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Blue Beetle (2016) (collected editions)
Blue Beetle, Vol. 1: The More Things Change
Bonded to the Blue Beetle Scarab, teenager Jaime Reyes has no idea what he's doing with one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. But he's in luck, because his predecessor--Ted Kord--is back in the DC Universe and here to serve as the young hero's mentor! Alongside fellow teen hero Doctor Fate, this duo will have to learn how to be heroes on the fly!
Written by the legendary Keith Giffen (Legion of Super-Heroes) and illustrated by Scott Kolins (The Flash), Blue Beetle is back for a new generation as a part of DC Universe: Rebirth!
Collecting: Blue Beetle 1-6, Rebirth
Written by the legendary Keith Giffen (Legion of Super-Heroes) and illustrated by Scott Kolins (The Flash), Blue Beetle is back for a new generation as a part of DC Universe: Rebirth!
Collecting: Blue Beetle 1-6, Rebirth
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2017
68 people are currently reading
646 people want to read
About the author
Keith Giffen
1,931 books216 followersKeith Ian Giffen was an American comic book illustrator and writer. He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International (1987-1992). He also plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.
He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
April 23, 2017
Hear that? That’s the sound of DC scraping the bottom of the Rebirth barrel with a title no-one was looking for: Blue Beetle! Just the name itself conjures up the lazy hackery that superhero comics can too often be. And, yes, Blue Beetle Rebirth is pure hack comics.
There’s no real story in this first (and probably penultimate!) volume. Some Latino kid in El Paso called Jaime Reyes is Blue Beetle because diversity and Ted Kord is his tech-savvy/super-rich Alfred. Together they fight probably the most obscure villains ever who’re only there to give Blue Beetle something to do. A gang of somehow even more forgettable nobodies called The Posse also join Blue Beetle on his tedious “adventures”. Also Doctor Fate is mysterious as usual for mystery’s sake.
Every issue struggles to make an impression on the reader and fails each time. The annoying characters’ dialogue reads like a sixty-something-year old trying hard to write dialogue for teens, which is exactly what it is. It’s the same critique I made with his Scooby Apocalypse series but it’s true: 64-year-old Keith Giffen cannot write convincing young people dialogue at all, it always comes off as forced and fake. And he was never a great writer to start with!
Giffen tosses off Blue Beetle’s origin in a handful of piss-poor pages towards the end: Jaime finds a blue scarab floating in some water, it fused to his back and now he’s Blue Beetle. Wow, ain’t that inspired… There’s no defined villain, what I’ll generously call a story was vague and meandering and Scott Kolins’ art was as ordinary as you can get with superhero comics.
Blue Beetle Rebirth felt like DC attempting their version of Power Rangers: bad high school drama/characters combined with superhero schlock to make something only dumb kids could possibly find entertaining (and I say that as a former dumb kid, now a dumb adult, who loved Power Rangers once upon a time!). Sheer boredom from start to finish, Blue Beetle, like Power Rangers, is terrible and fit only for the nearest landfill!
There’s no real story in this first (and probably penultimate!) volume. Some Latino kid in El Paso called Jaime Reyes is Blue Beetle because diversity and Ted Kord is his tech-savvy/super-rich Alfred. Together they fight probably the most obscure villains ever who’re only there to give Blue Beetle something to do. A gang of somehow even more forgettable nobodies called The Posse also join Blue Beetle on his tedious “adventures”. Also Doctor Fate is mysterious as usual for mystery’s sake.
Every issue struggles to make an impression on the reader and fails each time. The annoying characters’ dialogue reads like a sixty-something-year old trying hard to write dialogue for teens, which is exactly what it is. It’s the same critique I made with his Scooby Apocalypse series but it’s true: 64-year-old Keith Giffen cannot write convincing young people dialogue at all, it always comes off as forced and fake. And he was never a great writer to start with!
Giffen tosses off Blue Beetle’s origin in a handful of piss-poor pages towards the end: Jaime finds a blue scarab floating in some water, it fused to his back and now he’s Blue Beetle. Wow, ain’t that inspired… There’s no defined villain, what I’ll generously call a story was vague and meandering and Scott Kolins’ art was as ordinary as you can get with superhero comics.
Blue Beetle Rebirth felt like DC attempting their version of Power Rangers: bad high school drama/characters combined with superhero schlock to make something only dumb kids could possibly find entertaining (and I say that as a former dumb kid, now a dumb adult, who loved Power Rangers once upon a time!). Sheer boredom from start to finish, Blue Beetle, like Power Rangers, is terrible and fit only for the nearest landfill!
May 24, 2017
I can only think of one word to really express how I felt about this comic:
Okay, actually I could think of quite a few choicer words to describe it, but since Keith Giffen has decided this is his favorite word, I'm going to adopt it here as well.
Hey Jaime, it's not me who has the problem. I actually like Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle is cool. Jaime Reyes is cool. I want to read all about Blue Beetle! But when it feels like I'm reading the same trite phrases page after page, things start getting a little tiresome.
And you should be embarassed. Nobody even says "dammitall" unless they're making the damitol joke:
And I'm going to need some after reading this book
But seriously. This was terribly written. The writing was utterly repetitive, the dialogue forced, the characters annoying, and the plot didn't really even make sense. What happened to the Blue Beetle I remember from Giffen's 2006 run? Cause this sure ain't it.
...okay, I'm beginning to get on my own nerves now.
Suffice it to say, this book was bad. And I wasn't happy about it. I really love Jaime Reyes and I wanted to read a new series that really did him justice and introduced him to a new group of readers. Instead, I got this mess. I thought part of the point of Rebirth was to simultaneously bring in new readers and bring back older beloved characters and storylines: this did neither. I felt like I'd been dropped in the middle of a story and had nothing to hold on to--What the hell is Doctor Fate doing in all this? Should I care? Why is Ted Kord there? I thought he was dead...? And why is he so annoying?
But more than all that, why are we starting over? Maybe I haven't read too much of the older Blue Beetle, but this was just tearing apart and rewriting (badly) the parts that I did know. It's a poorly-told origin story that somehow skips the origin part and leaves everyone wondering just how the hell we got here.
It honestly feels like Giffen threw together an outline with some placeholder dialogue, but then accidentally sent that instead of the final script. Why else would so much of the dialogue be the same phrases, repeating over and over again, word for word? What other excuse could an author possibly have for such laziness?
Because it wasn't official enough the first time
I could make so many critiques of this book, but the biggest one I have to make (other than how stupidly repetitive the phrasing was), is that Giffen for some reason has spurned the use of inner monologue boxes. Y'know, those little boxes that usually float around in comics and tell you what the character is thinking. Now, showing is usually better than telling, but there really is something to be said for having your character have a bit of a coherent narration. Instead, we got scenes like this:
Instead of having some good 'ol inner monologue where Jaime tells the audience how he's not the one controlling the scarab, we get this very forced, very incoherent dialogue where Jaime babbles what he's thinking out loud. Because, y'know. That's what you do when you have thoughts. Babble them aloud. The result is that Jaime comes off at best goofy and at worst a bit stupid. It's hard to take someone seriously who's narrating their adventures out loud the whole time.
To sum up, this book is bad. The writing is bad. The dialogue is bad. The characters are annoying. The plot is boring and also does a terrible job at bringing in a new reader, not to mention is just kind of stupid. The villain is laughable:
"I'll get you next time, you meddling kids! And your dog too!"
And
it
is
repetitive
Okay, actually I could think of quite a few choicer words to describe it, but since Keith Giffen has decided this is his favorite word, I'm going to adopt it here as well.
Hey Jaime, it's not me who has the problem. I actually like Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle is cool. Jaime Reyes is cool. I want to read all about Blue Beetle! But when it feels like I'm reading the same trite phrases page after page, things start getting a little tiresome.
And you should be embarassed. Nobody even says "dammitall" unless they're making the damitol joke:
But seriously. This was terribly written. The writing was utterly repetitive, the dialogue forced, the characters annoying, and the plot didn't really even make sense. What happened to the Blue Beetle I remember from Giffen's 2006 run? Cause this sure ain't it.
...okay, I'm beginning to get on my own nerves now.
Suffice it to say, this book was bad. And I wasn't happy about it. I really love Jaime Reyes and I wanted to read a new series that really did him justice and introduced him to a new group of readers. Instead, I got this mess. I thought part of the point of Rebirth was to simultaneously bring in new readers and bring back older beloved characters and storylines: this did neither. I felt like I'd been dropped in the middle of a story and had nothing to hold on to--What the hell is Doctor Fate doing in all this? Should I care? Why is Ted Kord there? I thought he was dead...? And why is he so annoying?
But more than all that, why are we starting over? Maybe I haven't read too much of the older Blue Beetle, but this was just tearing apart and rewriting (badly) the parts that I did know. It's a poorly-told origin story that somehow skips the origin part and leaves everyone wondering just how the hell we got here.
It honestly feels like Giffen threw together an outline with some placeholder dialogue, but then accidentally sent that instead of the final script. Why else would so much of the dialogue be the same phrases, repeating over and over again, word for word? What other excuse could an author possibly have for such laziness?
Because it wasn't official enough the first time
I could make so many critiques of this book, but the biggest one I have to make (other than how stupidly repetitive the phrasing was), is that Giffen for some reason has spurned the use of inner monologue boxes. Y'know, those little boxes that usually float around in comics and tell you what the character is thinking. Now, showing is usually better than telling, but there really is something to be said for having your character have a bit of a coherent narration. Instead, we got scenes like this:
Instead of having some good 'ol inner monologue where Jaime tells the audience how he's not the one controlling the scarab, we get this very forced, very incoherent dialogue where Jaime babbles what he's thinking out loud. Because, y'know. That's what you do when you have thoughts. Babble them aloud. The result is that Jaime comes off at best goofy and at worst a bit stupid. It's hard to take someone seriously who's narrating their adventures out loud the whole time.
To sum up, this book is bad. The writing is bad. The dialogue is bad. The characters are annoying. The plot is boring and also does a terrible job at bringing in a new reader, not to mention is just kind of stupid. The villain is laughable:
"I'll get you next time, you meddling kids! And your dog too!"
And
it
is
repetitive
March 28, 2020
Was anyone clamoring for a new Blue Beetle book? The Jamie Reyes version has already flopped twice and this one is actually worse than the previous two. The book doesn't even seem to follow the continuity established in the new 52 version. The Blue Beetle suit no longer comes from space I guess. Now it's magic based because Dr. Fate showed up and mysteriously said so. The previous version was a total ripoff of X-O Manowar, exact same origin.
The series has absolutely no direction and hardly any villains. Six or Seven plot threads are started and then left dangling. The story just meanders from one boring encounter to another with zero purpose. God, was this bad.
Received an advance copy from DC and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The series has absolutely no direction and hardly any villains. Six or Seven plot threads are started and then left dangling. The story just meanders from one boring encounter to another with zero purpose. God, was this bad.
Received an advance copy from DC and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 3, 2023
*Mild spoilers, read at your own discretion.*
As always, the art is beautiful.
The premise of this volume and the character of the Blue Beetle are very interesting and have a lot of potential but the execution was poor and the storytelling was sloppy.
The story did not follow a logical order. The origin story came during Issue #4 rather than at the beginning like it should be when introducing a relatively unknown character to new readers. Every character was introduced without any explanation. Who is Mordecai? Who are the posse? It’s very hard to understand character’s significances without understanding who the characters even are.
The characters were either strange, annoying, or confusing. The dynamic between Jaime and Ted was very frustrating. They were constantly bickering and ruined a lot of moments that could have been great. Likewise, Jamie’s two best friends, Brenda and Paco, were never NOT fighting. Which was really ANNOYING. And the issue was Brenda. She was constantly rude to Paco to the point that it’s not even funny or friendly it’s just bullying. It’s like she just hated his presence not him personally.
I think the main issue was there were actually too many characters that it was hard to remember them all. There was Jaime and his two best friends. Then Ted and his scientist. Jaime’s 3 family members. 6 posse members. 2 evil people. 2 random and completely unnecessary PIs. I actually started to forget who was who (and I read this all in one sitting!). Especially when they weren’t significant characters.
Lastly, the action was very disorientating. It wasn’t clear what was going on. And there was SO MUCH DIALOGUE. It wasn’t clear who was saying what because it kept switching between Jaime’s and Ted’s perspectives.
The cliffhanger ending was good - enough to make me want to read the next vol. but I’m not sure if I can because the storytelling is lazy and frustrating which actually makes this a chore to read.
As always, the art is beautiful.
The premise of this volume and the character of the Blue Beetle are very interesting and have a lot of potential but the execution was poor and the storytelling was sloppy.
The story did not follow a logical order. The origin story came during Issue #4 rather than at the beginning like it should be when introducing a relatively unknown character to new readers. Every character was introduced without any explanation. Who is Mordecai? Who are the posse? It’s very hard to understand character’s significances without understanding who the characters even are.
The characters were either strange, annoying, or confusing. The dynamic between Jaime and Ted was very frustrating. They were constantly bickering and ruined a lot of moments that could have been great. Likewise, Jamie’s two best friends, Brenda and Paco, were never NOT fighting. Which was really ANNOYING. And the issue was Brenda. She was constantly rude to Paco to the point that it’s not even funny or friendly it’s just bullying. It’s like she just hated his presence not him personally.
I think the main issue was there were actually too many characters that it was hard to remember them all. There was Jaime and his two best friends. Then Ted and his scientist. Jaime’s 3 family members. 6 posse members. 2 evil people. 2 random and completely unnecessary PIs. I actually started to forget who was who (and I read this all in one sitting!). Especially when they weren’t significant characters.
Lastly, the action was very disorientating. It wasn’t clear what was going on. And there was SO MUCH DIALOGUE. It wasn’t clear who was saying what because it kept switching between Jaime’s and Ted’s perspectives.
The cliffhanger ending was good - enough to make me want to read the next vol. but I’m not sure if I can because the storytelling is lazy and frustrating which actually makes this a chore to read.
April 25, 2017
I've read nearly all of the Rebirth books that have been released so far. There's been a few duds and one or two hits, but by and large, they've just been comics. Decent, serviceable comics, if not exciting then at lot not failures. This is, by far, the biggest failure that I've read in the Rebirth line.
Now, I admit that I'm coming in somewhat behind, because I've never read this iteration of Blue Beetle before. I never felt the need to, and nothing about the book looked particularly appealing to me. I decided to give this a shot because I was giving a lot of DC's Rebirth books a shot, and it seemed like this would be as good of a place as any to start. And perhaps it would have been, in the hands of a better writer. Instead, there's a trite story, shallow characterization, and truly awful dialog. Actually, I don't think any one aspect of this book kills it nearly so dead as that dialog, which reads exactly like it was written by an older person who has literally no idea how teenagers speak to each other in real life. A couple of issues in, it turned into a tedious slog. I can't remember the last time I was so happy to see the end of a book.
I doubt I would have liked this even if I was up to date on my Blue Beetle. There's simply no redeeming qualities here. Avoid.
Now, I admit that I'm coming in somewhat behind, because I've never read this iteration of Blue Beetle before. I never felt the need to, and nothing about the book looked particularly appealing to me. I decided to give this a shot because I was giving a lot of DC's Rebirth books a shot, and it seemed like this would be as good of a place as any to start. And perhaps it would have been, in the hands of a better writer. Instead, there's a trite story, shallow characterization, and truly awful dialog. Actually, I don't think any one aspect of this book kills it nearly so dead as that dialog, which reads exactly like it was written by an older person who has literally no idea how teenagers speak to each other in real life. A couple of issues in, it turned into a tedious slog. I can't remember the last time I was so happy to see the end of a book.
I doubt I would have liked this even if I was up to date on my Blue Beetle. There's simply no redeeming qualities here. Avoid.
March 19, 2018
Wow, there are A LOT of negative reviews out there for this volume.
I didn't think it was quite that bad, but then I went into it with almost zero knowledge of the character. Although he's no Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan (the gold standard for current teenage superheroes, in my opinion) Jaime Reyes does come across as a well-meaning young protagonist. I liked the stable and plausible relationships he had with his nuclear family and school friends. There were also parts that I found really amusing, such as Blur's immediately amorous interaction - "It's called flirting. It's all the rage. Haven't you heard?" - with Blue Beetle over several pages, and the snide conversations between villains 'Rack' and 'Ruin' which reminded me of (warning: dated reference) the cartoon magpies Heckle & Jeckle. The El Paso setting was also original, too.
So while I won't call it a Rebirth 'must-read' I would still check out the follow-up edition.
I didn't think it was quite that bad, but then I went into it with almost zero knowledge of the character. Although he's no Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan (the gold standard for current teenage superheroes, in my opinion) Jaime Reyes does come across as a well-meaning young protagonist. I liked the stable and plausible relationships he had with his nuclear family and school friends. There were also parts that I found really amusing, such as Blur's immediately amorous interaction - "It's called flirting. It's all the rage. Haven't you heard?" - with Blue Beetle over several pages, and the snide conversations between villains 'Rack' and 'Ruin' which reminded me of (warning: dated reference) the cartoon magpies Heckle & Jeckle. The El Paso setting was also original, too.
So while I won't call it a Rebirth 'must-read' I would still check out the follow-up edition.
October 3, 2017
I really couldn't even finish this...I just don't know how you can make a super badass concept so fucking boring. Oh yeah, give us realllllly bad characters with awful dialog. Blah.
September 13, 2017
Ouch.
World: The art looks like middle level comic book quality and it's not special or memorable. The world building here is choppy and incomplete. Jaime and Ted and the world they live in is patchy and not fully fleshed out and jumping between all the different aspects of both these characters makes for a world readers do not connect with.
Story: Choppy as all hell. It's not as bad as what others are saying but it's not good either. The creative team wanted to do everything and ended up with nothing. Family drama, not enough. Buddy team up, no enough. Legacy stories, not enough. School drama, not enough. The pieces are here but it's not written well. Look for Ms. Marvel to do it right.
Characters: My biggest problem with this arc and series are the characters. I don't kind Jaime but he's not formed well and he's not appealing cause we don't really get into his brain enough and we don't spend enough time with him being a kid with something he doesn't really want. We get whining but also not enough perspective and development, it's one note. Then there is Ted Kord. I was so happy when they brought him back but he's not used well here and he's jokey and dopey and he really messes with the tone of the book. This is not the Ted we deserve. The family dynamic not enough time to develop so it's all unearned. The villain also does not land cause we get nothing in terms of background and development.
This is poorly written and could have been better. Argh.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
World: The art looks like middle level comic book quality and it's not special or memorable. The world building here is choppy and incomplete. Jaime and Ted and the world they live in is patchy and not fully fleshed out and jumping between all the different aspects of both these characters makes for a world readers do not connect with.
Story: Choppy as all hell. It's not as bad as what others are saying but it's not good either. The creative team wanted to do everything and ended up with nothing. Family drama, not enough. Buddy team up, no enough. Legacy stories, not enough. School drama, not enough. The pieces are here but it's not written well. Look for Ms. Marvel to do it right.
Characters: My biggest problem with this arc and series are the characters. I don't kind Jaime but he's not formed well and he's not appealing cause we don't really get into his brain enough and we don't spend enough time with him being a kid with something he doesn't really want. We get whining but also not enough perspective and development, it's one note. Then there is Ted Kord. I was so happy when they brought him back but he's not used well here and he's jokey and dopey and he really messes with the tone of the book. This is not the Ted we deserve. The family dynamic not enough time to develop so it's all unearned. The villain also does not land cause we get nothing in terms of background and development.
This is poorly written and could have been better. Argh.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
June 13, 2017
Okay? I wanted to give this book a 2.5 but Goodreads doesn't allow for that rating level. I have not been a follower of Blue Beetle in DC comics. So I am coming at this as a new reader. I was hoping for more of and introduction to Jaime Reyes and his so-called mentor, Ted Kord but for most of the issues we are just thrust into the world without any world building and little understanding of what purpose many of the characters play. The artwork is not bad and the book is different from what one might expect from the rest of the DC comics fare. Blue Beetle I think adds some needed diversity to the DC Rebirth lineup for DC comics. I think the concept of placing former & classic Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) in a mentor-ship role is a great idea but ultimately the execution could have been handled better in this first volume. The pacing was a bit daunting and maybe its me but the placement of the dialogue bubbles was a bit messy and busy at times. The main cast is interesting enough but just did not learn much about Jaime's friends. Some scenes just seemed to move to quickly. I really like giving newer characters a chance so I will probably read the next volume. This first volume could have been so much better. I am a big fan of Dr. Fate, so he was an unexpected addition to this story. With some of the quirky and universe altering things going on in DC Rebirth I hope in the next volume we get a little of Ted Kord's old history as a superhero. The original Blue Beetle was originally a Charleston Comics character like the Question. It would be so cool to have some of that history in this title. It appears Dr. Fate will play a larger role in the next arc so I am looking forward to reading volume 2.
May 14, 2023
Unfortunately, this Blue Beetle comic did not do it for me. I love Blue Beetle as a DC character, but this comic has mid writing and a pace too slow for me to enjoy. Hopefully the second volume is better than this one.
June 25, 2017
Terrible. I really enjoyed the 2006 run by writer Keith Giffen, but John Rogers and Cully Hamner must have been pulling more than their share of the weight, because this is unrecognizable. The speech bubble layout is consistently confusing. The dialogue is atrocious and all the characters have the same voice. On top of that it's also a terrible volume and issue 1, doing nothing to ease new readers into the story, which is important for a lesser known character like this. It also appears to retcon the scarab's scifi origins, turning it into a mystic talisman associated with Doctor Fate. It didn't work for me.
May 8, 2017
DC Comics’ Rebirth event, other than a marketing tag, really should be about the exploration of themes. A look at what makes the character appealing and an examination of those personal, internal forces while dealing with the colorfully-ludicrous external. Unfortunately, with the Rebirth collections DC Comics and NetGalley have graciously sent my way, there has not been a sense of regrouping, of growth, or internalization. The stories are an onslaught of constant motion opening with panel one and nary a chance for an asterisked footnote to a Wikipedia article let alone time for introductions, and no more so than Blue Beetle Vol. 1: The More Things Change.
Blue Beetle tries, sincerely, and sometimes achieves partial success, to be clever with the pairing of Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, and his mentor/Alfred Pennyworth surrogate Ted Kord, the former, and formerly deceased, Blue Beetle. Their relationship is ripe with all the elements of great buddy-cop entertainment, but man, that fruit just ain’t ready to pick. Blue Beetle Vol. 1, again like other Rebirth titles, are full of these sudden starts, fits of action, with explosions of rat-a-tat dialogue, that don’t go anywhere and have no signs of resolution, which is extremely detrimental to, what should be, a contained graphic novel and an invitation to go further.
Keith Giffen, who created the Jaime Reyes character following the massive Infinite Crisis storyline, which began with the surprising murder of Ted Kord, presents dialogue-heavy issues and truly does wish to make Jaime as likeable and as important as his blue alter ego. After all, one of main reasons Spider-Man is immensely popular is due to the relational aspect of Peter Parker, as opposed, for instance, to the Hulk, where the very-human Banner can indeed come off as, well, puny. Alas, Giffen never gives that reader, and presumably a first-time reader at that, the chance to truly enjoy the character because the opportunity is never provided. The shark-like, always-moving-forward motion does not allow that pause for reflection.
Giffen and co-plotter/artist Scott Kolins present the Blue Beetle scarab as a threat to Jaime’s well-being, a plot element that will no doubt continue to grow as the series continues. Giffen allows Doctor Fate a co-starring gig in the title, and I, for one, always enjoy Giffen’s Fate. Kolins gives the character an updated makeover, but even the character’s inclusion is sparse and seemingly inconsequential as the mystery for his inclusion, and what should be a build up to this threat, is nearly trivialized away in an is-it-or-is-it-not dream sequence.
Comic books have a grand tradition of excelling at the slow burn. How many decades did Superman and Lois Lane flirt? Even Ted Kord’s own Blue Beetle title from the post-Crisis eighties had an over twelve-issue long b-plot that simmered, at varying levels, every issue. The problem with Blue Beetle Vol. 1: The More Things Change is there are too many simmering pots and not enough pasta. The old adage about waiting for that water to boil could very well result in no one bothering to pay attention when supper is ready.
Blue Beetle tries, sincerely, and sometimes achieves partial success, to be clever with the pairing of Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, and his mentor/Alfred Pennyworth surrogate Ted Kord, the former, and formerly deceased, Blue Beetle. Their relationship is ripe with all the elements of great buddy-cop entertainment, but man, that fruit just ain’t ready to pick. Blue Beetle Vol. 1, again like other Rebirth titles, are full of these sudden starts, fits of action, with explosions of rat-a-tat dialogue, that don’t go anywhere and have no signs of resolution, which is extremely detrimental to, what should be, a contained graphic novel and an invitation to go further.
Keith Giffen, who created the Jaime Reyes character following the massive Infinite Crisis storyline, which began with the surprising murder of Ted Kord, presents dialogue-heavy issues and truly does wish to make Jaime as likeable and as important as his blue alter ego. After all, one of main reasons Spider-Man is immensely popular is due to the relational aspect of Peter Parker, as opposed, for instance, to the Hulk, where the very-human Banner can indeed come off as, well, puny. Alas, Giffen never gives that reader, and presumably a first-time reader at that, the chance to truly enjoy the character because the opportunity is never provided. The shark-like, always-moving-forward motion does not allow that pause for reflection.
Giffen and co-plotter/artist Scott Kolins present the Blue Beetle scarab as a threat to Jaime’s well-being, a plot element that will no doubt continue to grow as the series continues. Giffen allows Doctor Fate a co-starring gig in the title, and I, for one, always enjoy Giffen’s Fate. Kolins gives the character an updated makeover, but even the character’s inclusion is sparse and seemingly inconsequential as the mystery for his inclusion, and what should be a build up to this threat, is nearly trivialized away in an is-it-or-is-it-not dream sequence.
Comic books have a grand tradition of excelling at the slow burn. How many decades did Superman and Lois Lane flirt? Even Ted Kord’s own Blue Beetle title from the post-Crisis eighties had an over twelve-issue long b-plot that simmered, at varying levels, every issue. The problem with Blue Beetle Vol. 1: The More Things Change is there are too many simmering pots and not enough pasta. The old adage about waiting for that water to boil could very well result in no one bothering to pay attention when supper is ready.
June 4, 2017
'Blue Beetle, Vol. 1: The More Things Change' by Keith Giffen and Scott Kollins is a rebirth title, but I feel about the way I felt about the character back in the 1980s: Meh.
Jamie Reyes has had the weird beetle scarab attach itself to him, so he is now the Blue Beetle. Ted Kord acts as his annoying overseer. Jamie has friends that know who he is, but being the Blue Beetle is tough when you have to get to class. Add in the fact that Doctor Fate isn't too pleased about the weird beetle scarab that has locked itself on to Jamie's spine and it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Except, it's just not all that interesting. There is teen bickering. There is a teen gang that, surprise, has superpowers, and, surprise, may not be that bad. The art is fine. Jamie as Blue Beetle has a weird alien look to his face. Frankly, I wanted more Doctor Fate. I'd rather have a Doctor Fate book than this.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Jamie Reyes has had the weird beetle scarab attach itself to him, so he is now the Blue Beetle. Ted Kord acts as his annoying overseer. Jamie has friends that know who he is, but being the Blue Beetle is tough when you have to get to class. Add in the fact that Doctor Fate isn't too pleased about the weird beetle scarab that has locked itself on to Jamie's spine and it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Except, it's just not all that interesting. There is teen bickering. There is a teen gang that, surprise, has superpowers, and, surprise, may not be that bad. The art is fine. Jamie as Blue Beetle has a weird alien look to his face. Frankly, I wanted more Doctor Fate. I'd rather have a Doctor Fate book than this.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
May 21, 2022
I guess I just had bigger expectations of this book. I mean, having both Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes together should have worked out, uh? Well, it didn’t. Both of them seemed to be stuck in the same mood for the entire story. Their dynamic may have started like a little fun thing to follow, but it grew old too quickly.
Even Paco and Brenda, who were some interesting characters, got reduced to a same note character through the entire arch.
The story was a bit all over the place and it didn’t seem to land anywhere. I know the story isn’t over, but since this is a set, it should have led somewhere. It should have.
On top of the whole thing, the villain talk was just annoying.
I guess there’s nothing that I could say that I enjoyed, other than that it does portray characters that I really like.
Even Paco and Brenda, who were some interesting characters, got reduced to a same note character through the entire arch.
The story was a bit all over the place and it didn’t seem to land anywhere. I know the story isn’t over, but since this is a set, it should have led somewhere. It should have.
On top of the whole thing, the villain talk was just annoying.
I guess there’s nothing that I could say that I enjoyed, other than that it does portray characters that I really like.
April 14, 2018
Reviewing comics is simple. It comes down to the art and the story. The art looks very amateurish, It doesn't look any where near as sharp or defined as other Rebirth comics so that was an immediate red flag for me. The story is generic and awful. The new beetle is mentored by the old one while the new beetle struggles juggling teen life and superhero powers. It's a boring read and nothing about it stands out, Even when compared to the weaker Rebirth volumes that I've read. Pass on this one, It's not worth reading.
August 31, 2017
whuuuuut... Why did I even pick this up! :/
I had to give up after the second part...
this was even worse than cyborg.. Too bad I hàve to give a star...
What a bunch of lousy characters, no interesting story whatsoever and the art is sooooo juvenile, it just makes the whole thing even worse....
my opinion: just ignore this one!
I had to give up after the second part...
this was even worse than cyborg.. Too bad I hàve to give a star...
What a bunch of lousy characters, no interesting story whatsoever and the art is sooooo juvenile, it just makes the whole thing even worse....
my opinion: just ignore this one!
September 17, 2017
No memorable villains, a complete betrayal of the characters origin and powers by suddenly making the scarab magical rather than technological, and a splatter of ill-defined and little used allies are only a few of the major flaws in this terrible reboot. Hopefully it disappears as quickly as its predecessor in the 'New 52'.
December 16, 2018
Oh wow. It's as if they tried to shove four or five different arcs into one. You've got Jaime and Ted trying to work together, the Posse and Jaime's mother's commitment to them, Brenda's aunt possibly being evil, Dr Fate's warnings about the scarab, which is now magical rather than alien, and Jaime's struggle to control the scarab (which barely got a nod). There are a lot of ideas here that I like and, if it was spread out over several arcs, this would make a pretty compelling story. As it is? It's a mess.
September 12, 2017
I bailed out of this one after I found myself skimming the first issue in the book. It felt choppy and cluttered, like it was trying to accomplish way too much in a small space.
July 27, 2022
This was my first introduction to Blue Beetle and I absolutely loved it. It was fun, engaging and very well presented for new readers.
September 5, 2023
It’s comics like this that make me feel like I’m too old to be reading them. The main character is so hormonal and high strung he was getting annoying to me.
The ending is what saved this from being a 2 star rating.
The ending is what saved this from being a 2 star rating.
July 13, 2017
Wow, some pretty harsh reviews have accumulated here, but seeing as how most of them are making broader reference to "Rebirth" in general, a phenomenon I have yet to form a strong opinion about as this was only my third Rebirth title, and first ever Blue Beetle solo title, I think I can be a little more mellow.
Keith Giffen kind of occupies his own, quirky space in the DCverse, and I think it's good for variety's sake. And I say this as one who suffered through the entirety of Threshold, Vol. 1: The Hunted! He isn't helped by some jumpy art in the narrative panels, either, nor by his repeated and earnest attempts to write snappy "teenager" dialogue.
Still, at the end of each issue I still feel a key question for comics is
and in this case it was a qualified "yes"- I like Jaime Reyes, I like the interplay between him and Ted Kord (who should probably be shown as older, but hey, I guess this is the CW-ification of the DC comics) and I'd like to see where all this scary scarab foreshadowing with Dr Fate is going. Count me in for vol. 2, at least.
Keith Giffen kind of occupies his own, quirky space in the DCverse, and I think it's good for variety's sake. And I say this as one who suffered through the entirety of Threshold, Vol. 1: The Hunted! He isn't helped by some jumpy art in the narrative panels, either, nor by his repeated and earnest attempts to write snappy "teenager" dialogue.
Still, at the end of each issue I still feel a key question for comics is
and in this case it was a qualified "yes"- I like Jaime Reyes, I like the interplay between him and Ted Kord (who should probably be shown as older, but hey, I guess this is the CW-ification of the DC comics) and I'd like to see where all this scary scarab foreshadowing with Dr Fate is going. Count me in for vol. 2, at least.
July 6, 2018
Jaime Reyes is the Blue Beetle. Apparently a blue scarab has attached itself toJaime show Hines through the entire comic that he doesn’t want it and some rich white man names Kord wants him to use it for something we don’t learn about. Meanwhile, someone named Dr. Fate wants to take the scarab from Jaime but we don’t know from what.
Overall, this graphic novel was Lame. Reading it felt like being on the outside of an Inside joke. The constant chatter between Jaime and Kord is confusing and distracting. All of the “Posse” are annoying that they appear and announce their names rather than helping anything. I honestly didn’t like this comic at all.
Overall, this graphic novel was Lame. Reading it felt like being on the outside of an Inside joke. The constant chatter between Jaime and Kord is confusing and distracting. All of the “Posse” are annoying that they appear and announce their names rather than helping anything. I honestly didn’t like this comic at all.
June 9, 2020
As a fan of the classic Blue Beetle Ted Kord AND someone who liked how Jaime Reyes carried on the legacy in the New 52, I was interested to see where the character would go in "Rebirth." I was super excited to see Ted Kord back, and to see that nothing in general really seems to have changed for Jaime. Technically though, this collection is the start of a new series, and does go in a new direction for the Blue Beetle. I didn't quite buy it, but it was okay.
The Plot: The plot covered in this first volume is okay. We see Jaime working as the Blue Beetle, complete with scarab, mentoring with Ted Kord. Jaime faces down foes, tries to not fail high school, hangs out (a little) with his friends Brenda and Paco, and deals with family stuff. This collection also starts to involve Dr. Fate, and introduces a new (I think) super-team in Jaime's neighborhood, the Posse. The collection includes a re-tread of Jaime's origins as Blue Beetle, as well as a quick look at Ted Kord (and even Dan Garret) when he was first introduced to the Blue Beetle.
The Good: The fact that Ted Kord is alive and well, I guess? Other than that, it's pretty basic Jaime Reyes stuff.
The Mixed: First off, I found the dialogue pretty stilted. It didn't feel natural at all. I could feel that the writer was trying to write casual teenage banter, and it really didn't work that well. I think that the writing for Ted's character is okay; but his stale jokes and stuff don't really seem to work with no one to bounce them off.
There is also a switch from the armor being alien-based to it being magic-based, which explains the addition of Dr. Fate. I really liked the alien origin, tying in to the Reach alien species, and it explained the violent nature of the armor and the little voice in his head. Now, that voice seems to be gone, replaced with Ted constantly chattering in Jaime's ear, almost living viacariously through him since he's no longer (?) a superhero.
Overall, a bit of a mixed bag, and it's difficult to see if this series will continue long or be that good. Other than the general stuff (teenage hero, POC, etc,) I really don't think this Blue Beetle has anything going for it. I wouldn't be surprised if this series was cancelled, and Jaime was just rolled into the Teen Titans.
The Personal: Okay, I'll be honest; I was reading this for Ted. I like Jaime, but not usually enough to read his comic. However, I have always enjoyed his character, and I liked how at times Booster Gold came in as a sort of mentor, and how Jaime was trying to carry on the good name of Blue Beetle/Ted Kord, a hero who had died for the cause. But with Ted being alive, but not being Blue Beetle, and instead serving as some kind of permanent (and somewhat unwanted) mentor to the town in general and Jaime personally, it just felt kinda off.
I mean, firstly, everyone seems to know that Ted Kord is involved with superheroes, and the very least. But it's not clear to what extent, if at all, he was ever really the Blue Beetle. Although he drives the Bug, he never mentions his previous career, and I think there is only a slight mention of his heart condition (not sure if that is canon in this new continuity.) There is no mention of whether he was part of the Justice League or even Justice League International, if he remembers dying before, or even if he's friends with Booster Gold. If you don't know, previously those two were like their own best friend comedy superhero duo, and it was legendary. And Ted died, betrayed by people he trusted, and really showed himself a hero.
So, not knowing if that's even the same Ted is kinda driving me crazy. Is this guy just a billionaire philanthropist who's good with machines and is a little bit in your face? Is there going to be some kind of tie-in with Will Magnus (is that why there is a Ms. Magnus)? Hopefully, the next volume will tell.
The Plot: The plot covered in this first volume is okay. We see Jaime working as the Blue Beetle, complete with scarab, mentoring with Ted Kord. Jaime faces down foes, tries to not fail high school, hangs out (a little) with his friends Brenda and Paco, and deals with family stuff. This collection also starts to involve Dr. Fate, and introduces a new (I think) super-team in Jaime's neighborhood, the Posse. The collection includes a re-tread of Jaime's origins as Blue Beetle, as well as a quick look at Ted Kord (and even Dan Garret) when he was first introduced to the Blue Beetle.
The Good: The fact that Ted Kord is alive and well, I guess? Other than that, it's pretty basic Jaime Reyes stuff.
The Mixed: First off, I found the dialogue pretty stilted. It didn't feel natural at all. I could feel that the writer was trying to write casual teenage banter, and it really didn't work that well. I think that the writing for Ted's character is okay; but his stale jokes and stuff don't really seem to work with no one to bounce them off.
There is also a switch from the armor being alien-based to it being magic-based, which explains the addition of Dr. Fate. I really liked the alien origin, tying in to the Reach alien species, and it explained the violent nature of the armor and the little voice in his head. Now, that voice seems to be gone, replaced with Ted constantly chattering in Jaime's ear, almost living viacariously through him since he's no longer (?) a superhero.
Overall, a bit of a mixed bag, and it's difficult to see if this series will continue long or be that good. Other than the general stuff (teenage hero, POC, etc,) I really don't think this Blue Beetle has anything going for it. I wouldn't be surprised if this series was cancelled, and Jaime was just rolled into the Teen Titans.
The Personal: Okay, I'll be honest; I was reading this for Ted. I like Jaime, but not usually enough to read his comic. However, I have always enjoyed his character, and I liked how at times Booster Gold came in as a sort of mentor, and how Jaime was trying to carry on the good name of Blue Beetle/Ted Kord, a hero who had died for the cause. But with Ted being alive, but not being Blue Beetle, and instead serving as some kind of permanent (and somewhat unwanted) mentor to the town in general and Jaime personally, it just felt kinda off.
I mean, firstly, everyone seems to know that Ted Kord is involved with superheroes, and the very least. But it's not clear to what extent, if at all, he was ever really the Blue Beetle. Although he drives the Bug, he never mentions his previous career, and I think there is only a slight mention of his heart condition (not sure if that is canon in this new continuity.) There is no mention of whether he was part of the Justice League or even Justice League International, if he remembers dying before, or even if he's friends with Booster Gold. If you don't know, previously those two were like their own best friend comedy superhero duo, and it was legendary. And Ted died, betrayed by people he trusted, and really showed himself a hero.
So, not knowing if that's even the same Ted is kinda driving me crazy. Is this guy just a billionaire philanthropist who's good with machines and is a little bit in your face? Is there going to be some kind of tie-in with Will Magnus (is that why there is a Ms. Magnus)? Hopefully, the next volume will tell.
May 18, 2017
**** I received a digital copy of this from DC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ugh! I don't even know where to start with this one. I guess that I'll start with what was good about the book because that won't take very long. Dr. Fate shows up. That's pretty much the only thing that was good about this book and that's only because Dr. Fate is one of my all-time favorite comics characters. He's definitely one of my favorite DC characters. Without him showing up this book would have been a total bust.
That's a little harsh. I could call the art one of the good things about the book too, but there is also some bad to it as well. Artist Scott Kolins has some decent looking art in places. In other places, it's kind of meh. Overall, I thought the art was generic. You'd never go raving to a friend about how fantastic it was. You'd also never say the art was horrendous and that you'd never be able to forget it. It's simply not memorable in any way. I thought the old school Kent Nelson version of Dr. Fate had one of the best looking costumes in all of comics. Scott Kolins' depiction of Dr. Fate looks like some godawful cosplay that was pieced together by pairing the classic helmet with some old lady's muumuu dress that was bought from Goodwill. I abhor the look Kolins' Dr. Fate.
Now, on to the bad. One of the worst things about the book was Keith Giffen's dialogue that he wrote for the characters. Jaime Reyes is a teenager that was with his 2 best friends when they all found the Blue Beetle scarab that attached itself to Jaime. These teens are in modern day, but some of the lines Giffen writes for them would be more at home in a 1960's sitcom. Nowadays, who says, "There's no moss growing on you"? Thankfully, the saying was dropped after the first couple of issues. I'm 42 years old and haven't heard that since I was a child. It was a dumb saying then too. That's not the only abysmal dialogue, but it's the one bit that stands out as being the worst.
The plot that Giffen and Kolins created together isn't much better than the script. On the closing page of one issue, there is a group that bursts into the room where Blue Beetle and someone else are fighting. They tell Blue Beetle to turn him over as they pose menacingly. It leads you to believe that there is a big battle coming between these people and Blue Beetle in the following issue. The next issue starts and they're all hanging out together looking at a big hole in the ground. What? It makes no sense. How they all became friends isn't in the book and neither is any explanation on the holes. It seems like there is an issue missing. The story telling is told with a staccato cadence that doesn't seem to tie anything together. One issue ends abruptly and the next doesn't seem to precisely fit that ending. Sure, the same people show up most issues, but there is so much left out that should be included to keep this story flowing at a better pace and to be more cohesive.
New 52 Blue Beetle wasn't very good. I don't know why the reins of this series were handed over to the same guy again. I've read very few comics with Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle. I fondly remember the time when Ted Kord had that moniker. I thought Ted being a major player in this series would automatically make it better for me. I was wrong. As long as Keith Giffen continues to write this book, it will never get better. The writing for the book gets 1 star. Scott Kolins's artwork gets 2.5 stars. I averaged those 2 separate aspects of this book together to get an overall rating of 1.75 stars. I can't recommend this series to anyone. I know Blue Beetle isn't the most popular character in the DC Universe, but even he deserves better than this. There's no way this series hangs around long.
Ugh! I don't even know where to start with this one. I guess that I'll start with what was good about the book because that won't take very long. Dr. Fate shows up. That's pretty much the only thing that was good about this book and that's only because Dr. Fate is one of my all-time favorite comics characters. He's definitely one of my favorite DC characters. Without him showing up this book would have been a total bust.
That's a little harsh. I could call the art one of the good things about the book too, but there is also some bad to it as well. Artist Scott Kolins has some decent looking art in places. In other places, it's kind of meh. Overall, I thought the art was generic. You'd never go raving to a friend about how fantastic it was. You'd also never say the art was horrendous and that you'd never be able to forget it. It's simply not memorable in any way. I thought the old school Kent Nelson version of Dr. Fate had one of the best looking costumes in all of comics. Scott Kolins' depiction of Dr. Fate looks like some godawful cosplay that was pieced together by pairing the classic helmet with some old lady's muumuu dress that was bought from Goodwill. I abhor the look Kolins' Dr. Fate.
Now, on to the bad. One of the worst things about the book was Keith Giffen's dialogue that he wrote for the characters. Jaime Reyes is a teenager that was with his 2 best friends when they all found the Blue Beetle scarab that attached itself to Jaime. These teens are in modern day, but some of the lines Giffen writes for them would be more at home in a 1960's sitcom. Nowadays, who says, "There's no moss growing on you"? Thankfully, the saying was dropped after the first couple of issues. I'm 42 years old and haven't heard that since I was a child. It was a dumb saying then too. That's not the only abysmal dialogue, but it's the one bit that stands out as being the worst.
The plot that Giffen and Kolins created together isn't much better than the script. On the closing page of one issue, there is a group that bursts into the room where Blue Beetle and someone else are fighting. They tell Blue Beetle to turn him over as they pose menacingly. It leads you to believe that there is a big battle coming between these people and Blue Beetle in the following issue. The next issue starts and they're all hanging out together looking at a big hole in the ground. What? It makes no sense. How they all became friends isn't in the book and neither is any explanation on the holes. It seems like there is an issue missing. The story telling is told with a staccato cadence that doesn't seem to tie anything together. One issue ends abruptly and the next doesn't seem to precisely fit that ending. Sure, the same people show up most issues, but there is so much left out that should be included to keep this story flowing at a better pace and to be more cohesive.
New 52 Blue Beetle wasn't very good. I don't know why the reins of this series were handed over to the same guy again. I've read very few comics with Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle. I fondly remember the time when Ted Kord had that moniker. I thought Ted being a major player in this series would automatically make it better for me. I was wrong. As long as Keith Giffen continues to write this book, it will never get better. The writing for the book gets 1 star. Scott Kolins's artwork gets 2.5 stars. I averaged those 2 separate aspects of this book together to get an overall rating of 1.75 stars. I can't recommend this series to anyone. I know Blue Beetle isn't the most popular character in the DC Universe, but even he deserves better than this. There's no way this series hangs around long.
July 11, 2023
Volume 1: The More Things Change of Blue Beetle hit a lot of the notes I love about the character. I love how the book centers on Jaime not wanting to be host to the scarab, how he wants to live a normal existence as a high schooler.
What worked for me are the small moments between characters in these issues. Jaime’s struggles to understand why his mom wants to help the posse. Jaime and his dad having conversations about the importance of being transparent and not hiding things from each other.
This DC rebirth run brings in Ted Kord, the 2nd Blue Beetle, and he brings both levity and legacy to the story. I love how the two work together throughout these issues to defeat the bad guys, and even in these few issues you see affection between the two.
A big part of this volume centers on Doctor Fate wanting to kill Jaime because of the potential carnage the scarab using Jaime as its vessel would unleash on the world. For Jaime the scarab isn’t something he has full control over and he has this decision to make about remaining in the dark about the scarab or let tests be run on him.
It reminded me so much of when relatives are sick and avoid seeing doctors for fear of what they will learn.
I think this volume did a lot to let us empathize with Jaime, because his worry and fears are very grounded and relatable.
The art work really does a wonderful job of conveying Jaime’s emotions, even in the Blue Beetle suit. His face is very expressive from his excitement over a prospective romantic partner in Naomi or his heart to hearts with his father Alberto or Ted Kord. I love how expressive his eyes are in Kolin’s art and the yellow of Beetle’s eyes and Brown of Jaime’s in Fajardo’s coloring.
If I were to express a criticism it’s that I think Jaime’s stories would benefit from someone a bit closer in age to Jaime, as some of the dialogue does feel dated for teenagers in 2017. It does pull you out at times.
Overall a really enjoyable volume of comics. As it is volume one of DC Rebirth it does a solid job of introducing new readers to the world and characters of Blue Beetle and in a few short issues makes Jaime a character you want to root for.
What worked for me are the small moments between characters in these issues. Jaime’s struggles to understand why his mom wants to help the posse. Jaime and his dad having conversations about the importance of being transparent and not hiding things from each other.
This DC rebirth run brings in Ted Kord, the 2nd Blue Beetle, and he brings both levity and legacy to the story. I love how the two work together throughout these issues to defeat the bad guys, and even in these few issues you see affection between the two.
A big part of this volume centers on Doctor Fate wanting to kill Jaime because of the potential carnage the scarab using Jaime as its vessel would unleash on the world. For Jaime the scarab isn’t something he has full control over and he has this decision to make about remaining in the dark about the scarab or let tests be run on him.
It reminded me so much of when relatives are sick and avoid seeing doctors for fear of what they will learn.
I think this volume did a lot to let us empathize with Jaime, because his worry and fears are very grounded and relatable.
The art work really does a wonderful job of conveying Jaime’s emotions, even in the Blue Beetle suit. His face is very expressive from his excitement over a prospective romantic partner in Naomi or his heart to hearts with his father Alberto or Ted Kord. I love how expressive his eyes are in Kolin’s art and the yellow of Beetle’s eyes and Brown of Jaime’s in Fajardo’s coloring.
If I were to express a criticism it’s that I think Jaime’s stories would benefit from someone a bit closer in age to Jaime, as some of the dialogue does feel dated for teenagers in 2017. It does pull you out at times.
Overall a really enjoyable volume of comics. As it is volume one of DC Rebirth it does a solid job of introducing new readers to the world and characters of Blue Beetle and in a few short issues makes Jaime a character you want to root for.
July 18, 2017
I received a review copy of this book.
Like many Blue Beetle fans, the concept of a story where Ted Kord mentors Jaime Reyes is one I've been contemplating and idly hoping for for years. Unfortunately, the reality really does not live up to the Dream Comic I've built up in my head.
I haven't read the main Rebirth series but from what I've gathered online, part of the whole point of it is allegedly to restore the several years worth of friendships and emotional attachments that the New 52 erased. Except, for some reason, for Ted Kord. Where's my middle-aged slightly overweight guy with a heart condition and who is this annoying Silicon Valley tech startup guy? Where, more to the point, are his friends? What even is the point of bringing Ted Kord back if Booster Gold doesn't know about it?
Jaime is less unrecognisable than Ted but still feels off to me. It's been a long time since I've read his original series (one of the best teen superhero comics of all time) but his complete-zero-tolerance approach to the Posse seemed out of character.
Even if you aren't a longtime reader looking for a reunion with your old friends, Giffen's writing here is sloppy. Different characters reuse the same unusual idioms in a way I found distracting. Also, there was a fair amount of 'Could Jaime maybe be.... gay?!' teasing in this volume, which I'm assuming doesn't go anywhere, perhaps unfairly, but I feel like if it had I would have heard about it. Straight writers: Stop doing this. It might have endeared you to queer fans years ago but we expect more than hints and teases now.
All that said, I think Scott Kolins is a great choice of artist for this book. I particularly love the way he draws Jaime halfway between civilian and Blue Beetle looks, as shown on the cover. I don't understand why colourist Romulo Fajardo has made Brenda go blonde, though.
Like many Blue Beetle fans, the concept of a story where Ted Kord mentors Jaime Reyes is one I've been contemplating and idly hoping for for years. Unfortunately, the reality really does not live up to the Dream Comic I've built up in my head.
I haven't read the main Rebirth series but from what I've gathered online, part of the whole point of it is allegedly to restore the several years worth of friendships and emotional attachments that the New 52 erased. Except, for some reason, for Ted Kord. Where's my middle-aged slightly overweight guy with a heart condition and who is this annoying Silicon Valley tech startup guy? Where, more to the point, are his friends? What even is the point of bringing Ted Kord back if Booster Gold doesn't know about it?
Jaime is less unrecognisable than Ted but still feels off to me. It's been a long time since I've read his original series (one of the best teen superhero comics of all time) but his complete-zero-tolerance approach to the Posse seemed out of character.
Even if you aren't a longtime reader looking for a reunion with your old friends, Giffen's writing here is sloppy. Different characters reuse the same unusual idioms in a way I found distracting. Also, there was a fair amount of 'Could Jaime maybe be.... gay?!' teasing in this volume, which I'm assuming doesn't go anywhere, perhaps unfairly, but I feel like if it had I would have heard about it. Straight writers: Stop doing this. It might have endeared you to queer fans years ago but we expect more than hints and teases now.
All that said, I think Scott Kolins is a great choice of artist for this book. I particularly love the way he draws Jaime halfway between civilian and Blue Beetle looks, as shown on the cover. I don't understand why colourist Romulo Fajardo has made Brenda go blonde, though.
March 2, 2018
This is by far the most disappointing rebirth title I have read. I was confused half of the time wondering what was going on. I was confused about why characters did what they did, the placement of characters during fights and Keith Giffen does this very weird where there is an establishing panel and there are talk bubbles then the next panel it shows whos talking, but since everyone sounds the same you have to figure out which text bubble belonged to who in the previous panel. When I wasn't confused, I was annoyed by the repetitive dialogue. Did you know that Jaime Reyes hates being the Blue Beetle/having the Scarab? Well if you don't, don't worry it's going to be repeated every other panel and often times word for word. The characters were just annoying. Ted Kord played this exaggerated version of the idealist and optimistic rich guy that is oblivious to the world around him. On top of that, there was so much going on. The plot jumps around. In the first issue, it's revealed that the aunt of Jaime's friend ordered some sort of hit on the Blue Beetle, but this is never brought up again. In fact, a few issues later, Jaime is at his friend's house talking about some issue he's having and the aunt is offering for Jaime to stay for dinner. If Giffen would have taken advantage of the whole "aunt is a villain" thing there could have been so much tension during this part of the story. Instead, he only dedicates one page to this plot point.
Ultimately, just like Batman Beyond, this character has some much potential (watch Young Justice cartoon for an example) but is dragged down by weak writing and unimaginative execution of ideas. I enjoyed Batman Beyond more than this, hence why I gave this first volume one star. I will probably read the second volume since I believe that will be the end of this series as the title has been canceled.
Ultimately, just like Batman Beyond, this character has some much potential (watch Young Justice cartoon for an example) but is dragged down by weak writing and unimaginative execution of ideas. I enjoyed Batman Beyond more than this, hence why I gave this first volume one star. I will probably read the second volume since I believe that will be the end of this series as the title has been canceled.
June 16, 2017
Blue Beetle, Vol. 1: The More Things Change (Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1) by Keith Giffen, Scott Kolins, Romulo Fajardo, Jr., and Josh Reed collects the first six volumes of the Rebirth story arc of Blue Beetle. Bonded to the Blue Beetle Scarab, teenager Jamie Reyes has no idea what he's doing with one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. But he's in luck, because his predecessor--Ted Kord--is back in the DC Universe and here to serve as the young hero's mentor!Alongside fellow teen hero Doctor Fate, this duo will have to learn how to be heroes on the fly!
Blue Beetle, Vol. 1: The More Things Change is an entertaining and well drawn read. I know little of Blue Beetle's story, so I went into this book excited to learn more, but a little worried that my lack of knowledge would be an issue. Thankfully, my ignorance was not an issue and I felt fully engaged and entertained by the story. I think there was enough explanation of the Blue Beetle character- and the changes that must have taken place in previous storylines- that newcomers will be able to jump in like I did. I liked that the story includes mysticism along side action and emotional challenges for the major players. I also enjoyed the artwork and colors, and felt that they added so much to the atmosphere and character personalities as they faced the problems in the story. I do not know if long time fans of the characters will enjoy the book as much as I did, but I think new readers like myself will easily find themselves looking to discover more (both in the past and future) of the character.
Blue Beetle, Vol. 1: The More Things Change is an entertaining and well drawn read. I know little of Blue Beetle's story, so I went into this book excited to learn more, but a little worried that my lack of knowledge would be an issue. Thankfully, my ignorance was not an issue and I felt fully engaged and entertained by the story. I think there was enough explanation of the Blue Beetle character- and the changes that must have taken place in previous storylines- that newcomers will be able to jump in like I did. I liked that the story includes mysticism along side action and emotional challenges for the major players. I also enjoyed the artwork and colors, and felt that they added so much to the atmosphere and character personalities as they faced the problems in the story. I do not know if long time fans of the characters will enjoy the book as much as I did, but I think new readers like myself will easily find themselves looking to discover more (both in the past and future) of the character.
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