Americomics 3

Americomics 3

Aug 1983

Return from Pago Island

by Rik Levins, Bill Black, Tim Bove, Rebekah Black

12 pages

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) is fighting crime when he runs into a man who looks Just like his predecessor (Dan Garrett). Ted tries talking to him, after the smugglers he was chasing down have been defeated but Dan flies off.

Ted later reflects on the encounter. He thinks about Pago Island and how Dan was killed there. Dan was Ted’s friend in college. He saw him buried in a ton of debris on Pago Island. He doesn’t understand how he could have survived or why he is acting so strange.

Ted follows a hunch and tracks down Dan. He gets close enough to Dan to see that he isn’t who he claims to be. He’s an android built by Jarvis Kord, his uncle. Ted helped his uncle build the androids which explains how he tracked the fake Dan.

The two fight. Fake Dan has the upper hand when Ted’s ship lashes out and zaps Fake Dan. Ted is left wondering how and why his ship saved him.

Secret Origins (1986) 2

Secret Origins (1986) 2

May 1986

Echoes of Future Past

by Len Wein, Gil Kane, John Costanza, Anthony Tollin, Julius Schwartz

The first half of this issue tells the story of how Dan Garrett became the Blue Beetle. He was on an archaeological dig in Egypt when he and one of his colleagues were buried in a pile of rubble. They escaped thanks to the blue beetle scarab which he found in the tomb of Kha-Ef-Re. Dan transformed into the Blue Beetle by saying the magic words, Kaji Dha.

Ted Kord, a student of Dan Garret, years later, asks the professor for help. Ted was working for Jarvis Kord, his uncle, when Jarvis was killed in an explosion. Ted suspects that his uncle is still alive. Ted asks Dan for help. He thinks he knows where his uncle is and he fears he knows what is planning to do.

Blue Beetle (DC)

I have not read any Blue Beetle stories from the Charlton or early DC Comics eras. I recently watched Batman: Brave and the Bold 1.08 (Fall of the Blue Beetle) and it has me wanting to give the 1986 series a try. It only ran for 24 issues, most of which can be found for reasonable prices. The Blue Beetle was also featured in Secret Origins (1986) 2. All of those issues (including the Secret Origins) have only been reprinted in a Showcase collection, which is not in color. That volume is currently out of print and selling on Amazon (by third party sellers) for $100 or more. The entire 1986 series plus the issue of Secret Origins, are available on Comixology.

Jarvis Kord (who appeared in Batman: Brave and the Bold 1.08) first Appeared in Blue Beetle (1967) 2, published by Charlton. This comic is kind of pricey but it was reprinted in the Action Heroes Archives Vol. 2. Jarvis Kord's second appearance was in Americomics (1983) 3, published by Americomics, which can be found for fairly reasonable prices. Jarvis Kord's 3rd and 4th appearances both happened in 1986 in comic books published by DC Comics, Secret Origins (1986) 2 and Blue Beetle (1986) 1.

The art for Blue Beetle's entry in Who's Who was drawn by Steve Rude. Rude drew only three pages for Who's Who. The other two were Hawkgirl and Poison Ivy.