I'm now caught up with Booster Gold. I loved how Jurgens ended his run and the whole tone of this book, until issue 32 when Giffen and DeMatteis took over. Before anyone jumps on me for not liking what they've been doing with the book, keep in mind that I hadn't been reading comics except Titans from 1985 (when Supergirl was killed) until 1991, when I finally dropped Titans, and then read no comics until 1995, when I slowly started again, first with non-DC titles, plus Nightwing, the Arsenal one-shots and mini. So, I never read Justice League International and Booster was a new character to me when I read the story with Max Lord killing Ted Kord. I had to rely on what was in that story and the following ones as to who/what Booster is and I came to really love him as a character, but for me, he was never the buffoon he was in JLI, because Ted's death had a profound effect on him, clearly, and that was the character I fell in love with. And while I don't mind the occasional flashback story -- and really, in a time-traveling book like this, of course, there will be flashbacks to the more carefree JLI days -- I don't like the whole tone that Giffen and DeMatteis have brought to the book.
It was funny at first, but after a page or two, the jokes got old and tedious. I got tired of the bickering between Michael and Michelle. Sure, siblings bicker, but really, do we need panel after panel after panel of it? Territory covered by Jurgens in their relationships and in Michael's relationship with Rip and with what he had to do to protect the timestream were rehashed albeit in new context. Annoying context. Then there was the kid. A cute kid, but is she really needed in this book? She's an anomaly and doesn't really add anything. (Except remind me how much I miss Lian, but I digress....)
And since this also tying in with the JLI/Max Lord returns story going on elsewhere in the DCU, a storyline I don't care about and one reason I got annoyed with the Power Girl book and dropped it (along with being annoyed with how she was being written), I have no interest in it taking over Booster's book. Sure, I get why he'd want to prove Max Lord is evil and to get people to remember what happened, but it seems to be an excuse for Giffen and DeMatteis to write more adventures for Booster and Ted.
But all was not lost. I still had Time Masters Vanishing Point to read! By Jurgens! Here is the Booster I've come to love, one Green Lantern holds in contempt and Superman has his doubts about, yet Booster is there, doing his part. And there are the wonderful introductions, narrated by Rip, showing Rip's youth and how his father trained him about time, which reveals how the father he trained re: preserving the integrity of the timestream is now training Rip to be the man who will train him... If I try to think about all this too much, I give myself a headache.
I spent the fall watching Doctor Who from the 9th Doctor on and Torchwood, so time is something I've been thinking about a lot, especially when it comes to Captain Jack Harkness, a man from the far future who traveled throughout time until getting stuck in the late-1800s (I think it was) and having to live forward through the 1900s to the present. Which is something like what Rip and Booster are doing. Booster came from the future, the 25th C, and is now living forward from when he appeared in our time. At some point, he'll marry Rip's mother and Rip will be born. Will the current Rip vanish? Will he end up facing himself? Will he prudently leave and move to a later time? How long before Michael realizes his son looks like Rip? How long before he realizes he is Rip, because I'm sure the adult Rip won't tell him (unless something happens that forces Rip to reveal this to Booster prematurely)?
If Rip hadn't come from the future and taken Michael in to teach him about the timestream, then Rip wouldn't become the man he now is. I love stuff like this! This relationship is the core of the Booster Gold book for me and it's gotten lost in the current stories. But here, it's part of Time Masters Vanishing Point, even with the focus on finding Bruce Wayne, because really, this isn't about Bruce at its core. We had the Return of Bruce Wayne for that. This just dovetails splendidly with that, an instance of DC getting a complex cross-book storyline right. And for them to bring in Claw and Starfire, two little known characters I'd read with much devotion is the coolest part of this series. I always liked that costume of Starfire's. Seeing her and Claw together, the opposites of science and magic/barbarism meeting, was fun.
I've been a fan of Rip Hunter for decades, back to the early-'60s. Time travel is too cool not to love, but character development wasn't all that big back then. Of course, he isn't the same character he was back then. Most of the characters I grew up with changed dramatically over the years, and Crisis and its aftermath, altered many timelines, deleted characters, and so on. Even so, Rip is still a favorite of mine. To have him now revealed to be the son of Michael Carter is one of the coolest retcons or developments to come out of DC. When retconning or character history enhancement is done right, it not only works, but it adds to the context in stories and spills over to enhance other characters, too, in this case, Booster.
To write this, I decided to read up on Rip's history, to discover the stuff I'd missed in the years I wasn't reading (and in books I didn't read when I started reading comics again), and it's even more complicated than I'd realized, including a second version of Rip after Crisis while the first still existed, for a while. All of which makes what Jurgens has done with him in Booster Gold and Time Masters Vanishing Point more remarkable, because it gives a clear sense of who Rip is, what his goals are, and why he does what he does. I can't wait to read the final chapter of Vanishing Point.
I'll keep reading (skimming, mostly) Booster Gold for now, but I really hope Booster's book gets more serious. If only Giffen and DeMatteis could tone down the funny and the bickering and do some stories with depth and importance. And I'd like some more realistic art. It's been a bit uneven, and rather cluttered.
~~~o0o~~~
I finally got around to reading the Supergirl Annual 2, featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, in their iconic costumes! It was a sweet story, and Kara and Brainiac 5 were fun. So were the Jimmy Olsen 'bots.
Showing posts with label Booster Gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Booster Gold. Show all posts
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Monday, July 14, 2008
Another Batch of Reviews
Took a few days off for a long weekend to catch up on stuff. Have barely made a dent, but I did get to work on my new dollhouse and empty rooms in one of my old ones I'll be turning into an action figure hangout, did some laundry, cleaned, went to the gym, and read some comics.
Final Crisis Requiem
This was rather nice. I never was a big Martian Manhunter fan, but this tie-in tale had me caring about him now that he's dead. I like the way he touched the other JLAers. Tomasi, Mahnke, and Alamy did a nice job. I especially like how alien he looked in the art.
Trinity 6
I'm still reading this and still wondering why I am. Not a whole lot happened, but at least the focus was on the 3 stars this ish.
Countdown to Mystery 7-8
Nice conclusion to the Eclipso storyline and the various endings to Steve Gerber's Dr. Fate story were touching tributes. All would nicely lead into a series. I hope it happens, with the right writer. Gerber left tough shoes to fill.
Wonder Woman 22
First, I love Lopresti's art. He seems the perfect artist for Diana. She's still sexy, yet she isn't sexualized. She looks tough yet feminine. And the other characters look good, too. I like Nemesis, but geez, he's been acting like an idiot lately. I did love Donna showing up, though. This might not be the best book for Gail Simone's many talents as a writer, but she does do a great job with supporting casts.
Booster Gold One Million
This blew me away. It was as near to perfect as a comic could get. After Ted's sacrifice, Booster was as low as a guy could get, telling Rip he quit the time fixing biz. Peter Platinum was a pleasant diversion, but the meat of the story was Booster and his connections to others. To Batman who for once showed us why he's one of DC's greatest characters. Sometimes, all a guy needs is to know someone appreciates him, someone he respects. Sure, Rip has told him he's needed and sure, he understood about continuing to act the buffoon, but to know someone else knows there's more to him than that, to know Batman knows and gets that Booster is sacrificing his rep for a greater good, whatever it is, and that he's suffered for it, that can be enough to restore a guys' faith in himself. Then for his dead sister to be there, because Rip pulled her out of the timestream, giving him someone who knows him and loves him, well, that just had my eyes tearing up. And yet, that wasn't all Johns had in store for us. There was the big reveal at the end, a reveal that makes everything different and more meaningful. And anchors Rip in the DCU in a whole new way. Wherever this book heads now, I hope the new team can keep giving us the intelligent, moving stories as Johns has. And yes, Skeets looked adorable in a beret.
Justice Society of America 17
Grant healed, and the scene with Cyclone was adorable. Dr. Mid-Nite's vision restored. Gog has been bestowing miracles, but clearly, next issue as he tried to end war, things won't go as swimmingly. They can't, because this is a comic book where things can go wrong in a hurry. The pace of this might be slow, but the build-up feels natural, but I'm looking for a big payoff. I've really been enjoying this book. The JLA cameos were much appreciated, too.
Green Arrow and Black Canary 10
I do miss Chiang's art, but Norton and Faucher are okay. This issue was pretty much good guys vs bad guys, then the reveal at the end that the bad guys aren't really the League of Assassins. This isn't the best comic out there, but it is entertaining. I'm thinking we won't see the end of this storyline until at least issue 12, if then.
Huntress Year One 5
Huntress totally misreads the situation and tries to take out Bruce Wayne, has a run-in with Batgirl (Babs) who is later chastised by Bruce, then runs into Catwoman while battling Batman. I like how she's being tied more deeply early on with the rest of the Gotham part of the DCU and I've gained a lot more respect for the character thanks to this mini. I'll never care for her as much as I do the original Huntress, but this book and her appearances in BoP have moved her much higher on my list of characters I enjoy.
Madame Xanadu 1
This wasn't what I was expecting. It's clearly set in the past, and is strongly fantasy, not the urban fantasy I was expecting. Still, I liked it a lot. But I wish the paper inside had been better quality.
Final Crisis Requiem
This was rather nice. I never was a big Martian Manhunter fan, but this tie-in tale had me caring about him now that he's dead. I like the way he touched the other JLAers. Tomasi, Mahnke, and Alamy did a nice job. I especially like how alien he looked in the art.
Trinity 6
I'm still reading this and still wondering why I am. Not a whole lot happened, but at least the focus was on the 3 stars this ish.
Countdown to Mystery 7-8
Nice conclusion to the Eclipso storyline and the various endings to Steve Gerber's Dr. Fate story were touching tributes. All would nicely lead into a series. I hope it happens, with the right writer. Gerber left tough shoes to fill.
Wonder Woman 22
First, I love Lopresti's art. He seems the perfect artist for Diana. She's still sexy, yet she isn't sexualized. She looks tough yet feminine. And the other characters look good, too. I like Nemesis, but geez, he's been acting like an idiot lately. I did love Donna showing up, though. This might not be the best book for Gail Simone's many talents as a writer, but she does do a great job with supporting casts.
Booster Gold One Million
This blew me away. It was as near to perfect as a comic could get. After Ted's sacrifice, Booster was as low as a guy could get, telling Rip he quit the time fixing biz. Peter Platinum was a pleasant diversion, but the meat of the story was Booster and his connections to others. To Batman who for once showed us why he's one of DC's greatest characters. Sometimes, all a guy needs is to know someone appreciates him, someone he respects. Sure, Rip has told him he's needed and sure, he understood about continuing to act the buffoon, but to know someone else knows there's more to him than that, to know Batman knows and gets that Booster is sacrificing his rep for a greater good, whatever it is, and that he's suffered for it, that can be enough to restore a guys' faith in himself. Then for his dead sister to be there, because Rip pulled her out of the timestream, giving him someone who knows him and loves him, well, that just had my eyes tearing up. And yet, that wasn't all Johns had in store for us. There was the big reveal at the end, a reveal that makes everything different and more meaningful. And anchors Rip in the DCU in a whole new way. Wherever this book heads now, I hope the new team can keep giving us the intelligent, moving stories as Johns has. And yes, Skeets looked adorable in a beret.
Justice Society of America 17
Grant healed, and the scene with Cyclone was adorable. Dr. Mid-Nite's vision restored. Gog has been bestowing miracles, but clearly, next issue as he tried to end war, things won't go as swimmingly. They can't, because this is a comic book where things can go wrong in a hurry. The pace of this might be slow, but the build-up feels natural, but I'm looking for a big payoff. I've really been enjoying this book. The JLA cameos were much appreciated, too.
Green Arrow and Black Canary 10
I do miss Chiang's art, but Norton and Faucher are okay. This issue was pretty much good guys vs bad guys, then the reveal at the end that the bad guys aren't really the League of Assassins. This isn't the best comic out there, but it is entertaining. I'm thinking we won't see the end of this storyline until at least issue 12, if then.
Huntress Year One 5
Huntress totally misreads the situation and tries to take out Bruce Wayne, has a run-in with Batgirl (Babs) who is later chastised by Bruce, then runs into Catwoman while battling Batman. I like how she's being tied more deeply early on with the rest of the Gotham part of the DCU and I've gained a lot more respect for the character thanks to this mini. I'll never care for her as much as I do the original Huntress, but this book and her appearances in BoP have moved her much higher on my list of characters I enjoy.
Madame Xanadu 1
This wasn't what I was expecting. It's clearly set in the past, and is strongly fantasy, not the urban fantasy I was expecting. Still, I liked it a lot. But I wish the paper inside had been better quality.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Three More Reviews
Reading slowed as I went on a writing binge and finished the second draft of my science fiction novel. Someday, I might even get it published. Anyway, on to the comics.
Shadowpact 16
Is there any group with worse luck than this gang? I doubt it. Still, they're a game group of heroes and I love them. Nice seeing Zatanna and other guest stars this time. The legal issue plaguing Blue Devil re: the ownership of his soul has been most entertaining.
Checkmate 17
Almost a fill-in, stepping out of continuity to show us the man now in charge of protecting Checkmate. A pretty nifty, pretty much contained in one issue story.
And finally....
Booster Gold 1
Tell me, is there any comic more entertaining? This week? Okay, it was last week. I've been busy. Seriously, this was pure fun. I never read his original series, but I'm on board for this one all the way, having become a fan of Booster in the Crisis and 52. Nice guest turn here by the JLA, too. I like how it picks up from 52, with the week and day notations. I love how Daniel won't take off the Supernova suit while playing videogames. I love how Booster tries to get into the JLA, then after agreeing to help Rip Hunter in order to save Ted Kord (and is that the best comics friendship or what?), he lets them think he's still a jerk when he turns them down because he needs to keep playing the buffoon for Rip's plans to work. I love that only Rip and Michael, himself, and we readers are the only ones (and maybe Ted if he were alive) who know how much a hero Booster is. And who's wearing the Supernova suit at the end? A brainwashed Daniel? Or the guy who knocked him out? Daniel has to be okay, so he can get married and have a kid who will eventually, lead to Michael. Sometimes, thinking about time in the DCU is even more confusing than trying to keep track of all the worlds of the multiverse. Fun stuff. That's what's always made the DCU so much fun for me, growing up and now. All the possibilities. And I think we'll be exploring many of them in this book.
Shadowpact 16
Is there any group with worse luck than this gang? I doubt it. Still, they're a game group of heroes and I love them. Nice seeing Zatanna and other guest stars this time. The legal issue plaguing Blue Devil re: the ownership of his soul has been most entertaining.
Checkmate 17
Almost a fill-in, stepping out of continuity to show us the man now in charge of protecting Checkmate. A pretty nifty, pretty much contained in one issue story.
And finally....
Booster Gold 1
Tell me, is there any comic more entertaining? This week? Okay, it was last week. I've been busy. Seriously, this was pure fun. I never read his original series, but I'm on board for this one all the way, having become a fan of Booster in the Crisis and 52. Nice guest turn here by the JLA, too. I like how it picks up from 52, with the week and day notations. I love how Daniel won't take off the Supernova suit while playing videogames. I love how Booster tries to get into the JLA, then after agreeing to help Rip Hunter in order to save Ted Kord (and is that the best comics friendship or what?), he lets them think he's still a jerk when he turns them down because he needs to keep playing the buffoon for Rip's plans to work. I love that only Rip and Michael, himself, and we readers are the only ones (and maybe Ted if he were alive) who know how much a hero Booster is. And who's wearing the Supernova suit at the end? A brainwashed Daniel? Or the guy who knocked him out? Daniel has to be okay, so he can get married and have a kid who will eventually, lead to Michael. Sometimes, thinking about time in the DCU is even more confusing than trying to keep track of all the worlds of the multiverse. Fun stuff. That's what's always made the DCU so much fun for me, growing up and now. All the possibilities. And I think we'll be exploring many of them in this book.
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