The All-New Blue Beetle!

As delightful as Ditko's earliest Captain Atom stories are, as true to his philosophy is The Question, the best thing Steve Ditko created for Charlton was the "New" Blue Beetle. He took a hero who despite some tasty misadventures was a sign of a bygone era. 

Blue Beetle of course originated in the Golden Age of comics as the flagship title of the Fox Comics brand. Fox was run by one of the more extreme personalities in the history of the medium -- Victor Fox. He was a wild man according to the tales I've read. Blue Beetle was created by Charles Nicholas (one of the many) and possibly Will Eisner had a hand as well. He was a big hit in comics and getting his own radio show as well as a comic strip drawn by Jack Kirby. The Beetle was a cop named Dan Garrett who got some pills from a pharmacist that gave him some low-grade superpowers. 

After the demise of Fox and Holyoke, another publisher that had the character, Charlton Comics picked him up and offered up some reprints. Then when the superhero boom started to take off in the 60's they tapped Joe Gill, Tony Tallarico and Bill Fracchio to revive him, this time an archeologist named Dan Garrett (why mess with success) who comes across a magical scarab that gives him vast superpowers. Blue Beetle had two short runs and then folded his tent. 

Then came Ditko who took the Dan Garret character, killed him off, and replaced him with a young scientist named Ted Kord. Kord had no superpowers at all, but relied rather on technology to give him the advantage in his run-ins with criminals. He wore a snappy protective costume, had a mask that defied villains slipping it off his face, sported a buzz gun that was also a flash (that was also what we today call a "smart gun" in that only the original user could work it), and went into battle aboard "The Bug" his totally awesome aircraft (and water craft for that matter) that functioned almost like his partner in crime. This was an utterly new and modern Blue Beetle, and sans powers fit perfectly into Dick Giordano's mandate for his "Action Heroes" not being world beaters. 

The All-New Blue Beetle lasted five issues with the fifth coming out nearly a full year after the fourth. By this time Charlton's "Action Hero" line was down for the count and Steve Ditko along with editor Dick Giordano and many other Charlton talents had moved on to DC. Ditko's Beware The Creeper already reached its fourth issue. The final issue of Blue Beetle, a sixth one was prepared by Ditko at long last saw publication in the mid 70's  by the CPL Gang in their portfolio celebrating the Charlton Comics. Blue Beetle would be revived by DC in the 80's after being purchased along with the other "Action Heroes" and has become a rather important part of the DCU, though Ted Kord himself is not the main bug anymore (I think). 

To read the three All-New Blue Beetle back up adventures above check out my Captain Atom post from a few days. 

To read Blue Beetle #1 go here. 

To read Blue Beetle #2 go here. 

To read Blue Beetle #3 go here. 

To read Blue Beetle #4 go here. 

To read Blue Beetle #5 go here. 

To read the CPL Gang version of Blue Beetle #6 go here. 

I think, sales aside that The All-New Blue Beetle might've been Ditko's most thoroughly successful mainstream creation, utterly Ditko but also very very entertaining. Blue Beetle is utterly modern in every respect. The Blue Beetle gets reinvented every decade or so it seems and has become one of comicdom's most enduring heroes. 

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