Blame Hal Jordan.

Well, not quite, but Hell if it's a good enough excuse for Batman every time they meet, it should be good enough for us. Anyway good old Hal - or rather his untimely demise after going a little loony a few years back - really was the catalyst for one of the biggest demonstrations of fan outrage, organisation, campaigning and ultimately successful reinstating of a comic book character that has ever been. I am of course referring to H.E.A.T. or to expand on this FLA, Hal's Emerald Advancement Team.

If indeed H.E.A.T. had something to do with Mr Jordan's recent resurrection and subsequent ring recovery as Green Lantern of Sector 2814, then it was a phenomenal achievement, and one sure to be emulated by fans of other characters cut down in their prime through the pages of their favourite monthly tomes.

Now that Hal Jordan is back, H.E.A.T. should be able to sit back and relax knowing that they have been successful in their aim of bringing their favourite Green Lantern back to the fore, albeit at the expense of all Magic in the DCU which has been royally screwed up by the now hostless, and extremely horny Spectre. But no, they have decided to reach out and embrace those other characters who have been treated similarly, and ripped from the hearts of the buying public who adore them so much.

The question is, can H.E.A.T. be as successful? It is possible, but you get the feeling that the acronym will forever be associated with Hal Jordan, so there may not be the same resonance with their cry for the reinstatement of other characters, cruelly taken from us. Could the real way to get back your precious Hawkeye, Vibe and Xorn/Magneto/Xorn's brother be to set up your own action group?

Which leads us quite nicely to K.N.O.B.B. or to be more precise, (Ted) Kord, Number One Blue Beetle.

We at YMB were contacted by someone who had seen the site, thinking we would appreciate the joke. Of course we did, but we had to take it a little further didn't we? We needed to see what made this person tick and find out whether he had a point; had a case to put to the comic reading public and the publishers DC. So we do what we usually do, we arrange an interview with the site admin, known as TedKord.

YMB: At risk of asking a stupid question, why exactly do you have this site?

Kord: To raise awareness of people's love for Ted Kord as Blue Beetle, who was horribly cut down as a plot device to bring about Infinite Crisis, DC Comics latest universe redefining crossover.

Y: You are of course referring to his death at the hands of former boss, and former joke/businessman Maxwell Lord who turned out to be quite the devious piece of work?

K: Yes.

Y: Surely Kord's death didn't bring about Infinite Crisis, rather it started off the OMAC mini-series?

K: Yes, but OMAC leads to Infinite Crisis, so therefore, ipso facto, his death leads to Infinite Crisis. Plus his investigations throughout Countdown did touch on the other minis.

Y: I see. Okay, moving on. K.N.O.B.B. is quite a catchy acronym and you've opened yourself up to some jokes I would imagine?

K: Yes, but you see, that should help the publicity. Sure people will see the name and may laugh, but hopefully they'll be interested then on clicking the link and going to my site and help out. Or at the very least click it to leave gags in the comments section.

Y: So you're opening yourself to ridicule to help your cause?

K: People lie in baths of their own - and other people's - vomit to raise money for charity. This is a small price to pay.

Y: But aren't you sick of the jokes? Your email inbox must be full.

K: Yes, the knob jokes come in thick and fast.

Y: Hehe.

K: You see? You can't say you're not intrigued.

Y: I just thought … knob gags. Hehe.

K: * Sighs *

Y: Apologies. Well, this is pretty much the same as H.E.A.T. who took a lot of heat (pun attempted) because of their cause. They were ridiculed throughout the comics community, particularly on the Net. It was the butt of many jokes, as is your K.N.O.B.B. now. However, what do you think you can do, if anything to turn this around in your favour?

K: As I said, the jokes and double entendres will hopefully bring people to the site. What I need to do is keep them there after the initial laughter fades. What I am going to try to do, and this interview will hopefully help me, is to prompt some meaningful discussion around the subject and start moving forward positively with the campaign.

Y: What plans do you have? Can you reveal them now?

K: Well, a petition is in progress and I hope to have it linked from the site. That would be the first thing, which I would hope people would subscribe to and then I can get it to the powers that be at DC. Other than that, I want to try and organise meet-ups around the globe, with like minded fans getting together to discuss their love or admiration for Ted, and get a real groundswell going.

Y: Do you think it will work?

K: Yes. Yes I do. I really think we can mobilise and influence the publisher, and the more names that sign up to commit to buying a new Ted Kord Blue Beetle book the better. If we can get 100,000 names, then maybe DC will sit up and listen as how many books will sell 100,000 copies nowadays?

Y: Not too many granted, but would you concede that perhaps that is a very large number to aim for? And how many will actually buy the book? Would DC really be expected to believe that people will commit to buying a comic based on Internet promises?

K: Well, we can't force them to buy, but I'd hope that most of them would. The real fans of the character would, and maybe the others would just to thank me for making them laugh a bit.

Y: So you're allowing yourself to ridiculed to save your favourite character?

K: I think we established that a long time ago. But Ted's worth it, you know.

Y: I hope so. Now, since the Blue Beetle's Scarab has been shown a few times during the Countdown to Infinite Crisis one-shot and the Day of Vengeance mini, it would seem as though it will be playing a part at some stage. By extension, there is a high probability that Blue Beetle will return, but not Ted Kord.

K: I've heard all the rumors – Robin as Blue Beetle, Sasha Bordeaux as BB etc, and while it would be good for the character to continue, he won't be THE Blue Beetle. That is Ted Kord, and always will be.

Y: He wasn't always Blue Beetle though.

K: No, but he was the most humane version. Sure, he was the butt of many jokes himself, but he was an endearing character in and out of the Blue Beetle costume. You only have to see him in Birds of Prey over the last few years to see what a kind, genuine character he is. I think that having Blue Beetle without Ted Kord would be like having Spider-Man without Peter Parker.

Y: Ben Reilly?

K: Exactly.

Y: Okay, well wrapping up, do you have anything you would like to say to the readers?

K: Yes. For me, and hopefully many others out there, Ted Kord and the Blue Beetle character are one and the same. Please join us in our attempt to bring him back to mainstream comics continuity. We have a chance with the current DCU Infinite Crisis revamp. He can easily be fit into whatever new universe is created, so lets band together and get the message across. You never know.

Y: Indeed you don't. Thanks for your time.

K: Thank you.

Well, there you have it, the plea of a man who loves a comic book character so much, that he is opening himself to ridicule and derision because it may help said character return to publication. Is this really a modern martyr, or just someone who takes his comics a little too seriously for his own mental health? I'd like to think the former because, if we truly call ourselves comic fans, then we've all had some geek love for a character at some stage in our lives, whether it be as a child or an adult. I say we give it a shot and help him, and his many compatriots, to fight for the life and future of their favorite character.

If you want to help in his cause then go check out his blog and website. Hell, if you got a laugh out of him, at least pay him back and leave a message on his guest book/petition.

The blog is at http://knobb.iblogs.com. The website is http://www.geocities.com/tedkord0405/knobb.html

We here at YMB are backing him all the way, and we will hope to one day be able to report that what this one man started, became something special.

Time, and the powers that be at DC, will tell.