“Yesterday’s” Comic”> Blue Beetle #58

Look who’s back to prominence on the cover of his own comic!

Blue Beetle #58

Fox Features Syndicate (April, 1950)

For those you paying attention, yes it IS two years between issues. I don’t know what happened in that time, but it’s interesting that the numbering continued where it left off two years ago. In comics these days you can’t be sure the numbering will continue in the next issue because publishers are scared of big numbers as part of their play to the speculators over the readers. That’s a gimmick that should have died off years ago along with variant covers, but instead they’ve kind of doubled down on using gimmicks over good storytelling. Well, let’s see what they learned in two years.

[Read along with me here]

“The Power Of The Press”

It’s been two years for our heroes as well. So, is the city called Harness now or does being “in harness” refer to some metaphor I’m not aware of? Dan, back on the force and in uniform (but somehow still a rookie cop, making me wonder if “rookie” meant something different back then as well), visits…Doctor Franz? He’s back in the comic? I mean, they get his name wrong and call him Doctor Kranz, but considering how long he’s been gone I wouldn’t be surprised if they just forgot his name. I’m surprised they remember him. Even Vitamin 2X is referenced! Joan’s newspaper has a new name, the Daily Record. I’m not sure what Dan’s story, having worked for the CIC against the Axis, means for continuity. That happened during the Holyoke run, where Franz/Kranz was gone and we got the blackmailing sidekick Sparky/Spunky. I hope he’s not back. Mike is still Mike, and back to wanting to arrest the Blue Beetle unfortunately, but he’s actually a competent cop, even finding a clue to the first case of the comic.

That case involved Joan’s publisher’s son, who got in partnership with a black market racketeer while Dan was away and now wants his elderly father to bail him out. When he refuses, he murders the butler and tries to kill his father to steal a gift from a copyboy who brought back a jeweled skull from the war despite the curse on anyone who steals it rather than is given it by the previous owner. Blue Beetle can squeeze something hard enough to warm it up or something but he doesn’t have some of the more questionable abilities he seemed to in the previous run. It’s back to the Blue Beetle I came in on so long ago.

“Appointment With Death”

While out with the Police Athletic League, a group of kids the police are sponsoring in sports to keep them out of trouble, Dan overhears a plan to kill an atomic scientist, but is waylaid to stop a purse snatcher. Dan tries to get the scientist to not go to the farm where they’re planning to kill him but the scientist isn’t too bright and goes anyway. We have Blue Beetle pretending to get knocked out to find Joan, so I guess Franz gave him back his chainmail costume. Another good story.

“Sink That Ball”

The Police Athletic League comes up again in this story, introduced during the purse snatching. A high school basketball player was part of that league thanks to Dan and Franz (I know they’re still giving him the wrong name but that doesn’t mean I have to) keeping the kid out of trouble after busting the doc’s window. A crooked gambler wants him to throw the big game so he can clean up. When the kid refuses, the gambler takes a picture of him accepting the money and if he doesn’t thrown the game he’ll frame the kid for…throwing the game even if they win. What? “He was paid off to throw the game.” “But he didn’t throw the game and we won the championship.” The Babe Ruth approach this is not. Also, Blue Beetle having “electronic hearing” I can buy because the old BB had all types of gadget but when did that include X-ray vision and super breath? Meanwhile, Mike seems to have lost his crime detecting skills from the first story. Shame. The story ends up weaker for it. Kidnapping his girlfriend might be cliche but it would make more sense.

overall

Despite a weak third story this is what I was hoping for when Fox originally reacquired the Blue Beetle. The doc is back, but with the wrong name, Joan and Mike are how we remember them, though I miss that Mike is back to being against the Blue Beetle. At least Sparky/Spunky isn’t back. I don’t know where this fits into what passed for continuity but it’s back to being the Blue Beetle I was enjoying before Holyoke took over. With two more issues to go in this run I’m hoping this keeps up. I’d like to see this period of the Blue Beetle’s adventures end on a high note.