Showcase Presents Blue Beetle


By Len Wein, Joey Cavalieri, Paris Cullins, Gil Kane, Ross Andru, Don Heck & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-5147-5 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

The Blue Beetle premiered in Mystery Men Comics #1, released by Fox Comics and dated August 1939. The pulp-inspired hero was created by Charles Nicholas and possibly initially scripted by Will Eisner. “Charles Nicholas” was a shared pseudonym used by Chuck Cuidera (Blackhawk), Jack Kirby (everything) and Charles Wojtkowski (Blonde Phantom, Young Allies, Nyoka, Iron Corporal) with that last one generally attributed with inventing our remarkably resilient Azure Avenger.

The Cobalt Crimecrusher was inexplicably popular from the start: translating his comics venues into merchandise, a radio show and even a newspaper comic strip. Constantly traded and acquired by numerous publishers, BB survived the extinction of most of them: blithely undergoing many revisions to his origins and powers. By the mid-1950s he ended up at Charlton Comics, appearing sporadically in a few long-inventoried tales before seemingly fading away. However, that was only until the superhero resurgence of the early 1960s when Joe Gill, Bill Fraccio, Tony Tallarico and, latterly, neophyte scripter/devoted Golden Age acolyte Roy Thomas revised and revived the character. Technically, it resulted in a 10-issue run cover-dated June 1964 to 1966 (actually two separate 5-issue runs), but if you also check out our Action Heroes Archive review you’ll see that it wasn’t quite that simple…

Pulling together many disparate strands from previous incarnations, former cop and valiant troubleshooter Dan Garrett was reshaped into an archaeologist gifted with a mysterious and magical ancient Egyptian scarab recovered from lost tomb. This trinket would transform him into a lightning-throwing, flying superman whenever he touched the scarab and uttered the trigger phrase “Khaji Dha!”

After another brief sojourn in comic book limbo, Garret (note the different spelling, it varies from issue to issue, but we’ll stick to double “r”, double “t”, okay?) resurfaced as Steve Ditko took on the concept, tweaking it to construct a fresh new, retooled hero. This one started as a back-up feature in Captain Atom #83 (November 1966) before graduating to his own solo title. Ted Kord was a troubled scientist with mystery and undisclosed tragedy in his past, as well as an unspecified connection to Garrett. In fact, he was the police’s prime suspect in the academic’s disappearance and possible murder…

The Ditko version was sublime but short-lived: an early casualty when the Sixties Superhero boom reversed and horror again ruled the newsstands, Charlton’s “Action Hero” experiment was gone by the close of 1968, leading a long line of costumed champions into limbo and clearing the decks for a horror renaissance.

Time passed and reading tastes changed again. After the cosmos-consuming Crisis on Infinite Earths re-sculpted DC’s universes in 1986, a host of stars and even second stringers got floor-up rebuilds to fit them for a tougher, uncompromising, straight-shooting, no-nonsense New American readership of the Reagan era. In the intervening years, DC had pursued an old policy: acquiring characters and properties of defunct publishers. A handful of Charlton buy-outs had featured in Crisis and now Captain Atom, The Question and two Blue Beetles seamlessly slotted into the new DCU, ahead of the rest of the lost contingent…

Primarily scripted and steered by Len Wein (Swamp Thing, New X-Men, Batman, almost everything else), this massive monochrome compilation gathers the entire 24-issue run of Blue Beetle volume 6 (cover-dates June 1986 through May 1988) plus a superb crossover origin/restated backstory from Secret Origins (volume 2) #2, originally released as a vanguard to the series. Sans preamble, a steady diet of light-hearted swashbuckling begins with Len Wein, Paris Cullins & Bruce D, Patterson’s ‘Out from the Ashes!’ wherein a Chicago office building burns down. Suddenly, above the roaring flames a giant mechanical bug floats into view and from it plunges rookie hero Blue Beetle. He is desperate but determined to help the beleaguered firefighters… but not with the conflagration. His target is deranged super-arsonist Firefist, but the glorified acrobat’s tricky gadgets seem to be no match for the heavily armoured foe’s ferocious firepower. Barely escaping with his life, Beetle takes some comfort from the fact that even if he didn’t stop the bad guy or save the skyscraper, he has rescued an imperilled fireman…

In the aftermath, the masked man heads back to work: revealed to us as junior genius Ted Kord who has just (most reluctantly) assumed control of his tyrannical father’s technological innovations and manufacturing business. Ted doesn’t like business but loves inventing, which is why he spends as much time as possible with the company’s quirky thinktank geniuses Jeremiah Duncan, Melody Case and Murray Takamoto. Now he learns the company is sitting on a discovery of Earth-shattering importance. What Ted doesn’t know is that someone nefarious and extremely close wants it, or that far, far away someone has broken into the crypt on Pago Island where Ted’s mad scientist uncle Jarvis Kord killed Dan Garrett – the original Blue Beetle. An archaeological rival, Conrad Carapax is seeking the fabled something that cost his competitor his life…

Suddenly, Firefist attacks again and the neophyte hero rushes off to challenge him. The woefully one-sided battle gets serious in ‘This City’s Not for Burning!’ as the arsonist almost kills our hero again, forcing Ted to get smart and investigate where and why; not how. Despite catastrophic collateral their final clash leads to victory of sorts but leaves the hero open to betrayal from within his trust circle and targeted by a major supervillain seeking the modified wonder element Promethium undergoing modifications in Kord Inc’s labs…

Also adding to Ted’s woes and generally amping up tensions is slowly circling – and rapidly spiralling – cop Lt. Max Fisher who cannot shake the conviction that the glib scientist in his sights knows something about the Garret disappearance…

With Firefist apparently dead, two separate evil masterminds amp up their plans with the disguised janitor at affiliate/partner S.T.A.R. Labs convincing career criminal Farley Fleeter to revive his old gang The Madmen to attack Kord Inc. in BB #3’s ‘If This Be Madness…!’ As the melee is interrupted by the handily close-by Blue Beetle, corporate machinations and untrustworthy trusted friends all further their own treacherous schemes against Ted, allowing one of those villains in the shadows to make a move, revealing ‘The Answer is Alchemy!’ Here old Flash-foe Al Desmond/Mr. Element/Doctor Alchemy steals the hotly contested Promethium sample to reenergise his failing, matter-reshaping Philosopher’s Stone, but the battle to reclaim it is wild and violent, and against all odds the Beetle triumphs…

With a plethora of soap opera subplots in place, the tales assume a more action-driven shape and pace in the Azure Avenger’s first team up. ‘Ask the Right Question!’ introduces DC’s remodelled iteration of Ditko’s other, Other, OTHER immortal creation – albeit prior to his reinvention by Denny O’Neil & Denys Cowan. As up-&-coming masked mobster The Muse organises Chicago’s disparate gangs into an army a well-dressed but faceless vigilante in a powerplay to seize control from reigning Don Vincent Perignon. After the customary introductory confusion-clash Beetle and Question (AKA investigative journalist Vic Sage) set about dismantling the organisation and usurpation in ‘Face-Off!’ (BB #6) and blockbusting, Dell Barras-inked conclusion ‘Gang War!’

A delightful sentiment-soaked divertissement comes in BB #8 as ‘Henchman!’ sees Ted Kord reject job applicant and former criminal minion Ed Buckley, inadvertently driving him back to lawlessness and a position with evil genius The Calculator: a tragic mistake that the hero is happy to pay for when reformed-&-honest Ed subsequently saves the Beetle’s life…

The other lurking super-villain reveals himself at last in #9 & 10 as ‘Timepiece!’ (Cullins & Barras art) and sequel ‘Time on his Hands!’ (Chuck Patton & Barras) – both tie-ins to crossover event Legends. They see America’s superheroes outlawed by Presidential decree as part of New God Darkseid’s plan to destroy the very concept of heroism. As Ted’s conscience and desire to save innocents compete, another close friend falls foul of time bandit Chronos, and he suits up to settle the matter with the villain, law or no law. Meanwhile elsewhere, the Kord Promethium project has advanced to a point where it’s ready to be stolen by more lurking fiends, whilst on Pago Island, Carapax has uncovered a terrifying menace…

Guest-starring the New Teen Titans (Nightwing, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, Starfire, Jericho & Changeling/Beast Boy) ‘Havoc is… the Hybrid’ (#11, Cullins & Barras) sees deranged former Doom Patrol member Mento (Steve Dayton) unleash a personal pack of Promethium-mutated villains against the super-team with Blue Beetle caught as ‘Man in the Middle’ (co-scripted by Joey Cavalieri) before Wein, Cullins & Barras reveal the final fate of another unlucky unfaithful Kord collaborator in ‘Prometheus Unbound!’

Simultaneously, Carapax finally recovers and is subsumed by the maverick tech he accidentally unleashed. In BB #14 to Ted makes a momentous decision. Set on finally confronting Max Fisher about the death of Garrett, Ted is unaware that the cop is already facing ‘The Phantom of Pago Island!’ after travelling to the atoll and meeting a monster which promptly slaughters his entire party. Resolved to deal with Fisher, Blue Beetle arrives in time to join him ‘In Combat with… Carapax!’ (pencilled by Ross Andru) with both escaping believing the killer robot gone for good. As they form a tenuous new relationship with Fisher increasingly exploiting the fact that he knows Kord is a superhero, another manic supervillain (Catalyst) and megalomaniacal business competitor (Klaus Cornelius) lurk in the wings, kidnapping Jeremiah Duncan for info on Kord’s business secrets…

In ‘Anywhere I Hang my Head is Home!’ – art by Andru & Danny Bulanadi – cop and vigilante unite to catch a ruthless “Skid Row Slasher”, before Fisher oversteps by picking targets for the Beetle, even as the gallant hero is battling new masked menace Overthrow in #17’s ‘The Way the Brawl Bounces!’ (Cullins & Bulanadi) before and inevitably the original Blue Beetle returns to reclaim his mantle in ‘…And Death Shall Have No Dominion’ (all Cullins art): a grim and brutal clash with a shocking sting in the tale.

Exposing criminality and deceptions at S.T.A.R. Labs, Ted hunts a potential heir of Dan Garrett and clashes with a bizarre mechanoid organism in #19’s ‘A Matter of Animus!’ (as Andru & Bulanadi begin a sustained run), prompting a trip to Kord’s middle east facility as ‘Iran Scam!’ (another company crossover event component – this time for Millennium) reveals how a close enemy is actually an agent for ancient alien cabal the Manhunters, in a sly cover for a worthy pop at how women are oppressed under the Ayatollahs. It’s counterbalanced and leavened by purer superheroics in follow-up Millennium chapter ‘If This Works, It’ll Be a Miracle!’ (BB #21) wherein Ted and Justice League International take on a nest of Manhunters.

Crisis successfully averted, Ted is blindsided by vengeful Chronos who traps the Blue Beetle millions of years in the past before Kord turns the tables on him in #22’s ‘A Question of Time!’ (Andru, Gil Kane & Bulanadi art) before returning to now and a second episode with the Madmen in ‘Don’t Get Mad, Get Even!’ (Don Heck & Bulanadi). Now the series abruptly terminates on a cliffhanger as – in the midst of battling Carapax again – Ted’s dad Thomas Kord reclaims “his” company from the son and heir who’s ruining it in ‘If At first, You Don’t Succeed…!’

With the solo series ended, Ted made a welcome home as a beloved but underestimated comedy foil in various Justice League iterations, whilst this book closes on that promised origin yarn ,as seen in Secret Origins #2. Crafted by Wein & Kane, ‘Echoes of Future Past!’ spectacularly traces valiant Dan Garrett’s life, career and ultimate sacrifice in a bravura masterclass on superheroism as a humble college professor becomes a divinely chosen wonder man saving Earth from undead giant mummies, corrupt governments, scientific madmen, supervillains and worse before paying the final price and inspiring a lineage of heroes…

With covers by Cullins Patterson, Barras, Terry Austin, Patton, Andru, Bulanadi, Steve Bové, Dick Giordano, Mike Mignola, Chris Wozniak, Keith S. Wilson, Garry Leach, Gil Kane & Ricardo Villagran this bold bonanza of Fights ‘n’ Tights delights is a book no superhero lover should miss – unless DC finally get around to giving one of comics’ grandest brands the archive treatment he/they deserve…
© DC 1986, 1987, 1988, 2015, DC Comics All Rights Reserved.

Identity Crisis 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition


By Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales & Michael Bair & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-2592-5 (HB/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Dark Highlights Not to Be Forgotten… 9/10

This book includes Discriminatory Content included for dramatic effect.

For most of us older acolytes, comics – drenched as they are in childhoods shared and solitary – are a nostalgic wonderland as much as fantasy playground. We grew up with certain characters and they mean a lot to us. It’s often a wrench to share such golden moments with other – usually new or just younger – disciples, especially if those new guys have different notions on what we communally cherish.

Jam-packed with all the heroes and villains and supporting cast Silver Agers and Boomers grew up with, 2004 miniseries Identity Crisis was, more than any other, the story that changed the tone and timbre of the DC universe forever.

For such an impressive, far-reaching comics event, the core collection is a rather slim and swift read. Whilst the serialised comic book drove the narrative forward in the manner of a whodunit, most of the character by-play and staggeringly tectonic ripples of the bare-bones murder-mystery at the heart of the story could only be properly experienced in interlinked, individual issues of involved (or perhaps “implicated”) titles. As this was all absorbed week-by-week, month-by-month, the cumulative effect was both bewildering and engrossing, and I doubt that such a muti-level entertainment experience could be duplicated or even attempted in traditional publishing… or any other medium.

Comprising and compiling Identity Crisis #1-7, with additional editorial material from Identity Crisis, Absolute Edition, this potent memento mori opens with an ‘Introduction by Dan Didio’ explaining some hows and whys of the tale. Still controversial after all these years, the plot unfolds next, involving DC heroes brutally, painfully and uncompromisingly re-assessing their careers whilst frantically hunting a murderer.

This assailant struck too close to home however, killing Sue Dearborn-Dibny, the beloved and adored-by-all wife of second-string hero/deceptively top drawer detective The Elongated Man. The deed is done in ‘Coffin’, exposing a toxic ‘House of Lies’ and leading to escalating incidents that point to a cape-&-cowl ‘Serial Killer’ on the rampage. However, with heroes at each other’s throats and cuttingly questioning past mistakes – especially a very vocal younger generation of costumed champions only just learning of cover-ups and dubious decisions made by their mentors – eventually, rational heads and deductive procedures force distraught protagonists to ask ‘Who Benefits’.

This leads to revelatory discoveries on ‘Father’s Day’ and appalling disclosures between ‘Husbands and Wives’ before the culprit is unmasked and the superhero community reels and begins a long, painful recovery…

As the investigation proceeds, the heroes – and villains – confront and reassess many of their bedrock principles including tactics, allegiances and even the modern validity of that genre staple, the Secret Identity.

Throughout, characterisation is spot-on and dialogue is memorable with the artwork never short of magnificent. Moreover, this time the aftershocks of revelation did indeed live up to their hype. How sad then than this central book feels like a rushed “Readers Digest” edition, whilst many of the key moments are scattered in a dozen other (unrelated) collections. Maybe it’s time to start more modern omnibus collected editions, and even make them available digitally  too?

As befits a 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, there is a vast amount of extra material, and behind the scenes treats including a ‘Cover Gallery’, heavily-illustrated essays ‘The Making of Identity Crisis’, ‘The Making of The Covers’, ‘The Making of the Action Figures’ (!!) and an appreciative memorial piece ‘Remembering Michael Turner’.

Gripping, painful in places but extraordinarily cathartic, Identity Crisis is a book every superhero fan must see and will never forget.
© 2004, 2005, 2011, 2024 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Tiny Titans volume 3: Sidekickin’ it


By Art Baltazar & Franco with (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2653-4 (TPB/Digital edition)

Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Fun Family Fables …9/10

DC’s characters have become a mainstay of kids’ television fare with their much-missed Cartoon Network imprint arguably the last bastion of children’s comics in America, consolidating the link between TV and 2D fun and thrills with stunning interpretations of such TV landmarks as Ben 10, Scooby Doo, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory and others. That kids’ comics line also reverse-engineered truly exceptional material based on TV iterations of their proprietary characters like Legion of Super Heroes, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Supergirl and Krypto the Super Dog as well as material like Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! which was merely similar in tone and content.

For many – me included – the imprint’s finest release, and one which has a created a sub-genre recreated at many different publishers, was a series ostensibly aimed at beginning readers, but which became a firm favourite of older fans… and a multi-award winner too.

Superbly mirroring the magical wonderland inside a child’s head where everything is happily mixed up together, Tiny Titans is a sublime antidote to continuity cops and slavish fan-boy quibbling (erm, uh…  I think you’ll find that in…) by reducing the vast cast of the Teen Titans Go! animated series, the greater boutique of the mainstream comic books and (ultimately) the entire DC Universe to little kids and their parents/guardians in the wholesome kindergarten environment of Sidekick City Elementary School. It’s a scenario spring-loaded with in-jokes, sight-gags and beloved yet gently mocked paraphernalia of generations of strip readers and screen-watchers…

Collecting issues #13-18 (April to September 2009) of the magically madcap and infinitely addictive all-ages mini-masterpiece, this third volume begins on a petulant note with Pet Club at Wayne Manor. Art Baltazar and co-creator Franco (Aureliani) have mastered a witty, bemusingly gentle manner of storytelling that just happily rolls along, with the assorted characters getting by and trying to make sense of the great big world, having “Adventures in Awesomeness”. The method generally involves stringing together smaller incidents and moments into an overall themed portmanteau tale and it works astoundingly well.

After a handy and as-standard identifying roll-call page, ‘Tough Cookie’ features Raven feeding park critters but desperately striving to keep her hard-as-nails rep intact, after which bubble-headed Psimon goes to science club and gets caught in some uncool name-calling. The main event kicks off with the kids and their pets convening at Stately Wayne Manor and incurring the wrath of dapper, long-suffering manservant Alfred. The Penguins don’t help… no, wait, they actually do. ‘A Hot Spot’ then finds Raven and Kid Devil trading power sets with Firestarter Hotspot and evoking the joys of being a Bird Scout, after which The Kroc Files shows the Wayne’s wonderful ultimate butler and the roguish reptilian each demonstrating ‘How to Pick up the Dry Cleaning’, before the issue ends with a Tiny Titans Bubble Squares puzzle and a pinup of bird-themed champions Hawk, Dove and Raven.

Sea-themed issue #14 opens with a proudly shouted ‘Aw Yeah Titans!’ and class trip to Paradise Island. The boys just can’t understand why they have to stand on tables while the girls can run about freely wherever they like and play with the all the weird animals…

Back in Sidekick City, Cyborg’s vacuum cleaning invention runs amok while Beast Boy and little Miss Martian stage a shapeshifting duel, even as on Paradise Island ‘Stay for Dinner’ sees Wonder Girl and the other Wonder Girl guests for lunch – as lunch – of Mrs. Cyclops.

Wrapping up affairs is another Kroc Files (‘How to Bake a Chocolate Cake’), a string of gags in Time for Jokes by the Riddler’s kid Enigma plus a ‘Paradise Island Pet Club Pin-up!’

The next issue finds ‘Bunnies, Bunnies, Everywhere Bunnies’ at Wayne Manor, where Alfred opts to stay home and watch the kids and their pets. Sadly, magician Zatara joins the fun and once more loses his magic wand to playful Beppo the Super Monkey. Cue rapid rabbit reproduction…

Elsewhere, Deathstroke’s daughter Rose lands her share of babysitting duties, and soon learns how to handle the Tiny Terror Titans before a ‘Tiny Titans Epilogue’ reveals a marvellous secret regarding one of those proliferating bunnies, as issue concludes with more activity freebies: ‘Pet Club Mammal Travel’ and a bonus pin-up of Rose and those Tiny Terrors…

Issue #16 revisits a perennial puzzle of comics, specifically ‘Who’s the Fastest?!’ as Coach Lobo sets his heart on making the Sidekick Elementary kids ultra-fit. Part of the regimen includes a footrace around the entire world, and Supergirl, Inertia and Kid Flash all think they have it nailed…

Lesser-powered tykes find unique ways to cope with natural obstacles – such as the ocean – in ‘As the Race Continues…’ while the Coach takes a load off with coffee and comics, and the Wonder Girls and Shelly trade costume tips. Down south, late starters Mas y Menos join the final dash to the finish where a non-starter surprisingly triumphs…

In the aftermath, shrinking-hero contingent The tiny Tiny Titans indulge in ‘One more Contest’ before an ‘Aw Yeah Pin-up’ of Supergirl and Kid Flash follows a Tiny Titans Coin Race activity page. ‘Raven’s Book of Magic Spells’ starts as a play date but is bewilderingly disrupted when Trigon’s devilish daughter shows off her latest present in ‘Mixin’ it Up’: accidentally manifesting unlikely mystical heavyweight Mr. Mxyzptlk. And so, hilarity and impish insanity ensue…

Back in what passes for the land of reason, Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg are tasked with recovering Batman’s cape and mask in ‘Battle for the Cow’ (if you read DC regularly, you know how painful a pun that is). Naturally, Starfire and Bumblebee have a sensible, pain-free solution to their woes, after which the Boy Wonder’s birthday party displays a fashion parade of alternative costumes in the present-giving portion of festivities…

Those tiny Titans go clothes hunting in ‘Shop Shrinking’ while Kid Flash, Robin and Cyborg ask ‘Hey, What’s Continuity?’ Wrapping up is another Kroc Files contrasting how Alfred and the lizardly lout cope with ‘Walking in the Rain’, topped off with Special Bonus Pin-up ‘The Return of the Bat-Cow!’

Concluding the juvenile japery is a fall from grace which can only be called ‘Infinite Detention’ as lunch lady Darkseid is demoted to Janitor for the Day and typically overreacts to boisterous behaviour in the hallways. With both good kids and bad suffering after-class incarceration, arguments ensue and the stern Monitor increase the tally for the slightest infraction. Soon kids are facing days of detention. Sadly for the Monitor, his nemesis Anti-Monitor has popped by with coffee and more stupid pranks…

One final Kroc Files reveals ‘How to go Bowling’ and Enigma offers another session of ‘Aw Yeah Joke Time!’ before the tome terminates with a selection of character sketches and studies repackaged as ‘Class Photos’.

Despite being ostensibly aimed at super-juniors and TV kids, these wonderful, wacky yarns – which marvellously marry the heart and spirit of such classic strips as Peanuts and The Perishers with something uniquely mired and marinated in pure comicbookery – are an unforgettable riot of laughs no self-respecting fun-fan should miss: accessible, entertaining, and wickedly intoxicating. What more do you need to know?
© 2009, 2010 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Teen Titans: The Silver Age Volume Two


By Bob Haney, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Nick Cardy, Irv Novick, Bill Draut, Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Neal Adams, Sal Amendola & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-8517-3 (TPB/Digital edition)

In the 1960s the hallowed concept of kid hero teams was already ancient when the impending Batman TV show prompted DC to trust their big heroes’ assorted sidekicks with their own regular outlet of expression. The outcome was a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as they were to stamping out insidious evil. Happy 60th anniversary, youngsters!

The biggest difference between the creation of the Teen Titans and wartime groups like The Young Allies, Newsboy Legion and Boy Commandos or even 1950s holdovers that included The Little Wise Guys or Boys Ranch was quite simply that burgeoning phenomena “The Teenager”: a discrete social and commercial force that had been born in the forties but ran wild in the following decade. These were kids who could – and should – be allowed to do things themselves, without constant adult help or supervision…

This quirkily eclectic compilation re-presents the rapidly-evolving –- ending – Swinging Sixties exploits from Teen Titans #12-24, plus a guest-shot from The Brave and the Bold #83, collectively spanning November/December 1967 to November/December 1969, with originating writer Bob Haney still scripting and the accent heavily on fun. The action resumes here with twin contemporary hot-topics “The Space-Race” and “Disc Jockeys” informing whacky sci fi thriller ‘Large Trouble in Space-Ville!’ as illustrated by Irv Novick (The Shield, Batman, The Flash) & Nick Cardy (Lady Luck, Aquaman, Batman) with the gang thwarting aliens stealing Earth’s monuments.

Cardy flies solo for TT #13, producing a seasonal comics masterpiece in ‘The TT’s Swingin’ Christmas Carol!’, a stylish retelling that’s one of the most reprinted Titans tales ever. At this time Cardy’s art really opened up as he grasped the experimental flavour of the times. The cover of #14, as well as interior illustration for the grim psycho-thriller ‘Requiem for a Titan’, are unforgettable. The tale introduces the team’s first serious returning villain The Gargoyle (Mad Mod does not count!): mesmerising, memorable and madly menacing. Although Cardy only inked Lee Elias’s pencils for #15’s eccentric tryst with Hippie counter-culture, ‘Captain Rumble Blasts the Scene!’ is another genuinely unique crime-thriller from a time when nobody over age 25 understood what the youth of the world was doing…

Teen Titans #16 returned to more solid ground with superb, scene-setting thriller ‘The Dimensional Caper!’, wherein rapacious sinister aliens infiltrate a rural high-school (and how many times have you seen that plot used since this 1968 epic?). Cardy’s art reached dizzying heights of innovation both here and in the next issue’s waggish jaunt to London ‘Holy Thimbles, It’s the Mad Mod!’ (alternatively and uninspiringly retitled ‘The Return of the Mad Mod’ here). The frantic criminal chase through the first and best Cool Britannia era which unfolds even includes a command performance from Her Majesty, the Queen…

Next up is a fandom landmark – and hint of things to come – as novice writers Len Wein & Marv Wolfman got their big break with a tale introducing (Soviet) Russian superhero Starfire (latterly redubbed Red Star for the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths generation) which set them firmly on a path of teen super-team writing. ‘Eye of the Beholder’ is a cool cat-burglar/super heist yarn set in trendy Stockholm, drawn with superb understatement by comics stalwart Bill Draut (Black Magic, Girls’ Love Stories, House of Secrets, Phantom Stranger), acting as a perfect indicator of the changing style and attitude that would imminently become part of the Teen Titans and comics industry…

Maintaining the experiments with youthful authorial voices, the entertainment continues with a beautifully realised comedy-thriller as boy Bowman Speedy joins the team full-time. ‘Teen Titans: Stepping Stones for a Giant Killer!’ (#19, January/February 1969) is written by Mike Friedrich with stunning art from Gil Kane (Green Lantern, Spider-Man, Rex the Wonder Dog, Star Hawks) & Wally Wood (Cannon, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, All-Star Comics, Daredevil), pitting the team against youthful criminal mastermind Punch. He intends killing the Justice League of America, and sagely reasons that a trial run against the junior division can’t hurt…

TT #20 took the long-brewing plot-thread of extra-dimensional invaders and gave it a counterculture twist in ‘Titans Fit the Battle of Jericho’: a spectacular rollercoaster romp deftly blending teen revolt, organised crime, anti-capitalist activism, bug-eyed monsters and cruelly cunning creepy conquerors, written by Neal Adams, pencilled by him and Sal (Phoenix, Archie Comics, Batman, Star Trek) Amendola, with inks by brush-maestro Cardy – one of the all-out prettiest illustration jobs of that decade.

Cover-dated April-May 1969, team-up vehicle The Brave and the Bold # 83 then took a radical turn as, in Haney & Adams’ ‘Punish Not my Evil Son!’, the Titans (sans Aqualad, who was dropped to appear more prominently in Aquaman and because there just ain’t that much subsea malfeasance) strive to save Bruce Wayne’s latest foster-son from his own inner demons in a tense thriller about trust and betrayal…

Symbolic super-teens Hawk and Dove briefly join proceedings for #21’s ‘Citadel of Fear’ (Adams & Cardy): chasing smugglers, finding aliens and ramping up the surly teen rebel quotient whilst moving the invasion story-arc towards its stunning conclusion. ‘Halfway to Holocaust’ is only half of #22, with the alien abduction of Kid Flash and Robin leading to a cross-planar climax where Wonder Girl, Speedy and a radical new ally quash the creeps’ ambitions forever, which still left enough room for a long overdue makeover in ‘The Origin of Wonder Girl’ by Wolfman, Kane & Cardy.

For years the series – and DC in general – had fudged the fact that their younger Amazon Princess was not actually human, a sidekick, or even a person, but rather an incarnation of the adult Wonder Woman as a child. As continuity backwriting strengthened its stranglehold on the industry, it was felt that the team’s token “chick” needed a fuller background, so this moving tale reveals she is in fact a human foundling rescued by Wonder Woman and raised on Paradise Island where their super-science gave her all the powers of a true Amazon.

They even found her a name – Donna Troy – and an apartment, complete with hot roommate. All Donna has to do was sew herself a glitzy, figure-hugging new costume…

Now thoroughly grounded in “reality”, the team jet south in #23’s fast-paced yarn ‘The Rock ‘n’ Roll Rogue’ (Haney, Kane & Cardy), seeking to rescue musical rebel Sammy Soul from his grasping family and subsequently, his missing dad from Amazonian headhunters.

This volume, and an era of relative innocence, ends on ‘Skis of Death!’ by the same creators, seeing the adventurous quartet vacationing in the mountains and uncovering a scam to defraud Native Americans of their tribal lands. It’s a terrific old-style tale but with the next issue the most radical change in DC’s cautious publishing history made Teen Titans a comic which had thrown out the rulebook… and maybe one day the company will get around to compiling it and the issues that followed into a third Titan-ish Tome in this sadly unfinished sequence….

Although perhaps dated in delivery, these tales were a liberating experience for kids when first released and remain a highly entertaining experience even now. They truly betokened a new empathy with independent youth and tried to address problems that were more relevant to and generated by that specific audience. That they are so captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful.
© 1967, 1968, 1969, 2018 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Tiny Titans volume 2: Adventures in Awesomeness


By Art Baltazar & Franco & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2328-1 (TPB/digital edition)

Links between animated features and comic books are long established and, for younger consumers, indistinguishable. Honestly, it’s all just entertainment in the end…

For quite some time at the beginning of this century, DC’s Cartoon Network imprint was arguably the last bastion of children’s comics in America and worked to consolidate that link between television and printed fun and thrills with stunning interpretations of such small screen landmarks as Ben 10, Scooby Doo, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory and many more screen gems.

The kids’ comics line also generated truly exceptional material based on TV iterations of the publisher’s proprietary characters – such as Legion of Super Heroes, Batman: Brave and the Bold and Krypto the Super Dog as well as material like Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! which was merely similar in tone and content. For many (mostly adults) the line’s finest release was a series ostensibly aimed at early-readers but which quickly became a firm favourite of older fans and a multi-award winner too.

Superbly mirroring the magical wonderland inside a child’s head where everything is joyfully all smooshed up together, Tiny Titans became a sublime antidote to continuity cops and slavish fan-boy quibbling (all together now: “… erm, uh… I think you’ll find that in…”) by reducing the vast cast of the Teen Titans Go! animated series, the far greater boutique supplied by mainstream comics – and eventually the entire DC Universe continuity – to little kids and their parents/guardians in a wholesome kindergarten environment.

It’s a scenario spring-loaded with multilayered in-jokes, sight-gags and the beloved yet gently mocked trappings and paraphernalia generations of strip readers and screen-watchers can never forget… and all located in the utopian Sidekick City Elementary School. Art Baltazar and co-creator Franco (Aureliani) mastered a witty, bemusingly gentle manner of storytelling that just happily rolls along, with assorted (sort-of familiar) characters getting by, trying to make sense of the great big world. The method generally involves stringing together smaller incidents and moments into an overall themed portmanteau tale and it works astoundingly well.

After handy and as-standard identifying roll-call pages ‘Meet the… Tiny Titans’ and a poster page cover of ‘Titans in Space’, the pint-sized tomfoolery opens with ‘Ya Think?’ as transparent-headed Psimon deliberates over his checkers game with similarly glass-fronted The Brain… until Kid Flash and Wonder Girl start heckling…

Meanwhile, at school, Starfire gets a text from her dad telling her to come home. Of course, she invites all her friends and two-and-a-half days later the entire class is wandering around alien planet Tameran…

Once they get back Robin convenes a meeting of his new avian themed ‘Bird Scouts’, only to find his alternate identities causing a little contention and confusion…

The issue ends with a Franco Tiny Titans pinup preceded by a return confrontation between Psimon and his hecklers in ‘To Get to the Other Side’. Sadly, once again his tormentors get the last word…

‘Report Card Pickup!’ finds adult Justice Leaguers confronting Principal Slade (AKA Deathstroke) and substitute teacher Mr. Trigon over the grades of the little folk whilst introducing a new intake from Sidekick City Preschool – ominously dubbed the Tiny Terror Titans

Starfire gives Blue Beetle an unwanted makeover in ‘Happy Feeling Blue’ whilst Robin, Batgirl and Ace the Bat-hound get invitations to BB’s birthday party in ‘Joke’s on You’.

Elsewhere, the other Wonder Girl (the series played extremely fast-&-loose with continuity so suck it up if you’re expecting serious logic, ok?) and tiny winged Bumblebee indulge their ‘Book Smarts’ until Beast Boy shows up. Meanwhile under the sea, Aqualad chairs a meeting of ‘Pet Club, Atlantis’ until Raven and The Ant spoil things by breaking the first rule…

Concluding with a Puzzler page and a bonus pinup, #8 gives way to a 9th issue and inescapable predicament as the kids go ape because of ‘Monkey Magic’

When Beppo the Super-Chimp gets hold of a magic wand at Robin’s Comic Book Party, the attendees are soon reduced to hirsute ancestral forms. Thankfully Batgirl & Bumblebee are meeting with the size-shifting Atom family (The Atom, Mrs. Atom, Crumb, Dot, baby Smidgen and little dog Spot) and initially missing the ensuing chaos.

Bad boys of the Brotherhood of Evil aren’t so lucky when Beppo flies over and suddenly Brain and Psimon are as simian and banana-dependent as their talking-gorilla comrade M’sieu Mallah and before long Starfire and Batgirl also get monkey-zapped…

Resolute, bureaucratic Robin then institutes the first meeting of ‘The Titan Apes’ but that only provokes the pesky Super-Chimp to really see what his wand can do and even after Raven’s magic sorts everything out, Beppo rises to the challenge…

Closing with another Tiny Titans Puzzler Page and pinup of the diminutive ‘Atom’s Family’ the animal antics carry over into the next month as ‘World’s Funnest!’ sees Supergirl entertaining Batgirl at ‘Tea Time’. Tragically, the Girl of Steel has forgotten to feed pet cat Streaky and her guest has been equally derelict in her duties to Ace, forcing the power pets to seek redress as the little ladies set out on a global jaunt, meeting annoying monsters Kroc and Bizarro

A Tiny Titans Word Link Puzzler and Bonus Pinup of the eventually-reconciled stars wraps up the issue before the penultimate outing reveals romantically declined Beast Boy in the throes of ‘Terra Trouble’. The green Romeo’s intended inamorata is a feisty lass with refined tastes and in ‘Counting on Love Rocks!’ she shows him the depth and density of her disaffection, after which Robin greets visiting Russian student Starfire and gets wrapped up in a tempestuous ‘Name Exchange’ dilemma.

Terra meanwhile is not fooled by a viridian ‘Rock Dog’ and Beast Boy ends up with more bruises. Wiser, younger heads (mask, helmets, etc) just go to a carnival and leave them to it, with the lovesick loser escalating his campaign with a little ‘Rock Show’ whereas Aqualad and scary blob Plasmus attend a monster movie ‘Double Feature’

Agonisingly undaunted, Beast Boy decides on a costume makeover and new origin. Dressed like Superman he builds a ‘Rocket Box’ but yet again fails to kindle a spark…

Silent mirth then illuminates ‘Tiny Titans Presents… The Kroc Files: Changing a Lightbulb’ before another TT Puzzler and ‘Super Bonus Pin-Up! of Alfred and the Penguins’ escort us smartly to the final outing in this smart and sassy tome.

‘Faces of Mischief’ focuses on the school staff as ‘Morning with the Trigons’ finds the substitute teacher and demonic overlord called in on short notice. It’s ‘Monday Morning’ and as the Principal and Trigon goof off to a baseball game, Slade leaves cafeteria server Darkseid in charge. This is the chance the Apokolyptian Lord of Destruction has been waiting for…

With the adult slackers listening to ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’, the kids are forced to endure exams and their ‘Finals Crisis’ seems eternal. After apparent ages, Robin needs a ‘Hall Pass’ but is soon accosted by not just the official Monitor but also the diabolical Anti-Monitor (trust me, if you’re wedded to DC Lore, this is comedy gold: for the rest of you, it’s still hilariously drawn…)

Finally, the dread day ends for the kids, but as Raven heads home with Slade’s kids Rose and Jericho, she hears something that could ruin her life and takes drastic steps to ensure ‘Our Little Secret’ just as their dads concoct a sinister do-over for the following week…

Bringing the graphic glee to a halt is a silent ‘Kroc Files: Sending an E-Mail’, a TT Baseball Unscramble Puzzler and a pin-up of the entire nefarious ‘Sidekick City Elementary Faculty’.

Despite being aimed at super-juniors and TV kids, these wonderful, wacky yarns – which marvellously marry the heart and spirit of such classic strips as Peanuts and The Perishers with something uniquely mired and marinated in unadulterated nerdish comic bookery – are unforgettable gags and japes no self-respecting fun-fan should miss: accessible, entertaining, and wickedly intoxicating to readers of any age and temperament. What more do you need to know?
© 2008, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Teen Titans: The Silver Age volume One


By Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani, Nick Cardy, Irv Novick, Bill Molno, Sal Trapani, Jack Abel & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-7508-2 (TPB/Digital edition)

Although primarily concerned with celebrating Pride Month and simultaneously prepping for a really big blowout/hunkering down for the new dystopia following our imminent election, I couldn’t let the month end without shouting out to an anniversary celebrating a publishing landmark that truly changed the comics landscape. Here you go, Groovers and True Believers…

The concept of kid hero teams was not a new one when the 1960s Batman TV show prompted DC to entrust their big stars’ assorted sidekicks with their own regular venue in a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as they were to stamping out insidious evil. The biggest difference between the creation of the Teen Titans and earlier wartime youth teams like The Young Allies, Newsboy Legion, Boy Champions and Boy Commandos or even 1950s holdovers such as The Little Wise Guys or Boys Ranch was quite simply the burgeoning phenomena of “The Teenager” as a discrete commercial and social force. These newcomers were kids who could – and should – be allowed to do things themselves without constant adult help or supervision.

This quirkily eclectic compilation re-presents the landmark try-out appearances from The Brave and the Bold #54 & 60 and Showcase #59 – collectively debuting in 1964 and1965 – as well as the first 11 issues of the Teen Titans solo title, spanning January/February 1966 to September/October 1967.

As early as April 30th – albeit cover-dated June/July – 1964, The Brave and the Bold #54 saw DC’s Powers-That-Be test the waters in a gripping tale by writer Bob Haney superbly illustrated by unsung genius Bruno Premiani. The Thousand-and-One Dooms of Mr. Twister’ initially united Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin the Boy Wonder in desperate battle with a modern wizard-cum-Pied Piper who sought to abduct every teen of scenic Hatton Corners. The young heroes accidentally meet in the town by chance after involved students individually invite them to mediate in a long-running dispute with the town’s adults…

This element of a teen “court of appeal” was the motivating principle in many of the group’s subsequent cases. One year later the team reformed for a second adventure (B&B #60, by the same creative team) and introduced two new elements. ‘The Astounding Separated Man’ features more misunderstood kids (weren’t we all?): this time in coastal hamlet Midville and threatened by an outlandish monster whose giant body parts detach and move independently. Wonder Girl was added to the roster (not actually a sidekick, or even a person at that juncture, but rather an SFX incarnation of Wonder Woman as a child – a fact the writer and editor of the series seemed blissfully unaware of (or simply ignored) but most importantly the kids finally had a team name: ‘Teen Titans’.

Their final try-out appearance was in Showcase (#59, November/December 1965) and the birthplace of so many hit comic concepts. It was also the first drawn by the brilliant Nick Cardy (who became synonymous with the 1960s series). ‘The Return of the Teen Titans’ pits the neophyte team against teen pop trio The Flips’ who are apparently also a gang of super-crooks. As was so often the case, the grown-ups had got it all wrong again…

One month later Teen Titans #1 debuted (cover-dated January/February 1966 and released mere weeks before the Batman TV show aired on January 12th), with Robin very much the point of focus on the cover… and most succeeding ones. Haney & Cardy crafted an exotic thriller entitled ‘The Beast-God of Xochatan!’ which sees the team acting as Peace Corps representatives in a South American drama of sabotage, giant robots and magical monsters. The next issue held a fantastic mystery of revenge and young love involving ‘The Million-Year-Old Teen-Ager’ who was preserved by accidental entombment and revived in the 20th century. He might have survived modern intolerance, bullying and culture shock on his own, but when his ancient blood enemy also turned up, the Titans were ready to lend a hand…

‘The Revolt at Harrison High’ in #3 cashed in on a contemporary craze for drag-racing in a tale of bizarre criminality. Produced during a historically iconic era, many readers now can’t help but cringe when reminded of such daft foes as Ding-Dong Daddy and his evil biker gang, and of course the hip, trendy dialogue (it wasn’t that accurate then, let alone now) is pitifully dated, but the plot is strong and the art magnificent.

‘The Secret Olympic Heroes’ guest-starred Green Arrow’s cocky teen partner Speedy in a very human tale of parental pressure at the Olympics, although there’s also skulduggery aplenty from a terrorist organisation intent on disrupting the games. Next TT #5’s ‘The Perilous Capers of the Terrible Teen’ finds the Titans facing the dual task of aiding a troubled young man and capturing elusive super-villain The Ant, despite all evidence indicating that they’re the same person, after which another DC sidekick made his Titans debut.

Illustrated by Bill Molno & Sal Trapani ‘The Fifth Titan’ then brings aboard Beast Boy (the obnoxious juvenile know-it-all from the Doom Patrol). Feeling unappreciated by his adult mentors, the young hero wrongly assumes he’ll be welcomed by his peers. Rejected again, he falls under the spell of an unscrupulous circus owner and the kids need to set things right…

Slow and overly convoluted, it’s possibly the low-point of a stylish run, but many fans disagree, citing #7’s ‘The Mad Mod, Merchant of Menace’ as the biggest stinker. However, beneath painfully dated dialogue there’s a witty, tongue-in-cheek tale of swinging London, cool capers and novel criminality, plus the return of magnificent Nick Cardy to the art chores.

It was back to America for ‘A Killer called Honey Bun’ (illustrated by Irv Novick & Jack Abel): another tale of intolerance and misunderstood kids, played against a backdrop of espionage in Middle America, and featuring a deadly prototype robotic superweapon in the menacing title role…

TT #9’s ‘Big Beach Rumble’ finds the Titans refereeing a swiftly-escalating vendetta between rival colleges on holiday when modern day pirates led by the barbarous Captain Tiger crash the scene. Novick pencilled it and Cardy’s inking made it all very palatable in a light and uncomplicated way. Editor George Kashdan clearly concurred as the art teem continued for the next few issues, beginning with ‘Scramble at Wildcat’: a rowdy crime caper featuring dirt-bikes and desert ghost-towns, with skeevy biker The Scorcher profiting from a pernicious robbery spree…

Wrapping up this first outing, Speedy returned in #11’s spy-thriller ‘Monster Bait’, with the young heroes going undercover to save a boy being blackmailed into betraying his father and his country…

Although dated in delivery now, these tales were an incomprehensibly liberating experience for kids when first released. They betokened a new empathy with increasingly independent youth and sought to address problems that were more relevant to and generated by that specific audience. That they are so captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful and you absolutely should get this book.
© 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 2017 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Showcase Presents: The Teen Titans volume 1


By Bob Haney, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Bruno Premiani, Nick Cardy, Irv Novick, Bill Molno, Lee Elias, Bill Draut, Jack Abel, Sal Trapani & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-84576-677-1 (TPB)

The concept of kid hero teams was not a new one when DC finally opted to entrust their big heroes’ assorted sidekicks with their own comic. The result was a fab, hip and groovy ensemble as dedicated to helping kids as it was to stamping out insidious evil; ready to capitalise on the growing independence of modern kids.

The greatest difference between underage wartime groups like The Young Allies, Newsboy Legion and Boy Commandos or 1950s holdovers like The Little Wise Guys and Boy Explorers and the birth of the Teen Titans was quite simply a burgeoning social phenomenon popularly dubbed “Teenagers”: a whole new thing regarded as a discrete cultural and commercial force. These were kids who could – and should – be permitted to do things themselves free from constant adult “help” or supervision. This quirkily eclectic compilation re-presents landmark try-out appearances from The Brave and the Bold #54 and 60 and Showcase #59 – collectively debuting in 1964 and1965 – plus the first 18 issues of a Teen Titans solo title, running January/February 1966 to November/December 1968.

As early as the June/July 1964 cover-dated issue of The Brave and the Bold (#54), DC’s Powers-That-Be tested choppy unknown waters in a gripping tale by writer Bob Haney superbly illustrated by unsung genius Bruno Premiani. At that juncture B&B was exploring a succession of superhero combinations and ‘The Thousand-and-One Dooms of Mr. Twister’ united Kid Flash, Aqualad and Robin the Boy Wonder in a bizarre battle against a modern wizard/Pied Piper who had stolen the teens of provincial Hatton Corners. The young heroes had met in the town by chance when students there invited them to mediate a long-running dispute with the adults in charge. Hey Kids! Happy 60th Anniversary!

This element of a teen “court-of-appeal” was the motivating factor in many of the later group’s cases. One year later the lads met again for a second adventure (The Brave and the Bold #60, by the same creative team) but introduced two new elements.

‘The Astounding Separated Man’ featured more misunderstood kids – this time in coastal hamlet Midville – threatened by an outlandish monster whose giant body parts could move independently. They added Wonder Girl (not actually a sidekick, or even a person, at that time but rather a magical/digital artificial avatar of Wonder Woman as a child, but a fact writers and editors seemed blissfully unaware of) and finally earned a name: Teen Titans.

Their final test appearance came in Showcase (issue #59, cover-dated November/December 1965): birthplace of so many hit comic concepts. It was the first drawn by the brilliant Nick Cardy – who became synonymous with the 1960s series. ‘The Return of the Teen Titans’ pitted them against teen pop trio The Flips who were apparently also a gang of super-crooks… but as was so often the case, the grown-ups had got it all wrong…

One month later their own comic launched. Dated January/February 1966, TT #1 was released mere weeks before the first Batman TV show aired on January 12th. Robin was point of focus on the cover – and most succeeding ones – as Haney & Cardy produced exotic thriller ‘The Beast-God of Xochatan!’ with the youngsters acting as Peace Corps representatives in a South America-set drama of sabotage, giant robots and magical monsters.

The next issue held a fantastic mystery of revenge and young love involving ‘The Million-Year-Old Teen-Ager’ who was entombed and revived in the 20th century. He might have survived modern intolerance, bullying and culture shock on his own, but when his ancient blood enemy turned up, the Titans were ready to lend a hand…

TT #3’s ‘The Revolt at Harrison High’ capitalised on the craze for drag-racing in a tale of crazy criminality. Produced during a historically iconic era, many readers now can’t help but cringe when reminded of such daft dastardly foes as Ding-Dong Daddy and his evil bikers, and of course the hip, trendy dialogue (it wasn’t that accurate then, let alone now) is pitifully dated, but the plot is strong and the art magnificent.

‘The Secret Olympic Heroes’ guest-starred Green Arrow’s teen partner Speedy in a very human tale of parental pressure at the peak end of sporting endeavour, although there’s also skulduggery aplenty from a terrorist organisation intent on disrupting the games. In #5’s ‘The Perilous Capers of the Terrible Teen’ the Titans faced dual tasks: helping a troubled young man and capturing a super-villain called The Ant, despite all evidence indicating that they were the same person, before another DC sidekick made his Titans debut in ‘The Fifth Titan’. Here obnoxious juvenile know-it-all Beast Boy from the Doom Patrol falls under the spell of a wicked circus owner and the kids must set things right. Painfully illustrated by Bill Molno & Sal Trapani, it’s the absolute low-point of a stylish run.

Many fans would disagree, however, citing #7’s ‘The Mad Mod, Merchant of Menace’ as the biggest stinker, but beneath painfully dated dialogue there’s a witty, tongue-in-cheek tale of swinging London and novel criminality, plus the return of the magnificent Nick Cardy to the art chores. It was back to America for ‘A Killer called Honey Bun’ (illustrated by Irv Novick & Jack Abel): another tale of adult intolerance and misunderstood youth, set against a backdrop of espionage in Middle America featuring a deadly prototype robotic super-weapon in the title role, whereas #9’s ‘Big Beach Rumble’ saw the Titans refereeing a vendetta between rival colleges before modern day pirates crashed the scene. Novick pencilled and Cardy’s inking made it all very palatable.

The editor obviously agreed as the artists remained for the next few issues. ‘Scramble at Wildcat’ was a crime caper featuring dirt-bikes and desert ghost-towns with skeevy biker The Scorcher profiting from a pernicious robbery spree whilst Speedy returned in #11’s spy-thriller ‘Monster Bait’ with the young heroes undercover to save a boy being blackmailed into betraying his father and his country. Twin hot-topics the Space-Race and Disc Jockeys informed whacky sci fi thriller ‘Large Trouble in Space-ville!’ with #13 a true classic as Haney & Cardy produced a seasonal comics masterpiece ‘The TT’s Swingin’ Christmas Carol!’: a stylish retelling that has become one of the most reprinted Titans tales ever. At this time Cardy’s art opened up as he grasped the experimental flavour of the times. The cover of TT #14, as well as the interior illustration for grim psycho-thriller ‘Requiem for a Titan’ are unforgettable. The case introduced the team’s first serious returning villain (Mad Mod does not count!): The Gargoyle is mesmerising and memorable. Although Cardy only inked Lee Elias’s pencils for #15’s eccentric tryst with Hippie counter-culture, ‘Captain Rumble Blasts the Scene!’ is a genuinely compelling crime thriller from a time when nobody over age 25 understood what the youth of the world was doing…

Teen Titans #16 returned to more fanciful ground in ‘The Dimensional Caper!’ when aliens infiltrate a rural high school (and how many times has that plot resurfaced since this 1968 epic?). Cardy’s art reached dizzying heights of innovation both here and in the next issue’s waggish jaunt to London in ‘Holy Thimbles, It’s the Mad Mod!’: a cunning criminal chase through Cool Britannia including a command performance from Her Majesty, the Queen!

This initial volume ends with a little landmark as novice writers Len Wein & Marv Wolfman got their big break introducing Russian superhero Starfire and setting themselves firmly on a path of teen super-team writing. ‘Eye of the Beholder’ is a cool cat burglar caper set in trendy Stockholm, drawn with superb understatement by Bill Draut, acting as the perfect indicator of changes in style and attitude that would infuse the Titans and the comics industry itself.

Although perhaps dated in delivery, these tales were a liberating experience for kids when first released. They betokened fresh empathy with independent youth and tried to address problems more relevant to and generated by that specific audience. That they are captivating in execution is a wonderful bonus. This is absolute escapism and absolutely delightful.
© 1964-1968, 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

The Hawk and The Dove: The Silver Age


By Steve Ditko, Gil Kane, Neal Adams, Nick Cardy, John Celardo, Sal Trapani, Wally Wood & various (DC Comics)

ISBN: 978-1401278052 (TPB/Digital edition)
Win’s Christmas Gift Recommendation: For a Season of Heated Family Debates… 9/10

The 1960s changed the world, especially in comics. Fresh ideas, new freedoms, young talents emerging and a growing assurance among established creators that what they were doing mattered and had lasting relevance generated a wave of inspiration and new characters everywhere. Not all of them hit home, but all have lasting significance. Happy Anniversary Hawk & Dove

Steve Ditko was one of our industry’s greatest and most influential talents and – in his lifetime – one of America’s least lauded. Reclusive and reticent by inclination, his fervent desire was always just to get on with his job, telling stories the best way he could: letting his work speak for him. Whilst the noblest of aspirations, that attitude was usually a minor consideration – and even an actual stumbling block – for the commercial interests which controlled all comics production back then and still exert an overwhelming influence upon the bulk of mainstream comic industry output. If you need more biographical background, there are plenty of wonderful books or even that internet stuff to find it. I’m sticking to his wish to have the stories tell you all you need to know…

After his legendary disagreements with Stan Lee led to Ditko quitting Marvel he worked at Warren Publishing and resumed his career-long association with Charlton Comics. Their laissez faire editorial attitudes always offered virtual creative freedom, if not great financial reward, but when their trailblazing editor Dick Giordano was poached by rapidly-slipping industry leader DC Comics in 1968, he brought with him some of his bullpen of key creators.

Whilst Jim Aparo, Steve Skeates, Frank McLaughlin and Denny O’Neil found a new home, Ditko began only a sporadic – if phenomenally fruitful – association with DC.

During this heady, unsettled period, the first strips derived from Ditko’s interpretation of novelist Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy began appearing in fanzines and independent press publications like Witzend and The Collector – an avenue of freer expression the artist wholeheartedly embraced in an era of social rebellion. For the “over-ground” publishing colossus DC, he devised numerous short stories for genre anthologies and a brace of cult classics. Beware The Creeper came first, followed by the superbly captivating concept gathered here: The Hawk and the Dove. Later visits to the house of Superman & Batman generated Shade, the Changing Man, Stalker and The Odd Man, plus truly unique reinterpretations of The Demon, Man-Bat, Legion of Super-Heroes and many more…

This slight but superb compilation gathers every Ditko-drafted episode of a feature very much of its time plus those who took up the task when he left: curating Showcase #75, The Hawk and the Dove #1-6 and Teen Titans #21, covering May/June 1968 to May/June 1969.

The domestic drama of a family at war naturally opens ‘In the Beginning’ (Showcase #75, with Ditko doing everything except dialoguing which was left to relative youngster Steve Skeates) as high school kids Don and Hank Hall resume their heated quarrel about what American society needs to be. Don is left-leaning pacifist and younger brother Hank is savagely reactionary: pro-military, pro-patriot and anti-dissent of any kind. It was a situation played out all over the world at that crucial stage of the Vietnam war as a new generation turned away from what their parents held dear…

The Hall boys’ paternal parent was doctrinaire small town Judge Irwin Hall of Elmond County: handing out harsh but fair pronouncements that were the cause of a minor superhero moment. When he throws the book at convicted racketeer Dargo, it sparks a wave of violent reprisals and assassination attempts that hospitalise the Judge. Constantly arguing their irreconcilable views, Don and Hank follow one gangster they suspect and are trapped in a warehouse, helpless to prevent a follow-up murder attempt. Their mounting panic and frustration ends when a mysterious voice magically grants them superpowers and costumed identities based on their divergent worldviews and allowing them to escape and foil the killers…

The gift only activates “when evil is present” and also magnifies their ability to act out their philosophical standpoint, and in typical Ditko manner is heartily vilified by the Judge who advocates the rule of law and enforcement of elected authority over criminal vigilantism…

Reaction was strong enough to warrant a solo series and cover-dated August/September that year, The Hawk and the Dove #1 (again scripted by Skeates) revealed ‘The Dove is a Very Gentle Bird’ as teen thieves The Drop-outs plunder at will, with Dove Don and Hawk Hank taking very different approaches to stopping them. The concept of the warring brothers was fascinating but extremely flawed in comic book terms.

Hawk happily smashed everything in traditional Fights ‘n’ Tights style whilst Dove second-guessed his own every action, enduring all kinds of permutation to be dynamic and proactive without ever actually hitting anyone: a definition of pacifism that struggled with itself…

The dichotomy clearly affected Ditko, who abandoned his creation after only three stories, although his swansong ‘Jailbreak’ (H&D #2 Ditko & Skeates) is a mini-masterpiece perfectly embodying all those innate contradictions to craft a powerful tale of ideology and redemption. When the Hall family vacation is overtaken by a mass prison escape, crazed killer Harker forces hopeless, despondent career-convict Davis and a genuinely-reformed young parolee to escape with him, intending to sacrifice them to aid his getaway. When Harker takes the Halls hostage, Hawk and Dove manifest, but as the belligerent bird-boy brutalises Davis and the many escapees he brought along, the repentant parolee saves the hostages whilst Dove stubbornly defeats Harker by taking the beating of his life and wearing his opponent down. Here, the true victory belongs to Don and the system that punishes the guilty and rewards the rule-followers: hardly a radical challenge to the social issues the series sought to redress…

The Hawk and the Dove #3 (December 1968/January 1969) brought a big creative change but more thematic confusion as Gil Kane & Sal Trapani joined Skeates for a brace of crime mysteries. ‘After the Cat’ has the heroes hunt a violent costumed burglar, where Dove’s principles directly lead to tragedy and death after which ‘Twice Burned!’ finds the avian avengers helpless when a savage assault and travesty of justice leads an angry teenager into vengeful violence…

Skeates, Kane & Trapani advanced the themes of ideology versus family bonds in #4 as ‘The Sell-Out!’ sees a mayoral run implicate Judge Hall in wrongdoing when Hawk and Dove expose their father’s oldest political ally as a murdering criminal mastermind funding his campaign through forgery and art theft…

The inevitable occurs in #5 when Kane takes over scripting and Wally Wood assumes the inker’s role in ‘Walk With Me O’ Brother… Death Has Taken My Hand!’

A pre-WWII infant immigrant from Latvia born Eli Katz, Gil Kane was a pivotal player in the developing US comics industry, and indeed the art form itself. Working as an artist, and an increasingly more effective and influential one, he drew for many outfits from 1942 on, tackling superheroes, crime, action, war, mystery, romance, animal heroes (Streak, Rex the Wonder Dog!), movie adaptations Westerns and Science Fiction tales.

In the late 1950s he became one of Julie Schwartz’s key artists: regenerating and rebooting the superhero concept. Yet by 1968, at the top of his profession, this relentlessly revolutionary and creative man felt so confined by the juvenile strictures of the industry that he struck out on bold new ventures that jettisoned the editorial and format bondage of comic books for new visions and media. His Name Is Savage was an adult-oriented black & white magazine about a cold and ruthless super-spy in the James Bond/Matt Helm/Man Called Flint mould; co-written by friend and collaborator Archie Goodwin. It was very much a precursor in tone, treatment and subject matter of many of today’s adventure titles.

His other venture, Blackmark (1971, also with Goodwin), not only ushered in the comic book era of Sword & Sorcery, but also became one of the medium’s first Graphic Novels. Technically, as the series was commissioned by fantasy publisher Ballantine as 8 volumes, it was also envisioned as America’s first comic Limited Series. Before them, though, there was Captain Action and The Hawk and The Dove. At this moment Kane was eager to stretch his creative muscles in a period of great change and challenge and editor Dick Giordano was happy to oblige…

The tale of betrayal and rage sees Irwin Hall uncharacteristically intercede when old friend and literal life-saver Sam Hodgins is framed for armed robbery and murder. When Hawk and Dove investigate they discover a shocking truth that leads to Hank Hall being near-fatally injured as Don – losing his mind with grief – betrays his principles in pursuit of vengeance, not justice…

The tale leads into Teen Titans #21 (June 1969) and a landmark guest shot in DC’s other young heroes title. Written by Neal Adams, pencilled by him and Sal Amendola with inks from brush-maestro Nick Cardy – one of the all-out prettiest illustration jobs of that decade – the tale is centrepiece of a triptych tale spanning TT #20-22.

Facing interdimensional invasion spearheaded by a human multinational crime gang, Titans (Kid Flash, Robin, Wonder Girl and Speedy) are briefly joined by our symbolic super-teens for ‘Citadel of Fear’: chasing smugglers, facing evil ETs and ramping up the surly teen angst quotient whilst moving the invaders story-arc towards a stunning conclusion that you’ll have to read elsewhere

The unstoppable superhero recession of the late 1960s generated incredible and bold experiments, but all those groundbreaking advances went unheeded and unheralded – except by the next generation of comic creators who benefitted from them. Back then, costumed hero books fell like dominoes and The Hawk and The Dove died with #6 (June/July 1969, by Kane & John Celardo). ‘Judgment in a Small Dark Place!’ again focusses on Judge Hall as the son of a man he jailed years previously targets the family before kidnapping and torturing the draconian lawgiver.

Unable to cooperate, the boys search for him separately, but in the end it’s Hawk’s mindless violence that solves the problem and – as usual – Hall’s ungrateful response is seeking to arrest the lawless vigilantes…

This little slice of obscure hero history also includes spectacular covers by Ditko, Kane and Cardy.

The Sixties was the era when all assorted facets of “cool-for-kids” ephemera finally started to coalesce into a comprehensive assault on our minds and our parents’ pockets. Music, TV, movies, comics, bubble-gum cards and toys all began concertedly feeding off each other, building a unified and combined fantasy-land no kid could resist, but there was also deep and permanent change to the culture and social consciousness and kids became aware politically active for the first time. Those competing colliding forces have never been more wonderfully expressed than in the stories in this book and you would be mad to miss it.
© 1968, 1969, 2018 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Tiny Titans volume 1: Welcome to the Clubhouse


By Art Baltazar & Franco (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-4012-2207-5 (TPB/Digital edition)

The links between animated features and comic books are long established and, for young consumers, indistinguishable. After all, it’s just entertainment in the end…

For quite some time at the beginning of this century, DC’s Cartoon Network imprint was arguably the last bastion of children’s comics in America and worked to consolidate that link between TV and 2D fun and thrills with stunning interpretations of such television landmarks as Ben 10, Scooby Doo, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory and so many other screen gems.

The kids’ comics line also produced some truly exceptional material based on TV iterations of the publisher’s proprietary characters such as Legion of Super Heroes, Batman: Brave and the Bold and Krypto the Super Dog as well as material like Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! which was merely similar in tone and content. Perhaps the line’s finest release was a series ostensibly aimed at early-readers but which quickly became a firm favourite of older fans and a multi-award winner too.

Superbly mirroring the magical wonderland inside a child’s head where everything is happily all smooshed up together, Tiny Titans became a sublime antidote to continuity cops and slavish fan-boy quibbling (all together now: “… erm, uh… I think you’ll find that in…”) by reducing the vast cast of the Teen Titans Go! animated series, the far greater boutique of the mainstream comics – and eventually the entire DC Universe continuity – to little kids and their parents/guardians in a wholesome kindergarten environment.

It’s a scenario spring-loaded with multi-layered in-jokes, sight-gags and the beloved yet gently mocked trappings and paraphernalia generations of strip readers and screen-watchers can never forget…

Collecting issues #1-6 (cover-dated April to September 2008) of a magically madcap, infinitely addictive all-ages mini-masterpiece, this debut volume begins after an as-standard identifying roll-call page at ‘Sidekick City Elementary’ where new Principal Mr. Slade is revealed to be not only Deathstroke the Terminator but also poor little Rose’s dad! How embarrassing…

Art Baltazar and co-creator Franco (Aureliani) pioneered and mastered a witty, bemusingly gentle manner of storytelling that just happily rolls along, with the assorted characters getting by, trying to make sense of the great big world while having “Adventures in Awesomeness”. A primal example is Beast Boy getting a new pet and becoming Man’s Dog’s Best Friend’

The method generally involves stringing together smaller incidents and moments into an overarching themed portmanteau tale… and it works astoundingly well.

Back in class Robin and Kid Flash tease a fellow student in ‘Speedy Quiz’ whilst ‘Meanwhile in Titans Tower’ (the treehouse of the title) finds Wonder Girl, Bumblebee, Raven and Starfire discussing whether to let Batgirl Barbara Gordon join their circle…

Later everyone meets up and helps scary blob Plasmus cope with an ice cream crisis but shocks still abound at school. Raven’s dad is an antlered crimson devil from another universe, but his most upsetting aspect is as the new substitute teacher!

Happily, however, at the treehouse the kids can forget their worries, as Wonder Girl Cassie’s new casual look – after initial resistance – wins many admirers among the boys…

The original comics were filled with activity pages, puzzles and pin-ups, so ‘Help Best Boy Find his Puppy Friend!’ and awesome group-shot ‘Awwwww Yeah Titans!!!’ offers an arty interlude before shenanigans resume with ‘Ow’ as new girl Terra persists in throwing rocks at the boys yet knows just how to make friends with the girls…

Not so much for the little lads though: they’ve got into another confrontation with mean kids Fearsome Five. Apparently the only way to determine who wins is to keep ‘Just a-Swingin’ – and ignore those bullies…

After teeny-weeny Little Teen Titan Kid Devil finds a delicious new way to use his heat power, Beast Boy becomes besotted by Terra in ‘Shadows of Love’, even though his obvious affection makes him act like an animal. While ‘Easy Bake Cyborg’ saves the day at snack time, the lovesick green kid follows some foolish advice and transforms into a ‘Beast Boy of Steel’…

At least Kid Devil is making friends, providing ‘Charbroiled Goodness’ for a local food vendor, just as the Fearsome Five show up again…

Following a pin-up of the bad kids and a brainteaser to ‘Match the Tiny Titans to their Action Accessories!’, a new school day finds science teacher Doctor Light losing control in ‘Zoology 101’ thanks to Beast Boy’s quick changes, after which ‘Sidekick’s Superheroes’ debate status and origins whilst Rose’s ‘Li’l Bro Jericho’ causes chaos and closes the school for the day.

When Robin brings some pals home, Alfred the Butler is reluctant to let them check out the ‘Batcave Action Playset’. He should have listened to his misgivings: that way there wouldn’t be so much mess or so many penguins…

After Aqualad’s suggestion ‘Let’s Play: Find Fluffy!’ the Boy Wonder has the strangest day, starting with ‘Robin and the Robins’ and culminating in a new costume. Before that though, you can see ‘Beast Boy at the Dentist’, Wonder Girl enduring a ‘Babysittin’ Baby Makeover’, meet ‘Beast Boy’s Prize’ and experience hair gone wild in ‘Do the “Do”’. Eventually, however, ‘It’s a Nightwing Thing’: revisiting the exotic yesteryears of disco mania as new outfits debut to mixed reviews and reactions…

Once done testing your skill with the ‘Tiny Titans Match Game!’ and admiring a ‘Little Tiny Titans Bonus Pin-up’ there are big thrills in store when ‘Playground Invaders’ introduces annoying Titans from the East side of the communal games…

Sadly, Fearsome Five are still around to tease the former Robin in ‘Nightwing on Rye’ even whilst ongoing epic ‘Enigma and Speedy’ sees the Boy Bowman trapped in a very one-sided battle of wits with the Riddler’s daughter…

Robin’s costume crises continue to confuse in ‘May We Take a Bat-Message?’, resulting in a kid capitulation and ‘Back to Basics’ approach to the old look, after which ‘Tiny Titans Joke Time!’ and a ‘Tiny Titans East Bonus Pin-up’ segues neatly into ‘Meet Ya, Greet Ya’ with newcomers Supergirl and Blue Beetle turning up just ahead of a host of wannabee Titans (Power Boy, Zatara, Vulcan Jr., Hawk & Dove, Li’l Barda and Lagoon Boy)…

With the riotous regulars away camping, Raven opens her eyes to a potential daybreak disaster as ‘Home with the Trigons’ finds her dressed by her dad for a change. Meanwhile, ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ finds Blue Beetle losing a very public argument with his backpack, and after the kids bring their super-animal pals in, everything goes horribly wrong. At least they decide that the “First Rule of Pet Club is: We Don’t Talk About Pet Club”…

This insanely addictive initial collection wraps up with visual and word puzzles ‘How Many Beast Boy Alpacas Can You Count?’ and ‘Blue Beetle Backpack Language Translation!’, a huge and inclusive Pin-up of ‘The Tiny Titans of Sidekick City Elementary’ and a hilarious ‘Tiny Titans “Growth Chart”

Despite ostensibly being aimed at super-juniors and TV kids, these wonderful, wacky yarns – which marvellously marry the heart and spirit of such classic strips as The Perishers or Peanuts with something uniquely mired and marinated in pure American comic-bookery – are outrageously unforgettable yarns and gags no self-respecting fun-fan should miss: accessible, entertaining, and wickedly intoxicating.
© 2008, 2009 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Blue Beetle Graduation Day


By Josh Trujillo & Adrián Gutiérrez, with Wil Quintana, Lucas Gattoni & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-7795-2324-2 (TPB/Digital edition)

As the most recent incarnation of the vintage and venerable Blue Beetle brand at last makes the jump from comic book limbo and kids’ animation into live action movie madness, the event sparked a new comics miniseries bridging the teen hero’s old life and new comic book series. Here that is…

The Blue Beetle first appeared in Mystery Men Comics #1, published by Fox Comics and cover-dated August 1939. The eponymous lead character was created by Charles Nicholas (AKA Charles Wojtkowski) as a pulp-styled mystery man and born nomad. Over years and crafted by a Who’s Who of extremely talented creators, the Beetle was also inexplicably popular and hard to kill: surviving the collapse of numerous publishers before ending up as a Charlton Comics property in the mid-1950s.

After a few issues sporadically published, the company shelved him until the superhero revival of the early 1960s when Joe Gill, Roy Thomas, Bill Fraccio & Tony Tallarico revised and revived the character in a 10-issue run (June 1964, February 1966). Cop-turned-adventurer Dan Garrett was reinvented an archaeologist, educator and scientist who gained super-powers whenever he activated a magic scarab with the trigger phrase “Khaji Da!”

Some months later, Steve Ditko (with scripter Gary Friedrich) utterly reimagined the Blue Beetle. Ted Kord was an earnest and brilliant young researcher who had been a student and friend of Professor Garrett and when his mentor seemingly died in action, Kord trained himself to replace him: a purely human inventor/combat acrobat, bolstered by ingenious technology. This latter version joined DC’s pantheon during Crisis on Infinite Earths, earning a solo series and quirky immortality partnered with Booster Gold in Justice League International and beyond…

When Kord was murdered in the run up to Infinite Crisis, it led to all-out war across realities and at the height of the linked catastrophes El Paso high-schooler Jaime Reyes found a weird blue jewel shaped like a bug. That night, as he slept, it invaded him and turned him into a bizarre insectoid warrior. suddenly gifted with great powers, and revealed how some heroes are remade, not born – especially when a sentient scarab jewel affixes itself to your spine and transforms you into an armoured bio-weapon. Almost instantly, he was swept up in the chaos, joining Batman and other heroes in a climactic space battle.

Inexplicably returned home, Jaime revealed his secret to his family and tried to do some good in his hometown but had to rapidly adjust to huge changes. Best bud Paco had joined a gang of super-powered freaks, he learned the local crime mastermind was the foster-mom of his other best bud Brenda, and scary military dude named Christopher Smith (The Peacemaker) started hanging around. He claimed the thing in Jaime was malfunctioning alien tech, not life-affirming Egyptian magic that he also had an unwelcome and involuntary connection to…

That led to a secret war against an alien collective of conquerors called the Reach whose shady dealings and defeat have been covered in Blue Beetle: Jaime Reyes volumes One & Two. You should get those also.

Gathering Blue Beetle: Graduation Day #1-6 (cover-dated January to June 2022), and including an excerpt from the new Blue Beetle series it leads into, this collection is also quite rightly available in a Spanish language edition.

In an effort to maximise your fun and save time let’s briefly hit the high notes here.

Crafted by scripter Josh Trujillo (Adventure Time, Captain America, Rick & Morty), illustrator Adrián Gutiérrez (Batman, The Flash), colourist Wil Quintana and letterer Lucas Gattoni, ‘Graduation Day’ is set following recent DC megaevent Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths with our neophyte champion at long last getting a handle on his other life. He’s even become pals with his sentient passenger bug Khaji Da, allowing them to seamlessly work together.

With school days practically done, as the story opens Jaime is currently wrecking downtown El Paso battling magical thief Fadeaway and worrying about his non-superhero future. After almost missing his own graduation ceremony, Reyes suddenly finds it all going wrong again when he receives a terrifying vision of The Reach and loses control, uncontrollably shifting to his blue battle form…

His family share his secret, but aren’t happy about it and when he returns to his own party hours later, the festivities are long over and his furious mother wants to know what he’s doing with his life. So does Superman, who “just” popped by to see if the alien conquerors had regained control of their greatest weapon…

Intel confirms that The Reach are coming back and the (adult) superhero community feels it might be prudent if Jaime doesn’t use his powers for the foreseeable future…

Benched, grounded, jobless and not destined for college any time soon, the frustrated lad is summarily packed off to toil in his aunts’ diner in Palmera City, but fate has other plans. Repeatedly targeted by extremely Reach-like and savage Beetle-morphs Dynastes and Nitida, BB is forced to fight back until the Justice League shut him down again…

Some salvation comes when mentor Ted and his terrifying older smarter sister Victoria Kord offer him an (unpaid!) internship at Kord Industries. Ted is laid back and cool but Jaime can’t stop thinking how Victoria has the largest collection of alien tech on Earth and keeps looking at him funny…

As Beetle catastrophes keep coming, Reyes and still-on-the-fritz Khaji Da encounter a splinter faction of The Reach. Unable to trust The Horizon, they instead put themselves in the hands of Teen Titans Starfire, Cyborg and their allies. At least they can keep Batman and his private superhero goon squad off their collective shiny blue buggy back. Or Not…

And that’s when Paco and Brenda show up, begging Jaime to help their new best buddy Fadeaway. That does not go well…

With imminent doom encroaching and everybody telling him what” they” should do, Jaime and Khaji Da finally unlock the root problem that’s been jamming them up, consequently evolving into whole new Blue Beetle able and ready to fix their own problems…

And that’s when the aliens all come screaming into Earth’s atmosphere…

An enticing extra offers an extract and sneak peek from the new Blue Beetle #1 (‘Scarab War!’) due for release in September 2023, before a gallery of covers and variants by Cully Hamner, Rafael Albuquerque, David Marquez & Alejandro Sánchez, Ramon Villalobos, Gutiérrez & Quintana, Joe Quinones, Chokoo!, Danny Miki & Ivan Plascencia, Serg Acuña, Ricardo López Ortiz, Baldemar Rivas, Daniel Sampere & Alejandro Sánchez, Bruno Redondo, Jorge Corona & Sarah Stern segue into an extensive and expansive sketch gallery from Gutiérrez.

Here’s another smart, fast and joyous fun ride to delight fans of comics and other, lesser, media forms. So few series combine action and adventure with all-out fun and genuine wit, or can evoke shattering tragedy and poignant loss on command. Now read this even before you wallow in film fun…
© 2022, 2023 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.