First, Dan Garrett...
Charlton's Blue Beetle was not the first... he was not even the first named "Dan Garrett." The original Blue Beetle was a police officer in his civilian identity who first appeared in Mystery Men Comics #1, published by Fox Publications in August 1939, making him one of the earliest super-heroes. The source of his powers was Vitamin 2-X. (More about him in a later post.) But the second Blue Beetle, Charlton's fist, was an archeologist... or an engineer... or a physicist... whatever the story called for. Reading these stories, most for the first time, I find it difficult to believe they are from 1964-1965. They are simplistic, campy, and a have a real 1950s "feel" to them. They remind me of nothing so much as Britain's 1950s Marvelman stories. The source of this Beetle's powers was an Egyptian scarab triggered by the mystical words "kaji dha." Charlton's v1 was ten issues (#1-5, 50-54), and v2 was five. Between v1 and v2, the new Blue Beetle was introduced as a back-up feature in Captain Atom, and there was only an eight-month gap between v1 #54 and Captain Atom #83. The v1 stories were all written by Joe Gill, except for #54 which was written by a fledgling Roy Thomas.
NEXT: Ted Cord
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After five appearances of of the new Blue Beetle, v2 #2 revealed the connection between Dan Garrett and Ted Cord. Blue Beetle v2 ran for five issues then was cancelled with one story, intended for Blue Beetle #6, left to be published. It finally saw print, in b&w, in Charlton Portfolio #9-10 in 1974. After that, the Blue Beetle showed up, again by Ditko and again in b&w, in Charlton Bullseye #1-2 (1975). He next appeared in Charlton Bullseye (v2) #1 in 1981. That story reads very much like an "untold tale" of Nite Owl and Rorschach, the characters they inspired. The stories from Charlton Bullseye v1 (but not v2) were reprinted in the Action Heroes archive, and the story from v2 (but not v1) appears in the DCF volume. Charlton Bullseye (v2) ran for ten issues, but was cancelled with two or three Blue Beetle stories in the can. Those stories eventually were published by Americomics in 1983.
Two of those stories appeared in Americomics #3 under a nice cover by Pat Broderick. In the first of those stories, the original Charlton Blue Beetle appears to return, but if you're familiar with "The Ghost of Ferro Lad," you may guess what's really going on. The second story acknowledges something DC never did: that Ted Kord was actually the third Blue Beetle. According to this apocryphal tale, Dan Garrett (the first one) had been given his powers by Kirbyesque-looking Gods, and when he was killed in action, they resurrected him. (That this story is drawn in one of the best imitations of Kirby's later style I have seen is appropriate, because Jack Kirby drew the Blue Beetle newspaper strip way back in 1939.) In this story, they have resurrected him again, leaving the "AC Universe" with two Blue Beetles. the third story I mentioned above also saw print, in Americomics Special #1, as Blue Beetle is joined by Captain Atom, Nightshade and the Question to form the Watchmen Sentinals of Justice.
Following that, of course, Blue Beetle made something of an "AC/DC" career move.
On September 4, Rob Staeger posted: "I've just read one story of the Blue Beetle book so far, and I'm already regretting buying it; I have a feeling it's going to be a slog. Hopefully I get in the spirit soon."
I seemed to have strayed somewhat from the topic of my original brief. Suffice it to say that there is a fine line between "bad" and "so bad it's good." Rob and I may ultimately find ourselves on opposite sides of that line, but if nothing else, the first half of the book will make him appriciate the second half that much more.
I've read a couple more Blue Beetle stories in the DC Finest book, and I'm warming up to them. The villains, happily, are more interesting than the first one; I was really worried we'd be getting the Evil Foreign Power of the week, and that hasn't happened. That said, the pure mechanics of this book -- pacing, scene-to-scene transitions, character motivations, lettering -- all seem like amateur hour to me. But unlike with the first story, I'm starting to see that as part of their charm. (Aside from the lettering, which I'll continue to hate.)