Welcome Back! a Review of Booster Gold, the Complete 2007 Series volume 1

 

Review:

When Booster Gold's first solo series hit the scene in 1986, he was a happy-go-lucky, media-savvy hero with a flair for promoting himself. His shiny robotic side-kick Skeets and occasional struggles with common expressions were explained by his unique back-story - a disgraced 25th century athlete celebrity looking for a new start in an earlier era. 

Over time, portrayals of Booster gave him a more selfish, manipulative and buffoonish slant. He wanted the recognition, fame and rewards that his heroism made possible.

But with his second solo series, launched in 2007, writers Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz have turned the character on his head.

This new series reintroduces Booster Gold with a brilliant twist—he now saves the world in total anonymity. The glory-seeking publicity hound now plies his heroism trade totally behind the scenes. If he does his job right, no one will ever know. Such an ironic development!

This reinvention aligns perfectly with Booster's new role emerging from the weekly 52 series, where he saved the multiverse without recognition, showcasing his courage, heroism and even intelligence - another trait contrary to his previous reputation. 

Even the redesigned series logo captures this shift, replacing the dollar-sign "S" with an Infinity symbol in the Os. 

The first story arc picks up directly from the conclusion of 52 - the new Time Masters working overtime to seal up the fractures in time and repair the damage to the time stream caused by Mister Mind at the conclusion of that epic series.

In so doing, the series visits several fascinating moments in DC's history. There's college-aged Guy Gardner before he became Green Lantern; Jonah Hex gets hired to kill a key ancestor; Flash and Kid Flash have a treadmill-time-sphere collision and risk interrupting the storm that created Flash in the first place, and many more. 

Most intriguing of all is the overlap with the landmark Alan Moore graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke. Booster learns some hard lessons and barely survives his multiple encounters with the Joker. Dan Jurgens' artwork is exceptional, faithfully reproducing iconic scenes from that book but with Booster's unique twists. And it leads to a fascinating confrontational pep talk with Batman himself.

This is a thick book, bringing together 16 issues from the new series. In the second major story arc, Booster tries to save another hero, this time his best friend Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle. The duo's friendship, forged in their Justice League International days, is one of the most unique partnerships in all of DC Comics, with its strength, nuance and depth of friendship. Despite their success in saving Ted, Booster and his Beetle companions learn that altering the past brings unforeseen consequences, leading to a world taken over by Maxwell Lord and his OMAC project, aided by a mind-controlled Superman. Can Booster and Beetle fix this new crack in the time stream?

The creative team of Johns, Katz, Jurgens, and Rapmund masterfully blend action, drama, and mystery, enriching the story with hints, red herrings, and Easter eggs. The book is packed with memorable moments and images, none more shocking than Batman's surprising compliments on discovering Booster's attempts to save Barbara Gordon from the Joker's bullet. The vibrant colors by Hi-Fi are spectacular, making Booster's gold shine brilliantly, distinguishing him even next to Kid Flash's yellow.

Once Johns and Katz leave the series, the quality of the stories hits a bit of a rough patch. Chuck Dixon pens a two-parter centering on a successful robbery by Killer Moth that leads to the creation in the past of an institution whose absence would prevent the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne and therefore prevent Batman's existence. it's every bit as convoluted as that sounds, but not without its charms. Such as when Booster's sister, the resurrected (saved at the last millisecond) Goldstar impersonates Batgirl, while Booster plays Batman and ... Elvis Presley?

The final story line in this collection is written by Rick Remender and has the mighty Starro taking over first Rip Hunter and then all of Earth past and present.While its plot is more straightforward that Chuck Dixon's, it brings in a handful of other time-related heroes and villains but in ways that leave the reader more confused than helped, if they are not already familiar with them.

This new beginning for Booster Gold is a thrilling ride with powerful storytelling, nuanced emotions, stunning art, and brilliant colors. It's full of fun and promise.

Description:

Presenting the greatest, most popular, most beloved, and did we say popular, superhero of all time: Booster Gold!…Or so he hopes to be thought of one day.

As the time-traveling hero gets caught up in the madness of changing histories, fighting Time Stealers, and trying to undo the death of his bestie, Blue Beetle, he will learn the hard way that twisting time too far may just cause it to snap!

Collects: Booster Gold #0-14 and #1,000,000.

Authors:  by Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, Chuck Dixon, Rick Remender
Artists:  Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  April 23, 2024
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  ‎ 978-1779527233
Pages:  ‎ 400 pages

Meet the Superfan - The Gold Exchange: The Unofficial Booster Gold Companion

 

Review:

Ever since he was first introduced to the world in Booster Gold #1 in early 1986, Booster Gold has been a fan favorite. His real-world fame can't approach that of legends like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, of course. But those of us who fell in love with this colorful, imaginative character devour every new appearance, no matter which series gives him some space.

Mega-fans and other boosters of Booster have shown their passion with fan-sites like Boosterific.com which have been around for years and are still active, tracking and discussing every new appearance of Booster. The count, as I write this, is well over 800 appearances and climbing.

Super-fan Russ Burlingame took a different approach. He used his regular writing gig over the course of several years to beat the drum of his love for Booster Gold. In his position in media covering pop culture and comics, he was able to turn his fandom into a chance to interview the creative teams involved with books containing Booster appearances.

Dan Jurgens, creator of Booster Gold and artist of dozens of the issues in his two solo series, was Burlingame's most frequent interviewee. He also picked the brains of J. M. DeMatteis, Rick Remender and Geoff Johns about their vision for and involvement with the second Booster Gold solo series.

The interviews became entries in his ongoing online blog / reporting and lasted throughout the run of that series and the parallel Time Masters series too. It's an impressive level of ongoing access!

This book collects those interviews previously published online. As such, it has a small number of gaps, acknowledged in the text itself, when an article was not recoverable a decade later - the internet is not as permanent as we sometimes assume!

It gives us a fascinating behind-the-curtain peek into the creative process and the publication side of Comics, and there are a few gems revealed about Booster the character and the affection all of these creators have for him. Unfortunately, the book could use a pass by an editor with a sharp red pencil, to correct the many errors, typos and missing words. And the interviews themselves tend toward softball questions and get side-tracked into the nerdy side of the passion.

But us big Booster fans will brush aside those concerns and criticisms, and geek-out on this Booster Gold deep-dive.

Description:

In a series of interviews conducted between 2006 and 2011, entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame collects the definitive companion to Booster Gold, the time-traveling superhero who has to hide his nobility and his capability from villains and become the Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of.

This volume features "commentary track"-style interviews with Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens as well as comic book writers and artists like Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, J.M. DeMatteis, and more.

Originally released online at the time of Booster Gold vol. 2's publication, these columns have been out of circulation for a while now, and this is their first time released in any collected form.

Collects: NA

Authors:  Russ Burlingame with foreword by Troy Brownfield
Artists:  NA
Published By:  Independently published
Published When:  Jan. 20 2022
Parental Rating: General
ISBN:  979-8405755908
Pages:  364 pages

What Price for a Friend's Life? Booster Gold volume 2 Blue and Gold

 

Review:

Batman and Robin are a more famous DC hero pair. Hawk and Dove have a longer history. But it is hard to find a super-hero duo more fun than the fan-favourite combo of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle.

From their earliest days, bonding in the often dysfunctional Justice League International and introducing "Bwahaha" into the DC lexicon, through the emotional wringer of each watching the other be badly wounded or even killed in battle, theirs has been a charming, entertaining, surprisingly strong and deep bond of friendship.

The superhero comics world has lots of partnerships, lots of mentor-apprentice pairings, many peers and teammates, several lovers. But surprisingly few strong and nuanced friendships.Goofy humour aside, this rarity and strength of the bond is what makes this Blue and Gold pair so memorable.

So it does not take long for Booster, immersed as he is in time streams and alternate timelines, to try and save the life of his best friend Ted Kord / Blue Beetle. His shocking death, shot in cold blood by Maxwell Lord in Countdown to Infinite Crisis, was a tragic moment of true bravery and heroism. Knowing all the details, the who, where and when, can Booster Gold, the new Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes and a couple of other Beetles save Ted?

It is probably not a spoiler, given the cover of this collection,to say that they are indeed successful. What they fail to consider, however, is how this change to the past could change the future.

Breaking one of Rip Hunter's core rules about messing with the past allows Maxwell Lord and his OMAC project - helped by a mind-controlled Superman - to take over the world. Now, instead of just Ted Kord, dozens of heroes have been killed.

To try and put things right, Booster and Beetle connect with a band of resistance fighters, led by Green Arrow and Hawkman and their decidedly low-power and motley group. Can they fix things, defeat Lord, solve the mystery of the Time Stealers and also keep Ted alive?

Booster has always worn his emotions on his sleeve and he endures a roller coaster ride of emotional swings in this book. His deepest desire is to spend some more time with his best bud, and his joy is evident initially. But as he comes to realize the cost of fulfilling his selfish wish, he goes through some dark and desperate pages, all well handled by the creative team of Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund.

This series continues to be such a treat. Johns and Katz give us action, drama and mystery in a well-blended, well-paced tale. They work well with Dan Jurgens, who created the Booster Gold character and, at this point some 20+ years after introducing him, is still the only penciller for any Booster Gold solo series issue.

The creative team continues to sprinkle in so many hints, red herrings, nod to other books or moments and a few Easter Eggs.

And this book is jam-packed with memorable moments. There's (spoiler alerts) Ted's noble self-sacrifice to restore time and return the dead heroes; Booster's despair at the second loss of his best friend; Batman's surprising compliments; the return of Mister Mind, the villain behind the 52 weekly series; a revisiting and reinterpretation of Booster's origin story; a reunion of the old Justice League International gang with Ice, Fire and Guy Gardner; Peter Platinum, the Booster-inspired self-promoting glory-seeker of the year 1,000,000, and so much more.

With powerful story-telling, emotions both nuanced and extreme, gorgeous art and brilliant colors, this series gets even stronger. I give it four and a half capes out of five.

Description:

This time, the time-traveling hero from the future is determined to change history and save his best friend, the Blue Beetle, from murder. But, as Booster is about to learn, twisting time can have some unpredictable, deadly consequences. This volume also tells the secret origin of Booster Gold, and guest stars the heroes of Justice League International as well as Green Lantern Hal Jordan, in his evil guise as Parallax.

Collects: Booster Gold (2007) #0, #7-10, #1,000,000 and 52 Week 24

Authors:  Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz,
Artists:  Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  Dec 15 2009
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  ‎ 978-1401220143
Pages:  ‎ 151 pages

Second First Impressions - Booster Gold volume 1 - 52 Pickup

 

Review:

When Booster Gold's first solo series introduced him to the world in early 1986, it gave us a happy-go-lucky, media-savvy hero with a flair for self-promotion. Sure, he fumbled the occasional colloquial slang, but what else would you expect from a 25th century disgraced college football star getting a new start in late 20th century Metropolis?

As the character evolved over time and in the hands of different creators, happy-go-lucky turned into jokes and slapstick farce; self-promotion became selfish, self-centred and even manipulative. Fans were glad to see him in regular Justice League appearances but were occasionally aghast at the increasingly buffoonish portrayals.

His second solo series is a new start, a bold new take on this character. Writers Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz turn Booster on his head. The guy so motivated by fame and glory now needs to save the world in total anonymity. I tip my hat to whoever redesigned the series logo, as well, for nailing this character shift. Gone is the $ dollar-sign shape of the S in the middle of "Booster", replaced by the two Os in the name merging into an Infinity symbol. Brilliant! The logo and the character are amazing reinventions that invert our established perceptions of who Michael Carter is, and what Booster Gold is all about.

This new series follows directly on the heels of 52, the ambitious weekly series that filled in the year in the DC universe without Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman. Booster's role as a Time Master and his need to work in secret started there, culminating in his saving the multiverse - without anyone knowing! A sign o the true heroism at his core. But that climactic battle left cracks and wormholes in the time stream. Booster Gold and Rip Hunter seek to seal them up, with as little downstream damage as possible.

The result is a series of jumps into fascinating moments in the history of DC characters.

We meet a college-aged Guy Gardner with tickets to the Rose Bowl, before he became the arrogant, hot-headed Green Lantern. Jonah Hex and his wild west make an appearance, in scenes that give us a delightfully drunk Booster! Flash and Kid Flash get into a fender-bender with Booster's Time Sphere, putting at risk the night that lightning struck and turned Barry Allen into the Flash. And so on.

This book is also filled with some amazing visuals. With Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens on layouts and pencils, these characters get the loving care and attention of a parent. He also works in some great nods to classic DC moments and occasional "Easter eggs" as well. 

The strongest example is the series of panels when Booster tries to prevent the Joker from shooting and paralyzing Barbara Gordon. From the legendary Batman: Killing Joke graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, Jurgens faithfully reproduces these memorable panels while weaving in the Booster twists.

Jurgens nails it again, in similar fashion, at the moment Maxwell Lord shoots Ted Kord / Blue Beetle. Booster jumps between them to try and save his friend, and the sequence of panels nods to the originals in Countdown to Infinite Crisis.

There are also  Easter Eggs and teases aplenty. Things like Rip Hunter's blackboard and its mysterious one-liners, or glimpses into DC moments through the rips in time, plus the occasional "upcoming" issue-ending panels.

My favourite, though, has to be the nod to the Beatles and their Abbey Road album cover, reproduced as Booster and three Blue Beetles (get it?) leave Rip Hunter. So clever!

One small artistic annoyance is the over-use of the classic pose of the hero flying toward us, body tapering to small feet far behind. See the cover of this collection to see what I mean. It's a Comic Books 101 technique, and is over-used in these pages.

Hi-Fi does the colors and these pages look fantastic! For maybe the first time, the gold in Booster Gold's uniform shines brightly. Even standing next to Kid Flash, you can see who wears yellow and who wears brilliant Gold!

This is an exciting new beginning for Booster Gold, and I give it four Capes.

Description:

Named by James Gunn as an influence for Gods and Monsters, the first chapter of the new DC Universe film and television slate! This story inspires the upcoming series BOOSTER GOLD.

Who the hell is Booster Gold?!

A scoundrel from the future intent on making a name for himself in the past, Booster Gold has nevertheless exhibited his share of heroism.

When opportunity arises, you have to seize it! That’s an idea that has driven Mike Carter, a college football star of the 25th Century who earned the nickname “Booster” on the field. Even though people assured him a professional career of fame and fortune was in his future, he decided he couldn’t wait and wagered on his own games. The scandal halted his dreams of professional stardom and ruined his reputation.

Taking a job as a security guard in the Metropolis Space Museum, Mike saw another opportunity. With future and alien technology stolen from the museum, and a time machine that was on display, he realized he could not only become a superhero himself in a past era where his criminal history was unknown, but he could also make his good deeds profitable.

Mike time-traveled to the modern age and debuted as Booster Gold. Now, he fights evil alongside different versions of the Justice League and his good pal Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle. Though always eager to take credit for good deeds on social media or sign with a well-paying sponsor, Booster is a good guy at heart and will drop everything if he genuinely sees someone in need.

BOOSTER GOLD: 52 PICK-UP explodes from the pages of 52 with Booster Gold on a mission to repair the damaged timeline of the DC Universe...if he's going to earn membership in the Justice League of America!

Collects: Booster Gold (2007) #1-6

Authors:  Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz
Artists:  Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  April 25, 2023 (reprint)
Parental Rating: PG-13
ISBN:  978-1779524355
Pages:  158 pages

Big, Bigger, Biggest Wars - Review of 52 volume 4 (2007)

 

Review:

With this fourth and final volume, the audacious and ambitious weekly series 52 by DC Comics comes to its end. Four top-rated authors and more than two dozen artists teamed up to tell the tale of the year with no Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman in the DC Universe.

Not like those big three heroes never existed, they just stepped back for a time after the shocking events of the Infinite Crisis crossover series. And in this final volume, they begin to reappear, never costumed, never swooping in to save the day. But Diana / Wonder Woman appears in a couple chapters, Clark Kent leads the authorities to one of Lex Luthor's secret hideouts, and Batman's deep vision quest nears an end.

Not that the world stood still, waiting for them, as recounted in this amazing series. With a weekly schedule to fit the year into a calendar year, a dozen separate storylines all unfolded in "real time" making this a high-flying acrobatic act without a net for these creators. And in this final book, they mostly stuck the landing.

In the early days, each issue or chapter touched on four, six, even eight of the many plot threads, such as Elongated Man's quest to restore his dead wife to life, or Black Adam's diplomacy, or the Question's battle with Intergang, or Booster Gold and Skeets encountering unexpected hiccups in the historical record, or three heroes lost in space, and many more.

But here, at the end, the sub-plots get issue-length treatment as they come to their conclusion. The extra space lets these gifted storytellers build more drama and tension, and it works! The reader feels almost compelled to keep flipping these pages to get more of the story and all of its beautiful art.

The Lex Luthor / John Henry Irons / Natasha story is the first to wrap up. Luthor finally figures out how to give himself his Everyman genetic power enhancement. But after studying it for a year, Irons / Steel knows how to short-circuit it - if he can survive long enough, that is!

Luther's tale is big and loud and filled with casualties. Yet it is no contest compared to Black Adam's. Upon losing his beloved Isis and brother-in-law Osiris to the Four Horsemen created by a cabal of mad scientists, he begins a rampage that quickly escalates into what some call World War II, as he wipes out millions single-handedly. The dark side of Black Adam's godlike powers had seemed conquered by love, but we meet them in full display here. His tragic tale is gut-wrenching, his rampage truly horrifying yet always tastefully rendered.

Once Renee Montoya accepts the mantle of the Question, can she save Batwoman from Intergang's overly literalistic interpretation of the prophecies of their Crime Bible? 

Ralph Dibney puts his renowned detective skills to work unravelling who has been manipulating him behind the scenes, setting up a fantastic confrontation with those demons and at last a reunion with his wife Jean, in a sweet and poignant conclusion.

And Booster Gold caps it all. He was front-and-center back in week one, and here at the end he helps to reveal the mastermind behind Evil skeets - Mister Mind, who mysteriously disappeared waaay back near the beginning. The fully grown and mutated Mister Mind butterfly / dragon goes on a time rampage, altering the 52 copies of the multiverse one by one and setting up the DC Universe for a set of well-defined alternate realities for the future. Brilliant! He would, of course, have consumed them outright, though, if not for the work of Rip Hunter and Booster Gold. And who will know of this great and heroic deed accomplished by the glory-hound Booster? Not a soul in any of the 52 universes!

The 52 issues collected into these four volumes have given us a tremendously entertaining ride. The covers collected in these volumes were often stunning in their own right, and the notes and commentary by the writers and peeks at Giffen's rough layouts gave us some tasty extra features too.

4 Capes for this highly recommended series!

Description:

The story of the DC Universe's most eventful year concludes in this final action-packed volume in the series featuring an epic WORLD WAR III between the planet's super-powered beings. Discover the final fates of the stars of the series - Booster Gold, Renee Montoya, Black Adam, The Elongated Man, Animal Man, Lobo, Starfire and Adam Strange - from 52 #40-52!

Collects: Issues #40-52

Authors:  Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Artists:  Keith Giffen (Layouts) and two dozen others
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  Nov. 7, 2007
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1401214869
Pages:  

Heroes Fall - Review of 52 volume 3 (2007)

 

Review:

Heroes fall in these pages - sometimes literally from the sky! - throughout this third volume collecting the amazing year-long fifty-two issue weekly series 52. From the gruesome death of Captain Comet, flayed alive on the prow of Lady Styx's flagship space cruiser, to her turning Green Lantern Thormon Toxzz into a fashionable earring. From Osiris ripping in half members of the Suicide Squad to Animal Man's brief, quiet death in space. From Lex Luthor killing hundreds of his Everyman heroes with the flip of a switch to the drawn-out, quiet passing due to cancer of Vic Sage / the Question.

Wrapping around these many deaths is the tapestry of woven plot threads. As we prepare for the home stretch of this series, those threads are still very scattered and loose. To switch metaphors, will our team of superstar writers be able to land this plane in its final volume? We have:

• Ralph Dibney (Elongated Man) working with the Helm of Fate on a quest for his dead wife
• Batwoman battling Intergang and its obsession with her role as a necessary ritual sacrifice, per the prophecies of the Crime Bible
• Natasha's tense relationship with both her uncle John Henry Irons / Steel, her mentor Lex Luthor, and her teammates in the new Infinity Inc
• Starfire, Animal Man and Adam Strange still lost in space, teamed very tenuously with Lobo, and being pursued by Lady Styx
• Black Adam's family turmoil

And of course, the return of Booster Gold! His heroically tragic death in volume 2 turns out to be a time-travelling sleight of hand. He's really working with Rip Hunter to stop the suddenly evil Skeets and restore the proper timeline. Of all the threads, this plot development has the most potential to weave together all those others into a coherent whole. 

Nor is this the dumb, self-centered oaf of the Super Buddies era. Here, Booster is deeply invested in a cause greater than himself, working quietly, anonymously (shocking for this character!) and with both wisdom and intelligence to set things right. And his partner Rip Hunter hints at more developments to come. Welcome Back, Booster!

The power of these creative writers to craft compelling stories oozes from every page. Especially strong is the death of Vic Sage - his slow, drawn-out deterioration over several weeks; his delirium and moments of lucidity; the poignant final moments. All spot-on!

We are in for a thrilling conclusion to this epic series!

Description:

Don't miss the third in a 4-volume collection featuring the year-long story that changed the DCU! 52 VOLUME 3, with a new cover by J.G. Jones, contains the lead stories from 52 WEEKS 27-39! 52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman...but not a year without heroes

Collects: Issues #27-39

Authors:  Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Artists:  Keith Giffen (Layouts) and more than 2 dozen others
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  Sept. 5, 2007
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1401214432
Pages: