Review:
One of the best and longest-lasting friendships between superheroes finally gets its own book. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, whose friendship bean in the late 1980s Justice League books, team up as Blue and Gold Restorations for this 8-issue limited series.
Is "one of the best" friendships over-stating it? I am certainly open to suggestions. Superman and Batman are occasionally portrayed as having a deep bond of friendship and mutual respect, most prominently in their own team-up book Superman / Batman (see my reviews of some of those books). But they are seldom portrayed as just wanting to hang out together, spend non-costumed time together in the same way as the Michael and Ted behind the Booster and Beetle masks.
These two bro-buddies have always been interested in a good time, and this is a book filled with fun situations and humorous banter, making it a delightful read from cover to cover. Booster is as energetic in self-promotion as ever, filled with optimism over what they are trying to build together. Rejected by the Justice League? No problem, we'll make our own team! Kord industries fires Ted and cuts off their funding? Hey, we can crowd-source through social media!
The social media chatter is a constant presence in this very contemporary book, as their audience weighs in on the duo's prospects of surviving any given fight they live-stream. Especially fun are the recurring commenters, two of whom we meet IRL as their obsession with "Boostie" and "Double-B" turns closer to celebrity stalking.
The heroic pair opens our story by teaming up to rescue an incapacitated Justice League from being abducted by an alien ship. The alien leader, a sword-wielding female warrior named Omnizon, swears vengeance on the two. Her quest to destroy them runs through six of the eight chapters, culminating in a mind-controlled battle to the death between the two besties. Fortunately (spoiler!) Rip Hunter intervenes and saves the day.
But that just sets up an even bigger surprise as the identity of the Black Beetle, who has also been causing trouble around the edges of these chapters, is finally revealed! No spoiler for this one, you will have to track down the TPB or a #7 back-issue for yourself to learn who wears the Black Beetle mask!
The collection has loads of fun nods to the early days of this pair and their 1980s solo titles. Writer and Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens gives the whole series the feel of the first half or so of Booster's original solo series and reinforces that throwback tone by using the original Booster Gold dollar-sign logo (instead of the infinity-symbol one from the 2007-11 series).
And Trixie returns! One of the fan-favourite characters of Booster's original series comes to the rescue and uses her growing business acumen to help Blue and Gold Restorations get set up. Of course, she's Terri now - shedding her oh-so-80s moniker.
This book is a blast from start to finish. The art is solid throughout, with Ryan Sook doing most of the heavy lifting. Chapter (issue) #7 is temporarily handed over to a couple guest artists whose overly angular style is a jarring change from the smooth and kinetic Sook pages. I also loved how, in part 4, when Booster and Beetle have conflicting memories about one of their early adventures, different guest artists render the visuals for those memories - a nice touch!
Description:
Who needs the Justice League? DC’s fan-favorite duo, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, are on their own—and online, as these underdogs embrace social media and start a superhero business!
Desperate to regain the spotlight, Booster Gold looks to attract the public’s (and Justice League’s) attention the same way any washed-up, second-rate hero would—social media.
The not-so-tech-savvy hero from the 25th century enlists the help of his best friend, Blue Beetle, who possesses both the money and the brains to help his old pal navigate the scary world of internet influencers. Watch out, evildoers, our heroes are live and online! But little do they know, an alien assassin seeking revenge places Blue and Gold in her crosshairs, and The Omnizon never misses!
Don’t miss Dan Jurgens’s triumphant return to Booster Gold with the help of all-star artist Ryan Sook (Legion of Super-Heroes), telling a tale filled with heart and maybe even redemption for DC’s two favorite underdogs!
Collects: Blue & Gold #1-8
Authors: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Ryan Sook, Cully Hamner, Kevin Maguire
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Sept. 27, 2022
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1779516787
Pages: 192 pages