Bug Wars - Sean Doran œ1.00
                    (Cartoon book)

I've recently been re-introduced to the world of comics/cartoon
books.  I read Superman et al when I was little but since then
I've lost touch with that section of the literary world. I hadn't
realised how popular cartoons are now or how many different books,
both large and small, were available until I took a trip to
Forbidden Planet and saw the vast range in stock. Now every
bookshop I go into seems to sell at least some of the common ones
and a few weeks ago a copy of Bug Wars dropped through the letter
box. Collecting a cup of coffee, I settled down for a good read.

The cover immediately gave an inkling of what was to come ... two
male characters, a well-endowed female, a dog-like creature
standing on its hind legs and two robots. It looked familiar - it
WAS familiar. Bug Wars is a Star Wars spoof.

   "At 5.30pm (Galactic Mean Time) last Tuesday week, in a galaxy
    quite a fair bit out of the way....

    Bug Wars.

    It is a time of civil war. Rebel spies have managed to steal
    secret plans to the evil Galactic Empire's ultimate weapon ...
    the Dread Star.

    Princess Leea, hoping to return to her home planet Balderaan,
    is intercepted by a fearsome Star Bruiser! Captained no less
    by the Dark Lord of 'The Farce' himself ... Daft Bugger!"

Well, that intro should give you a good idea of what sort of style
to expect! All the characters you'll remember from the film are
here, with the story starting on the planet Tangerine when Looke
Flycatcher meets up with the two droids C3-POE and his R2 unit
friend Dusty, who looks very much like a dustbin on wheels. A
short trip to Mos Islington later and Han Polo and his canine
companion Bungle have also joined the team and they all set off
for Balderaan on Han's ship, the Millenium Pigeon. Of course, when
they get there, they find Balderaan has been destroyed.  What they
DO find is the Dread Star which pulls the Pigeon aboard by a
tractor beam.

Two characters haven't yet been mentioned; one is the pneumatic
Princess Leea who is being held captive on the Dread Star and the
other is Daft Bugger's counterpart who uses the good side of the
Farce and appears very early in the story - Jobby van Zenobi!
Unfortunately he is rarely sober ....

The book, which is A5 size and about 80 pages long, is very well
drawn and the text humorous as one would expect. Spoofs don't
always work but this one does and at œ1.00 it's hardly going to
break the bank! To order send an A5 stamped addressed envelope and
a postal order for œ1.00 to Sean Doran, 14 Velsheda Court,
Belfast, BT14 7LZ.