The Blue Beetle Companion (2/21/07)/ pp. 128/ $16.95/published by TwoMorrows Publishing (celebrating the history & art of comics)/written by Christopher Irving/with the work of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Kevin Maguire/
What do Robert Kanigher, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Al Feldstein, Roy Thomas and Gil Kane have in common? They are some of the first-rate talents who have worked on what many consider a second-rate property, the Blue Beetle. And, they also are part of the story of the Beetle’s convoluted-but-interesting history, as told by Christopher Irving in The Blue Beetle Companion, from TwoMorrows Publishing.
The Blue Beetle character has an interesting evolution: from Dan Garrett as a rookie police officer who used a pill to gain superstrength (Fox Comics); to archeologist Dan Garrett who thought he gained superhuman powers from a scarab he found during a dig (Charlton Comics); to Ted Kord, a former student of Garrett who takes over without the scarab after Garrett was killed in battle (Charlton, DC Comics); to Jaime Reyes of El Paso, TX who finds the mysterious scarab and it fuses to his spine (DC Comics); to many other offshoots.
One of the things this book proves is that history, even that of a character who is a standout favorite of very few fans, can be interesting, and whether this is accomplished by Irving's ability as a wordsmith, or his passion for the character (both, I suspect) isn’t important. What matters is that he has put together an engrossing and, I would contend, extremely useful resource on a character whose roots extend all the way back to 1939.
Readers will be duly entertained as they are literarily regaled with tales of the fascinating real-life characters who, in one way or another, had a hand in the character’s four-color life. I mean, who knew that the Blue Beetle helped give a well-known and loved radio and t.v. actor his start? Providing the voice of Garrett, the rookie police officer, for the first 13 episodes of The Blue Beetle radio series was Frank Lovejoy (1912-1962).
Then, of course, there are the numerous reproductions of Golden and Silver Age covers and panels, as well as behind-the-scenes photos that one would expect to find in such a work. But that’s not all, as the book also contains reprints of early ‘40's Blue Beetle strips, as well as part of an early radio script and an episode guide from the same era. You might as well refer to these as “Easter Eggs,” because they are a wonderful plus for comics history enthusiasts.
The Blue Beetle Companion is recommended for fans of the character, as well as those who simply enjoy the history of the comics medium. Those who like to resell only mint copies from their collection should wrinkle it up a bit - this one’s worth keeping.
Review by Mark Allen
For previous reviews of other comic books put "Suspended Animation" in the search box on the homepage.
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