{"id":31230,"date":"2024-12-30T17:22:20","date_gmt":"2024-12-30T17:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=31230"},"modified":"2024-12-30T17:22:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-30T17:22:20","slug":"showcase-presents-blue-beetle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/12\/30\/showcase-presents-blue-beetle\/","title":{"rendered":"Showcase Presents Blue Beetle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Len Wein<\/strong>, Joey Cavalieri<\/strong>, Paris Cullins<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Ross Andru<\/strong>, Don Heck<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-5147-5 (TPB)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Blue Beetle<\/strong> premiered in Mystery Men Comics<\/strong> #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. \u201cCharles Nicholas\u201d was a shared pseudonym used by Chuck Cuidera (Blackhawk<\/strong>), Jack Kirby (everything<\/strong>) and Charles Wojtkowski (Blonde Phantom<\/strong>, Young Allies<\/strong>, Nyoka<\/strong>, Iron Corporal<\/strong>) with that last one generally attributed with inventing our remarkably resilient Azure Avenger.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> review you\u2019ll see that it wasn\u2019t quite that simple\u2026<\/p>\n

Pulling together many disparate strands from previous incarnations, former cop and valiant troubleshooter Dan Garrett<\/em> 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 \u201cKhaji Dha!\u201d<\/p>\n

After another brief sojourn in comic book limbo, Garret (note the different spelling, it varies from issue to issue, but we\u2019ll stick to double \u201cr\u201d, double \u201ct\u201d, 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<\/strong> #83 (November 1966) before graduating to his own solo title. Ted Kord<\/em> 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\u2019s prime suspect in the academic\u2019s disappearance and possible murder\u2026<\/p>\n

The Ditko version was sublime but short-lived: an early casualty when the Sixties Superhero boom reversed and horror again ruled the newsstands, Charlton\u2019s \u201cAction Hero\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Time passed and reading tastes changed again. After the cosmos-consuming Crisis on Infinite Earths<\/strong> re-sculpted DC\u2019s 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<\/strong>, The Question<\/strong> and two Blue Beetles <\/strong>seamlessly slotted into the new DCU, ahead of the rest of the lost contingent\u2026<\/p>\n

Primarily scripted and steered by Len Wein (Swamp Thing<\/strong>, New X-Men<\/strong>, Batman<\/strong>, almost everything else<\/strong>), this massive monochrome compilation gathers the entire 24-issue run of Blue Beetle<\/strong> volume 6 (cover-dates June 1986 through May 1988) plus a superb crossover origin\/restated backstory from Secret Origins<\/strong> (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\u2019s \u2018Out from the Ashes!\u2019 <\/em>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<\/strong>. He is desperate but determined to help the beleaguered firefighters\u2026 but not with the conflagration. His target is deranged super-arsonist Firefist<\/em>, but the glorified acrobat\u2019s tricky gadgets seem to be no match for the heavily armoured foe\u2019s ferocious firepower. Barely escaping with his life, Beetle takes some comfort from the fact that even if he didn\u2019t stop the bad guy or save the skyscraper, he has rescued an imperilled fireman\u2026<\/p>\n

In the aftermath, the masked man heads back to work: revealed to us as junior genius Ted Kord<\/em> who has just (most reluctantly) assumed control of his tyrannical father\u2019s technological innovations and manufacturing business. Ted doesn\u2019t like business but loves inventing, which is why he spends as much time as possible with the company\u2019s quirky thinktank geniuses Jeremiah Duncan<\/em>, Melody Case<\/em> and Murray Takamoto<\/em>. Now he learns the company is sitting on a discovery of Earth-shattering importance. What Ted doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s mad scientist uncle Jarvis Kord<\/em> killed Dan Garrett – the original Blue Beetle. An archaeological rival, Conrad Carapax<\/em> is seeking the fabled something that cost his competitor his life…<\/p>\n

Suddenly, Firefist attacks again and the neophyte hero rushes off to challenge him. The woefully one-sided battle gets serious in \u2018This City\u2019s Not for Burning!\u2019<\/em> 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\u2019s labs…<\/p>\n

Also adding to Ted\u2019s woes and generally amping up tensions is slowly circling – and rapidly spiralling – cop Lt. Max Fisher<\/em> who cannot shake the conviction that the glib scientist in his sights knows something about the Garret disappearance…<\/p>\n

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<\/em> to revive his old gang The Madmen<\/em> to attack Kord Inc. in BB<\/strong> #3\u2019s \u2018If This Be Madness\u2026!\u2019<\/em> 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 \u2018The Answer is Alchemy!\u2019<\/em> Here old Flash<\/strong>-foe Al Desmond<\/em>\/Mr. Element<\/em>\/Doctor Alchemy<\/em> steals the hotly contested Promethium sample to reenergise his failing, matter-reshaping Philosopher\u2019s Stone, but the battle to reclaim it is wild and violent, and against all odds the Beetle triumphs…<\/p>\n

With a plethora of soap opera subplots in place, the tales assume a more action-driven shape and pace in the Azure Avenger\u2019s first team up. \u2018Ask the Right Question!\u2019<\/em> introduces DC\u2019s remodelled iteration of Ditko\u2019s other, Other, OTHER immortal creation – albeit prior to his reinvention by Denny O\u2019Neil & Denys Cowan. As up-&-coming masked mobster The Muse<\/em> organises Chicago\u2019s disparate gangs into an army a well-dressed but faceless vigilante in a powerplay to seize control from reigning Don Vincent Perignon<\/em>. After the customary introductory confusion-clash Beetle and Question (AKA investigative journalist Vic Sage<\/em>) set about dismantling the organisation and usurpation in \u2018Face-Off!\u2019<\/em> (BB<\/strong> #6) and blockbusting, Dell Barras-inked conclusion \u2018Gang War!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

A delightful sentiment-soaked divertissement comes in BB <\/strong>#8 as \u2018Henchman!\u2019<\/em> 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<\/em>: a tragic mistake that the hero is happy to pay for when reformed-&-honest Ed subsequently saves the Beetle\u2019s life…<\/p>\n

The other lurking super-villain reveals himself at last in #9 & 10 as \u2018Timepiece!\u2019<\/em> (Cullins & Barras art) and sequel \u2018Time on his Hands!\u2019<\/em> (Chuck Patton & Barras) – both tie-ins to crossover event Legends<\/a><\/strong>. They see America\u2019s superheroes outlawed by Presidential decree as part of New God Darkseid<\/strong>\u2019s plan to destroy the very concept of heroism. As Ted\u2019s conscience and desire to save innocents compete, another close friend falls foul of time bandit Chronos<\/em>, 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\u2019s ready to be stolen by more lurking fiends, whilst on Pago Island, Carapax has uncovered a terrifying menace…<\/p>\n

Guest-starring the New Teen Titans<\/strong> (Nightwing<\/strong>, Cyborg<\/strong>, Wonder Girl<\/strong>, Starfire<\/strong>, Jericho<\/strong> & Changeling<\/strong>\/Beast Boy<\/strong>) \u2018Havoc is\u2026 the Hybrid\u2019<\/em> (#11, Cullins & Barras) sees deranged former Doom Patrol<\/strong> member Mento<\/em> (Steve Dayton<\/em>) unleash a personal pack of Promethium-mutated villains against the super-team with Blue Beetle caught as \u2018Man in the Middle\u2019<\/em> (co-scripted by Joey Cavalieri) before Wein, Cullins & Barras reveal the final fate of another unlucky unfaithful Kord collaborator in \u2018Prometheus Unbound!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Simultaneously, Carapax finally recovers and is subsumed by the maverick tech he accidentally unleashed. In BB<\/strong> #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 \u2018The Phantom of Pago Island!\u2019 <\/em>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 \u2018In Combat with\u2026 Carapax!\u2019<\/em> (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<\/em>) and megalomaniacal business competitor (Klaus Cornelius<\/em>) lurk in the wings, kidnapping Jeremiah Duncan for info on Kord\u2019s business secrets…<\/p>\n

In \u2018Anywhere I Hang my Head is Home!\u2019<\/em> – art by Andru & Danny Bulanadi – cop and vigilante unite to catch a ruthless \u201cSkid Row Slasher\u201d, before Fisher oversteps by picking targets for the Beetle, even as the gallant hero is battling new masked menace Overthrow<\/em> in #17\u2019s \u2018The Way the Brawl Bounces!\u2019<\/em> (Cullins & Bulanadi) before and inevitably the original Blue Beetle returns to reclaim his mantle in \u2018\u2026And Death Shall Have No Dominion\u2019<\/em> (all Cullins art): a grim and brutal clash with a shocking sting in the tale.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u2018A Matter of Animus!\u2019<\/em> (as Andru & Bulanadi begin a sustained run), prompting a trip to Kord\u2019s middle east facility as \u2018Iran Scam!\u2019 <\/em>(another company crossover event component – this time for Millennium<\/a><\/strong>) reveals how a close enemy is actually an agent for ancient alien cabal the Manhunters<\/em>, 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<\/strong> chapter \u2018If This Works, It\u2019ll Be a Miracle!\u2019 <\/em>(BB<\/strong> #21) wherein Ted and Justice League International<\/strong> take on a nest of Manhunters.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u2018A Question of Time!\u2019<\/em> (Andru, Gil Kane & Bulanadi art) before returning to now and a second episode with the Madmen in \u2018Don\u2019t Get Mad, Get Even!\u2019<\/em> (Don Heck & Bulanadi). Now the series abruptly terminates on a cliffhanger as – in the midst of battling Carapax again – Ted\u2019s dad Thomas Kord<\/em> reclaims \u201chis\u201d company from the son and heir who\u2019s ruining it in \u2018If At first, You Don\u2019t Succeed\u2026!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

With the solo series ended, Ted made a welcome home as a beloved but underestimated comedy foil in various Justice League<\/strong> iterations, whilst this book closes on that promised origin yarn ,as seen in Secret Origins<\/strong> #2. Crafted by Wein & Kane, \u2018Echoes of Future Past!\u2019<\/em> spectacularly traces valiant Dan Garrett\u2019s 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…<\/p>\n

With covers by Cullins Patterson, Barras, Terry Austin, Patton, Andru, Bulanadi, Steve Bov\u00e9, Dick Giordano, Mike Mignola, Chris Wozniak, Keith S. Wilson, Garry Leach, Gil Kane & Ricardo Villagran this bold bonanza of Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights delights is a book no superhero lover should miss – unless DC finally get around to giving one of comics\u2019 grandest brands the archive treatment he\/they deserve…
\n\u00a9 DC 1986, 1987, 1988, 2015, DC Comics All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … <\/p>\n

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