Humorous comic book series, published by DC Comics from 1997-98. The series was written by John Arcudi, with art by Doug Mahnke. It didn't appear to be within DC's normal continuity -- no other superheroes appeared, and Lou was never mentioned in any other DC books. There was also no one named "Major Bummer" in the comic -- the title was part pun and part a thematic mission statement -- namely, "Superpowers suuuuck, now let's have a larf at people being injured."
Our main character was Lou Martin, a skinny, unmotivated slacker with few interests outside of eating, sleeping, and playing video games. But after a couple of alien grad students accidentally implant him with a hypertech superheart, Lou is transformed into a superstrong, musclebound, super-smart slacker with few interests outside of eating, sleeping, playing video games, and trying to avoid being horribly maimed by supervillains.
The comic's supporting characters included a group of misfits who'd received their own Extreme Enhancement Modules (or EEMs) and powers: Gecko (a superhero fanboy who could stick to walls), Val (a gorgeous babe who could fly and had the hots for Lou), Lauren (an elderly, scatterbrained lady who could see the future), and Francis (a condescending artiste with a supersonic scream).
The main villains were a bunch of thugs, also outfitted with EEMs: impossibly-skinny claw-slinger Carlos, super-hot density-controlling Nancy, chubby electro-punk Bridget, big-brained Reggie who used such big words he was completely incomprehensible, and Nunzio. Really, Nunzio was the only one who actually counted -- his EEM turned him into a gigantic, red-skinned, lizardy monster who was way, way tougher than Lou was.
Other villains included the alien grad students, Zinnac and Yoof, a transdimensional Nazi thunder lizard called Tyranosaurus Reich, a psychotic, buck-toothed hero-worshiping geek named Milton, a demon-possessed toddler, and Val's horrible parents.
The violence in this book, mainly directed at Lou, was entirely gratuitous, over-the-top, and ridiculous. Lou gets repeatedly beaten to a bloody pulp by Nunzio and various other threats. He gets bitten, clawed, shot, dropped out of planes, and trampled by elephants. In one memorable panel in the final issue, he even gets used as a club to beat a future Lou.
The book was indeed cancelled too early, with just 15 issues under its belt. Arcudi and Mahnke were told of the looming cancellation early enough to let them craft a suitably mad farewell to the character, leading to all the characters getting horribly killed at least once, time travel, dimensional travel, multiple versions of Lou running around, and a stolen Abbott and Costello video.
DC has never bothered to put this out in a collected trade paperback. Doesn't seem fair.
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