Losers

1 Ante Up (1-6; w Andy Diggle; a Jock). [From DC Comics: VERTIGO’S latest hit series — and one of the best-reviewed launches of the year — gets its first trade paperback collection with THE LOSERS: ANTE UP. Written by Andy Diggle and illustrated by Jock — two of the hottest young talents in all of comics — ANTE UP collects the first six issues of the hard-hitting new crime/espionage series that mixes real-world scenarios with widescreen action. Once, the Losers were an elite U.S. Special Forces unit, sent to do the dirty, bloody deeds no one else could handle. They played the game like they had nothing to lose — until the CIA tried to have them killed for accidentally uncovering a very dark secret. The team was set up for liquidation by the very people they had sworn allegiance to -- but it takes more than one try to eliminate the Losers, and now they're back for some serious payback. Don’t miss this chance to get up to speed on the hottest new series of the year. And in THE LOSERS #9, don’t miss the first installment in the 5-part “Island Life,” which takes the team to the Caribbean in search of a major piece of the puzzle that will blow the lid on the CIA’s un-American activities. But the agency has a mystery agent known as Max preparing a counter-attack, which will turn the Losers’ simple village raid into a mountain of trouble.] Book of the Week 2/11/04

2 Double Down (7-12; w Andy Diggle; a Jock, Shawn Martinbrough). [From DC Comics: On their last roll of the dice, the Losers came out ahead and put a major dent in the illegal cashflow of their former employer, the C.I.A. But to stay ahead, they've got to keep pushing their luck - and that means tracking down Max, the ghost-like C.I.A. agent whose existence is hidden even from Company insiders. But Max doesn't want to be found - by anybody. And as the Losers follow his barely discernible trail to tiny Montserrat in the Caribbean, they're about to learn just how far his influence spreads - and how far he's willing to go to keep his secrets.]

3 Trifecta (13-19; w Andy Diggle; a Jock, Nick Dragotta, and Alé Garza). [From DC Comics: It hasn't been easy, but the Losers have finally picked up the scent of their betrayer Max, the man who's seemingly behind every one of the C.I.A.'s worst extralegal activities. Naturally, the trail takes them straight into the hottest of the world's hot spots, the Middle East, where even the relatively peaceful Gulf kingdom of Qatar proves to be full of cloak-and-dagger shenanigans - with AK-47s replacing the daggers. Add a side trip into oil- and corruption-rich Turkmenistan, and you've got the makings of a perfect holiday gateways, at least for disaffected ex-Special Forces types. Once the deserts have given up their secrets, though, it's back in the air for a long flight to London. And there's no better way to pass the time than by finally hearing the full story of how the Losers were born - in death and fire, high in the Hindu Kush.]

4 Close Quarters (20-25; w Andy Diggle; a Jock, Ben Oliver). [From DC Comics: An unpleasant but informative reunion with the traitor Roque in the Company-created bank Cayman Credit Internationale then leads them to a cargo ship just off the Azores -- and a discovery that raises the stakes higher than anyone could have guessed.]

5 End Game (26-32; w Andy Diggle; a Jock, Colin Wilson). [From DC Comics: The saga of the Losers comes to its explosive conclusion with ENDGAME. It's a white-knuckle ride into nuclear brinksmanship as the team forces a final confrontation with the rogue C.I.A. agent Max, only to discover the shocking secrets behind not only their foe but also one of their own!]