otherwise seem to render them impossible; here, the authors simply throw up their hands and admit that there’s really no way to reconcile this tale with the goings-on in the official Legion title. And dare I push this already tenuous close reading further and point out how the lack of the expected jovial exclamation point at the end of that caption makes it actually seem a bit threatening? Don’t ask when this fits into Legion continuity, or ELSE, because it doesn’t and questions are to continuity like a high wind is to a house of cards.
Anyway, the idea of Ambush Bug as a metafictional avatar of the apocryphal, of the weirdness being squeezed out of the DCU in preparation for and in the aftermath of multiverse-smooshing Crisis on Infinite Earths became more and more a part of his character in various Superman-bedeviling appearances in Action Comics. He goads a letterer into altering Superman’s sound effects:
…and reminds Supes of various stories he’d much prefer to forget:
Anyways, all this culminates in issue three of his self-titled 1985 limited series, in a story called “The Ambush Bug History of the DC Universe.” Here, the Bug laments that the DCU has “just gotten too… organized!” The story is a tour through the forgotten history of the DCU, a compendium of all the characters deemed too strange or embarrassing or dated for DC’s new streamlined universe. What’s interesting is that the Bug doesn’t focus on the camp value of these characters—he truly believes they’re “absolute[ly] superlative.” His alternative canon of DC heroes and villains also represents an alternative aesthetic approach to comics storytelling and universe-building. Among his absolute superlatives: Beppo the Super-Monkey and Comet the Wonder-Horse:
Please note that Supergirl and Comet once had a romantic relationship.
And the Bug also resists renouncing some of the less savory aspects of DC history. Perhaps DC was right on when they retired Wonder Woman villain Egg Fu, but there’s value in remembering him:
And then there’s Mopee, who is, as he explains, maybe the best embodiment of the sort of complications and contradictions that inevitably crop up in a shared and serial universe:
“The Ambush Bug History of the DC Universe” is also a detective story of sorts, since the Bug’s quest is to figure out who is erasing these characters from continuity and why. He finds his answer on the final page, in the form of Jonni DC, Continuity Cop—a literal embodiment of the DC logo with arms and legs and a head, who goes about erasing stories that interfere with her “pure and consistent” continuity, with “each minute detail fitting in like a puzzle.”Of course, Jonni gets hers in the follow-up mini-series, Son of Ambush Bug, in which the DCU faces the menace of the Interferer, a “cosmic buttinski” who goes around rewriting continuity at will. Not even the peerless power of continuity cop Jonni DC can stand against him:
In fact, the only person who can resist the Interferer is Ambush Bug, because he alone knows he’s in a comic book and can thus use comic conventions to escape the Interferer’s wrath. Oh, and in this series, Ambush Bug faces off against Argh!yle, a sentient alien sock who wears an iron mask because he was maimed by a cat when he came to Earth. As befits an Ambush Bug villain, Argh!yle is another avatar of the apocryphal—note here his lament that DC has excluded him from their official roster of characters, Who’s Who:
And for no real reason other than I love it, here’s Amby’s attempt to join the Morrison-era Doom Patrol, from the Ambush Bug Nothing Special:
Okay, before this devolves any further into me just posting Ambush Bug scans that make me laugh, let me see if I can recall my point. Oh yes: that Ambush Bug is inevitable. No matter how iron an editorial grip the higher-ups at DC maintain over their line, they are going to produce inconsistencies, multiplicities, alternatives, divergences. My hope is that they’re aware of this, and that they understand the treasures that are being eliminated from “official” continuity; an Ambush Bug appearance in 52 would be just acknowledgment of apocryphal inevitability that I’d like to see.
HA HA HA!! Oh, Ambush Bug! How I love thee! And his struggles with Argh
Legendary.
I loved that Doom Patrol scene—mostly, because it made yet another sly reference to the fact that these characters “know” they’re weird, and they “know” you’ve got to be weird to hang out with them (Rebis above being a mystical/cosmic hermaphrodite imbued with “negative energy”).
Also: “Dig those relationships!” And . . . do you remember the Quest for Cheeks?
Oh sweet Jesus. Colour me Ambush Bug’s NUMBER ONE FAN!
Honestly, Ambush Bug formed me (or at least my sense of humour).
DC needs to embrace the Bug. Really. Because they will have to. He’s like an escape clause for any continuity problems.
Or a Hepa filter.
Or a fruit bat. Something.
And remember… when you’re trying to figure out who the bad guy is… IT’S DARKSEID!
Springsteen makes the big time
AOL! Didn’t want you to miss this gallery.
Well I’m not much for comics, but if this Ambush Bug is everything you say he is, i’d like to give him an Ambush HUG! Get it?
during a dc panel at wizard world philly someone asked dan didio when we’d see ambush bug again…his reply “52, giffen’s writing it”...thought you’d like to know…
sidenote…check out the website for my ambush bug fan film at ambushbugmovie.0nyx.com
...skott
The very VERY first appearances of Ambush Bug were as him as a smalltime villain conflicting with Sueprman and Supergirl. Just a bank robber one-trick-pony at best. Very simple character. He didn’t start breaking the fourth wall until his later appearances in Action.
And by the way, Egg-Fu is back.
That’s true, Squas, though as I discuss above, I would argue that even those early appearances are marked by a kind of… incipient apocryphality, if I can just make up a goofy term. And I’m excited about Egg Fu! If the Egg can make a serious comeback, then any concept can make a serious comeback.
Well done!!
I loved the first half of this piece – a serious article about the role of Ambush Bug in comicdom. He’s a fusion of post-modern literature and self-referential humour. As such, he’s a valuable resource for editors to show they understand that after all is said and done – these are still just “funny books”. Terrific!
Then it just turned into a silly sampling of the Bug’s best continuity-bashing moments.
So I thought about it for a second – then realized this was also a stroke of genius! Would Irwin have stood for a solid scholarly work? No! Anything written about A.B. has to devolve into absurdity/madness. That’s the problem with/joy of metafictional characters. Heck, he might have interrupted you with green text and taken over!
I don’t mind his absence – the Bug is a perfect character to only make occaisional appearances, because his vanishing is easily explained: he’s only a former mental patient after all. He has trouble just paying his rent – forget about fighting villains.
And finally, if someone like Squirrel Girl can get this much attention at Marvel (and it’s my prediction that it will be her who will resolve that whole Civil War mess) then Ambush Bug surely deserves a place (and a few cameos to show he’s okay) in the new DC.
Thanks, Bill! I hope you’ll join me in a two-man letter writing campaign for a Marvel/DC crossover called All Access: Ambush Bug v. Squirrel Girl.
Thanks for the article! Ambush Bug is a great example of post modernist comic book nonsense, good and bad! He’s my wife’s favorite comic book character and his appearances in, for instance, the Nothing Special made me geniunely feel for the loss of the comic icons who got lampooned, including Julie Schwartz.
Keep up the good work! If anyone deserves a silly scholarly study, it’s certainly Ambush Bug.
PS. I’ll keep watching for those cameos (my favorite so far is in Chronos 1,000,000)
It has been stated ‘officially’ that Ambush Bug will show up in 52
http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=005205
....this has me a little worried.
See, comics at DC seem to suffering a little ‘Giffen Backlashing’ (as I call it). Don’t think so? Blue Beetle (Ted): Dead, Ice: Dead, Booster Gold (the ‘Mikey’ one): Dead, Rocket Red#7 (Dimetri): Dead, Sue Dibny: Dead…you know I could be at this for a long time, but I think you get the point; the common denominator: Keith Giffen.
I swear, if it wasn’t for Lobo’s regeneration ability (which makes Wolverine’s look like he’d die if he got a head cold), not to mention the fact the fact the character is still popular (some-what), that character would have dead awhile ago. Actullay that character did ‘die’ in 52, but re-gen and all that…
Anyways, despite the fact that Giffen’s part of ‘team-52’, I don’t know if he has the same pull as say Morrison does not (Grant prevented DC and other writers killing Animal Man by saying “I’ll write him”, as he was one of Grant’s favorite characters), and I have my doubts that he does…I hope I’m wrong, as I find that in general; I hate the current ‘angst-driven’ or ‘hyper-realistic’ comics. It’s reason I stay away from ‘All-Star’ titles, and all Marvel ones. I also think it’s a shame when a media takes itself so serious, that any humor about it is squashed flat.
Al, as someone who cherishes the 80s JLI, I agree with your worries about the Giffen-backlash. On the other hand, don’t let your (well founded) distaste of DC’s gen’l direction blind you to the greatness that is All Star Superman—the perfect antidote for the grim-n-grit of so much on the comics shelves these days.
The thing about the Bug is: he’s ALWAYS been considered institutionalizably insane, so if you view his comics from his own POV, no continuity explainations are required. He’s simply seeing the world in his own patently batshit way.
That having been said, this article is quite a nice reminder that, as Alan Moore once noted, “madness is the emergency exit.”
So what did you make of Ambush Bug’s appearance in 52 last week (#24)? As Jim Roeg observed, it was the most explicitly metafictional issue yet…
I loved it! I just wanted there to be more of him. It remains to be seen, I guess, if this is just a one-off, salutary gesture to the metafictional or if we’re going to see notions of metafictionality woven into the fabric of the new DCU more thoroughly. It’s a good start, in any case.
Considering Morrison’s involvement in 52, I think the possibility of a “new Earth-2” alluded to in Infinite Crisis is actually going to turn out to be a New Earth-Prime, where the E2 Superman, Lois, and Wonder Woman were whisked off to (and reinforced by the revisions to dialogue in the IC hardcover).
It would keep them “dead” but also give “the original Superman” an afterlife similar to that realized by the characters killed in the first Crisis, as in Animal Man: “We can never die. We outlive our creators. We outlive our gods! ... Every time someone reads our stories, we live again!”
After all, if Earth-Prime is where Julie Schwatz lived, how can it have been “destroyed” at all in 1985?
I looooove this idea (and I had just read your post discussing these very issues). I plan to track down some of those metafictional silver and bronze-age Flash stories. It’s interesting: both Marvel and DC have played with the idea of metafiction, but in Marvel, even though we frequently meet the comics creators (usually of the FF comics), it’s always clear that the stories they’re writing aren’t the ones we’re reading (except when this is exploited for comic effect, as in the Asst Editor’s month issue of Thing, where he goes up against Goody Two-Shoes.) But the DCU past and present seems to be working a different dynamic…
If the stars align just right, I’ll be teaching a class on metafiction, history, and superheroes next fall—we’ll read novels about comics and comics about comics; someone just donated a huge collection of silver and bronze age comics to our special collections library, so I’m going to enjoy having an excellent excuse to while away next summer digging through them for just these sorts of issues.
I fondly remember the Fred Hembeck-drawn issue of Spectacular Spider-Man (#86) during Ass’t Eds Month where he and the Black Cat team up against The Fly, then two pages before the end of the story Al Milgrim storms into the office furious that his pencilled pages had been rejected in favor of the cartoonist’s (Fred was drawn Hembeck style in the otherwise realistic interlude). So to appease him and the fans (?) the final two pages of the story were published with Milgrim’s art. Looking at the cover date I can’t believe I was three years old when my dad first bought it for me, though I re-read it dozens of times growing up.
That class on superhero metafiction sounds like a fantastic time. I’ve been looking for a topic outside my field of 17th-Century Lit to give a paper on next term so I’m contemplating something on Editorial Intervention in the DCU, for which I think Infinite Crisis was a metaphor if not outright allegory: Superboy as all Earth-Prime readers and Alex as DC editors and (re)creators.
Hm. That’s kind of interesting, Nobody . . . and I do remember those types of stories growing up, and I found them deeply disturbing—not funny at all, just worrisome. I didn’t WANT superheroes to hang out with weird, ugly guys in New York. I wanted them to hang out with me in Alabama!
Perhaps that’s why I loved Ambush Bug so much—he went where you weren’t “supposed” to go and made it . . . stupid! The Rolling Head of Julius Schwartz long predated Scipio’s Rolling Head of Pantha! And was, for my taste, roughly just as disgusting!
Hey, you know, gorjus and Nobody, if no one has done this yet, we should get together and do an Assistant Editors Month blog-a-thon—we’ll each pick a favorite issue and analyze it. Metafiction ahoy! Maybe we can get Jim Roeg and plok, etc, involved. Maybe do it in early December? I can post a “call for posts” sometime soon!
LET’S!
Great idea! But alas, my back-issue collection is in the US, inaccessible to me till my Christmas visit. I’ll bring my faves back to the UK for a belated P.S. in mid-January though!
Marvel could really use another Assistant Editors Month right about now. I’d love a AEM blogathon.