Christopher Irving (1)

It's a shame that this isn't better. The Blue Beetle is an interesting character and the history of his publication (particularly in the Golden Age) isn't one that is often told. Unfortunately. This book is not well written. The style is uninteresting and stilted, with repetitive and poor word choices. There's some decent information contained here, but it's not enjoyable getting to it.

Blue Beetle Companion: His Many Lives from 1939 to Today
Author: Christoper Irving
Publisher: Two Morrows Publishing
Published In: Raleigh, NC, USA
Date: 2007
Pgs: 124

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
In 1939, a man discovered a scarab that gave him superpowers. A superhero’s career was born. From then to today, from Fox Comics to Charlton Comics to DC Comics, the Blue Beetle has evolved and changed with the times. This book chronicles his 60+ years of history and features a Who’s Who of show more comic book writers, artists, and editors from the Golden and Silver Age of Comics. This is the story of the comic, the characters, and the creators.

Genre:
Adventure
Behind the Scenes
Comics and graphic novels
Crime fiction
Fantasy
Fiction
Non Fiction
History
Mythology
Science fiction
Superheroes
Urban fantasy

Why this book:
I have a love for Dan Garrett, Ted Kord, and Jaime Reyes.

This Story is About:
courage, working hard, doing the right thing, greed, history

Favorite Character:
Dan Garrett, Ted Kord, and Jaime Reyes, alternately known as, Blue Beetle I, Blue Beetle II, and Blue Beetle III, respectively.

Least Favorite Character:
Victor Fox. Can’t believe he got away with not paying his freelancers as often as he seemed to.

Character I Most Identified With:
Ted Kord. I’ve always identified with Ted Kord. He was always more serious than he was given credit for, largely, because he cloaked himself with his sense of humor. I loved this character.

The Feel:
This isn’t fiction and it is. The story of how he was created and those who worked on him and, then, his story.

Favorite Scene:

Pacing:
The pace of the prose is good. The subject matter in a few spots drags on the narrative, but, by and large, it is well done.

Plot Holes/Out of Character:

Hmm Moments:
Victor Fox, the gentleman behind Fox Features, the original home of the Blue Beetle, comes across as a robber baron cheapskate. He’s a Great Depression villain stereotype.

I find it interesting that the “actual” creator of the Blue Beetle is in dispute.

Wish we got a look at some point at a modern take on the original costume of the Beetle, the one that owed some of it’s trappings to the Green Hornet or the original Crimson Avenger.

I never realized that Beetle ran afoul of Wertham’s witch hunt in the 50’s. But I was never a fan of much of his pre-Charlton stuff. I don’t recall ever reading any of the true crime books where the Blue Beetle was the Hitchokian narrator for the other stories in the comic.

Wow. Fox was in bed with the mafioso in a Puerto Rican horse track deal. He failed to learn the lessons that the Blue Beetle had been teaching all along. Crime doesn’t pay.

John Santangelo, the head of Charlton Comics, spent a year in jail for copyright violations before the company became a comics company. That history makes an interesting juxtaposition when you look at the state of copyright and how it relates to the internet age that wasn’t even a glimmer in the minds of folk back then.

I wouldn’t have ever guessed that superheroes like the Blue Beetle, The Question, and Captain Atom once shared a publishing house with Hustler magazine.

This book did make me relive the events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis. One of the books that I have both most loved and hated. It gave the Ted Kord Blue Beetle a rebirth and a hero’s death. It was hard to read, harder to love, and harder still to put down when it was over.

Why isn’t there a screenplay?
N/A

Casting call:
N/A

Last Page Sound:
Bye Beetle.

Author Assessment:
Irving’s history and publishing history of the Blue Beetles is great. I would consider other stuff written by this author.

Editorial Assessment:
Why would you have someone who admits in the text that they aren’t a Blue Beetle fan write the introduction to the Blue Beetle Companion? Just doesn’t track well for me.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
glad I read it

Disposition of Book:
Irving Public Library

Would recommend to:
genre fans show less

An interesting read and review of the history of The Blue Beetle from the Pulp days through the current period (pre-Black Beetle, however).

I realize that there was a lot of information and details unearthed by this book, especially for the Golden Age period, but, in the end, I would say that it didn't have as much "meat" to it. Not because of the author, but rather, simply put, because of the hero. Although it seems like BB was quite a big draw for Fox Publications way back when, because of show more its publishing history, none of that really strikes home any more.

For me, Dan Garrett was a curiousity, with Ted Kord being the absolute favorite. I guess I was hoping to read more about the creators who brought me the characters and stories (regardless of the fact that TKBB only lasted a little more than 2 years in his own book).

In the end, it does its job well (in terms of being a "Companion" book), but it wasn't what I was looking / hoping for. show less

LIDO!