Faster than a DC Bullet: All-New All-Different DC, Part XI: Blue Beetle: Reach for the Stars

Comic trade paperback, 166 pages
Published 2008 (contents: 2007)
Borrowed from the library
Read March 2017

Blue Beetle: Reach for the Stars

Writers: John Rogers, J. Torres, Keith Giffen

Pencillers: Rafael Albuquerque, David Baldeon, Freddie Williams II
Inkers: Rafael Albuquerque, Steve Bird, Dan Davis
Colorist: Guy Major 
Letterers: Phil Balsman, Pat Brosseau

Yesssss. Blue Beetle is still the quintessential teen superhero book, as John Rogers shows all lesser writers how to balance character, humor, superheroics, and teen angst. Road Trip ended on a cliffhanger, with Blue Beetle making first contact with the alien Reach, responsible for the creation of his mysterious scarab; Reach for the Stars follows that up with a series of standalone one-issue stories, as Jaime tries to convince others that the Reach isn't what it seems. I wish more writers followed Rogers's approach: his done-in-ones are perfect at balancing individual story and character beats with the ongoing plots and narratives of the series, meaning that this slim volume feels like it does more than many fatter comic collections.

The book features a lot of tie-ins to the larger DC universe, with appearances by Guy Gardner and Ultra-Humanite, Superman and Livewire, Traci 13 (the Architects did keep their promise in Architecture & Mortality and fold her into the post-52 universe), Bruce Wayne/Batman, Lobo and the Teen Titans, and Giganta (not sure how her operating as a mercenary here fits with her being a professor at Ivy University in The All New Atom, but maybe I'll find out). These are well-done crowd-pleasers: who doesn't like Paco and Brenda quibbling over the belly shirts all the female members of the Titans wear?

Batman might knock Guy out in one punch, but Jaime's mother doesn't even need one.
from Blue Beetle vol. 8 #14 (script by John Rogers, art by Rafael Albuquerque)

But where John Rogers and his collaborators always excel are the moments of character. A real highlight is a story where Jaime must stop a storm-creating supervillain from devastating a coastal Mexican community. His suit lets him know how many life-signs are active in the community, leading to this devastating page:

Faster than a DC Bullet: All-New All-Different DC, Part VIII: Blue Beetle: Road Trip

Comic trade paperback, 143 pages
Published 2007 (contents: 2006-07)
Borrowed from the library
Read February 2017

Blue Beetle: Road Trip

Writers: John Rogers & Keith Giffen

Artists: Cully Hamner, Rafael Albuquerque, Duncan Rouleau, Casey Jones
Colorist: Guy Major 
Letterers: Phil Balsman, Pat Brosseau, Jared K. Fletcher

This book is still a blast. Co-writer Keith Giffen departs halfway through the volume, but John Rogers is so good on his own you wouldn't even notice. The book opens up with a semi-flashback issue that clarifies exactly what happened to Jaime leading up to the One Year Later gap for those who didn't read Infinite Crisis (or those of us whose memories are vague). As always, some of the best bits are the jokes:

This book made me realize that I miss these versions of these characters.
from Blue Beetle vol. 8 #7 (script by John Rogers, art by Cully Hamner)

That's not the only trip into the past here, as soon Jaime and Brenda are on the road with mysterious-gruff-and-lovable mercenary the Peacemaker to find out about the history of the Blue Beetle from Danielle Garrett, granddaughter of the original Blue Beetle. The book is good about dolling out both solutions and mysteries-- everything Jaime learns about the mysterious scarab fused to his spine only leaves him with more to learn.