Blue Beetle #1 Spoilers Inside!
Writer: Josh Trujillo
Artist: Adrian Gutierrez
Colorist: Wil Quintana
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
Editor: Andrew Marino
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 5th, 2023
Order: Blue Beetle #1
Recap – Previously on Blue Beetle
Jaime Reyes was about to graduate from High School but due to not wanting to attend college, he gets moved to Palmera City to help with the dining family business.
While in Palmera City, he encounters Ted Kord (The Second Blue Beetle), his sister Victoria Kord and some unfriendly faces that want to kill him.
Starfire and several heroes join the mix trying to sort out the situation as some of them are starting to see Jaime as a danger.
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Once everything gets resolved, The Horizon arrive on Earth, looking for a place to stay where they can be hidden from The Reach who they thought Blue Beetle was an agent for.
Jaime gives them a place to stay in Palmera City and continues his adventures as Blue Beetle now with some new friends.
Colourful Pages
Before diving into any of the story details, I’d first like to talk about something that popped out the most to me and that was the colours in this issue.
It wasn’t only the colours that stood out to me but the art style and the lettering make it all look very stylistic and unique compared to any other current ongoing that I’m reading.
Even when there’s huge SFX that’s used in certain scenes, the colours that are used within them, make it stand out more on the page, and for me personally make it more effective in the scene, it’s not just something that I’m glancing over.
Adrian Gutierrez, Wil Quintana and Lucas Gattoni all did a wonderful job here, they proved themselves worthy while working on Graduation Day that they were the perfect trio to deal with the vibrant world of Palmera City and Jaime Reyes.All of this combined with Josh Trujillo’s writing, made for the perfect Blue Beetle story and now they’re all back for Blue Beetle’s brand new ongoing comic, his first since 2018.
The Beetles
The last time we saw Dynastes and Nitida, they were both after Jaime but after the conclusion of Graduation Day, we’re getting to see them work as a team together with the second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord.
Seeing their interactions in this was one of the best things as it was a direct continuation of Graduation Day. Jaime might have graduated but he still has a lot on his shoulders with having to train these new beetles at the hero job.
Trujillo did a magnificent job with the dialogue between Jaime and Ted when discussing the aftermath of the battle, Jaime is stressing over not being able to handle them while Ted is reassuring him that he’s probably the perfect person to deal with them as he went through the same experience himself.
The inclusion of Ted makes this moment very heartwarming as I don’t think there’s any better character that could’ve relayed this information over to Jaime.
It’s a very interesting dynamic that Trujillo has been writing since Graduation Day with our new beetles as originally they thought of Jaime as an enemy and a agent of the reach but now they’re having to work alongside this person that they thought and not only treat him as their mentor, but they have to come to terms with their own scarabs too and the power that they withhold, which is what Jaime was originally worried about and probably still slightly is after his talk with Ted.
After reading this issue, I’m excited to see where their development goes and how they might get pushed to the edge with their powers.
They’re a perfect addition to the supporting cast which now also includes Paco and Brenda as they’ve also moved to Palmera City. Jaime might not have his family (excluding his aunts) with him in Palmera City but he has his friends.
Look At The Horizon
Another major change since Graduation Day is that we have some new visitors from outer space and no it isn’t anymore Kryptonians.
The Horizon have arrived on earth after heading their way the entirety of Graduation Day. Jaime gave them a home in Palmera City but as expected, they aren’t welcome.
We see in this issue how they’re getting harassed constantly while trying to mind their own business.
It’s sad to see but I’m glad Trujillo is touching on a topic like this as though in the comic it is aliens dealing with this, it relates back to the real world with how people have to deal with prejudice, racist behaviour on a daily basis just because they supposedly don’t fit in or because people don’t like how they look and see them as a threat.
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It’s a topic that I’m surprised they’re dealing with but I do hope it isn’t one that’s just forgotten about over the course of this story arc or just the near future in general.
I’d love to see where the Horizon ends up by the end and though they wanted to solve the issue with violence, I hope Trujillo thinks of a better way of solving this issue.
A Bloody Mess
We got a massive tease of this during Graduation Day but there’s a new villain in town. Not much is known about them so I can’t go into great detail but it’s clear that they’re either after Blue Beetles or everyone with a Scarab.
Going by the name Blood Scarab which has not been officially mentioned yet, everyone on the creative team has done an excellent job of not only this villain looking badass but also menacing.
My personal favourite touch to Blood Scarab is the lettering that was used by Lucas Gattoni, just like with every other character, making them unique.
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It adds to that threatening aura that Blood Scarab has and reminds us, the readers, that he’s to be taken seriously. In just only four pages, they manage to come to destroy Ted’s lab and incapacitate Ted himself.
Now I doubt Ted is going to die but I do believe he may be out for the count and not able to aid Jaime, which will force him into being more of a leader, even if he wasn’t ready.
Conclusion – Final Thoughts
Blue Beetle #1 is another great addition to the Dawn of DC and a perfect continuation of Graduation Day.
The story kicks off straight away by getting us familiar with our supporting cast and the issues that will be surrounding them while also introducing the villain of this arc ‘Scarab War’.
I think this is going to be a great start to Blue Beetle and I can’t wait to see where this story ends up and where our characters will be by the end of it.
A great comic with an amazing creative team behind it that shows how much they love Blue Beetle with their work effort.
Rating: 5/5
