Blue Beetle 3

Here's the book you really ought to be reading. Jaime Reyes is a teenager, and the third in a line of heroes to take the name Blue Beetle, from the blue scarab found years ago by the original, Dan Garrett. The scarab has fused with Jaime's spine and sprouts really cool armor, offering advice and weapons as needed.

But I could go on about his origin for hours, and really, you can find all that on Wikipedia. The hero's secret origin tale is a staple of comics, and so it'll always be there, but this series offers something else.



The extra good stuff in this series that makes the usual all the sweeter. Consider the unfamiliar setting of El Paso and Jaime's cast of supporting characters, his good friends and his family, all of whom know he's the Beetle, all of them trying to support him as he makes the hero's journey through the DC Universe.

And it's funny, too. (I love when they make Batman funny.)


I think what touches me the most is that, aside from Martha and Jon Kent, we have rarely seen supportive parents of teen superheroes in comic books. Here, Jaime's mom and dad have accepted the Blue Beetle as part of Jaime's life, and they're doing their best to cope with that, and fold it into their otherwise normal lives. The results are both funny and touching.

In the meantime, we're getting a great run of stories as we watch this new hero find his confidence and explore his very-bizarre world, all without forsaking the fun of being kids and palling around with good friends.

Too often we see the miserable, lonely "I have a secret" cliche in superheroes, especially the teen-angsty ones. Jaime Reyes is a breath of fresh air.

Go out and buy this comic! Add it to your pull lists, request the trades at your local Borders or Barnes and Noble!! Here is a great title which needs a nice long run.