DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLUE BEETLE #26

El Escarabajo Azul

June 2008

Written by Jai Nitz

Pencils by Mike Norton

Inks by Trevor Howard

Cover by Zach Howard and Brad Anderson

Synopsis

At a picnic attended by his extended family, Jaime Reyes introduces his girlfriend Traci to his non-English speaking side of the family.  There, Jaime learns that his mother told her mother, his grandmother, that Jaime is also Blue Beetle.  Traci then tells Jaime that there is something wrong in Ciudad Juarez; Jaime tells her he will check it out.  As he gets closer, the scarab tells Jaime it is the Posse, but when he gets there, he encounters Parasite, who knows everything about the Blue Beetle.  The Parasite uses all of the Posse’s powers as he attacks Jaime, but the scarab uses a power nullifier feedback to defeat Parasite and erase Parasite’s memory of who Jaime is.  When Jaime returns to the picnic, the news of the Blue Beetle’s fight with Parasite had made the news; one of Jaime’s family members expresses distaste with Blue Beetle.  However, Jaime’s grandmother tells them all that Blue Beetle protects their city and therefore protects them, so the family will support Blue Beetle.  No one disagrees with her.  Then, Jaime’s grandmother asks Jaime to take her flying, which the blue Beetle does for her. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I do not speak Spanish and whatever I learned in school has long ago faded from memory, so keep that in mind as you read the following.  If you use this issue as a test to see if the artist can tell a story, then I think it works fairly well.  Norton does a good job conveying the story through the art; I could follow what was happening without much trouble.  It was easy to tell Jaime’s family did not like Blue Beetle, to understand Parasite had siphoned off the Posse’s power, and to tell Jaime’s grandmother ultimately stood up at the end for Jaime and Blue Beetle.  Moreover, I think the reason for the use of Spanish actually flowed well into the narrative; it doesn’t feel forced or feel like a gimmick.  The use of Parasite was also clever since he is the one character for which it would make sense to speak Spanish given how he would siphon the talents of the Spanish-speaking Posse. 

At the end, there is the English version of the issue, presented much like the script would arrive for the artist to draw (minus the writer’s instructions for what he wants to see).  I am split on the inclusion of this in this issue.  On the one hand, as a non-Spanish speaker, I liked the fact that I could read what the writer was writing.  But on the other hand, I think it sends a message that while DC is attempting to get Spanish readers to their titles, the majority of its readership is English and the inclusion of the script seems like a way not to alienate the English-speaking readers. 

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