Bad News, Good News

Bad News: Blue Beetle is cancelled. Good News: Blue Beetle in the premier episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold tonight on Cartoon Network. [Link]

I am going to miss this book a great deal. It had a spirit that wasn't like any other book out there. How many books out there are composed, nearly entirely, of decent characters? Not 'decent' as in multi-faceted characters that have a sense of coherency but can still surprise you, although the book was full of those, as well. 'Decent' as in genuinely good people using their skills to do the right thing as much as they could.

Even the most enduring *villain* in the Blue Beetle is a decent person with reasons for doing what she does. Not Lex Luthor reasons: he wants to take down Superman as a way to show humanity that they need to think for themselves and not put all their trust in heroes they know nothing about. Genuine reasons: It's a hard world out there and she wants to make a good life for herself and her family, and she's willing to use shady means to do it.

All the characters are like this. There are no neglectful, stupid, or cruel parents, no mindlessly nattering siblings, no manufactured high school cliques. Everyone in this series is simply trying to do their best, and that makes their failures more tragic, and their victories more inspiring.

It's not just the characters. The first twenty-five issues are what I'd give to anyone if I wanted to show the perfect epic story. It works on the technical level. Each piece of the final puzzle is given to us separately, each with its own, interesting story. At the end, they all fit together into a coherent picture that makes sense, even though we didn't see it coming. There is a recognizable arc for each main character. It follows the rules of an exciting adventure story - building up the odds until it looks like the hero can't possibly win, and then showing us how yes, he can, we just didn't notice how.

I will miss this book as it was one that I looked forward to a great deal when I got my comics.