Ben 10 Alien Force vol 2: Doom Dimension back

I'm not going to beat about the bush: if I were a lad ten years of age, BEN 10 would be the greatest thing in the universe. Yet here I am some eighteen years later and I have to say that not only does the cartoon beat the crap out of anything from the '80s (yes it does, grow up) but the theme tune to the original series is awesome. Many a morning have I, bleary-eyed, watched this over some coffee because it is better than the news. Truly my generation is lost.

For the benefit of those of you not yet with a Ben 10-obsessed child: Ben has in his possession an alien device called the Omnitrix which can change Ben into a variety of gnarly aliens. He uses this device to battle other aliens and monsters who basically want the power for themselves or to mutate/enslave/destroy the human race. In the original series, back when Ben was actually ten, he would travel around the country with his Grandpa who had a turbo-charged caravan and his cousin Gwen who can do magic, but I've never figured that out.

ALIEN FORCE picks up the story five years later and has an edgier feel to it. Grandpa's disappeared prompting Ben to once again wield the Omnitrix. Gwen's still throwing pink stuff around and Ben's nemesis, Kevin, seems to be a goody now. I'm sure it's all utterly engrossing when you watch it in succession as it's co-created by Joe Casey (WILDCATS, UNCANNY X-MEN), Joe Kelly (FOUR EYES, I KILL GIANTS) and Steven T. Seagle (IT'S A BIRD).