Blue Beetle #8 – Josh Trujillo, Writer; Adrian Gutierrez, Artist; Wil Quintana, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Coming on the heels of the death of the Blood Scarab and the growing rift between Jaime and Khaji Da, the focus in this series shifts from the threat of the rogue scarab to the threat of humanity’s reaction—led by Victoria Kord. But Jaime can’t even keep his team together, as Roma has been traumatized by recent events and has chosen to leave the role of Nitida behind for good. How serious is she? She has Victoria surgically remove her beetle, which becomes key to Victoria’s new project—a high-tech defense robot known as Pinnacle. This new venture becomes key when a new villain emerges—a criminal named Overthrow, whose father was defeated by Ted Kord ages ago. As this villain tries to disrupt Kord Industries’ debut, it becomes clear how far Victoria is willing to go to ensure humanity remains in control—and how big the threat to all remaining Scarabs is.
The Batman and Scooby-Doo Mysteries #4 – Sholly Fisch, Writer; Megan Huang, Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Megan Huang makes her debut on this title with a story that at first glance seems to be more serious than the average—random citizens around Gotham being overcome by a strange curse that turns them into vicious flying gargoyles who terrorize the public. This is a rare tale in that the villains seem to be targeting innocent people rather than just being a guy in a mask—or so it seems. There’s a very clever twist to this story including obscure knowledge that gives away the culprit’s identity, and this issue does well what many miss—leaving actual clues for the detectives to follow. I also noticed that this seems to be a more modern version of Gotham than we usually see in this book, with Mayor Nanako guest-starring, Oracle backing up the Bats, and a Robin who looks a lot more like Damian than the animated versions. Huang’s art has a slightly different style than Brizuela’s, but all the characters look like themselves and her monsters are particularly excellent.
Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #3 – John Layman, Writer; Jesus Hervas, Artist; David Baron, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: Like most video game tie-ins, the problem with this series is that it’s essentially a story leading up to another story. Arkham is in complete chaos after last issue’s big breakout, with Waller and co. using the opportunity to let them inmates thin each other out before testing out the guards’ new gear. The big focus this issue is on Harley Quinn, as she teams up with a barely coherent Scarecrow and the reunited duo of Ventriloquist and Scarface as they try to escape. One of the flaws with a story like this is that the game roster essentially gives away who is a major player and who isn’t, so the deaths this issue aren’t all that surprising. The story is fun, chaotic, and completely over the top, but this version of Harley is a one-note throwback who seems like a complete psycho most of the time. Fans of the game may get more out of this book than I did.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
