Review — ‘Blue Beetle’ #2 Is A Lot Of Set-Up & A Lot Of Heart

Blue Beetle has become well known as being a little different for a DC property. It’s much more character and interpersonal drama focused than, say, Gotham-set titles. That works to the story’s advantage in Blue Beetle #2.

Josh Trujillo, Adrian Gutierrez, Wil Quintana, and Lucas Gattoni continue to build Jaime Reyes’ new life and status quo.

A dangerous new villain wielding scarab powers is haunting Palmera City. They have already struck down Ted Kord. Can Jaime Reyes and his new friends and allies stop them before they endanger the entire planet?

Trujillo has done something really well so far between this series so far and its prequel with Blue Beetle: Graduation Day. This series (and I’m going to count Graduation Day with it) has been a great balance of worldbuilding, plot progression, character work and just enough shared universe elements to really make it a DCU comic. The opening scene with the JLI worrying over Ted is drawn directly from the years that these characters have been friends and a found family.

Beyond that, Jaime’s world is growing. The two new Beetles that have joined him, Roma and Xiomara, are becoming more fully formed with each appearance, and Palmera City is quickly becoming as rich a location as Metropolis or Gotham. Even how Jaime is changing as a character is additive to the story.

Guiterrez’s art continues to give the book a unique look. There’s a little bit of DC’s house style, mixed with the Spanish influence similar to creators like Jorge Jimenez, and a touch of Asian design influence. He combines all of those together in a way that gives each layout and panel an energy that drives the story, while also clearly depicting everything that’s happening.

Quintana’s color art is flying under the radar at the moment. He has a great sense of light, and he uses different color palettes to tie each location with the characters or the action. He’s able to make the hospital cold and harsh, while the Horizon and the Beetles’ home is vibrant and full of life. He’s really showing what colors can do for a comic.

Gattoni is juggling a lot of unusual dialogue in a similar style to most letterers and he does it really well. He selected a clear and easy to read font for the Horizon that still feels alien for example. It’s a wordy comic that doesn’t feel like too much though, and that’s a credit to what he’s doing.

Blue Beetle #2 is available now from DC Comics.