This book collects issues #1-6 of The Blue Beetle.
During the INFINITE CRISIS, the Blue Beetle scarab found young Jaime Reyes for its new champion and with the scarab's help he assisted Batman and the other superheroes. This book, BLUEBEETLE: SHELLSHOCKED picks up right where INFINITE CRISIS ended.
BLUE BEETLE is one of those "smart" books that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. This is a fun book about a teenager with superpowers and anyone who is a teenager or has ever been a teenager will get into it.
There were parts that made me laugh: like the dynamic between Jaime, his sister, and his mother. It reminded me of my family growing up.
And there were parts that really got me choked up, like the reaction of his mother upon Jaime's return. Or when the Blue Beetle says, "I don't care about being a superhero but this is a baby. I'm not letting anyone hurt a baby."
And there is some incredible action. The book opens with a fight in the desert between one of the Green Lanterns and Blue Beetle. And the fight on the freeway involving Blue Beetle, Peacemaker and a psychotic demon is gripping.
But what really sends this book over the top is the relationship between characters. Everyone of them is very real and complex. Jaime has a real family, real friends, and real villains. La Dama, his arch-nemisis in the book, is no 2-dimensional bad guy.
Anyone who considers himself or herself a fan of comics but isn't reading this title is really missing out. I bought a copy for myself and a couple more for my nephews.
