About Heroes

Writer: John Rogers
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque

Ok, now we are getting somewhere. The last few issues have been exploring the nature of the Scarab, and in this issue we meet one of it's creators from a place called the Reach. The Reach alien looks similar to the Bliue Beetle costume, bearing the same beetle marking on its stomach that Jaime has on his chest. The issue beins with Jaime and Peacemaker chasing after a signal. Peacemaker divulges that he has part of the scarab's programming and information inside him, stuff that Jaime does not have. This gives a reason for Peacemaker to stick around, not only to form a mentor relationship with Jaime, but to find a way to get that part of the scarab out of him. This relationship gives the book a buddy-cop feel, and there are many characters in this book that Jaime could do that with. As the two get closer to the signal, they discover that it is in fact a Half-Life 2 strider looking thing, that is of course, blue like the Beetle. Jaime tries to attack it, but the beetle shuts down, leaving him without any protection.

I'm really digging the new artist on this book, Rafael Albuquerque. He has a strong handle on the Beetle, Jaime, Peacemaker, and Paco. It's close enough to original series artist Cully Hammner's designs, but far enough away that he can call it his own. I'm still liking this series, and for me it beats out anything else out of OYL, except for Trials of Shazam, but this is a close second. If you're not reading Blue Beetle, this issue might be a good time to jump on, as it is about to get a lot more interesting. B