Top 20 of 2007: #20 Blue Beetle

As much as I love Keith Giffen (and I love him a lot, me being a bit-time Ambush Bug and Legion fan and all), Blue Beetle really became a great comic when John Rogers took over the title as the solo writer. On top of that, Rafael Albuquerque became the regular artist in 2007, and his expressively clean linework has made this comic one of the best-looking DC titles each month.

Blue Beetle is a great example of what an ongoing comic book series can be, largely because Rogers knows how to structure a large-scale story (a complex and subtle alien invasion--the underlying story for the entire series) and yet keep each installment relatively self-contained. Plot threads continue from issue to issue, but Rogers actually has things happen in each individual episode, and that makes for some old-school comic book enjoyment. Plus, Rogers has developed a vibrant supporting cast to provide a layered backdrop for the adventures of Jaime Reyes, boy-superhero.

This comic has been referred to as a kind of DC version of Spider-Man. I don't disagree, but a more accurate comparison would be: Blue Beetle is a DC version of Ultimate Spider-Man, except better, faster, and more compressed. And, it's totally different.

Read it.