Post by ryokowerx on Sept 28, 2011 18:24:31 GMT -5
(cross-posted from my Facebook account. I hadn't originally intended on picking up all the new #1s but the 50% off deal at DCBS turned out to be too good to pass up. Feel free to discuss, agree or disagree)
So what the hell is this? I'm going to try to write a review of each of the new #1 issues put out by DC Comics. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, etc.) is completely restarting most* of the history they have established with their comic books since 1939. (* some continuity remains but all events that remain are considered to have happened within a five year span of time) If you're still confused, think of it as everything being set back to square one and all these superheroes are new things to show up rather than a given part of the world.
Anything I say from this point on is my opinion and reflects only my feelings. Please take your nerd rage elsewhere if you disagree or at least be civil in your disagreement.
NOTE: I have not read Flashpoint #5 which kicks off this new history so I'm going to try to approach these issues as if someone completely new to comics were picking them up for the first time. If you're interested in what I have to say, I'd encourage you to go to your local comic book shop (if you have one) or you can buy them digitally at Comixology (http://www.comixology.com).
PLOT SUMMARY:
The comic opens in Space Sector 2 as the scarab soldier for The Reach, Khaji-Kai, destroys his own homeworld. As the planet is being sealed off, new scarab scouts are sent into Sector 3 to find new worlds to recruit soldiers from. One scarab runs into a Green Lantern and he blasts it but it gets away and he sounds the alarm. Meanwhile on Earth, we meet Jaime, a high school student, Paco, a dropout who runs with a gang, and Brenda, the girl Jaime has a crush on and who's mother is involved in some pretty shady dealings. Jaime wants to go to her party but his parents won't let him. In the meantime we see Brenda's mother on the phone with a group of villains who are to retrieve a valuable item from a bunch of her smugglers who are currently being attacked by villains in the employ of The Brain and Mullah. As Jaime and Paco drive by on their way to Brenda's party, the fight spills outside and damages Paco's car, throwing the backpack they were fighting over into the back of the car. Jaime grabs it and runs. One of the villains throws a knife after him and it hits the backpack, activating the scarab inside. It melds with Jaime's body and he transforms into Blue Beetle.
THE ART:
Ig Guara is the artist. Despite his work being a touch on the cartoony side when it comes to characters, I really like the art. It's also nice to see that the Guara has a good grasp on hispanic culture and can draw characters that don't look like parodies of the real thing.
THE STORY:
I've missed you Jaime! Tony Bedard does the writing and it is good. There isn't anything really deep or especially new as a lot of the plot elements introduced here were also in the original series but it was good then and it's still good now. The only thing that kind of got tiresome was the use of so much Spanish. I know the characters are hispanic but make it a little easy on the rest of us okay? Some footnotes or something would be helpful. Most importantly though, the comic is just fun.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
$2.99 will get you Blue Beetle and, if you're not familiar with the character, I'd recommend you buying it. New readers don't need to know anything as the comic pretty much starts over from the previous series. It's a fun read with good artwork. However, if the trend continues of rehashing the start of the old series, I'll be skipping the first arc until they get that out of the way and start new material.
NEXT WEEK:
DC Universe Presents #1
BLUE BEETLE #1
So what the hell is this? I'm going to try to write a review of each of the new #1 issues put out by DC Comics. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, DC Comics (home of Superman, Batman, etc.) is completely restarting most* of the history they have established with their comic books since 1939. (* some continuity remains but all events that remain are considered to have happened within a five year span of time) If you're still confused, think of it as everything being set back to square one and all these superheroes are new things to show up rather than a given part of the world.
Anything I say from this point on is my opinion and reflects only my feelings. Please take your nerd rage elsewhere if you disagree or at least be civil in your disagreement.
NOTE: I have not read Flashpoint #5 which kicks off this new history so I'm going to try to approach these issues as if someone completely new to comics were picking them up for the first time. If you're interested in what I have to say, I'd encourage you to go to your local comic book shop (if you have one) or you can buy them digitally at Comixology (http://www.comixology.com).
WARNING! SPOILERS OFF THE PORT BOW CAP'N!
PLOT SUMMARY:
The comic opens in Space Sector 2 as the scarab soldier for The Reach, Khaji-Kai, destroys his own homeworld. As the planet is being sealed off, new scarab scouts are sent into Sector 3 to find new worlds to recruit soldiers from. One scarab runs into a Green Lantern and he blasts it but it gets away and he sounds the alarm. Meanwhile on Earth, we meet Jaime, a high school student, Paco, a dropout who runs with a gang, and Brenda, the girl Jaime has a crush on and who's mother is involved in some pretty shady dealings. Jaime wants to go to her party but his parents won't let him. In the meantime we see Brenda's mother on the phone with a group of villains who are to retrieve a valuable item from a bunch of her smugglers who are currently being attacked by villains in the employ of The Brain and Mullah. As Jaime and Paco drive by on their way to Brenda's party, the fight spills outside and damages Paco's car, throwing the backpack they were fighting over into the back of the car. Jaime grabs it and runs. One of the villains throws a knife after him and it hits the backpack, activating the scarab inside. It melds with Jaime's body and he transforms into Blue Beetle.
THE ART:
Ig Guara is the artist. Despite his work being a touch on the cartoony side when it comes to characters, I really like the art. It's also nice to see that the Guara has a good grasp on hispanic culture and can draw characters that don't look like parodies of the real thing.
THE STORY:
I've missed you Jaime! Tony Bedard does the writing and it is good. There isn't anything really deep or especially new as a lot of the plot elements introduced here were also in the original series but it was good then and it's still good now. The only thing that kind of got tiresome was the use of so much Spanish. I know the characters are hispanic but make it a little easy on the rest of us okay? Some footnotes or something would be helpful. Most importantly though, the comic is just fun.
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
$2.99 will get you Blue Beetle and, if you're not familiar with the character, I'd recommend you buying it. New readers don't need to know anything as the comic pretty much starts over from the previous series. It's a fun read with good artwork. However, if the trend continues of rehashing the start of the old series, I'll be skipping the first arc until they get that out of the way and start new material.
NEXT WEEK:
DC Universe Presents #1