This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story | Review

This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story
By Julio Anta and illustrated by Jacoby Salcedo
October 2024, DC Comics, $16.99
Grades 7 and up

As they have done with other superhero characters before, DC Comics is revamping an old character for a new audience. The Blue Beetle story isn’t even that old, because I remember it from my early days as a comics reader (which was still in my adult life), but I guess a lot has happened since I started to read comics.

The Blue Beetle isn’t a widely known hero, but a film was released at the end of last summer with a lackluster reception, and an animated series is in the works. I really enjoyed the Blue Beetle story 20 years ago when they rebooted him for that era, and I enjoyed the book again as they revamped the story for this generation.

Jaime has grown up in El Paso, Texas his entire life. His family goes back generations in the city. Jaime would rather be gazing at the stars and contemplating what’s out there than thinking about the latest crisis on Earth, which is that the president has closed the border between the US and Mexico, holding up automotive parts vital for his father’s business.

When Jaime picks up a scarab-shaped rock, he isn’t prepared for what will happen. While he sleeps, it clings to his back, and he wakes up with powerful abilities. During his sleep, he is in contact through the scarab with an alien being heading to Earth. Jaime is charged with prepping for the aliens’ arrival. But are the aliens’ intentions good or evil?

The story picks up on present-day political discourse, though without any specifics to a particular political figure, exploring some highly charged themes. Readers will encounter the hateful political climate that is brewing in our country as well as the attitudes to immigration and illegal immigration – topics that populate the evening news daily.

The artwork’s somber color palette perfectly complements the difficult themes of the story. The classic superhero comic style, with its sharp lines and expressive figures, brings a dynamic energy to the pages while maintaining a serious undertone. The muted colors echo the narrative’s tension, allowing the characters’ emotions to resonate deeply with the reader. The sharpness of the lines adds intensity to the action sequences, enhancing the gravity of each scene. Overall, the art style creates a cohesive visual experience that elevates the storytelling, making it both visually striking and thematically rich.

Superhero collections in need of more diversity or a new title to change up and charge the collection a bit will find this a worthy addition. There is a lot of fodder for discussion. Hopefully, we’ll see more of the Blue Beetle around.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, Reviews, Young Adult