This is what Blue Beetle should have been from the very beginning.

I remember when I first heard of the new Blue Beetle series. I was thumbing through a Wizard Magazine at the time (don’t ask me why), and there was a short blurb about this book coming out soon (or maybe it was already out), that was basically DC’s equivalent of Spider-Man. Needless to say I was completely sold. I wasn’t too much of a DC reader back then, but I felt like this could be something light, fun, and right up my alley that would be a gateway drug of sorts into the DCU. I read every issue, enjoyed most of them, and really started to appreciate certain DC characters and books, and eventually started discovering more of the wonderful things they had to offer.

You would probably assume that I’d be upset over the news of the cancellation, but I honestly can’t say I was. In the months before the cancellation, I was considering dropping the book, because it just wasn’t that interesting. I’ve seen a lot of folks get outraged over the cancellation, and I just can’t bring myself to believe them. I fully believe everyone should be able to express their opinion, but I can’t see how anyone would be calling this book a masterpiece in it’s later issues. I hung with it just to see it through, and because I still had a glimmer of hope, but I think deep down I knew it was over for this book, both in my heart and the presses.

As I read the last issue, I did start to wish the book would come back a bit. Not because it had been a great book, and not because I loved the art and the writers and I thought it deserved a fair shake, and not because I thought the fans could somehow make it profitable again, but because I saw the potential it had. I fully believe that if the creative team put their hearts and efforts into every issue like they did this one, the book would be a roaring success. Whether you’re a Blue Beetle fan or not, this issue is just good comics, plain and simple.

Here’s to hoping Jamie can be featured in Teen Titans in the coming months, and that we’ll eventually get an ongoing Blue Beetle title wherein every issue is as great as this one.