The Losers: Ante Up & The Losers: Double Down -- Andy Diggle and Jock

I finally got around to reading these books this weekend--Josh had been raving about them for ages.  They're a blast--if you like 100 Bullets at all, you'll love these.  You've got the same conspiracies within government agencies, double and triple-crossing and loads of gunfights.  Actually, as much as I enjoy 100 Bullets, I like The Losers even more.  Maybe because I like the characters more. 

The Losers themselves are just so much fun.  On one hand they're just the traditional group of (very talented and wonderfully violent) misfits thrown together, barely staying alive while trying to find out why exactly the government is trying to assassinate them--on the other hand, they're totally aware of the fact that the situation they're in is almost (okay, it is--there was even a speedboat chase in the first collection) a cliche. 

At one point, Jensen (the hilarious computer geek) makes a reference to Robert Vaughan before questioning the possibility of the group coming out of the situation alive.  (I think I found that especially funny because I'd just seen The Magnificent Seven).  Aisha, the woman on the cover of the first book, is a warrior--the rest of the group is scared of her, both because she's still CIA and because she's so unpredictable.  Cougar, the sharpshooter--well, ladies, I dare you to not fall for him.  He hardly even even opens his mouth and his eyes are usually hidden by his cowboy hat, but holy crap, it just makes him more attractive.

The first book just jumps right in--as the reader, you just figure it out as you go.  I suspect that as the series progresses, we might be treated to flashbacks. 

The dorks at Amazon seem to be divided, but I thought the dialogue was great, I loved the artwork and the book itself was a totally fun.