Thursday, January 8, 2015

Blue Beetle: 1st Thursday with Montygog

Happy New Year, Beetlemaniacs! 

I stumbled on this piece by Montygog, aka Dave Perillo, while perusing deviantART. I'd watch a Blue Beetle cartoon done in this style! How about you?

Saturday, January 3, 2015

The L.A.W. #2: The Way Of The Warrior

Bob Layton and Dick Giordano return to continue weaving the tale of how the world deals with a threat when the Justice League disappears...it turns to the L.A.W.


Captain Atom, captured last issue by the villain Avatar, attempts to escape his crystal prison, as the villain's demon minions taunt him. Avatar parades in, like the Pied Piper surrounded by children, and like a classic James Bond villain reveals his plan while encouraging Captain Atom's struggle. He's using the prison to drain the hero's energy to fuel his plans for reshaping the world. The more he struggles, the faster it works.



Meanwhile, the Question and Blue Beetle have arrived in India, having managed to track a group of Avatar's followers. The Question quickly finds himself outnumbered. The crowd is quickly distracted by a "leper", Blue Beetle in disguise, who uses the new "neuro-stunner" on his BBGun to aid the heroes in their escape.

At the headquarters of the Peacemaker Project, "Sarge" Steel is introduced to Justine Ramagas, head of their Global Communication Network. They discuss his inability to contact Nightshade, and trade some flirtatious banter...



Justine notices his missing hand (melted by demons last issue), and offers to get their medical team working on a replacement, then flirts some more before they get word that the communications team picked up a frantic call from Senator Eden (Nightshade's father)...and there's trouble!

Back in India, Blue Beetle and Question make it to the docks, only to find themselves cornered by another mob. As the thugs close in, a bald man steps off a boat and into the scene. "Pardon me, but of what crimes are these men guilty?" he asks. The response is a knife tossed at his chest...



He catches the knife and throws it at a cargo net, dropping bags over the mob of Avatar followers. The man is Rip Jagger, and Blue Beetle is impressed! The trio then runs down an alley, narrowly avoiding being trapped in a dead end, thanks to Rip, and just barely evading the mob.



In Bethesda, Maryland, Steel and Salt arrive at Senator Eden's home. What they find is Eve, trapped in some sort of temporal rift. Salt does what any clear thinking person would...he reaches into the void.

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In India, Beetle, Question and Rip find themselves at the end of a pier, caught between the Avatar's men and the water. With no where left to run, Beetle taps a button on his glove and summons the BUG, allowing them to escape. They fill Rip in what has happened...Avatar destroying NASA's Mars project, disposing of the Justice League and their lunar base...but Jagger is confused, so much as changed since he went to Nanda Parbat. Beetle asks, "Rip...have you been frozen for decades in a block of ice...being worshiped by eskimos..." (is that a dig at Captain America? lol) and then alerts everyone of a change of course. They're being summoned by "Sarge" Steel!

At Peacemaker HQ, Mitchel Black talks prosthetics and women with "Sarge" Steel. Mitchel saw Justine flirting, and tells "Sarge" to stop worrying about age being an issue...it's the nineties! Steel hesitates on the prosthetic long enough for Salt to come in and announce that Nightshade is awake...and asking for Steel. Arriving in the infirmary, Steel finds Eve Eden...free of the succubus, but also void of emotion. 



She says she's free, and changed. She's just not sure how changed. 

When the BUG arrives, Salt drops to his knee, bowing before a "Master"...Rip Jagger. 



While Steel gets fitted with a new hand, courtesy of Dr. Bhattacarja, the head of the Peacemaker Project's advanced sciences department, Blue Beetle and Question pay a visit to Eve's room. Once there though, they find she's transformed into a new version of Nightshade. She seems unsure of what's happening but doesn't stick around, even when Blue Beetle offers to talk to her. She says she promised Steel she'd find the missing League...and she needs to get to work.



Then to wrap things up (in rapid succession) Mitchel Black gets his official promotion to THE Peacemaker, and plans to save the children Avatar has been hiding behind. Dr. Bhattacarja, reveals herself to be a mole, having a clandestine meeting with Avatar (via mystical gem communication). 



Steel and Justine have a little grown-ups behind closed doors with the lights out kind of meeting, while Beetle, Question and Peacemaker take to the skies in preparation of a surprise assault on Avatar.

Sweet baby James, this issue was packed with more action, character reveals, and romance than an episode of the A-Team! And who'd have pegged "Sarge" Steel to be "Face"? I'd have guessed Hannibal! Can't wait to see what's in store for issue #3!




Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy "Blue" Year!

Well Beetlemaniacs, another year has come and gone. Yes, 2014 is over...was it everything we'd hoped for? Maybe not, but it did bring us these memories...

We saw Ted Kord "return" at the end of "Forever Evil"...then disappear again. At least he did return to action in "Multiversity: Pax Americana" and "Justice League 3000"

Jaime Reyes popped up briefly in "Futures End #0", and got his video game on in DC's Infinite Crisis and Lego Batman 3.

Heck...both of our boys in blue were teased in the "Futures End: Booster Gold", and we found out that Tony Isabella and George R. R. Martin were both fans of Blue Beetle! Not to mention the sweet sketches we picked up from Fred Hembeck, "the Hero Business'" Bill Walko and "JL8's" Yale Stewart

Maybe not a huge year for Blue Beetle...but it definitely had it's moments! On a personal note I even managed to squeeze in some side work at The Legion of Super-Bloggers, and covering "Futures End" over at Firestorm Fan!

So now it's 2015...and Ted is already showing up in several solicitations for DC's upcoming "Convergence" event, and both Ted and Jaime have been rumored for appearances in live action, from TV to film! As far as the blog goes, I've been putting out feelers for some more interviews, lining up some commissions and keeping my eyes on the web for any and all news I can bring you. 

Is there anything you want see me cover? A particular story or artist? More Ted? More Jaime? More Dan? Take the survey, or leave a comment below!

Here's hoping the New Year brings some great moments for Blue Beetle!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Celebrate Christmas with Blue Beetle

Earlier this year I had a chance to meet the very talented Yale Stewart at the Baltimore Comic-Con. After trading some messages back and forth on Facebook, I asked him to sign me up for a Blue Beetle commission!

Just a few weeks ago, he messaged saying it was done, and asking if I wanted to see it, or just be surprised when it arrived. I chose the latter...being this close to the holidays I figured it would be like opening a Christmas present...it was and it was definitely worth the wait!

Be sure to check out Yale's comic strip JL8, and follow him on Facebook too!

Wishing you all a very "Blue" Christmas from Kord Industries!