Public Service Announcement: Blue Beetle needs you.
So, it's been announced that sales are so low, Blue Beetle is being canceled. This, for those of you just joining us, is a BAD BAD THING.
I'm not blaming DC too much for this; they seem, even Didio, to genuinely like this comic and want it to succeed. Although I find some issues with the way they do and do not promote it (Blue Beetle is appearing on TV RIGHT NOW in "The Brave and the Bold"--some kind of ad in-credits indicating that he has a solo title you might like to read would be a good idea), I don't feel in the mood to doubt their good intentions.
What I want you to do: buy Blue Beetle. Why? Because it is awesome.
Ways in Which Blue Beetle is Awesome
Genuine all-ages read--fun for kids, doesn't seem dumb to adults.
Hero with a family and friends who support him and are kickass even without powers.
No fridging.
Guest spots from everyone--the nicest you've ever seen Batman! JLI together again, such as there is of it!
A genuinely nice, goofy, fun guy with ridiculous power fumbling through working out how to use it.
Did I mention the supporting cast?
Great writing, fine art, good times.
Complex personal relationships and morality.
Teen hero whose problems don't include standard wangst fodder.
Jokes.
Superhero who trusts his civilian supporting cast with his identity, because they're his family and friends. And also he was missing for a year.
Hero wins "with a little help from my friends", and by outthinking his enemy.
Legacy character: even though he never met his predecessor, you're doing it right.
In fact, it has a lot in common with Avatar in many ways. Like Avatar, it's something the whole family can enjoy, that the kids understand and the grownups find interesting. It has fully realized, non-stereotypical characters. It has relationships and characters that don't boil down to "generic good" and "generic evil". It subverts your expectations. It has characters who aren't afraid to be funny, who make mistakes, who sometimes fail. It has parents who actually...parent. It has heartwarming, tragic, comic, action-packed, and intellectual elements.
So go buy it. Here's the first trade on Amazon.
If you really want to help out and get warm fuzzy feelings in the process, Toys for Tots never has enough stuff for older children. And comic books have the advantage of not requiring, say, a video game system or computer.
And finally, why is no one reading? The initial writer speculates on the future of comics. He makes a good point--free online comics get a lot more readers than any offline paperback, and the writers/artists don't seem to do too badly on the financial front, either, since they cut out a lot of printing costs and overhead. I for one would be happy to see a BB online that just produced a trade paperback every six months or so.
Go forth! Buy! Save Blue Beetle!
I'm not blaming DC too much for this; they seem, even Didio, to genuinely like this comic and want it to succeed. Although I find some issues with the way they do and do not promote it (Blue Beetle is appearing on TV RIGHT NOW in "The Brave and the Bold"--some kind of ad in-credits indicating that he has a solo title you might like to read would be a good idea), I don't feel in the mood to doubt their good intentions.
What I want you to do: buy Blue Beetle. Why? Because it is awesome.
Ways in Which Blue Beetle is Awesome
In fact, it has a lot in common with Avatar in many ways. Like Avatar, it's something the whole family can enjoy, that the kids understand and the grownups find interesting. It has fully realized, non-stereotypical characters. It has relationships and characters that don't boil down to "generic good" and "generic evil". It subverts your expectations. It has characters who aren't afraid to be funny, who make mistakes, who sometimes fail. It has parents who actually...parent. It has heartwarming, tragic, comic, action-packed, and intellectual elements.
So go buy it. Here's the first trade on Amazon.
If you really want to help out and get warm fuzzy feelings in the process, Toys for Tots never has enough stuff for older children. And comic books have the advantage of not requiring, say, a video game system or computer.
And finally, why is no one reading? The initial writer speculates on the future of comics. He makes a good point--free online comics get a lot more readers than any offline paperback, and the writers/artists don't seem to do too badly on the financial front, either, since they cut out a lot of printing costs and overhead. I for one would be happy to see a BB online that just produced a trade paperback every six months or so.
Go forth! Buy! Save Blue Beetle!