DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLUE BEETLE #30

Boundaries, Part Two:  Exposed Wires

October 2008

Written by Matthew Sturges

Pencils by Rafael Albuquerque

Inks by Rafael Albuquerque

Cover by Rafael Albuquerque

Synopsis

Jaime Reyes (aka Blue Beetle) visits La Dama to gather information on four men who crossed the border and somehow gained super powers.  La Dama tells him that he should stay away.  Jaime tells her he can’t do that.  After Jaime leaves, La Dama calls Nichol in Mexico, angry about the super-powered kids, which was not part of the deal.  Nichol tells her to deal with it.  Outside El Paso, the four kids are worried what will happen when Nichol catches up to them.  Meanwhile, Jaime, Paco, and Brenda take Mariposa, the girl who crossed the border with the four kids, to play mini-golf.  In the middle of the game, Hector calls Jaime to tell him he knows where the four kids are located.  Jaime finds the kids and subdues them.  When he checks on them, he realizes they are close to death.  The scarab informs Jaime they were dying before they even got there.  Jaime wonders what to do next.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There is a lot of stuff going on in this issue, to the point where I would call the story dense and overflowing, but somehow Sturges and Albuquerque manage to make this a light reading.  Not that this is a bad thing; I loved this issue.  Sturges has a great handle on Jaime and the rest of the cast and only two issues in the quality is the same good stuff as before.  This issue was a quick read.  It didn’t really hit me until later how much was packed into this issue.  I mean, think about it.  First, Jaime has several encounters with others as Blue Beetle, each building upon previous events and continuing the overall story of the Blue Beetle in addition to the current “Boundaries” story (and I hope that makes sense), and that is only half the comic!  Then we get Jaime and the double date at the golf course someone really should build followed by the brief battle with the immigrants.  That is a lot of stuff going on.  I could easily see how this issue could be split into two different issues.  Even with all of the stuff going on, to top it off, Sturges tosses in Jaime’s struggle balancing his hero life and his teenage life and his struggle to come to grips with the scarab’s ability and his own ability.  It is a lot and I have to commend Sturges and Albuquerque for taking advantage of each page and each panel to tell such a detailed and vibrant story. 

Finally!  We get a brief reference by La Dama of her meeting with Manhunter and the editor provides the issue in which occurred (Manhunter, issue #33).  That is the perfect way to get someone to check out another comic.  It is about time DC did something like this. 

Hey, look, Sturges got his name on the cover.  How about that!

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