a=

continued from page il lord of evil. This series has it all.

The mini-series was followed soon af- terward by the Ambush Bug Stocking Stuffer one-shot, a Christmas tale that saw Cheeks return from the dead asa cannibalistic zombie, just in time for the holidays! A less consistent and accessible work than the mini-series, this issue is nonetheless entertaining.

Next came a sequel: the Son of Am- bush Bug mini-series (six issues), which dealt mostly with our heroes’ ongoing battle with a

Classic scene: Ambush Bug whips off Clark Kent’s glasses and suit to reveal his Superman costume, hysterically laughing at the fact that “people actually fall for that stupid disguise.”’

cosmic buttinsky called the Interferer. Like the Stocking Stuffer, this entry was somewhat inconsistent and tended to wander aimlessly by times, but had some uncommonly funny scenes-- notably the adventures of Combat Cheeks the Frontline Medic and Mitsu Bishi (Ambush Bug’s Japanese counterpart). The series ended with Bug’s apparent death when he and Cheeks rode into the sunset-- literally, thanks to an error in drawing perspective.

It seemed Giffen and company had grown tired of the Bug, but he would return years later as a feature character in Secret Origins # 48. This fun story (by Giffen, Fleming and Al Gordon) involved Ambush Bug’s quest for the missing Cheeks and his attempts to concoct a new origin for himselfat the request of the National Bureau of Origins. High points include Ambush Bug taunting a Lord of Order, standing in for Bruce Wayne, and getting a taste of Ninja Turtle-esque star- dom as a member of the Big Fat Freakin’ Frogs. Totally bodacious, dudes.

Finally, we have 1992’s Ambush Bug Nothing Special # 1. This latest special is a much tighter, more entertaining read than the Stocking Stuffer, and focuses on Ambush Bug trying to find his niche in the DC Comics Universe. It’sa great comic loaded with clever satire and general weirdness, plus a strong central plot thread: Bug’s bitter jealousy of seemingly immortal DC editor Julius Schwartz, whose disembodied head later becomes a se- rial editor by ‘‘rubbing out’’ expendable char- acters like Spike (of the baby duo Sugar & Spike), forcing Bug and Sugar to team up and track down Julie in a twisted Silence of the Lambs spoof. Fun stuff.

Heck, every one of these comics is fun stuff to some extent; and, with the possible exception of the last two, you can probably find them all for under two dollars apiece. Act fast, before more readers get wise to these vastly underrated gems.

Parody king comes to Charlottetown

By Aldera Chisholm When you hear the opening bars of Madonna’s hit ‘‘Like A Virgin’’ do you have visions of a curly haired, manic-looking fellow singing ‘‘like asurgeon?’’ If so, then you are probably one of the many fans of Weird Al Yankovic, the man famous for his send-ups of pop tunes. Some of Weird Al'shits include ‘‘Fat’’, ‘‘Bat It’’, ‘‘Jurassic Park’’, and my favourite: “«Smells Like Nirvana.’’ To date, he has five gold records, one platinum record, and a spot in Rolling Stone’s top 100 videos of all time. So how did one man and his faithful accordion make it to the top of the recording world? It wall started when Alfred Yankovic, a campus radio station dj, recorded a spoof the Knack’s ‘*My Sharona’’ ina bathroom. He entitled the spoof ‘‘My Bologna’’ and the song began to get airtime on the nationally syndicated Doc-

tor Demento Radio Show. Alfred then gave up his dreams of architecture and officially be- came ‘‘Weird Al.”’

In 1983 he released his self-titled al- bum debut, and he has been entertaining us steadily up to the release of his new album. Thisrecordingis entitled ‘‘ Permanent Record’’ and features 175 minutes of Weird Al hits, including the original bathroom recording of ‘*My Bologna.”’

The album will also contain it’s fair share of Weird Al originals and some of the polka medleys that have successfully and hi- lariously warped pop music as we know it. Why would someone set pop to polka, you might ask. ‘‘To this day,”’ says Al, “I think that most rock songs sound a little better done polka style.”’

to audiences across the world ever since. His album Off the Deep End featured the spoof of Nirvana’s hit ‘‘Smells like Nirvana’. The video to the song was simultaneously released on MT, Comedy Central and Hungarian Cable Television. The clip eventually received a nomination for an MT Video Music Award.

This Thursday, Weird Al and his band | will be performing at the CP Ballroom here in Charlottetown. The show begins at 7:00pm and is reputed to be highly entertaining with lots of costume changes and features a regular highlight: the pop-polka medley. Al himself describes the performance as ‘‘a pretty high energy rock ‘n’ roll show.’’ The show will be open to all ages, and tickets are available through Tweels Gift Shop. Look for a review of the show in next weeks X-Press.

Weird Al has been proving this theory

You can take control of genital herpes

9 was diagnosed 6 gens 49%

Coping with recurrent symptoms such as itching or burning pain, tingling, sores, or even localized redness in or near the genital area has never been easy. Add to this the emotional impact of guilt, resentment, depression... a disruption of daily life.

Advances in medical research now enable you to do some- thing about genital herpes out- breaks. A greater understanding of genital herpes — plus the

availability of affordable treat- ments, and counselling — can help you get your life essentially back to normal and potentially keep outbreaks out of the picture for years.

To confidentially learn more about reducing the severity and frequency of genital herpes. outbreaks, and minimizing the risk of transmission through safe sex guidelines, contact the National Herpes Hotline.

CALL 1-800-HSV-FACS

1-800-478-3227

And consult your physician