BLUE BEETLE #0

STORY: Tony Bedard and Keith Giffen
ART: Ig Guara and JP Mayer

NOOOO!!!! TED KORD!!!!!! At least, I think that's how I should be reacting to Blue Beetle #0, which delves into the history of the plucky scarab, Khaji-Da with literally no reference to the original Blue Beetle. Of course, the scarab's time on Earth after separating from it's first host is somewhat glossed over, left to the readers' imagination as to where Khaji-Da travelled in the years before meeting Jaime Reyes. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Tony Bedard is joined by Keith Giffen for Blue Beetle #0, a (mostly) straightforward origins issue for the Reach scarab currently connected to Jaime's spine. We already know that Khaji-Da is a sentient scarab symbiote that latches onto a host to carry out the will of the Reach, a clandestine alien race that has millions of scarab soldiers at it's control across the universe. We also already know that Ol' Da can't control Jaime like the other scarabs can control their hosts' minds, but we don't know why. Beyond this basic information, not a whole lot has been unveiled concerning the scarab, until now.

"Sky Witness" provides a full character history for Khaji-Da, from the days before his creation, to his first unsuccessful mission, and through his time on Earth up until meeting Jaime. While the textbook-style narrative isn't exactly invigorating or engaging in any particular way, it serves to develop Khaji-Da beyond being the loony voice inside Jaime's head telling him to kill people and destroy the planet. And it does a good job! One of the most important aspects of the scarab - that Bedard makes sure is clear and understandable - is that they are actual sentient beings. It's easy to slip into thinking of these little blue bugs are simply just pieces of a larger technological goal, but they each have a voice, they each have a personality. I was hoping to meet another scarab this month, maybe one that's got an extreme personality to show the diversity of the scarabs.

The first half of the issue explores the origin of the scarab, followed by his very first test mission, wherein he finds a suitable host in the Stygian Expanse. Upon attempting to fuse with his new host - a small, blue/black skinned girl with four eyes - the scarab is rebuffed by a sudden explosion of psionic energy. Turns out that energy is coming from the child, who has tapped into her latent abilities to control antimatter. After being damaged, Khaji-Da recognizes his slim chances of survival, and escapes the girl who controls dark energy. Turns out she goes on to become Lady Styx, a villain on the same level as Darkseid before the 'New 52' relaunch. The scarab's first mission is important because it gives a possible explanation for Khaji-Da's inability to fully control Jaime - due to dark matter interference? - as well as sets up Lady Styx to be featured throughout the DCnU in the future.

The latter half of the book focuses on Sky Witness, a Mayan chieftain who descends into the wreckage of Khaji-Da's crash landing onto Earth's surface. The scarab was shot down by an unnamed Green Lantern, providing a second possible reason for the malfunction concerning total mind control. It's odd to feel sympathy for a robot bug whose sole purpose is to take total control of a host being and cause unspeakable destruction to worlds around the universe. But there it is: Khaji-Da is a good, good character.

Sky Witness uses the scarab to defend his home from the violent Nahua Tribe. The Nahua go on to start the Aztec Empire, according to Bedard, and Sky - in his scarab armor, of course - becomes known as the vengeful god Quetzalcoatl. Sky Witness's story comes to an end when even the scarab's advanced systems can't prolong his life any further. This is how Khaji-Da gets trapped in the ruins of a Mayan temple, only to be found years later by archaeologists unfettered by ancient signs of death and destruction.

I'm not exactly sure where Blue Beetle #0 should fit in chronologically amongst other issues. Even though a majority of the story is dedicated to the years before Jaime bonds with the scarab, the final few pages recap Jaime's journey so far, and we eventually get to the current day with Jaime stuck in Reachworld space after being abruptly transported there by O.M.A.C. in the pages of Justice League International Annual #1. So, one could place it before issue one purely for it's historical content, or it could go right after Blue Beetle #12. It's a conundrum for chronological perfectionists like myself. That one nitpick-y criticism aside, Blue Beetle #0 does a fantastic job giving readers a fleshed out, meaningful history of the scarab Khaji-Da, as well as placing the building blocks for future stories. And really, what more could you ask for from this series?

GRADE

B+

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #0

STORY: Keith Giffen, Dan Didio, James Robinson, Rob Liefeld, and Tony Bedard
ART: Keith Giffen, Dan Didio, Scott Koblish, Tom Derenick, Marat Mychaels,

In true form, DC Universe Presents #0 offers an anthology of stories within an issue of an anthology series. Last May, DC cancelled six series to make way for the "Second Wave" of 'New 52' titles that included Earth 2, Dial H, World's Finest, Batman Incorporated, G.I. Combat, and The Ravagers. Some of these cancellations actually made sense - when a series didn't look to be going in any concrete direction - but some were canned purely for fiscal reasons. Either way, many of these titles gained a fan base, and DC wanted to do the cool thing and feature these characters left in the proverbial rearview mirror. With December solicitations out, the recently cancelled Captain Atom is featured in The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men, meaning DC seems intent on keeping these characters around, even if they don't have their own solo ongoing.

The first story is O.M.A.C., written and illustrated by former series regulars Keith Giffen and Dan Didio. I absolutely loved the adventures of Kevin Kho and Brother Eye - each issue was an homage to quirky, sci-fi books from the 60s and 70s that were about action and supernatural boogeymen. While this prequel story - "Origins Matter After Cancelation" - doesn't feature Kevin or his O.M.A.C. persona, Giffen and Didio take us back to when Brother Eye worked for Maxwell Lord and Checkmate. Mostly, Brother Eye gives Max an expository dump about how the satellite came to be and why. Of course, Max knows all of this, and info overloads normally make me cringe, this is Giffen and Didio's style for O.M.A.C., especially since this is only a short story intended to give more backstory that offers foreshadowing to future events. In that regard, it succeeds in spades.

Second at bat is James Robinson and Tom Derenick's Mister Terrific prequel. In essence, this short story reads just like the MT series - full of scientific jargon, quantum mechanics, and a willingness to let those two amazing elements do the heavy lifting. Especially in this story, wherein Michael Holt basically learns everything about his life by jumping through an uncalibrated portal technically linked to the Ninth Dimension. Robinson is careful to remind readers that this is one of many possible outcomes, leaving the door open for Michael's future to deviate from the visions of latter days. Of course, Mister Terrific can't be running around knowing his entire life's path, and Michael's memory is purged once he steps out of the malfunctioning portal door. I wish there was more about Michael Holt as a person and less foreshadowing for the future that only really served to clue in us readers. But for what it is, this tale does the trick.

I've never liked Rob Liefeld. Even in the 90s, I couldn't stand his artwork or his writing. It's one of the reasons I stuck to DC mostly during that era, and it's the reason I never got beyond the first issue of Hawk and Dove last September. Hawk and Dove is an example of a series cancelled because it was bad, plain and simple. The characters weren't engaging, the stories weren't interesting, and the artwork was classic Liefeld, which meant over-exaggerated everything. Liefeld smartly abjures the pencilling duties for this origins story, but it just makes his uninspired narrative all the more obvious. "Balance of Power" focuses on an argument between the celestial gods of Peace and War (how DC justifies their existence against the Greek gods in Wonder Woman is anyones guess) over the newest avatar of Peace, Dawn Granger. Similar to how Scott Lobdell info dumps on a regular basis in the pages of Teen Titans, Liefeld uses this debate between the gods as a means to give a character history. It's so damn boring! And it really doesn't even matter because I can't imagine DC is planning on reintroducing Hawk and Dove to any other book any time soon.

Next up is "Mother Machine", the origins story of the title's namesake, and prequel tale to Blackhawks, a series that could have been DC's equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. if they had handled it better. Unfortunately, there's not much to talk about concerning this story - beyond revealing that the Blackhawks participated in the battle against Apokolips' armies, this is all about Mother Machine coming to be. Everything makes a bit more sense now, as it's obvious Mother Machine came from an Apokoliptan Mother Box. The ending tagline says we'll see more of Mother Machine in the future, which could spell the return of Darkseid.

The final story about Deadman comes from Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel, both of whom do a fantastic job telling the tale of Boston Brand's first mission of possession. In a cruel twist of fate, the goddess Rama sends Boston to save the soul of the man who murdered him. Of course, Boston rejects his task until he's forced back into the situation and winds up saving the day anyway. It's a telling moment for Brand, the moment he recognizes that his actions have consequences, not only for his own well-being, but also for those he's charged with helping. Deadman doesn't get enough page time in Justice League Dark, though I supposed I should be thankful he's a recurring character at all. Bedard's "Instant Karma" reminds one of why the first five issues of DC Universe Presents are still the best.

As a whole, DC Universe Presents #0 is a good read. As individual stories, the tales about O.M.A.C., Mister Terrific, and Deadman are considerably better than those about the Blackhawks and Hawk and Dove. Read them all, or just read the ones you want. It's kind of up to you when it comes to an anthology format such as this. I only read one issue of the "Challengers of the Unknown" arc because it just wasn't my cup of tea. But I jumped right back in with "Savage", then regrettably "Kid Flash". DC Universe Presents #0 is definitely worth the buy, if only for the fact that you get five stories from five different creative teams at a whopping 48 pages.

GRADE

B-

(COMIC) 4-SENTENCE REVIEWS! #2

4-Sentence Reviews come about when I've gotten lazy or something unavoidable comes up and I'm not able to cover all the regularly scheduled issues for the past week. These reviews cover normally-reviewed issues of the comics I read each week, but condense the information down to four sentences. Enjoy!

Wonder Woman #9

STORY: Brian Azzarello

ART: Tony Akins and Dan Green

Diana is engaged to Hades and she's actually pretty alright with the whole situation, at least, that's what Brian Azzarello would like us to believe. Now that Zola is out of Hell, the other gods - Hermes, Apollo, and Hephaestus - have to figure out a way to rescue the Amazonian princess, even if it means going straight back into the Underworld! Azzarello and Tony Akins have a good, minimalistic rhythm that only gives out crucial information, and only when you need it. While some might criticize the book as 'slow moving' or 'too simple', Wonder Woman is actually doing a fantastic job reinventing a character who became stale back in the 1970s.

GRADE: B+

Superman #9

STORY: Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens

ART: Jesus Marino

Ol' Supes has been thrown around quite a bit in his eponymous title, and it's just getting worse in Superman #9, which sees the Man of Steel up against Anguish, a villainess who can touch but not be touched - basically, she's immaterial when she wants to be. Meanwhile, an obsessed blogger named Victor Barnes is out to reveal Superman's identity through deduction and circumstance. Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens are doing a great job setting up narratives that have the potential to carry on for years to come. Overall, Superman hasn't been an essential read in the 'New 52' thus far, but it's looking to become one with these more intricate plots and build-ups for bigger things in the future.

GRADE: B

(COMIC) SUPERMAN #8

STORY: Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens
ART: Dan Jurgens and Jesus Marino

Superman is a complex character that's often harder to write for than other, less powerful heroes. When the hero has almost no weaknesses and a whole arsenal of superhuman abilities, their stories can quickly become stale and repetitive. Fortunately, Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens are incorporating Helspont and the Daemonites - from the Wildstorm imprint - into Superman's mythos, giving him an enemy that isn't as readily 'hit-able' as Metallo or Parasite. One of the best ways to tell a Superman story - at least these days - is to invoke Clark's demi-god status. While all of Earth's other heroes have enough humanity to give them weaknesses, Superman is so far above them, in terms of raw power, that the true meat of his stories come from the psychological implications behind Clark's actions.

Superman #8 explores this with a conversation between Superman and the warlord Helspont. The Daemonite warrior tells Clark his tale, one of fear and betrayal from his peers. He was one the pride and glory of the Daemonite empire, until those in power saw Helspont as a liability against the empire itself. He was cast out, exiled from his culture. Helspont sees Clark as a conqueror; it's all he can see, really. Helspont's culture is one of dominion, and Clark is the most powerful being on the planet, so why wouldn't he rule? Helspont makes Clark on offer to leave Earth if Clark will help him reclaim his place in the Daemonite Empire. Clark, of course, refuses, and Helspont shows Clark just how powerful he is.

Unfortunately, our favorite Daemonite pretty much just disappears before the brawl can really get underway. Ol' Supes chalks it up to a strategical retreat, but it comes off as a lame way of ending this particular confrontation - nothing is answered and Clark simply goes back to his life. With a villain like Helspont making his debut in the DC universe, I expected a little more pomp and circumstance.

GRADE:

B-