Blue Beetle # 1
By Koppy McFad
April 1, 2006 - 01:37
DC Comics
Writer(s): Keith Giffen, John Rodgers
Penciller(s): Cully Hamner
Inker(s): Cully Hamner
Cover Artist(s): Cully Hamner
The new Blue Beetle debuts in his first issue which opens with the new guy, a Hispanic kid named Jaime, taking on Guy Gardner. This is interspersed with flashbacks on how the kid found the magic scarab that gave him his powers in the first place. There is minimal mention of the deceased Ted Kord as this kid barely knows about him. The Beetle's new powers are interesting but the character himself is not that compelling. Once again, we have some youthful fellow who doesn't know how to use the incredible powers he inherited. They give him a colorful ensemble of friends, a slightly dysfunctional family and a potential new arch-foe but it all feels a bit rehearsed. Actually, it seems a little too similar to the recent "Son of Vulcan" miniseries, not to mention the Firestorm revamp. Additionally Giffen and company are really overdoing the "talking" thing again and not putting enough effort into the action. The art however looks very original and has a nice science fiction appeal to it. The new Beetle costume however simply looks like another case of 'weird for weirdness' sake. The Ditko design for Ted Kord was vastly superior.
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