Blue Beetle #4 – Josh Trujillo, Writer; Adrian Gutierrez, Artist; Wil Quintana, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: After last issue’s high-intensity chase through the Egyptian pyramids, everyone is recovering—and Jaime is figuring out how far he’s willing to go to take down the Blood Scarab. Along the way, some surprising connections emerge. Paco, whose on-again, off-again relationship with Brenda has been a key part of past runs, forms a romantic bond with Xiomara, one of the new Beetles. And Jaime and Horizon ambassador Oo’Li have an intense conversation about Jaime’s plans—only for her to think it’s a date. This leads to some funny conversations with Starfire, but Jaime has much heavier things on his mind. He approaches Victoria Kord, who is starting to see more menacing, to discuss how to put the Blood Scarab down permanently. But this issue also gives us our first look at the Blood Scarab’s real face—and it’s not what I expected.
Fire and Ice: Welcome to Smallville #4 – Joanne Starer, Writer; Natacha Bustos, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: This series has mostly been very broad, focusing on Fire’s attempts to reclaim her superhero career through a series of bizarre stunts—much to Tora’s annoyance. But that frustration has been simmering under the surface, and the two are getting pretty close to being estranged. That leads Martha Kent to try to bring the two back together by inviting them to her usual Sunday hangout—a drag brunch. This is an amusing twist, making Martha a lot more interesting and modern than she usually is, but it backfires with Ice’s new friend taking the opportunity to sow seeds of dissent, sending Bea right into the arms of the worst possible romantic partner—Lobo (back when he was a comic-relief chaos agent and not one of the Superman universe’s big bads). There’s a lot going on in this issue, much of it falling back on some pretty hilarious visual gags, but it mostly just serves to deepen the rift between our two favorite BFFS.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
