There’s a new/old Blue Beetle in town! What will that mean for our old/new Blue Beetle? Your Major Spoilers review of Blue and Gold #7 from DC Comics awaits!
BLUE AND GOLD #7
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Phil Hester & Eric Gapstur/Paul Pelletier & Norm Rapmund
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Brittany Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 15, 2022
Previously in Blue and Gold: Blue & Gold Restoration is up and running, with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle taking on any number of strange cases, from paranormal extremes to lost civilizations, ancient aliens, gateways to other dimensions, and even super-villains looking for help in going straight! But what happens when one of the threats turns out to be an old friend?
A SHADOWY VILLAIN
Blue and Gold #7 begins with the first official commercial for Blue and Gold Restorations, cutting to Jaime Reyes being possibly brainwashed by the mysterious manipulator who has been hiding in the wings. The unseen agent sends in a monster called Nullifex to attack the Blue and Gold team, overwhelming them with sheer power. When all seems lost, Jaime arrives to turn the tide, leading to a decisive battle that ends when Buggles, Ted’s floating android assistant, comes up with a plan. With Nullifex defeated, Booster and Ted offer Jaime a place in their agency, but he turns it down, worried that he’ll be stuck in the shadow of the previous Beetle. As the issue ends, the mastermind’s identity is revealed to be…
…exactly who I thought it was.
I MISS RYAN SOOK
There are two distinct art teams in this issue, replacing for the solicited Ryan Sook, and while neither is bad, they’re extremely poorly matched. Hester and Gapster have the high-contrast style that I expect from Phil’s work on Green Arrow, while Pelletier and Rapmund have a slick, rounded aspect to their visuals, making the transition points very jarring. It also feels like the art might have been a bit rushed (which would make sense, given the book being resolicited), especially in the last few pages. The story is pleasant enough, with questions arising about Buggles, the promise of a long-awaited reveal, and more of the social media commentary driving the narrative, but nothing really stands out as remarkable. Next issue’s wrap-up still has some heavy lifting to do, especially if (as I suspect) they’re going to tank Blue and Gold Restorations before things end.
BOTTOM LINE: TWO BEETLES, NO WAITING!
The cover of this issue seems to promise a story that we never get from an artist whose work doesn’t appear in the issue, but all in all, Blue and Gold #7 is pretty okay, with some fun interactions between the main characters, even if the villain is dull as dishwater, with good art throughout the action sequence, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. If either art team had done the whole book on their own, I might have rated it somewhat higher, but either way, it’s a better-than-average affair.
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BLUE AND GOLD #7
I saw the twist coming and the two art teams are hard to reconcile, making for a middle-of-the-road read.
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Writing6
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Art6
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Coloring6
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.