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geekwayne's review
3.0
'Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1' by Keith Giffen with art by Scott Kolins is an interesting concept. A sidelined hero and a reluctant young protege must learn to fight as one unit.
The issue starts with a Blue Beetle fighting Rack and Ruin, the flashes back to earlier in the day when Jaime Reyes is just trying to get to school on time. He gets a call from Billionaire Ted Kord and he has to be late, again, to school to fight for the greater good. Jaime has been melded with the scarab that makes him the Blue Beetle and Ted acts as a kind of back up and mentor to him. This time someone has painted a target on the Beetle's back and sent in Rack and Ruin.
I like this character and that Keith Giffen has a hand in it. I've been a fan of his for a while and seeing his name on a title means it's going to be a fun ride. I like Jaime Reyes, and it's nice to see some diversity in characters. Maybe this will spread out a bit to other titles. I'm not sure what Ted Kord will do, but I guess that remains to be seen.
I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this comic book.
The issue starts with a Blue Beetle fighting Rack and Ruin, the flashes back to earlier in the day when Jaime Reyes is just trying to get to school on time. He gets a call from Billionaire Ted Kord and he has to be late, again, to school to fight for the greater good. Jaime has been melded with the scarab that makes him the Blue Beetle and Ted acts as a kind of back up and mentor to him. This time someone has painted a target on the Beetle's back and sent in Rack and Ruin.
I like this character and that Keith Giffen has a hand in it. I've been a fan of his for a while and seeing his name on a title means it's going to be a fun ride. I like Jaime Reyes, and it's nice to see some diversity in characters. Maybe this will spread out a bit to other titles. I'm not sure what Ted Kord will do, but I guess that remains to be seen.
I received a review copy of this issue from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this comic book.
geekwayne's review against another edition
2.0
'Blue Beetle, Vol. 1: The More Things Change' by Keith Giffen and Scott Kollins is a rebirth title, but I feel about the way I felt about the character back in the 1980s: Meh.
Jamie Reyes has had the weird beetle scarab attach itself to him, so he is now the Blue Beetle. Ted Kord acts as his annoying overseer. Jamie has friends that know who he is, but being the Blue Beetle is tough when you have to get to class. Add in the fact that Doctor Fate isn't too pleased about the weird beetle scarab that has locked itself on to Jamie's spine and it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Except, it's just not all that interesting. There is teen bickering. There is a teen gang that, surprise, has superpowers, and, surprise, may not be that bad. The art is fine. Jamie as Blue Beetle has a weird alien look to his face. Frankly, I wanted more Doctor Fate. I'd rather have a Doctor Fate book than this.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Jamie Reyes has had the weird beetle scarab attach itself to him, so he is now the Blue Beetle. Ted Kord acts as his annoying overseer. Jamie has friends that know who he is, but being the Blue Beetle is tough when you have to get to class. Add in the fact that Doctor Fate isn't too pleased about the weird beetle scarab that has locked itself on to Jamie's spine and it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Except, it's just not all that interesting. There is teen bickering. There is a teen gang that, surprise, has superpowers, and, surprise, may not be that bad. The art is fine. Jamie as Blue Beetle has a weird alien look to his face. Frankly, I wanted more Doctor Fate. I'd rather have a Doctor Fate book than this.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
dragonbonechair's review against another edition
4.0
Volume 1: The More Things Change of Blue Beetle hit a lot of the notes I love about the character. I love how the book centers on Jaime not wanting to be host to the scarab, how he wants to live a normal existence as a high schooler.
What worked for me are the small moments between characters in these issues. Jaime’s struggles to understand why his mom wants to help the posse. Jaime and his dad having conversations about the importance of being transparent and not hiding things from each other.
This DC rebirth run brings in Ted Kord, the 2nd Blue Beetle, and he brings both levity and legacy to the story. I love how the two work together throughout these issues to defeat the bad guys, and even in these few issues you see affection between the two.
A big part of this volume centers on Doctor Fate wanting to kill Jaime because of the potential carnage the scarab using Jaime as its vessel would unleash on the world. For Jaime the scarab isn’t something he has full control over and he has this decision to make about remaining in the dark about the scarab or let tests be run on him.
It reminded me so much of when relatives are sick and avoid seeing doctors for fear of what they will learn.
I think this volume did a lot to let us empathize with Jaime, because his worry and fears are very grounded and relatable.
The art work really does a wonderful job of conveying Jaime’s emotions, even in the Blue Beetle suit. His face is very expressive from his excitement over a prospective romantic partner in Naomi or his heart to hearts with his father Alberto or Ted Kord. I love how expressive his eyes are in Kolin’s art and the yellow of Beetle’s eyes and Brown of Jaime’s in Fajardo’s coloring.
If I were to express a criticism it’s that I think Jaime’s stories would benefit from someone a bit closer in age to Jaime, as some of the dialogue does feel dated for teenagers in 2017. It does pull you out at times.
Overall a really enjoyable volume of comics. As it is volume one of DC Rebirth it does a solid job of introducing new readers to the world and characters of Blue Beetle and in a few short issues makes Jaime a character you want to root for.
What worked for me are the small moments between characters in these issues. Jaime’s struggles to understand why his mom wants to help the posse. Jaime and his dad having conversations about the importance of being transparent and not hiding things from each other.
This DC rebirth run brings in Ted Kord, the 2nd Blue Beetle, and he brings both levity and legacy to the story. I love how the two work together throughout these issues to defeat the bad guys, and even in these few issues you see affection between the two.
A big part of this volume centers on Doctor Fate wanting to kill Jaime because of the potential carnage the scarab using Jaime as its vessel would unleash on the world. For Jaime the scarab isn’t something he has full control over and he has this decision to make about remaining in the dark about the scarab or let tests be run on him.
It reminded me so much of when relatives are sick and avoid seeing doctors for fear of what they will learn.
I think this volume did a lot to let us empathize with Jaime, because his worry and fears are very grounded and relatable.
The art work really does a wonderful job of conveying Jaime’s emotions, even in the Blue Beetle suit. His face is very expressive from his excitement over a prospective romantic partner in Naomi or his heart to hearts with his father Alberto or Ted Kord. I love how expressive his eyes are in Kolin’s art and the yellow of Beetle’s eyes and Brown of Jaime’s in Fajardo’s coloring.
If I were to express a criticism it’s that I think Jaime’s stories would benefit from someone a bit closer in age to Jaime, as some of the dialogue does feel dated for teenagers in 2017. It does pull you out at times.
Overall a really enjoyable volume of comics. As it is volume one of DC Rebirth it does a solid job of introducing new readers to the world and characters of Blue Beetle and in a few short issues makes Jaime a character you want to root for.
cassie_grace's review against another edition
1.0
Terrible. I really enjoyed the 2006 run by writer Keith Giffen, but John Rogers and Cully Hamner must have been pulling more than their share of the weight, because this is unrecognizable. The speech bubble layout is consistently confusing. The dialogue is atrocious and all the characters have the same voice. On top of that it's also a terrible volume and issue 1, doing nothing to ease new readers into the story, which is important for a lesser known character like this. It also appears to retcon the scarab's scifi origins, turning it into a mystic talisman associated with Doctor Fate. It didn't work for me.
sapphisms's review
1.0
* Jaime Reyes is unrecognizable from his previous solos- constantly swearing, doesn't even seem to like his friends, somehow involved with Ted Kord (and spends over half an issue being his attack dog)
* Brenda and Paco's friendship is utter bullshit because even though Brenda was on the touchier side in previous appearances, she'd never snap over something like someone blessing her for her sneeze?? What the hell was that??
* Why was Milagro going out with friends so sneaky-looking?? She's a little(r) kid and sure, a little bratty, but why was it framed like she's known for sneaking out of the house to be immoral??
* First civilian hurt in the comic was a black woman who was grabbed by her curls. Kinda speaks for itself.
* Brenda makes a joke about Jaime '[answering] his master's voice' (referring to Ted). Kinda shouldn't have to explain why cracking a joke about ownership between a latino minor and a white adult isn't appropriate.
* Brenda was just. Horrendously written. Jaime was awful, but I could almost understand it because Ted Kord is a piece of shit in this.
* The colorist got lazy. There's a scene where Paco goes from tanned with dark hair to ginger and light skinned.
* First page took a quote from the Twilight Saga (no, I'm not shitting you)
* No more Khaji-Da because DC wanted to Make Things Magical. That's so annoying, seriously- the original Blue Beetle run with Jaime was good because Khaji literally learned the value of humanity. Please. Read the source material before you pull these publicity stunts- you're detracting from the things the only people who read those comics enjoyed.
* Brenda and Paco's friendship is utter bullshit because even though Brenda was on the touchier side in previous appearances, she'd never snap over something like someone blessing her for her sneeze?? What the hell was that??
* Why was Milagro going out with friends so sneaky-looking?? She's a little(r) kid and sure, a little bratty, but why was it framed like she's known for sneaking out of the house to be immoral??
* First civilian hurt in the comic was a black woman who was grabbed by her curls. Kinda speaks for itself.
* Brenda makes a joke about Jaime '[answering] his master's voice' (referring to Ted). Kinda shouldn't have to explain why cracking a joke about ownership between a latino minor and a white adult isn't appropriate.
* Brenda was just. Horrendously written. Jaime was awful, but I could almost understand it because Ted Kord is a piece of shit in this.
* The colorist got lazy. There's a scene where Paco goes from tanned with dark hair to ginger and light skinned.
* First page took a quote from the Twilight Saga (no, I'm not shitting you)
* No more Khaji-Da because DC wanted to Make Things Magical. That's so annoying, seriously- the original Blue Beetle run with Jaime was good because Khaji literally learned the value of humanity. Please. Read the source material before you pull these publicity stunts- you're detracting from the things the only people who read those comics enjoyed.
lispylibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
Jaime Reyes is the Blue Beetle. Apparently a blue scarab has attached itself toJaime show Hines through the entire comic that he doesn’t want it and some rich white man names Kord wants him to use it for something we don’t learn about. Meanwhile, someone named Dr. Fate wants to take the scarab from Jaime but we don’t know from what.
Overall, this graphic novel was Lame. Reading it felt like being on the outside of an Inside joke. The constant chatter between Jaime and Kord is confusing and distracting. All of the “Posse” are annoying that they appear and announce their names rather than helping anything. I honestly didn’t like this comic at all.
Overall, this graphic novel was Lame. Reading it felt like being on the outside of an Inside joke. The constant chatter between Jaime and Kord is confusing and distracting. All of the “Posse” are annoying that they appear and announce their names rather than helping anything. I honestly didn’t like this comic at all.
stevequinn's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. Just terrible. I can't believe this is the actual Keith Giffen. It read like a computer simulation of Giffen. And the art was sketchy and confusing. I don't know if I can bring myself to read v2 when it comes out. Too bad. I enjoyed the new 52 Beetles for the most part.
rashthedoctor's review
4.0
OK This maybe a little bit biased review , since i am a huge Blue Beetle fan , i once spend 1500 rupees to buy an 8 inch Blue beetle figure and i was just 14 years old back than . it still adorns my study table along with a Goku , Ed elric and Batman action figures .
well i definitely lost my way there anyways the story seemed like it would confuse a lot of people who don't know who or What Blue beetle is or who his antagonists are , but long time readers or those who know about him via Batman brave and the bold or Young justice tv show would rejoice at the fact that for the first time ever there's a timeline with Ted Krod and Jaime Reyes both working together .
Ofcourse it brings with it some curious questions like was Krod also a Blue Beetle ? or how he's still in the same universe and not training Jaime . The whole scarab is a magical entity and not an alien one was revealed and i felt it was premature coz granted it's been well known now but many new readers mightn't
The Art was decent but not eye catching and if this was not Blue Beetle i would have rated it 3 stars as a average book but it's Blue effing Beetle so 4 stars is a must
well i definitely lost my way there anyways the story seemed like it would confuse a lot of people who don't know who or What Blue beetle is or who his antagonists are , but long time readers or those who know about him via Batman brave and the bold or Young justice tv show would rejoice at the fact that for the first time ever there's a timeline with Ted Krod and Jaime Reyes both working together .
Ofcourse it brings with it some curious questions like was Krod also a Blue Beetle ? or how he's still in the same universe and not training Jaime . The whole scarab is a magical entity and not an alien one was revealed and i felt it was premature coz granted it's been well known now but many new readers mightn't
The Art was decent but not eye catching and if this was not Blue Beetle i would have rated it 3 stars as a average book but it's Blue effing Beetle so 4 stars is a must
themtj's review
3.0
A little disorienting. I understand that the character has a long and complicated history, so I was just looking for a place to jump in. This caught me up enough to give me the gist of things, but I don't have enough to go off of. I liked it, didn't love it.