New Blue Beetle #5 - The Destroyer Of Heroes!

The New Blue Beetle #5 featuring the Ted Kord Blue Beetle by Steve Ditko hit stands in 1967. Ditko's Ayn Rand influence had been felt on many of his projects for the last several years, one of the many reasons he left Spider-Man. That philosophy really influences this final published issue of Blue Beetle. As usual D.C. Glanzman is the writer of record though he's not really. 

In this issue the subject is art and what makes good art. Ditko suggests that art should not showcase mankind's shortcomings but inspire his best attributes. He offers up as a foil an art critic named Boris Ebar (not that subtle) who thinks mankind is weak and art should reflect that aspect. Ted Kord and his girlfriend Tracey vehemently disagree as does Vic Sage (also known as The Question). This causes an artist to assume the villainous role of "Our Man", a statue that derides man's flaws. 

The Action-Hero line is dead, making way for new Charlton ventures such as Hercules, one of my all-time favorite Charlton titles. More on Herc later this summer. 

The Question stories and the Blue Beetle lead story are linked this time as Boris Ebar shows up again in the back-up story which has the same theme. More on Ditko's Ayn Rand influence when I take a look a The Question later this summer. 

 Read the complete comic at this link. 

That's a wrap on regularly published Charlton Blue Beetle, but there's still more on the azure hero to come. 

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