Chapter 8, "Adventure Playground" takes us back to the devastated D.C. Thomson universe and introduces us to more of the beleaguered heroes of that reality.

The first new hero we meet is Spring-Heeled Jock. For a long time I thought he was based on Spring-Heeled Jack, but while the name might partially come from that character, Borivoje Grbic suggested a more likely candidate - Rocket Jock from Dandy, who has identical jets on his boots.  Spring-Heeled Jock doesn't seem to have innate powers, which fact has allowed him to elude detection for the year the Lloigor have been on his world. He joins the band who have come from the other dimensions, but is killed when a small Weetabix truck is dropped on him by a Lloigor.

Next up is Tommy Trident. Again, I've been told he is based on Atomic Tommy. SH Jock describes Tommy as strong and fast, and after he is injured one of his fellows says that his body can probably repair itself of the extensive injuries Miss Wonderstarr inflicts on him given a couple of days. Sadly, the Lloigor don't give him this time to heal, and he dies in chapter 10.

It's not until Chapter 10, "City of Woe", that we meet any new characters, when the surviving heroes of Alternative 666 are introduced. Other than Tiger Tom and Tammy, and the two guys above, who we met earlier, there are only three other heroes who have survived the year under Lloigor occupation.

There's Jock's dog, Bobbie. He's based on Black Bob, the wisest sheepdog in Scotland, a long running strip in the Dandy (it started in 1956 and was still running in 1989 at the time this strip came out). Bobbie is killed by Mr Why, who throws him against a building (and in case that didn't do the job, the Weetabix truck that followed would have finished the job.)

Black Bob, the "wisest sheepdog in Scotland"

We also have this  guy. Looking at his wings, I think he is a take-off on the Hotspur character Black Hawk. Later pictures of him flying with them certainly resemble the picture on the right. He survives the destruction of his world and goes to make a new home in the Black Archer's home dimension.

One e-mailer, Paul (no last name given) notes that "Don't know if this is stating the obvious, but if you consider the time when Zenith was produced and the " indie" bent of Messrs Morrison & Yeowell, but, it's always seemed to me that...Black Hawk"s Zenith depiction", bears a resemblance to Clint Boon of the Inspiral Carpets." Certainly does look a lot like that, now he comes to mention it.

Lastly we have another hero who is never named. However his costume is the same as the Falcon. He also survives the war with the Lloigor.

This is the last new character to be met until Chapter 14, "Fire and Brimstone", when we join the other group of heroes at the other front line, Alternative 257.

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