A busy weekend means a slightly smaller-than-usual column, but luckily Seb’s still around to deliver the goods - an examination of the Spanish Language issue of Blue Beetle, and another Batman theory as Morrison’s run speeds towards the finish line. By contract, I manage to contribute nothing but a couple of links to articles I wrote elsewhere about Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Iron Man movie press conference!

As you may have seen, this coming week’s Blue Beetle #26 - the first after the departure of John Rogers as writer - is an almost entirely Spanish-language issue. To be honest, I have to say that this struck me as a fairly strange idea from the outset - while the cultural surroundings of El Paso have been an important part of the series so far, I just wonder who the issue is really supposed to appeal to. At the end of the day, it’s a book being sold to an almost entirely English-speaking market - and yes, while there will be readers who speak Spanish as well, they’re surely a pretty small minority. Meanwhile, those of us with standing orders or subscriptions for the title are actually having to pay more for the extra page count demanded by including the original English script at the back (in itself surely an irritating way to have to read it). I’m not averse to the idea of trying to open up Blue Beetle to a Hispanic/Central American market (that in itself makes a fair amount of sense) - but why not just put out a specific title designed to be sold there?

Even aside from my own opinion on whether or not it’s a good idea, though, what makes it worse is the fact that it’s not even being written by a native, fluent Spanish speaker - it’s been written in English by Jai Nitz, and then translated. And according to some comments here, it’s been translated badly. So not only will it not make sense to English speakers… but it’s pretty nonsensical for Spanish readers as well! Ludicrous stuff - and a crying shame that it had to happen to what was previously one of the most exciting and vibrant books in DC’s stable. (SP)

Hey kids! It’s Batman Speculation Time! Apologies to our chum Julian Hazeldine for nicking this off him, but I’m sure he won’t mind his theory being put forth, as it’s a pretty good one (although, to be fair, he probably isn’t the first to have thought of it). Quoted from a text message received by yours truly : I know Morrison would never be so obvious as to repeat himself, but after this week’s issue, I can’t help looking at Jet and thinking “Xorn”. Remember the bit last issue where he started wondering what his ultimate enemy might look like?

I can’t say this one had occurred to me, but it makes a certain amount of sense when you consider the strangely muted portrayal of her so far. Still, “Batman RIP” is almost upon us, so answers can’t be far away. And I’m still sticking with my prediction that it’s going to involve the faking of the death of one or both of Bruce and Batman… (SP)

As for the usual links roundup, my Alternate Cover column on Den of Geek last week was titled “How I learned to stop worrying and love Brand New Day.” I won’t bore you with the details, but if you’re still undecided over the whole Spider-Man fiasco, consider this one last attempt at snapping you out of it. Meanwhile, if you’re even a little interested in the Iron Man movie (you know, being comics fans) I attended the Iron Man press conference in London, which I also wrote up for Den of Geek.(JH)

Tags: batman, blue beetle, Grant Morrison, Iron Man, Jai Nitz
Publisher: The Sunday Pages