Blue Beetle 1 & 2

Series: Blue Beetle
Words: Tony Bedard
Images: G Guara, Ruv Jose, JP Mayer
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: It reads December 2011 but we got it in October
Format: Single Issue comic
I meant to read Blue Beetle right away. I was the person who threw it on our pull list for the DC New 52. The mister has taken to watching a lot of Batman Brave and the Bold and well the newest Blue Beetle sort of grew on me.

A little surprising because all the reasons why I hate Peter Parker (Spiderman) for some reason in the Blue Beetle are kind of endearing. He certainly fills an important niche in the universe. D.C. potentially can make him relatable to the highschool youth who is sort of excluded, not exactly popular and who wants to be a super hero.

I am glad that I waited until we had two issues to sit down and actually read Blue Beetle. Especially since very little is actually resolved by the end of the first story issue. Hell it spends most of the time giving the back story of the scarab that gives Blue Beetle his powers. My personal preference would have been to not have the back story behind the Scarab and the Reach just yet. I would have liked to get to know Jamie more. I want to care more about his life. In terms of pacing for the story I would have rather learned about the Reach and about the Scarab’s roots as Jamie himself learns of them. Preferably after I already care about both.

For those of you with tweens or teens you are trying to suck into comics so far Blue Beetle may be a great gateway comic for them.

As far as our pulls go? I am  not sure how long we will continue with it. Two issues in there has not been enough story for me to actually get into it. I will continue to give it a chance. It may slowly warm up into something great. I certainly will have my fingers crossed for that.

I like the use of Spanish mixed with English. As someone who does not speak or read Spanish it is a bit tricky to get used to but once I did I appreciated it. I have heard from a few others as far in as I am that they found it difficult to read partially because of that. I think it is more effective when the story is read in larger chunks.
I am pleased to see another hero of colour. Especially one that is so easily accessible to a wide range of youth. One of things that will keep me buying this comic is my desire to see a broader range of stories coming out of super hero comics. Don’t get me wrong I love me some Batman etc. and I think those stories are great and have a place too.

Essentially this comic has potential but I have not seen it live up to that potential yet so we will have to wait and see.

Grifter #1

Serise:  Grifter

Words: Nathan Edmonson
Images:  CAFI, Gorder
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: In reality September but our cover reads November 2011
Format: Comic

Like I mentioned in my review of Voodoo I had written a review of Grifter when it first came out and just forgot that I hadn't uploaded it. Tragically right after I promised to upload it ASAP I managed to break my desk top computer and lost it.

So sorry for the delay but life happens.

Grifter was another one of those “well I may as well try it” adds to our recent pull. Grifter was far more science fiction then what I was used to from D.C. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If your sole reason for reading comics is because you like to read about SuperHeros doing SuperHeroicThings well then Grifter certainly is not for you.

Heck I am pretty open about none super hero comics and I was at first going to give it a skip. Then I read a summary of it and it seemed worth checking out.

However, if you like science fiction. If you enjoyed Falling Skies. If you liked the original miniseries of V. If you thought there were good ideas in Puppet Masters. If you liked Earth the Final Conflict. Then it very well may be worth checking out.

The Grifter seamlessly blends conspiracy theory with alien invasion in a way that was page turning instead of cheesy. Over all? It makes for a good set up for a potentially good series. It is well worth keeping your eye out for and if it continues on an upswing it will be well worth reading.

At this point there is not too much for me to rant about in terms of deconstructing. But with science fiction that usually ends up slowly coming. The art while not as mind blowingly amazing as Batwoman is good. And in the artist's defense the same style of art probably wouldn't transfer over quite as well. It complimented the story very well and is probably above average in general. I was not taken out of the story because of little cheats like everyone having the same facial expressions. One of the biggest strengths in the art work is the designs behind the alien creatures (as of yet unidentifiied) when they are not passing themselves off as human. Rather then giving the reader too many visual details the alien's themselves are mostly see through and that works. It works really, really well.

As a comic. To be honest? I wouldn't suggest the average person buy it in single issues unless you have the patience of a saint. This has all the makings of a great graphic novel and I think it will read much better when you can get larger chunks of the story. Walking away from the first issue I was left wanting more but I am very impatient and with stories like this far too often I want to read it all in one big sitting.

Voodoo #1

Series: Voodoo
Words: Ron Marz
Images: Sami Basri
Issue Number: 1
Release Date: In reality September but our cover reads November 2011
Format: Comic


I was planning on doing an update on this comic last week. It was one of the first ones I meant to read of our pull. I was the one who insisted we get it and mister boyfriendface wasn't overly sold on it. Somehow though it ended up hidden away almost immediately and I've only just got a chance to enjoy it.


He did very kindly suggest that I read the comic that I wanted us to buy because it was “pretty good”.


So I'm writing this as I read for a change. And I'm sort of glad. Apparently the main character Voodoo is a stripper. I have all sorts of worries about this. The main character is certainly hyper sexualized in the art on the first panel. She after all is crawling around on a stripper floor in very little.


The male investigator watching Voodoo is sorta a dog. He's very unlikeable so far. He doesn't hide the fact that he's enjoying watching women take off their clothing for a steakout.


His partner though is another story. She's pretty kickass. She also doesn't seem to like him much which makes her so easy for me to identify with. Despite my total inability to beat a crowd of angry young men who threaten me with my fists.


Half way through the comic the writer puts some of my fears at ease. One of the women while trying to find a replacement for her baby sitter out of the other strippers announces “Look around it's single moms, kids trying to afford community college or just pay the rent.”


And the page by page update ends here because holy my goodness it really did redeem itself in a big way. We've got ourselves a shape changing cliff hanger giving potentially mind blowing goodness. It vaguely reminds me of the Grifter whose review I apparently forgot to upload here (coming soon). Looking into the history of both characters apparently this is because they are two slices in the same story. The alien's in Grifter are the same alien's in Voodoo. Only Grifter was written from the point of view of a human alone who was fighting against an alien invasion. Voodoo seems to be a monster / alien / some creature trying to pass itself off as human for who knows what reason and trying to use hyper femininity as a guise to collect information. I see all sorts of not only cross over potential but complimentary story lines showing the same story from several different points of view which excites me.


The use of a hyper sexualized female lead is totally explained within the context of the story and it shifts. So far one of the few comic's I have read where the author has gone out of the way to give a context behind why the female main character is an extreme of hyper femininity and overly sexualized. And my feminist self bought the explanation and is looking forward to reading more. Of course when I see an author doing that it means I look them up . This time that was not much of a help. To be honest I'm not familiar with pretty much any of his works. I have no idea if they are just as amazing or if they are able to balance women in comics in a way that does not fill me with rage. I am in love with what I have seen so far with Voodoo and I hope it lives up to potential I have seen in issue number 1.


Voodoo is not traditional D.C. not by any means. I would heavily suggest it for anyone who likes science fiction. Who enjoys alien invasions and is interested into expanding into comics. Or if you just want something different. It is well worth picking up in single issues and I will get back to you as the story progresses if I would also suggest it in trade version. Because I'm pretty sure I'll also be buying that.