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Sep 22, 2011 DC New 52 By Kyle Lemmon

The last Blue Beetle series launched in the middle of an intertwined mega-event dubbed Infinite Crisis. It was heavily tied to DC continuity and the previous two Blue Beetles. Writer Tony Bedard (Green Lantern: New Guardians) and artist Ig Guara (Marvel Adventures: Avengers) spin a no-nonsense origin yarn for Blue Beetle #1. It follows Puerto Rican high schooler Jaime Reyes. (The last Blue Beetle was named Ted Kord and died during Countdown to Infinite Crisis.)

The action-packed issue starts with an alien empire called The Reach sending one of their Scarabs to Earth for ultimate conquest. The unit is supposed to attach with a planet’s dominant life form and encase it in super-human/intelligent armor. Reyes’ armor is somehow damaged so the Scarab only takes partial control of over his body. This setup is interesting when paired with an awkward teenager (think Peter Parker) who is crushing hard on a girl at school and trying not to get beat up by bullies.

The El Paso high schooler’s family and social life plays a large role in this debut issue. Readers will experience the slight annoyance of reading tons of Spanglish. Reyes doesn’t become Blue Beetle until the very end of the comic, too. It’s nice that Bedard is connecting the Blue Beetle and Green Lantern mythologies, though. They seem somewhat similar and it makes sense that Bedard would pull such a narrative tweak since he’s also the scribe for the new Green Lantern: New Guardians series.

Ig Guara’s art is adequate sci-fi faire with a cartoony bent. His background with kid comics comes in handy here. This series reminds me of a better version of Static Shock‘s post-modern origin tale. It’s an OK debut with an intriguing setting. The cosmic confrontation that is coming soon will be a sight to see. (www.igbarros.blogspot.com)

Author rating: 6/10