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| The Bum's Rush | by Paul Milligan |
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The Bum’s Rush #2 ¡Spoiler Alert For Those Who Haven’t Read DC Countdown (and care)! Who Mourns for The Blue Beetle? I remember the first time I saw the Blue Beetle was, I think, in the Justice League of America Annual #5. It was part of the Armageddon 2001 crossover. Yeah, I know, but back then I bought just about any comic I could get my hands on. After that I saw him when I read Crisis On Infinite Earths for the first time (my parents bought me the whole thing for Christmas one year) and then in the follow up mini-series Legends that showed the formation of the Post-Crisis Justice League. Just from that handful of encounters I knew there was something about the character I liked. Maybe it was the costume that caught my eye at first, that is one fine looking costume. Maybe it was his tongue-in-cheek attitude; you almost knew that he knew he didn’t really belong in a costume. It also could have been that he had no powers and was a second (maybe even third) tier character; I’ve always had a real soft spot for those guys.  I’ll
tell you what really did it, though, what really solidified
the Beetle as one of my all-time favorite characters (now
only second to Superman.) It was Justice League America #69,
an issue that crossed over into the infamous Death of
Superman story. The League got their collective asses handed
to them, needless to say, but it was Beetle that impressed
me the most. Unlike the rest of his teammates, Beetle had
absolutely no powers whatsoever, but still jumped into the
fray . . . and got BEAT DOWN! Badly. Not sure how he
survived, but that kinda gutsy move made me love the
character forever and ever after that.So I’m pretty . . . not pissed, but I ain’t happy, that the Blue Beetle got shot (pretty graphically portrayed in DC’s Countdown to Infinite Crisis) in the head. Don't get me wrong it was a great story. And I suppose it did its job in surprising and shocking and kicking off a huge new story. Granted, I did guess what was going to happen before I read the book, I was just shocked they actually went through with it. Pretty indicative of why I’m digging DC so much right now, guts and good stories. But still, the Blue Beetle is dead and I’m in mourning. I mean I have the entire run of his 80’s comic book series, that’s how much I like the character! People have tried to make me feel better. “He’s not really dead, it was all a trick.” “Didn’t you notice the room they’re standing in? I think it was all a hologram.” And so on. My question to those people is, who benefits from faking the Blue Beetle’s death when no one knows about it? I mean, why shoot him in the head “holographically” if there’s no one around to see it happen. That doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Then to immediately dispose of the body so no one finds it? Doesn’t exactly sound like someone was faking his death and if they were they went about it in the most complicated and stupid of ways. The only person witnessing the Beetle’s death was the reader and so if it was faked then the only person you are trying to fool is the reader who doesn’t actually “exist” in this make believe world, therefore the antagonists actions are completely without motive and that’s just bad storytelling. So no, I do not believe his death was fake. That doesn’t mean I don’t think he’ll be coming back. On the contrary, if someone doesn’t beat me to it, I swear to God I will bring him back myself. So let’s just hope this whole “writing comics” thing pans out huh? For the Blue Beetle’s sake. RIP Ted Kord, The Blue Beetle. We hardly knew ye. There are elements of true greatness in the sequel such as
the fight between Superman and the three evil It seems, though, as if I’m the only person in the world who
has heard of this book. Every time I mention my excitement
about the book I get mostly blank stares and a couple of
“What the f . . . ?” responses. Well let me enlighten the
uninformed and/or uninitiated. Sharknife is a 136-page
graphic novel by Corey “The Rey” Lewis, published by Oni
Press. I’ve been following Rey’s career for a few years now,
ever since I first discovered his website, and let me tell
you, this kid is talented as hell. And he’s only 22! I hate
him. But I still want to read Sharknife, an insane mixture
of everything Rey loves – ninjas, monsters, video games,
manga, rock-and-roll, hip-hop and high-energy action! Just
one look at this book and finally the term “American Manga”
seems to actually mean something. I can only hope, in the
future, to produce comics that look this good. As for how
good it actually is? I’ll be picking it up this weekend.
You’ll just have to wait until next time to see if it was
worth the wait . . . or hell, go get it yourself.
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If I’m to believe the Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc.
shipping list for the week of April 20th, then Sharknife hit
stores on Wednesday. Now as of writing this, I’ve yet to
actually go to the comic book store and confirm this fact,
but if it’s true then I only have one thing to say:
HALLELUJAH!! I haven’t looked forward to a comic book this
much in years. My youthful joy at the thought of reading
comics has returned!