Blue Beetle #8
DC Comics
Writer: Keith Giffen
Artists: Hamner & Jones
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
This series, alongside Checkmate, are the two best things to come out of OYL. This title has something the comics scene hasn’t truly had since maybe Impulse was on the shelves, a believable teen protagonist. His reactions, family, friends, and concerns all seem real. The dialogue is fresh without feeling forced or overly trendy. This is a great all ages book with a new hero, which doesn’t happen often enough in mainstream comics.
This issue continues Jaime’s search for some sort of understanding of the whole scarab/hero legacy. He visits the home of one Dan Garrett, a name that may be familiar to Golden Age readers, even if the character introduced here is completely new. Since pure exposition would’ve been more boring than unbleached paper, a monster attacks. The monster is one we’ve seen before, and he’s handled a bit more easily than the first time, but he might accidentally have let slip the only real piece of information Jaime needs without even knowing it. The creators of the armor aren’t going to be acknowledged this early in the series, but careful readers might have a few suspects lined up (especially if those readers follow Green Lantern Corps). This installment was more about the journey towards acceptance than actually getting there anyway.
The interplay between Jaime and his allies is really what shines in this book. Between debating diner choices (whether or not Hooters has any culinary merit), multiple issues of trust, school foibles, and the occasional oddball surprise, all the recurring characters come off more three-dimensional than they would in other books. That not only makes the reading experience richer, but pulling for the characters intensifies the drama and interpersonal conflicts in it. It’s been years since a book has started from zero and created as much as well as this title.
The art in this series has settled into its just this side of detailed-over-cartoon vibe. The settings all look great. The characters are distinct in both appearance and build, with only slight physical exaggerations to imbue faces with a bit more emotion. The layouts are a bit straightforward (funny that a book that takes so many narrative chances doesn’t really take many risks with panel size and arrangement) but never staid or arbitrary. Even the Beetle armor, a sticking point with many fans due to its obvious manga/Kaiju influences, looks perfectly normal after a while.
