Blue Beetle #33

Now that's how you write a team-up! Matt Sturges wowed me on Shadowpact, but his Blue Beetle work has been a little hit or miss. This issue is a hit. The Teen Titans head to El Paso to help BB deal with death threats at an immigrant rally. Things quickly get complicated as powered-up thugs attack the crowd and a few semis full of guns and drugs make a run to get into the USA. Peacemaker and Robin head over to handle the semis, and there is some nice super-hero banter between them. BB, Kid Devil and Wonder Girl focus on the thugs, and there are some nice charcter bits here too, like when Kid Devil considers going by "Diablo Rojo" from now on. I think the high point for me though is after both problems have been mopped up, Peacemaker is looking for someone to drink with "Isn't there one of you old enough to have a beer with me?" Kid Devil replies "I've got an ID that says I am." Nice stuff. Sturges nails the different character voices and turns this into a fun little issue. I'm still not happy we've got a new Dr. Polaris (I liked the old one) but really, this guy is almost the same guy, so I suppose it's ok.

Rafael Albuqurque does another smashing job on pencils. His work is a tad sketchy, but there is a real energy in his panel layouts. His facial expressions were amusing too, Wonder Girl's exasperation at her teammates looked great.

Good