DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLUE BEETLE #28

Brutus

August 2008

Written by Will Pfeiffer

Pencils by David Baldeon

Inks by Steve Bird

Cover by Zach Howard and Brad Anderson

Synopsis

Walking home late at night, Hector is suddenly attacked by a giant monster.  The next morning, Blue Beetle listens to complaints from local business owners of damage to their stores.  Later, Dani Garret and the Peacemaker inform the group that the monster belongs to Dr. Mephistopheles, a scientist the original Blue Beetle fought a number of years ago.  That night, Blue Beetle encounters one of Mephistopheles’ monsters.  In the midst of the fight, an old man appears to tell Blue Beetle that the monster is really just a dog.  Blue Beetle learns the old man is Mephistopheles, who has been on the run and hiding ever since the original Blue Beetle defeated him.  Blue Beetle decides that the old man has been punished enough and doesn’t do anything other than to let the old man and his dog live in peace.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was a decent story, if I wasn’t left with a bunch of questions, such as, why was the beast rampaging throughout Austin in the first place.  I mean, the doc has a button that reverts the creature back to the dog.  Did he not realize what was happening?  Does it work the other way?  And if the doc had been moving around from town to town, shouldn’t there be reports of a creature in those towns, as well.  I guess it just seems like the creature’s appearance was never explained properly.  It shows up as a convenient excuse to trot out an old villain and explain how his life was ruined since the original Blue Beetle killed his monster.  But I can’t really fault Pfeiffer for the lack of detail; the important part of the story is not the creature, but Jaime’s decision on what to do with the old man.  It shows Jaime growing into his role as a hero, but more importantly growing into the role of a man, one who recognizes what life can sometimes do a person. 

I am curious to know if Mephistopheles actually appeared as a Blue Beetle villain and, if so, how much of the flashback in this issue mirrors the original appearance. 

On page 3, the credit page, Hector is wearing a red hoodie.  On the previous page, the hoodie is green.  That is an awfully big mess up by the colorist.  I bet they fix it when it is put in the trade paperback. 

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