See that comic book? I went to my favorite comic book store and picked up my favorite comic book issue of all time. Why, you ask? Because it’s written by former journaler and wit-master Matt Sturges? Well, not exactly, he writes a lot of good stuff these days.
I’m in it. Page one, baby! How f***ing cool is that?
Yeah, that doctor is me! No, I am not writing myself narcotic prescriptions, it really is me, I tell you. The name badge has my last name (misspelled as always) and the foxy nurse (actually Blue Beetle’s mom) says my name too (spelled … correctly? Wow, that’s a first).
Matt, critically acclaimed writer of Jack of Fables and now Blue Beetle, asked for some convincing medical lingo, which I was obviously happy to provide. (Suck on that too, Shonda Rimes!) In return, he said he would put me in the comic – and he did!
I have to admit I didn’t know or care who this Blue Beetle character was until I read that Matt would start writing it. I’ve enjoyed his clever, hip, and very human stories. So I gave it a try and I was hooked. For the curious, this current Blue Beetle is a teenager, Jaime, with an alien-tech costume which gives him a seemingly unknown variety of powers, based on magnetism and electricity. I’ve read so many dark postmodern comics in the past two decades that Beetle is a refreshing reminder of how fun a superhero comic can be again. The supporting characters are fleshed out endearingly (and drawn quite attractively by Andre Coelho) as is Jaime’s family, plus it takes place in Texas, with a very southwestern cultural flavor, that makes for a more enriching experience than your usual generic New Hero Cityopolis.
My camera time doesn’t last past the first page though. Some guy named Doctor Mid-nite takes over. Figures. Give a surgeon a cape, and he thinks he’s The freakin’ Batman. (Actually I liked the way Doc Mid-nite was written. Cool, dark, and dedicated contrast to Beetle’s new-bish-ness.)
Thank you, Matt! … All those years of medical training finally paid off!
[Addendum: The title of this entry was in reference to Downey's strange criticism of The Dark Knight movie: "F**k DC comics."]
[Second Addendum: I drew Matt and his wife back in 2000.]
[Third Addendum: I found this cool website that reviews comics and shows from a medical analyses and they reviewed this medical issue of Blue Beetle as well. The webmaster seemed impressed with Matt's medical dialogue, which makes me proud as well. I did politely defend a couple points he criticized but all-in-all it's an interesting review and site.]
