Just when Jaime Reyes thought that he was getting used to mastering the Scarab armor's abilities and balancing his school life, in comes another complication. The armor's alien owners have arrived on Earth. But these aren't your friendly ETs; they have invasion in mind and no one will believe poor Jaime. Thrill to the adventures of DC's latest teen superstar as he takes on a bevy of villains, teams up with other superheroes, and occasionally remembers to do his homework in this next thrilling chapter. Collects Blue Beetle #13-25.
John Rogers is a screenwriter, comedian, film producer, and comic book writer. Although born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he attended McGill University in Montreal and is better known publicly as a Canadian writer.
This book ties up the loose ends from the first and concludes the story arc featuring The Reach, the aliens who seemingly created the scarab embedded in Jamie's back.
It's a lot of "with great power comes great responsibility" you'd expect from a book focusing on a teen hero, but that's okay because it's a fun ride of Jamie is a likable protagonist.
I liked the artwork in that it was mostly a very '90s comicbook cartoony aesthetic that you don't get so much anymore.
I hope there's more Blue Beetle stuff out there I can enjoy.
So this wrapped up the story from the first book and I had a good time this. It was nice to see Jaime interact with a lot of different people in the DC universe over the course of this story and the conclusion to the story was ended well. Definitely would read more of Jaime as blue beetle.
This proved to be a fun and easy read, perfect for when you're looking for some lighthearted superhero action. Jaime and Paco remain as likeable and engaging as ever, making it effortless to root for their adventures. One of the highlights of this collection was definitely the fantastic cameos sprinkled throughout. Seeing Guy Gardner, Bruce Wayne (who delivers an absolutely ice-cold moment), and Superman pop up added a real layer of enjoyment for fans of these characters. This volume all but confirmed in my eyes that Guy Gardner is most definitely him. The episodic nature of the book ultimately hindered its impact however. Whilst each individual issue offered its own self-contained fun and charm, the collection as a whole lacked a cohesive or driving plot. Akin to a “villain of the week” format, by the time I finished reading I was left wondering what the overarching purpose of this volume was. It felt like a series of entertaining snippets that didn't quite add up to a larger narrative. The final arc, delving into the Reach, was admittedly necessary reading for me to fill in some gaps in my Blue Beetle knowledge. While I appreciated gaining this crucial backstory and understanding more about the scarab's origins, I didn't find this storyline especially captivating in itself. There were some nice moments littered within, but as is the running theme of this volume, they don’t quite come together. Overall, an enjoyable collection of individual stories with a strong focus on character and some great DC guest appearances. However, the lack of a compelling overarching plot prevent it from reaching a higher rating. It's a fun ride, but not a particularly memorable journey.
Yeah this was peak Jamie BB content right here. The episodic issues in the middle that led to the overarching goal of the Reach while having BB team up with other like the teen titans and supes was rad as hell. Need vol. 3 to coke out asap
I'm thinking someone lied to me. I was told the original Jamie Reyes blue bettle run was a solid and sometimes good super hero book, but after two books worth of stories I'm left severely lacking. Book two is small improvement over the pedestrian first vol, as we get some more stuff on the Scarab and the Reach, but there's no momentum in these stories. Half of them are just weird misadventure of the week, sometimes with a guest stsr, but they don't feel like they matter. A few issues stood out, but for reasons other than Beetle, and at worst the stories are just....dull. Also taking a point off for Guy Gardner's guest appearance where the writer had him be sexist and slap a women's ass unprovoked to start a off panel bar fight just for the hell of it. I really doubt I bother to read the final vol unless it deals exclusively with the Reach.
Much as I enjoyed Book One, I think Jaime really comes into his own here. John Rogers does a magnificent job of spinning a BIG story, with every element introduced during the previous year paying off in interesting ways. Plus Guy Gardner's best story since the one punch!
Good art and it introduces the reach and expands on Blue Beetles lore but a lot of it feels like Adventure of the week type stories and depending on what you wanted from this that will be either a good thing or a bad thing
If you want to get introduced to the character of Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle this a pretty good starting point as well