''Pussyfoot 5'' is a series from the British comic anthology '' 2000 AD'' about a crack team of deep-cover occult agents working for the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

to protect the Earth from paranormal threats. It was created by John Smith and

Steve Yeowell Steve Yeowell () is a British comics artist, well known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Having trained in 3D design (specialising in silversmithing and jewellery), Yeowell bega ...

. It is a spin-off of Smith's own ''Devlin Waugh'' and exists in the same fictional universe as

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

. The

colourist In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...

D'Israeli has described it as containing "John Smith's trademark mix of sex, religion and weird alien biology".

Development and description

The team consists of world grid technician and ultravixen Pussy Willow, the techno-

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

Lucy Melmoth and her demon familiar Shatterface ( Exu in ectoplasm spirit form), the insectoid were-shaper Mantissa, and the tactical specialist Chubby Behemoth, a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

possessed by spirit the serial killer

Son of Sam David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco, June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer who pleaded guilty to eight shootings that began in New York City on July 29, 1976. Berkowitz ...

. Pussyfoot 5 first appear in the ''Devlin Waugh'' stories “Sirius Rising” and “Reign of Frogs” when they enlist Devlin Waugh to help find and recover the Herod, an apocalyptically dangerous stolen artefact. Smith wrote the first spin-off entry as a comparatively short five-issue story to introduce the characters and concepts and test the water for a series. In "Fast Breeder" the team travel into space to rescue Mantissa from capture. Only one other story appeared after it. Mr Vathek, Mantissa's torturer in "Fast Breeder" is a member of a cloven-hoofed species called the Chadarisq-Khan, another one of whom appears in John Smith's ''

Firekind ''Firekind'' was a comics strip published in the British weekly anthology comic '' 2000 AD'' for 13 issues in 1993. It was written by John Smith, with art by Paul Marshall. Publication history ''Firekind'' came about as part of the "Spring Fev ...

''.''Firekind'' in ''2000 AD'' #853, 1993 D'Israeli has expressed disappointment in his work on ''Pussyfoot 5'', initially delivering a "colouring job inspired by ''

Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American spy action comedy films: '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). The films were produced an ...

'', only to discover editor David Bishop had been thinking ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

''".

Publications

* "Fast Breeder" (art by Nigel Raynor, in ''2000 AD'', #1184-1188, 2000, reprinted in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'', #281, 2009) * "Alien Sex Fiend!"" (art by

, in ''2000 AD'', #1251-1256, 2001, reprinted in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'', #281, 2009)

References

{{reflist 2000 AD comic strips Judge Dredd characters Comics by John Smith (comics writer)