Blue Beetle Showcase Edition Coming Out, Collecting Ted Kord Stories From the '80s

DC Comics's collected edition solicitations released today have revealed that the company will publish a new, black-and-white Showcase Presents volume collecting all 24 issues of the 1980s Blue Beetle run by Wolverine co-creator Len Wein, longtime DC writer/editor Joey Cavalieri and a number of notable artists including Paris Cullins, Ross Andru and Gil Kane.

It's our belief this is the first time that much of this material has been collected, and it's certainly one of the very few times since the character's death and subsequent replacement in 2005 that a Ted Kord-centric story has found its way to print from DC.

Given the fact that Kord will appear in The Multiversity, his company has been referenced on Arrow and in today's Arrow Season 2.5 digital comic and its logo appeared on a recent promotional poster for The CW's The Flash, it certainly begs the question: what are DC's plans for Ted Kord?

Kord wasn't the first character to go by the name "Blue Beetle," but was the first to do so at DC, who acquired the property along with a number of others from the now-defunct Charlton Comics. After the failure of the '80s Blue Beetle title, he was one of a number of B- and C-list characters who joined the new Justice League, as written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis. It was during that time he was paired as a comedic duo with Booster Gold, another new character whose series ran for just 25 issues before it ended and he made his way to Justice League International. It was recently announced that the pair will star in Giffen and DeMatteis's Justice League 3000 starting in December.

The Showcase Presents: Blue Beetle trade paperback will hit the stands on January 28, 2015. You can see the full solicitation below.

SHOWCASE PRESENTS: BLUE BEETLE TP
Written by LEN WEIN and JOEY CAVALIERI
Art by PARIS CULLINS, BRUCE PATTERSON, CHUCK PATTON, ROSS ANDRU, GIL KANE and others
Cover by PARIS CULLINS and BRUCE PATTERSON
On sale JANUARY 28 • 584 pg, B&W, $19.99 US
This value-priced title collects the entire 24-issue run of BLUE BEETLE from the 1980s, including the Beetle's battles against DC Universe villains Chronos and Dr. Alchemy. Includes appearances by The Question and the Teen Titans in stories from BLUE BEETLE #1-24.