Dem Bones
WHAT'S THIS!? A cover for Blue Beetle that isn't terrible!? F***ING. FINALLY. This is the same guy who completely distorted BBs head two covers ago, and the one from the past three covers who gave us an extremely dull color palate? I mean, Beetle here is bright and colorful, sharp and well shadowed. And then Mister Bones.... YES. AND the lines of focus make the red background actually WORK.
OH MY GOD AND IG GUARA'S BACK ON ART DUTIES! Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeesome! Normally I wouldn't have anything against Marcia Takara's art, but it's just not quite Guara's. It's close, but uncanny valley close. Ig Guara makes things much rounder with greater care. Takara's art goes past round and more into the realm of 'lumpy.'
I HATE it when an issue opens in the middle. Opening in the middle is a lazy excuse to contrive an opening hook, unless it's justified; which in this case... it isn't. It's actually really awkward, since all it flashes back to is Jaime deciding to go to the DEO. And then going through the bureaucracy. And then getting captured since we knew he would. Ugh.
But it's okay because of BOOOOOOOOOOOOONES! No, no I don't mean the tv detective or investigator or whatever. If you thought that's what I meant, shame on you. But no, Mister Bones, head of the DEO, and he's just delightful. I fell in love with the man when he appeared in Batwoman, and Tony Bedard writes him just as well. And the way his smoke swirls around his skull... and his whole attitude... I just.... it's hard to describe, but he's so cool. And different.
Because he seems to genuinely have good intentions, he's just so good at appearing to be a villain. But he complains about bureaucracy, is given VERY good reason not to trust Jaime, and even tries to recruit him when he realizes there might be a human in that armor. OH MY GOD HOW GREAT WOULD A DEO SERIES BE!? With Mister Bones, Chase, Batwoman, Blue Beetle, and.... I don't know, a few other heroes not currently in other series. Misfit? Black Alice? Maybe they could put Traci 13 in there and get BB with her again. NO NO NO WAIT. Xombi. Or Resurrection Man DC MAKE THIS HAPPEN PLEASE!
I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH DUDE. If you want them to talk in real spanish, fine, BUT GIVE ME A DAMN TRANSLATION.
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
I might be giving an extra .5, but I'm just so damn haoppy to have Ig Guara back. Plus, bonus, Mister Bones AND the proper use of Editor's Notes! The awkward opening put a bit of a damper, and the conclusion of this issue felt a little rushed at first, but as I thought more about it, I realized it works well because this is just setup. Dones and the DEO aren't done with Blue Beetle, and I look forward to seeing them again, and to seeing Blue and Gold again next issue.