El Escarabajo Azul hits newsstands

This month's issue of the comic book, Blue Beetle (like a cross between Batman and Spider-Man), tells its story almost entirely in Spanish. The hero's alter ego is Jaime Reyes. As Blue Beetle, Reyes protects El Paso, Texas, and neighboring Juarez, Mexico. Here are the first several paragraphs of a Houston Chronicle article about the comic book.

Say hola to the Blue Beetle.

This month's issue of DC Comics' Blue Beetle, due in comic-book shops Wednesday, will be almost entirely in Spanish.

Why? "It's a gimmick," writer Jai Nitz says — not, he adds, that there's anything wrong with that.

The purpose, he says, is to bring some attention to a great title that deserves more readers. At the same time, it serves the story, which finds Hispanic teenager Jaime "Blue Beetle" Reyes and his non-Spanish-speaking girlfriend at a family gathering where everyone speaks Spanish.

"It would be pointless to have an issue of Flash in Spanish," Nitz says. "It doesn't make sense. But it makes a ton of sense for Blue Beetle."

Jaime is the latest version of the Blue Beetle, a character that's been around since comics' early golden age. His powers come from a mystical scarab. Nitz's story pits Jaime against the Parasite, a classic Superman villain.

Though the Parasite doesn't normally speak Spanish, he gains the ability after draining the memories and abilities of a Spanish-speaking person, Nitz explains. "That's part of his powers."

For those readers who don't know Spanish, the extra-size issue of Blue Beetle No. 26 will include the English script.

Though the special issue is a onetime event, it reflects a broader effort in comics of reaching out to Hispanic readers.

Click here to read the entire article.

Click here to read an interview with writer Jai Nitz about Blue Beetle #26.

In its look back at 2007, the American Library Association named two Blue Beetle collections as "Great Graphic Novels for Teens."