Blue Beetle #6, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis

February 19, 2012 Marc Fishman 0 Comments

Blue Beetle #6
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Ig Guara, J.P. Mayer, Mark Irwin, and Pete Pantazis

My reviews these days seem to swing one of two ways; I’m a flower-pedal-dropping-sun-is-shining-bless-you-all hippy… or a snarky-snarling he-beast, riding on his high horse of “holier-than-thou”. Blue Beetle #6 does enough right, so I guess I’m in the manic mode this week. So enjoy the sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows people… It’s going to be a yum-dum-doodle-dum day!

For those uninitiated, the basic premise is very direct. High Schooler Jaime Reyes fell upon an alien scarab that transforms him into an Iron-Man-meets-Green-Lanternesque super-hero. The basic twist though is that the alien race that sent said scarab enlists their hosts as unwilling slaves to their evil scheme; Infiltrate the host’s world, send out a beacon to the mother ships, and conquer. Jaime is able to “shut up” his suit’s inner monologue enough to stop the evil inside, but is knee-deep in villains chasing after him, and his friends and family finding out his new double-life. Suffice to say, the concept is on par with Spider-Man to a point, which I find pretty refreshing here in the DCnU. Where Batman, Superman, and the like all seem to be mid-twenties, and pretty self-assured… Reyes is decidedly young, and unskilled when it comes to matters of baddie brew-ha-has.

Blue Beetle 6 concludes (I think, it’s not entirely clear) the first arc of the series. By this point, Tony Bedard has made life a living hell for poor Jaime. Shortly after acquiring his extra-terrestrial togs, the Blue Beetle faces off against a menagerie of evil, and gets his best friend nearly killed in the crossfire. Oh yeah, he also found out the aunt of his gal-pal is an evil magic-using super-crime lord. Also, I’m pretty certain he hasn’t done his book report yet. The icing on the poop cake? His suit is pretty pissed that he keeps stopping it from doing maximum damage, and has almost blown his own cover too many times to count. As a programmed counter-measure, the suit launches a probe to replicate a more suitable anti-beetle to get the job done. Oh, that evil-beetle? It’s Paco, Jaime’s almost-dead best friend. Nifty, huh!

Unlike some recent books I’ve not been so keen on, Bedard knows that he’s not let-up on the action throughout the book… and finds a way to end the continual climb of action by forcing Jaime to do something I’ve not seen any other super-hero in the DCnU do yet; He uses his brain to win the fight. Even the uncompromisingly amazing Scott Snyder had Batman muscle his way out of a tricky situation by the end of his 6th issue. To see Bedard bring back a quality to this character I enjoyed when Jaime had a book one universe ago makes me swoon. You see, even when he was introduced back in 2006, Keith Giffen and John Rodgers built a foundation for the character that was heavy on intellect and wit. It’s a shame so many cape books feel the need to resort to the biggest gun, the best super power, or the insane plot twist to clear a room. When a character is forced to think (and by extent, we the audience do too), there’s always a sense of accomplishment. In this issue, faced to go toe-to-toe with his best-friend-turned-baddie, Jaime concocts a way to save the day that isn’t tied to his suit making a fancy widget. Maybe when he’s done he could go to Marvel, and tell them how they could have saved Fear Itself from being a waste.

The artwork here by Guara, services the action well. While his high schoolers look a bit too mature, it’s never enough to take you out of the story. The evil-beetle is drawn with a real menace… a perfect counterpoint to Jaime’s Blue Beetle, who always has an air of bewildered awe. Kudos to the colorist Pete Pantazis, who employs a few subtle glows and special effects that always compliment Guara’s sharp figure work. When the action ramps up, so too, do Guara’s pencils. Kinetic sequences show off the weight of battle well. While a few panels leave backgrounds by the way side, the story moves fast enough you won’t notice (until you’re writing a review, and going back over the pages…). And when we reach the emotional climax of the book, even behind alien symbiotic super-suits… Guara lets loose with truly great expressions.

Ultimately, Blue Beetle was one of those titles I picked up very tentatively when it hit the shelves. I was a big fan of the book when it launched back in 2006, and was leery that “rebooting” a character that was still so fresh would be a waste of ink and paper. Luckily, Bedard allowed himself to be influenced by the bedrock of that series, but not tie himself down to it. In 6 issues, he’s created a solid cast, great action beats, and smartly chooses to remember his protagonist is only a teenager. While he’s gotten a wee ham-fisted with his overuse of spanglish, and has yet to really let the book catch its breath… I’m liking the direction Bedard is taking. It’s not as good as his romp back in R.E.B.E.L.S., but it’s damned close. With Beetle taking off for the Big Apple in the next arc, I’m looking forward to continuing the adventure. Let’s hope the series continues to find footing where other books (ahem, Static?) have failed.