In the startling wake of Ted Kord’s (Blue Beetle’s) demise, Checkmate is trying to clean up the mess Maxwell Lord made of Kord. Meanwhile, much to his pouting dismay, Maxwell Lord is trying to clean up the mess Ted Kord made of his files. Ted, by being much more awesome than his name and costume would seem to allow, succeeded in deleting all files pertaining to all of the DCU’s Super Characters. This seems like a positive boon for the JLA and its ilk, but alas, it matters not. Why? Because Lord has sole control of the title character, which is no longer simply a cyborgish Mr. T wannabe, and a network of satellites called Brother Eye which allow Lord to see everything on earth – everything. It is watching you right now…I’ll wait for you to get dressed.

So, this is a big problem. Batman is particularly amused by his inability to access the Brother Eye system, and by amused I mean he pooped on himself with fright, and is refusing to speak to Alfred – an act that there is really no excuse for. Come on Bats, Alfred is a nice guy, why the attitude?

Anyway, I can’t tell you much more because then you would hate me for being ruinous. So, let’s just get into the details.

The art by Jesus Saiz is really excellent, and due to some exceptional coloring by Hifi Design, it is given a dark slant (think Jae Lee) while remaining bright and full of color. The story is written by Rucka, and is some of his best, in my opinion. It is not as wordless and storyboard focused as Rucka’s stint on Wolverine, but it is also not as far out as his writing on Wonder Woman. And, since this book is to tie in with all of the multiple Crises which are going on, it is complexly involved with many storylines, rather than the isolated nature of both previously mentioned titles.

Therefore, this is a great book. Well done on all fronts, it is basically without flaw. It didn’t blow my mind and cause me to shout from the roof tops at the cows and chickens that now surround me, but it was good.

 

-Peblee