Comments on: 365 Reasons to Love Comics #183

By: Jeff Albertson

Jeff Albertson — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:50:39 +0000

I thought Killjoy was the last hero Ditko created for Charlton. (Static was published by Eclipse first, otherwise, I’d have said him.)

Still, I love the Ditko Blue Beetle. In a just world, it would have been a huge hit, and we’d have 40 or 50 issues. Oh well.

By: The Mad Monkey

The Mad Monkey — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 13:20:35 +0000

Incidentally, the Question (along with BB and the rest of the Charlton characters) made his first appearance in COIE.
The BB/Question team-up issues was Vic’s intro into the rebooted DC Universe.
So, technically, you’re right Kirbydotter, but still just a bit off.

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 12:38:46 +0000

The Millenium crossovers werenâ€™t too goodâ€“but few were in any series.

I thought Blue Beetle had by far the best of the Millenium crossovers. The reveal that the character who’d waited 1,000 years to betray him was a new character who was already a villain was a bit lame, but other than that it was cracking. Especially the ending.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:10:05 +0000

Any Blue Beetle fans interested in helping out with http://www.vicsage/bluebeetle/, let me know….

By: stephen cade

stephen cade — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:44:54 +0000

Agreed on the SPidey?Beetle connection–see my comment on Spidey’s day.

I have #3 of his original series–one of my most prized comics.

I have the entire DC run–I was sad when it went.
The Millenium crossovers weren’t too good–but few were in any series.

Overall a fun series with some obvious nods to SPidey from some former SPidey writers & artists along the way.

I liked Ted–a great character in & out of costume.
In the original, in his DC series & in JL/JLA/JLI, etc.

I know he’s only a fictional character, but the way they killed him off really bugs me–no pun intended.

Now all we need is a League of Ditko characters–they’d kick butt…

By: lauren

lauren — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 20:23:17 +0000

I too vote for Len Wein/Paris Cullins beetle. I too liked the JLI and Agree Ted Kord was a big part of why the series was good.

I also really liked him in B of P as a new love interest/friend for Barbara Gordon.

And yup, totally pissed off when they killed him in that rag of a book.

Thanksfully the new BB series is one of the few fun books still at DC. Go and buy it and enjoy!

By: MarkAndrew

MarkAndrew — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 18:31:08 +0000

Fun bit ‘o Pre-Ditko Trivia: As far as I can tell, the Golden Age Blue Beetle was the second superhero to headline his own series, after Superman.

By: Matt D

Matt D — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:59:23 +0000

Blue Beetle is a great example of how two people can like the same character but really be liking two different takes on one character that have almost completely different personalities.

By: Ben Herman

Ben Herman — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:57:43 +0000

I’ve always fondly recalled that Justice League annual where Blue Beetle faced off against Eclipso. That was a great story, probably BB’s finest hour in the League. And the artwork was pencilled by Dave Cockrum, which was awesome. Anyway, I liked that the story presented Ted Kord as a guy who had a really goofy sense of humor but who, when the chips were down, could use his skills & intelligence to hold his own against any number of serious threats.

By: The Kirbydotter

The Kirbydotter — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:18:26 +0000

Ditko’ BLUE BEETLE (and Question and Captain Atom) at Charlton was sone of the best Silver Age stories. They are quite a few notches better than the stuff he did at DC (Hawk and Dove and Creeper) for pure Ditko fans.

I read in an interview that Len Wein wanted to do an old school type of series with his BLUE BEETLE. Paris Cullins was at his best blending his Kirby influences with some of Ditko’s style. It was a fun and cool series. I liked the team-up with Question (his first DC appearance). I think the style of stories was considered a bit “passÃ©” in a time when WATCHMEN and Miller’s DARK KNIGHT were the talk of the business. I guess Wein’s BLEU BEETLE wasn’t dark enough. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the first 12 issues or so. Then I think Paris Cullins moved on to an other series and the series was plagued by second rate fill-in artists (if I remember correctly).

For me too the Giffen/DeMatteis run of JUSTICE LEAGUE (including the related minis, specials, annuals, JLE, Quarterly, etc.) was a high point in my comic book reading experience. It was fun! It was gorgeously drawn (how come they always managed to get such cool beginning artists like Maguire, Hughes, Willingham, etc.).

I will get a Dan Didiot voodoo dool to curse him forever for his hatred of the Justice League fun era and his murdering/destroying of every fun related to this great run. Max Lord, Ted Kord/Blue Beetle, Ice, Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, etc… We miss you…

By: I am MODOK

I am MODOK — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:06:24 +0000

My first DC comic was Invasion #2, featuring the JLI quite prominently. I followed them back to their own comic, starring Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Captain Marvel, Mr. Miracle, Barda, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Rocket Red, Fire, and Ice. I fell in love with the DCU with those characters.

Look at that list now. I think two of them are still active and recognizable as the same characters. Ah, I’m ranting.

Anyway, Great tribute to the hero who was my #1 favorite for many many years.

By: Mantistotem

Mantistotem — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:29:51 +0000

I don’t think that Captain Universe was a Ditko creation. He was from the original run of Micronauts #8 (Mantlo/Golden I think).

Always loved that issue!

By: davidwynne

davidwynne — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 08:05:29 +0000

I’m another fan of the Wein/Cullins Blue Beetle.

By: MarkAndrew

MarkAndrew — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 05:02:52 +0000

Ditko characters don’t BWAHAHA!

So is Ditko week over? Without Captain Universe, the Mysterious Traveller… Without Konga and Gorgo?!

This hurts my heart.

By: fourth worlder

fourth worlder — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:21:27 +0000

I’ve never read the original series.
Did he bwah-ha-hah back then, or did that start in the JLI?

By: M Bloom

M Bloom — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:02:35 +0000

I miss Ted. The Giffen/DeMatteis JLI is one of my favorite comic runs ever, and Ted was definitely its heart. I really missed him when Morrison’s run started, as even with the return of the big seven it just didn’t feel like the Justice League without Blue Beetle.

Still, that said, I really do think that Ted’s death was very well handled (ridiculous Max Lord character assassination aside). He truly died a hero, and it’s good to see that his legacy is still felt. His cameo in the last issue of 52 was a truly beautiful and poignant moment. And, if nothing else, the role of Blue Beetle is in excellent hands now.

By: Matt Bird

Matt Bird — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:35:26 +0000

That Len Wein / Paris Cullins series was great! It introduced me to both the Beetle and the Question. It was one of the most Marvel-esque series DC ever put out (in a good way)– every issue devoted about fifteen pages to the main story and seven pages to ever-burbling subplots. Cullins was always under-appreciated, too. His loving take on Ditko here was followed up with an equally loving take on Kirby in the great Evanier “New Gods” book.

The Question three-parter was great. Also great is issue #8, a poignant POV-shift where we get to find out what life is like for the flunkie of a two-bit supervillain.

By: Apodaca

Apodaca — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:26:18 +0000

Uncle Sean,
I don’t really understand how getting shot in the had counts as “going down fighting”.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:12:53 +0000

Any thoughts about being halfway through the year so far?

By: T.

T. — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 01:41:27 +0000

I thought JLI kind of ruined Blue Beetle actually, because it made him ridiculous to the point that a story like Countdown to Infinite Crisis was possible. The guy that appears in JLI is just a whole other character than the one Ditko created, poor and simple.