Blue Beetle #1
Issue Title: Metamorphosis
Written by Tony Bedard
Pencilled by Ig Guara
Inked by Ruy Jose
I know nothing of the Blue Beetle. I donʼt know his origin, his skill set or his history. I picked up this book thinking it was going to be an Iron Man build your own suit type story. So, imagine my surprise when the first panel opens up on an intergalactic war in its last dark days. We are introduced to the Reach who seem to be an intergalactic terrorist organization that use robotic/organic exoskeletons to force natives to destroy their own people. Throw in a little Green Lantern action and you have one hell of a prologue. But does the rest of the issue pay off?
For the most part it does. Our hero, a teenage Jamie Reyes, is instantly likable. (Which is lucky since there is no costumed antics in this issue) Its oddly refreshing to have a high school aged super-hero and I look forward to his normal life issues as much as his hero troubles. But this issue is a slow burn. Itʼs like buying Spider-man and only seeing
up to the point where he crawls up that first skyscraper. Iʼm not sure where the story is going yet and that worries me as a reader but the atmosphere and character work are good enough that Iʼm willing to keep going.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
I knew nothing and never felt lost or like I was missing something. Knowing who the
Green Lanterns will imbue the story with a larger sense of scope.
VERDICT
Buy It- A solid origin story with a refreshingly non white protagonist, promising sci fi
scope and witty captions like “translated from spanglish”
