Blue Beetle #10 (Spoilers From the Blue Ball)

[DWEarhart]

Writer(s): Keith Giffen and John Rogers
Artist(s): Cully Hamner and new ongoing artist Rafael Albuquerque

The crew is watching Brenda's disappearence courtesy of the Mother Box, from a surveillance recording. La Dama's freaked out, and she has the resources to go beyond Earth to find her.

The new web crew scours the internet, searching for info on the Mother Box. There's a quick reference to Professer Stein over in Firestorm, where Orion and other New Gods are supposed to be popping up soon. Superman will also be getting a visit from some New Genesis locals.

La Dama wants Jaime to use the armor, as his dual identity is becoming the worst kept secret since Watergate.

Brenda's on an alien world, known only to the patrons of New Genesis. She's met by creatures that appear to be a crossbreed between armadillo's and hamsters.

Blue Beetle begins to hear the voice of Mother Box, and BOOM. He's on the same planet, and is immediately attacked by some type of security system with heavy firepower. The suit goes to work, and Jaime takes out the guns.

Lonar is following Brenda and her new friends. They all arrive at a statue bearing Brenda's likeness, mostly because of the red hair. The creatures turn on her, hoping to sacrifice her to fulfill a prophecy. Lonar ascends, and he and Brenda whoop mutant butt. Brenda's got some deep rooted issues with being grabbed against her will.

Beetle's in the air, and becomes the target for some mechanized birds. He leads them on a air-chase, pounds a boulder, and gets rid of them.

Brenda's lost alot of blood, and passes out in Lonar's arms. Beetle shows up, and gets the wrong idea, thinking Lonar attacked the bleeding Brenda.

He finally decides to fight, and he picks one with a New God. Not smart.

To be continued....and we get to see what the armor can really do.

Good issue. Not sure how I feel about Jaime's identity being as compromised as it is, but that's another story for another time. Good action, leading up to bigger action next issue, and c'mon - - it's the friggin' New Gods. This is awesome.

The art was top notch, and at first glance it's tough to distinguish between Hamner and Albuqurque, but after a few studies of the pages, you notice the subtle differences.

I don't know how much longer I'll be keeping this book. My LCD has assured me that he's going to be ordering more independent titles as he wants to make his store more accessible for serious readers, and by serious I mean non-mainstream tastes. If you're reading this, then I'm sure you're a serious reader. We'll see what the budget allows. If his word holds true, I'll probably end up dropping the majority of my DC and Marvel stuff. But, good stuff in this issue.

NEW GODS, BABY.

[Will.S]

I found it odd how La Dama didn't even know that she had a mother box in her possession with her being set up as a big bad and all but I suppose that was due to her being more knowledgeable in the magics rather than technology.

The best parts were with Brenda and the little aliens and the New Gods stuff with Lonar (who I know is part of Kirby's New Gods but I've never actually really seen nor heard of him before). I'm glad that Jamie is finally mastering his powers in the suit and how he talks to it but I'd like to understand the jargon at some point in the future.

I don't feel like I'm going to drop it or anything but I am looking forward to John Rogers talking full reign of the writing chores. I'm definitely going to miss Cully's art, he's a great artist and the book has had a bit too many fill ins so I wished he stayed. Rafael's art so far is similar to Cully's but the figurework isn't as exagerrated so it'll look good if not consistent.

Grade: 7/10

[Jack Zodiac]

This issue was incredible. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite new books, and the one I can't wait to read month-to-month. This issue was great, with amusing character interaction between Jaime and Paco, Paco and La Dama, Jaime and his new contacts/sidekicks, and Jaime and the suit, which is developing a quirky personality. Like a Mother Box that communicates in weird font instead of pings.

Can't wait for this arc to unfold. I'm loving the new Blue Beetle. Hammer's art was top-notch this issue, too.

[DWEarhart]

I've debated, and I'm really going to find a way to keep this book. It's very fresh, while carrying on the tradition of the teen superhero doing the balancing act between duty and personal life.

This is the first book since Manhunter that I would feel bad for dropping. It's that good, and has potential to get even better, and I am totally stoked about the New Gods coming back, plus with the New Gods omnibus recently solicited in the newest previews due to arrive, I'm ecstatic.

I'm going to do what I can to keep this book on my list.

[Captain Jim]

Those of you who are so in love with this book, have you always felt this way, or has it gotten better with time? I read the first 3-4 issues and was bored to tears.

[Jack Zodiac]

I'd say the last three or four issues is where it started to really hook me (coincidentally, when they stopped using The Posse so much). The first couple issues were alright, but I just did not like The Posse at all.

[bird]

i really dug this issue. i wasn't too sure about this series at first, i picked it up because i loved the blue beetle. the new suit was a big turn off. but it's grown on me. maybe more like in me on my spine ha hha ha ha ha ha :D ha ha ohhhh.

i kind of like not knowing what the suit is saying. jaime's interaction with the suit is enough for me understand what the suit is saying. if the suit's dialog was written in english it might come off as a bit lame.

i'm sure the posse will come back in future issues. but i like just jaime, paco and brenda. hopefully the posse will be minor side characters like jaime's family instead of a huge part of the story.

eep eepppity eep eep eppity eepp

[Will.S]

Those of you who are so in love with this book, have you always felt this way, or has it gotten better with time? I read the first 3-4 issues and was bored to tears.

I would say that it's gotten better over time and has retained a steady quality. The first few issues weren't that great aside from the establishing of his supporting cast and he's just adjusting to the BB suit.

[Shonuff]

Those of you who are so in love with this book, have you always felt this way, or has it gotten better with time? I read the first 3-4 issues and was bored to tears.

I like the book from the start but around issue 5 I started to lose intrest, and actually droppped the book for a couple months, but a friend bought issue 6 & 7 and I read it and got back into it.....

[Jack Zodiac]

i kind of like not knowing what the suit is saying. jaime's interaction with the suit is enough for me understand what the suit is saying. if the suit's dialog was written in english it might come off as a bit lame.

Yeah, the interaction between Jaime and the scarab has been good, but it was great in this issue. It's like when X-Statix talked to Doop. You didn't know what he was sayin', unless you used Milligan's decoder thing, but you could get the idea from the cast's reactions.


i'm sure the posse will come back in future issues. but i like just jaime, paco and brenda. hopefully the posse will be minor side characters like jaime's family instead of a huge part of the story.

I don't mind the idea of The Posse, but they were prominent for the first four issues, and just weren't all that interesting. Jaime's family, on the other hand, is awesome. And that they know his role as a superhero is great, like he's DC's more responsible, trustworthy Spider-Man. And Brenda and Paco are great sidekicks. Even the two new kids running his "Beetlecave" grew on my pretty quick.

Right now, this is probably one of the most entertaining books I'm picking up each month.

[DWEarhart]

This has been a journey from the ground up. We've watched this kid every step of the way, and in between. It's been a rolling journey. Issues 1-6, or maybe five, those were the testing grounds, and the setting the foundation for who's wearing the armor, and the new armor itself.

I never expected the crew to go internet, Global Frequency-style. It's the bastard children of Oracle, and are a good asset, seeing as how Oracle and the armor aren't exactly best of friends.

Using the New Gods is a good way to introduce new and curious readers into both factions of the DCU, and the New Gods omnibus being released is a dream come true for me. DC planned it out very nicely.

We're venturing into the second year of this character (third technically?), and this is when the action is supposed to escalate. This is probably leading into DC's next big event, but I just want a good story. I don't care where I'm finding it. I'll drop the book when the stories start sucking, and pick it up if things sound interesting again.

The big events are hard to get around, but it's possible.

[Ryan Day]

I get the impression that John Rogers has been doing more of the writing over the past few issues in preparation for taking it all on solo, and I think that's a big reason for the improvement. I was interested but still kind of unsatisfied by the first few issues, but #7 completely sold me on the series - an Infinite Crisis tie-in that not only didn't suck, but was completely awesome. The book's felt much lighter and more quickly paced since then.

The other big flaw was some of the fill-in art, much of it seeming to be pretty last-minute, so I'm hoping Albuquerque has a more reliable schedule. So far, so good, though - if I hadn't read the credits, I wouldn't have known that Cully didn't do the whole issue himself.

[DWEarhart]

97/116 - BLUE BEETLE

03/2006: Blue Beetle #1 — 50,678 — [69,752]

04/2006: Blue Beetle #2 — 43,770 (-13.6%) — [50,190]

05/2006: Blue Beetle #3 — 41,711 (- 4.7%)

06/2006: Blue Beetle #4 — 38,622 (- 7.4%)

07/2006: Blue Beetle #5 — 35,490 (- 8.1%)

08/2006: Blue Beetle #6 — 33,181 (- 6.5%)

09/2006: Blue Beetle #7 — 29,079 (-12.4%)

10/2006: –

11/2006: Blue Beetle #8 — 25,861 (-11.1%)

11/2006: Blue Beetle #9 — 23,785 (- 8.0%)

—————-

6 months: -40.5%These numbers are utterly disastrous, on the other hand. The more established members of the creative team, co-writer Keith Giffen and artist Cully Hamner, are jumping ship in early 2007, so things are unlikely to get better.

[Jack Zodiac]

Pfft. Have you seen some of the numbers for other books? Jonah Hex doesn't sell for beans, and it's still around, and Wonder Woman's overall sales have been a joke, but that crapstain of a book isn't going anywhere. I wouldn't count Blue Beetle out just yet. It needs to find its footing, and Jaime needs to get more exposure as a character. A lot of the new guard does.

[Ryan Day]

I think DC will give the book at least until a bit after the upcoming New Gods event, since it looks like it'll be tying in significantly.

And according to the cover John Rogers posted at his blog (http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2006/12/bb-14.html), there's an extra-special guest star in #14.

Anyway, I hope DC gives it some extra slack. It's the only DCU book not written by Grant Morrison I have any interest in reading...

[Jack Zodiac]

Heh. I love the "We Check I.D.s" sign hanging right above him. Guy's getting around the DCU a lot these days. He's one of a handful of Giffen-era Leaguer who's actually popular/alive.

[DWEarhart]

Maybe now we'll get some answers, and maybe a quick throwdown between some Beetle and some Lanterns.

Looking forward to that one. The book could possibly benefit from the New Gods' return. It seems wise of DC to place them in some of their lower selling books such as Firestorm and Blue Beetle.

[SKETCHSANCHEZ]

This book and Shadowpact are two of my favorites at DC right, they're both similar in how they were both pretty "meh" for the first couple of issues, but continually got better and better.