Booster Gold #34 - Anger, Fun, and then Anger Again

I apologize for my lateness; I've been busy with job interviews this week, and that does have a way of taking precedence. Anyway...

Boy oh boy did they get this one wrong.

If you were thinking of asking, "O Greatest Blogger (whom I have never heard of), is it possible for 5 pages of bad artwork to negate another 17 pages of otherwise acceptable artwork?" you are in luck, as that is exactly the question that this review will answer. For those of you who would like a hint, the answer is "yes."

This issue serves little purpose other than for Giffen and DeMatteis to go and relive their JLI days. As others have pointed out, this isn't even particularly their GOOD JLI days, more like the parody driven "ICBINTJL." But at least those pages LOOK good...

OK, let's get to it...

The Cover:

In Booster Gold #34, Maxwell Lord is something of a red herring. So why is he on the cover? And what happened to anything resembling detail? This is an uber close-up, Booster's face is roughly the size of mine. And ANOTHER speech balloon? I HATE those on covers. I don't think it's TERRIBLE, it just isn't my cup of tea.

The Story:

I can't even treat this like it is one book. There are two distinct sections to this book: Anger, Fun, and then Anger again. Normally I'd praise a book for ending the way that it began - symmetry to a story helps with closure - but NOT this time. Keith Giffen drew the sections that I labeled "Anger," and the writers especially forced humor into those sections rather than let it happen naturally. Chris Batista drew the section labeled "Fun." I'll examine "Anger" and "Fun" separately, as there is such an enormous disconnect between the two that it barely qualifies as anything.

Anger:

I will summarize this through the voice of Michelle Carter.

"Oh, hi, remember me? I went away for a while, but now I'm back looking totally different. Michael has a little girl running around whom I've never met before, but Michael should totally keep her because she's like, so cute, y'know? And that'd be totally more responsible of him. I know a lot about responsibility, like that time when I disappeared and traveled through time and hooked up with this guy and traveled and nearly died in Coast City. Hey, and check out my costume, it is ENTIRELY gold now instead of white with gold accents like it was in every other appearance from me. Isn't that totally hawt? Anyway, I'm gonna go and take this girl that I've only just met and travel through time. Kthanxbai."

I could complain about the "humor" used in that section, but Erin_Starlight does a much better job than I would do. Check out her livejournal. My issue comes from a completely far out take on Michelle, totally different than anything we have seen from her.

The Fun Part:

Ok, now I get to relax a little bit before I trash Keith Giffen for drawing like a three year old.

Booster travels back in time and immediately encounters the Blue Beetle. I don't have any problem with this exchange. I nearly cringed when he mentioned a "repo job," but the Book of Destiny thing isn't a bad MacGuffin for this. You could see a reason for some urgency with this.

The setup of the story is promising. I really don't like Beetle's improvisation - a Kirboid from Quatloo - but I suppose that's somewhat in character with Beetle.

I suppose the problem I have with a journey back in time like this is that it puts Booster's status from that time period in the DCU front and center. We get an issue of folks who have low expectations of Booster Gold. We know through his role as a Time Master that his disguise is a buffoon, but we see enough of the heroic things that he does to know better. Those who aren't as familiar with the character already think that enough. I'd hate to see the great work that Geoff Jones and Dan Jurgens have done at establishing Booster as a real player who is on the ball disintegrate because two guys want to relive their glory days.

So anyway, they team up with Big Barda and Mr. M and follow the trail of the robber. Barda punches out a dragon. Pretty ho-hum stuff, but fairly effective filler - if this is a JLI book and not a Booster Gold book, but more on that in a second.

We finally meet our villain - Hieronymous the Underachiever. If you hated Brigadoom, you'll absolutely loathe this. The premise of this character is ridiculous, as is the demon who serves him (apparently a "grow your own demon" ad on a magazine). What the crap?

Next, we have the obligatory inner thoughts of Booster Gold - his talk about how he has changed, and how this isn't right, and how he should have listened to Skeets because he isn't the moron that he was back then. I said in the first Giffen/DeMatteis issue that this felt forced and I argue it again. If they think that they can send him through all the goofy bull crap that they want, but apologize for it by talking about how much he has changed once an issue, they are sorely mistaken.

Still, this is just one issue. Breathe, TGB, breathe!

Finally, Booster saves them from a rain of arrows with his force field, and an angry mob runs at them. Then, the issue kind of ...ends. This is the most questionable cliffhanger that I've ever seen. I'm not interested in the next part, nor do I feel that there is an insurmountable conflict coming up because of the lack of any closure to the issue.

The bigger problem is that Booster has very little to do in this issue. Last time I checked, this is called "Booster Gold," not "Super Buddies" or "Justice League International." Beetle has the plan, Mr. Miracle zaps them to the universe, Big Barda punches out the dragon... all Booster does is zap the arrows with his force field, and he does that by standing still. Troubling to me. The book was fun, and I enjoyed reading this middle material, but it just wasn't Booster Gold.

Ok, get ready. Let's move on to...

The Artwork:

I'm not the only one to take note of the issues here. Erin_Starlight mentions many of the same issues that I have in her blog, which I have already linked. Clearly something is amiss here. Walter of Boosteriffic asks:

"All of this outcry has to raise the question: how strong a role does art style play in the success of Booster Gold? Traditionally all super hero comics have been presented in naturalistic detail, and Booster Gold is no exception. Is Giffen's use of caricature such a dramatic departure from the norm as to be offensive to his audience? Or is it just too hard to maintain suspension of disbelief for a costumed melodrama when the adventures are rendered in a cartoonish style?"

I have two things to say to that: The first is that caricature, as I understand it, is when the drawing focuses on a particularly noticeable part of a character and exaggerates it. I don't recall anything about Rani resembling a young Rosie O'donnell with bad hair, about Michelle looking like a skinny whore, about Rip hunter looking different in every panel - and looking like a Geico commercial (time travel - so easy a caveman can do it!), or about Booster's eyes being able to move up and down his head at will. Though, that would be a rather astounding yet completely useless characteristic.

The second point that he poses - "is it just too hard to maintain suspension of disbelief for a costumed melodrama when the adventures are rendered in a cartoonish style?" - this is, I think, the answer.

I'm 24, and I don't think I'm anything like the stereotypical comic book reader. If I want cartoons, I'll wake up on Saturdays; I'm looking for something a little less mindless that looks a lot better. I'm already reading about people in tight, form fitting costumes that are colored like a bag of Skittles. Of COURSE what I'm reading is fantastical, but it maintains a degree of grounding by making the characters look familiar and relatable. If comic readers didn't value that, the days of Rob Liefeld's ammo pouches and impossible body proportions wouldn't be looked back upon with scorn. There is so much disbelief to suspend in a super hero yarn as it is without the artwork looking cartoony and inconsistent.

How bad was it? I've read everything Booster gold that I can find - all of Volume 1, all of Volume 2, poured over everything I can get my hands on for JLI (I was only 3 or 4 when it started)... and still, for all of that fandom, I was ready to stop reading this issue. I couldn't even focus on the words it was so distracting.

Over the first 31 issues, Booster has been established as a more serious character - though obviously one where humor is not a foreign object - who is doing serious work. Now, its like he's doing things just for the hell of it. I was pleased with the first two issues of this run, but I'm worried for the future after this issue.

Keith Giffen, stick to breakdowns. And both authors, please remember that the name of the book is BOOSTER GOLD, and we're reading it to watch him do stuff, not everyone else BUT him.

Justice League: Generation Lost #1

Here we go with the new bi-weekly series from DC. I'm excited for anything that features Booster Gold in a prominent role, and in my opinion, this one doesn't disappoint. So, let's dig in to the first issue!

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The Cover

Ok, I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of this cover. Don't get me wrong - in terms of artistry, I think it is fairly well done. So what's wrong with it? Well, first, Booster doesn't even LOOK like Booster. He looks somewhat deformed, or perhaps like something out of Dragon Ball Z. His hair is pointing up strangely and his face is shaped totally wrong. Fire and Ice look a little off as well. Actually, Fire's costume is completely incorrectly drawn. Her top does NOT have a plunging neckline like that - don't believe me? Go ahead and look at the rest of the book!

Ice's outfit is a little wrong, too. This is more nitpickey, but the white area that comes up her legs shouldn't end by her crotch, it should go up towards her halter top further. Also, aren't her lips usually blue?

However, Captain Atom looks pretty sweet, and Max Lord looks rather devious. Obviously the cover is centered around him (given that this is his return and all) and for the most part they did a good job getting that across. Still, a lot of him is obscured by Captain Atom. I think that if the characters were drawn a little more correctly, this would be a pretty solid cover. Luckily, the cover doesn't hold a candle to the rest of this book.

The Story In General...

I liked the story. The plot was great, and I especially enjoyed the quote on the end splash page: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn't exist." The ending REALLY left me wanting more. I'm getting ahead of myself, though... Let's step back.

The Booster material really worked; it was true to the character and enjoyable all around. As for the rest, it was clear to me that Fire, Ice, and Captain Atom were doing... something. The whats and the whys of their actions were, to me, totally unclear. Compared to Booster, their material felt a little rushed. Now I'll never complain about a big spotlight on our futuristic hero, but for the grand military scale of the others' operation, I have no idea what they were setting out to accomplish. In hindsight, it was clearly some sort of underground Max Lord hideout. I just think it was poorly explained.

So anyway, in the midst of this, Booster is thinking through the Max Lord situation. I loved his determination whilst considering the information despite Skeets' Debbie-Downer role. "...but BATMAN already..." "but didn't BATMAN..." He drew his own conclusion based upon his own knowledge of Max Lord. I will always root for a situation where Booster acts in a way that his fellow supers wouldn't expect him to. This all set up my favorite scene - the JLI Embassy.

Max blindsides Booster, Booster manages to call the JLI (pretty slick of them to still carry those - nostalgia or a little bit of caring for one another?), and they arrive just in time for Max's psychic explosion.

Now from a realism standpoint, I have no idea how Max lost all that blood and still managed to look so dapper and in control on the last page. I know that he had one or two IV bags of blood hooked up, but that really seemed like a lot.

Anyway, for whatever reason (by accident or by design?), the JLI members present are the only ones who remember that Max ever existed. Until Superman said "Who's Max Lord?" I didn't understand the significance of Fire's conversation about Operation Land Lord.

Finally, we end with a great quote, the one I began the article with - and it was quite appropriate. We all know that Maxwell is evil. He killed Ted Kord. He hacked Brother Eye and bent it to its will, creating the OMACs - his personal secret army specially designed for combating Metas. Equate him with the devil? Sure, why not? Now he can operate in secrecy, pulling strings, moving pieces all over the board.

As Superman said, "He's the only one who ever got close to defeating us all."

Wow. This going to be a great book. A LOT happened here in what really felt like a short amount of time, and this truly sucked me in. I can't wait to see how this plays out.

What was good:

- Good plot, great cliffhanger ending that left me wanting more.

- Great story for Booster Gold. Even though he got his butt kicked (can't blame him - what kind of coward attacks someone in the back?), he outsmarted Batman and Skeets and found out exactly where Maxwell was. Potentially, if he hadn't, he and the other three wouldn't have been immune... depending on the reason that they were immune, of course.

- I liked Captain Atom's little heroic move with the bomb even if I thought the scene setting it up was a little unclear. He didn't have much to do after exploding though.

- Nice villainous plot by Maxwell - amplifying his psychic power to make EVERYONE on the planet forget that he exists. Crazy.

- Booster's desire to get more active than he was allowed to be in the search for Max is just another sign of how far he has come. While much of this is likely motivated by his desire to avenge Ted, the inner fire is great to see continued even though good ol' Dan Jurgens isn't writing anymore.

- Did you ever think that we'd have THREE TITLES at one time where Booster had a starring or solid co-starring role? It's amazing! I hope it translates into book sales for the main title. I really enjoyed both that I've read thus far as well.

What was "Ehhhh...":

- This wasn't something I hated, but man, Power Girl is a BITCH.

- The cover. I just didn't like it.

- How many ways and places will we have Booster's power suit deactivated just to complicate things for him? It's almost too convenient a plot device. "Hmm, how can we make sure that Max can hit him?" "OOO! EMP Device!" This is in the same week where Booster, in his solo title, was stuck on Daxam due to suit damage.

- What was Max Lord doing hiding a bomb in the middle of the Saudi desert? Maybe I'll have to re-read that part, but I truly don't get the point. Was there once a lab or something of his out there?

What questions I have - feel free to respond to these in the comments:

- Were the four from the JLI ALLOWED to remember, or was it an accident? If it was planned, is he going to toy with them? Does he disrespect him that much? Or is this massive dramatic irony - we know that they're still looking, but he won't? Seems awfully careless of him.

- What is Max Lord planning? This is obviously what we'll find out in the future.

- Does anyone believe for a minute that he is truly haunted by shooting Blue Beetle? I didn't.

- Time will tell, but I wonder how much we'll see this quartet truly working together and how much we'll see them completely at odds.

- Is Dr. Fate (his artifact was revealed at the end of this BG #32) going to play a role in Time Masters, Booster Gold, JL:GL, or some combination of the two?

Wrapping It Up:

In the future, I hope to be able to begin some theories about what we'll have happen. They'll all be wrong, but it'll be fun to talk about. Right now, I'd like to let the story play out for another issue or two and go from there.

Have a Boosterrific day!

First!

In this space, over the coming year, I'll be reviewing each issue of Justice League: Generation Lost as it comes out. If I find some time, I'll also be reviewing each month of Booster Gold: Vol. 2. Finally, if this catches on, I'll continue even as the bi-weekly series ends.

If I really get ambitious, I'll start digging in to the new "Time Masters" series. Depends on my mood.

Just as a little introduction for myself, prior to my life as The Greatest Blogger You've Never Heard Of (you could also call me Major Idiot), I was just a regular guy. While growing up, I had the typical interest in comics and super heroes, but somewhere along the way, I lost that. Then, searching for a way to get back in to comics, I came across Booster Gold.

I was still in diapers during the first run of his series, but in looking at some comics, I stumbled across Booster and Skeets. There was something that interested me about him, something that made me want to learn more.

So I did.

Anyway, that brings me to now. I was incredibly curious waiting for the new writing team to start. On the one hand, KG and JDeM could probably be credited with keeping Booster in the eye of the comic reader through their work on the Justice League. On the other hand, especially after reading 52 and the new stuff, I was concerned that it'd be too much "Bwa-ha-ha," as everyone so lovingly calls it, and not enough of the person that Booster has developed in to.

In any case, was I disappointed? Happy? Well, I decided to start a blog, if that gives you any indication. I suppose you'll simply have to find out when I make my next post!