Blue Beetle #3 (Fox) Part 1

Travel with me to 1940, when "rookie patrolman" Dan Garret walked the beat by day and fought crime by night as...The Blue Beetle!  Issue #2 had a whopping 8 stories, which I spread out over a few months. Issue 3 though, has two 30 page adventures, so I've decided to break it into a two posts over the next couple months. 

By the way, that cover is credited to Joe Simon! Remember back in the 40's "Charles Nicholas" was a house name used by several artists at Fox Features Syndicate including Jack Kirby. Simon had said he met Kirby while Jack was working for Fox...makes me wonder if this cover played any role in that meeting? Something to think about, huh? 

Now, enjoy the first story from 1940's "Blue Beetle" #3!

(click the pages to enlarge)

Who's Who 1990 #4

Blue Beetle #3 (Charlton)

Writer Joe Gill, penciller Bill Fraccio and inker Tony Tallarico are back with another Silver Age adventure of Dan Garrett. Charlton's Blue Beetle takes on "the sinister mastermind of a plot to destroy Earth" in and adventure called "Mr. Thunderbolt and the Superstar".

There's no time for set-up with this story! The action starts on the first page with Blue Beetle being struck by lightning attempting to protect the experimental aircraft, the Superstar. Who's trying to destroy it? Mr. Thunderbolt, who coincidentally is on the plane. Maybe he didn't think this through? After the lightning stops, Blue Beetle resumes his civilian identity of archaeology professor Dan Garrett and re-boards the plane. Dan was invited along on the Superstar's maiden voyage, but why they wanted an archaeologist along is never explained. He quickly identifies Mr. Thunderbolt as the cause of the electrical attack and confronts him. 

Thunderbolt zaps Dan, with little effect. Dan responds by knocking the villain out. He calls for the crew to lock the villain up, but they refuse. Thunderbolt is wealthy and world famous, they're not messing with him. Once they land the duo confront each other again. Dan realizes that Thunderbolt is an alien, an advance guard for a coming invasion. The foe will not allow anything to get in the way of his plans and, as he drives away from the airport, orders his chauffeur to drop everything and work on eliminating Dan Garrett. For his part Garrett goes to the specialists behind the plane's construction to suggest some modifications to protect it against lightning.

The Superstar will allow man to travel from country to country, across the globe with in minutes. With some additional work it will soon be capable of space travel as well. Thunderbolt cannot let this happen! He begins traveling across the world destroying factories that will provide the components to create a fleet of these high tech aircraft. 

In every location, he uses his alien abilities to call down lightning from the sky to do his work. When word gets back to Dan Garrett, he calls out the words "Kaji Dha!" and transforms into the Blue Beetle tracking Mr. Thunderbolt across the world to Tokyo. A Japanese officer spots Thunderbolt loitering (directing the strike on Tokyo) and orders him to move along, earning himself a blast of the villain's volts. 

Blue Beetle swoops in, landing a powerful punch that knocks the alien out, then takes to the sky hoping he can become the focus of the storm to prevent any more damage. 

He succeeds, but at a cost. Weakened, Blue Beetle finds himself cornered by Mr. Thunderbolt! Luckily, the Japanese officer has returned with back-up giving Dan a chance to get away and escort the Superstar to a safe landing. Once the plane is on the ground, Dan decides to rest up at a nearby hotel. Thunderbolt figures this is his chance to put an end to his opponent and sends his thugs in. Dan easily dispatches the thugs, and once again dons the blue tights to defend the Superstar. Thunderbolt is already on board the aircraft and tries calling down the lightning again...but the bolts have no effect! The crew made the modifications Dan suggested. Blue Beetle grabs the alien, and flies him deep into space, hurling him back to his own planet, saving mankind and the future of space travel!

So there you have it, another action packed silver age adventure of the Blue Beetle...mustache twirling villain and all! The coolest thing about this issue? This little gem from the letter column...a message from future "Game Of Thrones" author, George R. R. Martin!

Teaser Tuesday #48

"Person of Interest"

After rescuing his friend Paco, and reuniting with his friend Brenda last issue, things seem to skip ahead a bit this issue as Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner return to weave another tale of our insect hero, in "Blue Beetle" #4!

When we rejoin Jaime he's unpacking boxes in his room and searching his computer for info on the Blue Beetles that came before him. Dan Garrett, powers but no armor. Ted Kord, no powers and no armor. Before he gets much further his search is interrupted by a very special instant message. "Welcome to the club, Jaime. I'm called Oracle." 

Their exchange is short though. Jaime is suspicious, and not impressed. And when when she mentions that they don't want him to go through this alone. "You already left me alone! Superman and Batman and all the rest took me into space, had me fight a giant satellite, and then abandoned me up there!"  he says as he blasts his computer. It's probably for the best...he's got to go to a doctor's appointment. His mom, still confused and concerned about everything, has scheduled a check-up for her son. The doctor says Jaime is in perfect health, and the x-rays are clear (not even a hint of the scarab). Mom's still not sold, but they head home...and catch the eye of the Peacemaker. 

Brenda's aunt, La Dama, wants the "magic" of Blue Beetle and sends one of her henchman "the Diviner" to find him. Unfortunately the Diviner finds his prey as Jaime, Paco and Benda are walking home from school. It complicates things...he can't attack the Blue Beetle outright now, so he plans to send one of his own surrogates to do the job. The three teens make their way to a park, away from anyone else, so Jaime can show Brenda what he's become. First though he asks them if they know what happened to his dad while he was away? Turns out, his dad was shot trying to protect Luis, one of the guys that worked at his garage. While they discuss this, Diviner summons a couple angry Groot looking creatures. 

Brenda gets to see what Jaime wanted to show her, as he armors up to take on the creatures, while Diviner attempts to look like a hero stepping in to "save" La Dama's niece. 

The scarab resists harming the trees, until Jaime insists on taking control. Using the scarab, Blue Beetle traces the source of this magic back to it's source and ends it with a blast from his armor! The Diviner slinks away, as the teens discuss what happened. Jaime is tired of feeling out of control. He wants answers, and he asks Paco to contact the Posse for assistance!

Another pretty solid issue. I admit, I was a little resistant to Jaime, being a loyal Ted fan, but the kid is growing on me...thanks largely to the way Giffen and Rogers have developed him and his supporting cast. I hope you're all enjoying this ride with me! 

Blue Beetle in Lego Batman 3!

It's starting to seem like you can't turn on the TV, go to the movies, or play a video game without seeing a superhero...and that's a good thing! Luckily for us Beetlemaniacs, the powers that be have been expanding their focus and including characters that may not be as well known to the general public. For instance, the makers of the popular Lego Batman series just announced that our pal, the Blue Beetle would be appearing in the game's third installment, "Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham"!

Teaser Tuesday #47

"Time On His Hands!"

When last we left our hero (issue #9) the President had banned superheroes (a result of DC's mini-series "Legends") and Ted's receptionist Angela's uncle had been revealed as the villain Chronos, the Time Thief! So, let's not waste another second (get it? Chronos...time pun...) Blue Beetle #10 is brought to us by Len Wein, with guest artist Chuck Patton, and inker Dell Barras!

After finding Angela frozen by her uncle, Chronos, last issue Ted has her taken from her home to the company infirmary where he tells everyone she had an epileptic seizure. Jeremiah and Melody show up to express their concern, not just for Angela but for Ted too. He's been acting oddly lately, they say. 

Ted explains he knew what Angela was up to all along, he just didn't know why. Now that he does he intends to do something about Chronos...as Blue Beetle! He's already tangled with Chronos once since last issue, in "Legends" #4, but the villain got away. And he's already defied the presidential ban on superheroes, so figuring he's got nothing else to lose Ted hops in the BUG and heads out looking for Chronos. 

Walking down the street, Melody gets robbed by a purse snatcher. She manages to chase the kid into an alley, only to discover its a young girl. The girl slips away, and running into the street is promptly hit by a truck! Ted heads to Angela's house to look for clues, and after being reported by a nosy neighbor finds himself face to face with a couple police officers, but manages to give them the slip using a remote controlled smoke screen via the BUG.

He makes his escape with one clue, a receipt for the rental of a warehouse, a solid lead on the location of the Time Thief! Melody, feeling some sort of responsibility, followed the young thief to the hospital. 

Once there though she gets taken out by two thugs with tasers who have slipped the girl into some kind of tube in preparation to transport her to their boss. While at the warehouse Ted discovers Chronos' massive clock collection! up, this must be the right place! Smashing an hourglass, Chronos creates a mini sandstorm that engulfs the Blue Beetle.

 Ted has some tricks of his own and uses the BB gun's air blast to disperse it. Too little, too late though as Chronos has already slipped away on his "Sundial" hover platform. Pursuing in the BUG, Ted tracks the villain down in no time, leading to a short aerial battle.

The sky fight is followed by a little hand to hand combat on a bridge, before the duo tumble into a fountain, still grappling, as a crowd of onlookers gather. Then, the crowd turns. "Godfrey is right...you costumes are crazy!" they shout, pelting our hero with a soda can. 

Chronos use the distraction to make a run for it, as Ted calls to the crowd, "Don't let him escape!" But under Godfrey's manipulating influence they refuse to assist, "That's your job, not ours!" Luckily Ted grabs Chronos' stopwatch, and freezes the villain in his tracks leaving him for the police.

Wow...that was a pretty fun, fast paced issue! And while I love Paris Cullins, the art by Chuck Patton was a very cool change of pace. Hard to believe we're almost half way through this series! Check back next week when we take a look at the adventures of Jaime Reyes!