Booster Gold: Future's End #1

OK, DC Comics has got to stop teasing me here. Just like in Future’s End Batman, this FE one-shot has nothing to do with any greater storyline in the rest of the September specials. (A good thing, since I haven’t read any others.) This issue follows Booster Gold as he hops around through different dimensions, seeing examples of heroes and villains from other Earths. It is unclear if he’s just bouncing from city to city or if he is truly bouncing from multiple Earth to Earth.

If Booster is just hopping cities, then I’ll assume that the upcoming and teased “Blood Moon” is going to involve a new Brainiac who steals cities from different realities. I’m, of course, hoping that Booster is actually hopping through alternate Earths, implying that all those worlds we catch glimpses of here are actually out there. Some of the high points include a Victorian Batman, Charlton-hero Earth, Kamandi’s post-apocalyptic animal world, and an Earth that seems remarkably close to the “old DCU.”

It is worth noting that there are two Boosters at the heart of the story, one is captured and being interrogated about Rip Hunter, while the other is bouncing through all these dimensions. Dan Jurgens has written the character long enough that Booster’s voice sounds pretty dead on through all the oddball situations. That said, Booster isn’t doing much more than narrating his world-bouncing, so the dialogue and interaction never become very complicated.

I did enjoy seeing the artistic switches for each world. The high point, of course, is Ron Frenz’ take on Kamandi and the animals of the war-torn future. Fortunately, Booster’s costume is dynamic enough that just about every take on it is going to look pretty good.

If there is even a remote chance that “old” versions of characters are going to show up, well man, I sure need to keep an eye out. If Marvel has published the Ultimate line for all these years, surely there is room on the stands for a few books featuring the old DCU? If that is the case, then this is GOOD. If it is just a one-off that tried to dodge a true plot? Then it will be EVIL. Only time will tell!

Justice League International #5

So I was in a comic store with a few extra bucks this weekend, and Mart’s ringing endorsement of this comic (combined with my love of Booster Gold) convinced me to give this one more try. It’s a good call.

Dan Jurgens knows super-heroes. It’s as simple as that. He’s been putting together classic (not formulaic, although they are a bit) super-stories for years. He knows how to make us care about this new team, even when we know nothing of the characters in the new 52.

Booster is the leader who needs to win his team over; who actually does his best work when teamed with his rival Guy Gardner. Godiva is the rookie with potential, but she’s got the sassy attitude to cover up her nervousness. Ice, Fire, and the rest of the gang haven’t gotten featured yet, but they are all competent heroes who use their powers in logical ways.

Peraxxus isn’t going to win any awards for originality; he’s basically a low-budget Galactus with a staff. That said, his boredom at dealing with Earth does make him interesting. In issues 4 and 5 he must make the same comment about speeding up to his process three times. And it’s not because he’s worried, rather he’s annoyed at the JLI’s useless attempts to stop him.

I wanted to exit the new 52, but I think I’ll keep a toe in the water with this book.

Aaron Lopresti has the clean, bright style I love in my super-comics. I still don’t love the designs on most of the new 52, but at least those stupid grooves don’t look to noticeable in this comic. Give Booster back a collar and maybe I’ll be able to stop complaining about his look.

Good

Justice League International #3

Sometimes reading DC comics really makes me appreciate Marvel Comics. And that's not a good thing for the reboot.

Dan DiDio may have stated that folks weren't supposed to write for the trade, but I'm pretty sure that Dan Jurgens' story in JLI is going to need some humdinger closing chapters to turn out nicely. This issue has way too many pages dedicated to the UN admins who put the group together; I appreciate the need to use them as an info dump, but man, they are not really compelling.

I'm also at a loss at the level of you're OK, Booster!" that goes on in this comic. Jurgens is constantly having cool characters like Batman talking about what a great leader Booster is, but we are not seeing it in the comic. In fact, Batman doesn't fit in too well with this team at all. We've got a thrill-seeker (Fire), media darlings (Booster & Godiva), and a jerk (Guy Gardner). August General, Ice, Vixen, and probably Rocket Red seem to have more heroic goals, but man, that's a rough ratio. There are some cool ideas mixed in, especially the idea that August General's skin looks like that funky armor. That's a big reboot change, right?

Aaron Lopresti's art has always lent itself to strong super-heroics, the problem is that I don't find the mysterious giants compelling and the generic villain doesn't impress me as much as Grayven or other B-level guys.

This is getting one more issue.

Average

Justice League International #1

A wise man needs to know his limitations; I fully realize that I like simple, smash-em-up super-hero comics with a touch of humor. I don't know if I'm the target audience for a book like JLI, but man, this is one of my favorites in the DCnU so far.

And it isn't even as if this is the BEST book of the relaunch, I can recognize that Batgirl and Action Comics may be put together better. But Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti have created exactly what I look for in my comics; lots of brightly clad characters with awesome powers fighting some bad guys.

This premiere issue actually has the whole team thrown together by the UN, and immediately sent off on their first mission. It's always fun seeing a group forming up, and I dug the commentary from the organizers on who fits in with the league and who doesn't. I do think Guy Gardner will be back, and I'm pleased about that, but even as it stands now, this is a very solid team. Booster Gold is somehow earnest AND a sell-out (I'm not sure anyone but Jurgens could pull that off). Godiva is wonderful, making snarky comments at every opportunity. Rocket Red and General-in-Iron are still stereotypes, but they sure are fun. That leaves the legit heroes a bit outnumbered, I'd say only Batman, Ice, Fire, and Vixen are truly straight-up heroes. But that's a fine ratio.

Lopresti's art is bright and the costumes work well... mostly. I really don't care for Booster's new sleek look, I think the last costume from his solo series worked a bit better. Godiva needs a more dynamic look too, the plain white suit doesn't cut it with this crew. The rest of the group looks great, with Rocket Red's suit being a stand-out. The storytelling is clear and the cliffhanger design looks fun.

Pencil me down, I'm in this for the long-haul.

Good

DC Retroactive: Justice League of America 1990's

How many times can I say that I absolutely adore Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis’ Justice League? Factor in the impeccable art from Kevin Maguire, and it would have to be one bad issue to turn this sour on me.

And this is a good issue. The puns, the faces, the fantastically-detailed artwork, everything I need in a JLI-era book is here. I mean, I almost gasped at how pretty that first page with Mr. Miracle is; I mean, this book is a joke, but it looks absolutely stunning. (I’m thrilled that Power Girl makes an appearance too, she may have been on the European team, but she fits in better here.)

It’s a wonderful goodbye to the best era of the Justice League I’ve ever read. And seeing Ted Kord one last time before he’s erased was bittersweet too. The creative team plays that up with the majestic flying into the sunset close, but I can’t blame them. There must be some part of them that realizes this was last call for an era too.

This creative team got me interested in the DCU. Seeing them work their magic one last time and so perfectly re-create that environment of fun and danger? That’s a priceless comic.

Excellent

Booster Gold #47

And now we say farewell to Booster Gold. After taking out Doomsday is a pretty easy fashion (with a lot of help), Booster finally gets to do what I’ve been waiting for: team up with Barry Allen. As the only two heroes who know how things are supposed to be, you’d think they would have had more than two pages to team-up before blasting Booster back to Vanishing Point. I mean, this really didn’t elevate Booster much at all, Barry wasn’t even that happy to see someone who hadn’t had their head screwed around!

I suppose the lack of Booster’s involvement stems from the need to have Saint Barry do everything important in the core Flashpoint title, but it bummed me out seeing Booster have so little impact. That said, there was something sad and fitting about Booster forgetting his new gal pal and the entire world of Flashpoint. He’s going to forget about his best friend, his teammates, and his status quo, why not forget a crossover too? And at least Dan Jurgens got to say goodbye.

(Do you like how bitter I am about the upcoming reboot? It is coloring my opinion on every DC book I read!)

Rick Leonardi draws most of the issue (apart from Jurgens’ closing pages). I have always liked Leonardi’s work, but I’m shocked how great his Booster Gold looks. The costume has a neat weight to it that I really enjoyed. I’d love to see him doing more in the DCU.

Fair

Booster Gold #46

Poor Booster. He may be the only guy besides Barry Allen who remembers the real DCU, but he's spent this entire crossover too busy to do anything about it. With evil General Adam controlling (and loosing control) of Doomsday, Booster is just off in a corner of Flashpoint doing his own thing. Other than being called an Atlantean, he really hasn't interacted with the main plot. And I do like Dan Jurgens' new character with absorption powers, but giving her a code-name would sure help. I guess Alexandra is ok, but she'd be easier to remember with a cool suit and name.

There's not a lot going on here that didn't happen last issue. Remember how Booster was running away from Doomsday? Now he's chasing Doomsday. That's about it!

The art in this is interesting. Dan Jurgens' work defines Booster, no doubt about it, but Ig Guara does a fine job too. His stuff is almost looking like Stephane Roux's in some of these panels. Of course, everyone Guara draws is scowling, so that's something that will need to change if he wants to continue that Roux comparison.

Average

Booster Gold #45

I’m having a real problem with current DC titles. At this point, I’m all-in on the DC Reboot, so I’m really wondering why I should care about the next few months of DC comics. Sure, a few of these books might end up being previews of “DCNu” status quo, but we already know Booster is being “born again.” Right?

This issue we get more background on Doomsday’s role in the Flashpoint world. It seems he’s under the control of one Nathaniel Adam, a name quite familiar (Captain Atom). Atom has aged normally, so it seems he wasn’t blasted through time in the FP reality, instead he moved up the ranks and now runs a quite dangerous weapon.

I don’t recognize the metahuman that Booster befriends while on the run from Doomsday, but I’m thinking there’s a chance she’s the black-haired lady on the cover of JLI #1 in September.

Dan Jurgens’ art is still solid, he’s a great storyteller. I would have liked to have seen him draw the real Captain Atom a bit. It is fun seeing him draw Doomsday again, I have to admit.

Fair

Booster Gold #44

I’m really going to try and give Flashpoint a try. I always enjoyed Elseworlds, it’s just that as my comic budget shrank, I started wanting to focus on books that “count” either for the universe or the main character. This issue hits both requirements, since I love Booster and now I’m suspecting a line-wide reboot following Flashpoint.

Only Booster Gold (and Skeets!) could make it through his entire comic without realizing what’s going on. By the end, he does understand he’s in an alternate timeline, but man, he just blithely goes along with everything for most of the issue. I know this is a guy used to time-traveling and bouncing around in reality, but still, his sister and best friend just disappeared and his HQ turned into a dump! Wouldn’t you be a little concerned?

Dan Jurgens does a great job showing how Booster just shakes off his concerns and just sets out to correct the problem. Booster figures he can handle the problem, so why worry? (Doomsday’s appearance as a government operative on the last page is a pretty darn good reason, actually.)

Jurgens’ handles the art too, and everything looks just right. I love Chris Batista’s take on the character, but no one draws Booster Gold better than his creator.

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #24

I'm glad this issue ends with the announcement of a new JLI ongoing. I mean, with the sales and popularity these characters enjoy, there is absolutely no reason not to serve this fanbase every month. Soon we can start looking for lineup spoilers! I'm not sure the team needs BOTH Captain Atom and Martian Manhunter, for example. Does Batman belong on the team? Judd Winick has certainly shown to have the characters' voices down, he's the natural pick for the new ongoing.

Anyway, this issue sort of wraps up the last 24 issues, but not really. OMAZO does a pretty good job taking on the whole JLI team, and it was pretty funny seeing the group unable to figure out that they were being beaten by their own powers. Blue Beetle realized it, but ended up winning the day anyway, just because his powers worked a bit differently. I don't have a problem with that, since Captain Atom did the same thing, but it is still funny that there wasn't a more active way to beat the villain.

The parallel fight gave us Booster Gold vs. Max Lord, round three or four. These guys have really built up a good rivalry over the years, and it is great seeing Max continually trying to explain that he's not a bad guy. I hated seeing him just pop away at the end of the series. Sure, he's outed, but he's still in charge of Checkmate, he's still going to bedevil the JLI in their new series. I just have one request: PLEASE NO MORE OMACS!

Aaron Lopresti should be the regular artist for the new series. He's got such a classic DC style, everyone looks great. What is it about the new Blue Beetle design? Everyone makes Jaime look awesome! Like everyone else, I was tickled at OMAZO growing long hair and wearing a metal bra like Wonder Woman; clearly Lopresti has a sense of humor too, essential in a JLI title.

Good

Booster Gold #43

Weird. I was totally bored by last month's Perforated Man story, but the follow-up this month is quite enjoyable. Perhaps it is the guest-starring Legion of Super-Heroes (is this Booster's first meeting with them? Weird, if so, they're a natural fit.) Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis have an amusing take on the Legion, these guys aren't geniuses; heck, they take orders from Ultra Boy in the field, surely they must know better than that!

It may be forced having the Legion capture Booster, but it does set up some great jokes. Chameleon Boy and Proty playing good cop/bad cop? Awesome.

In all, this story seems like a sort of deck-clearing exercise to line us up for Flashpoint. Now, I'd planned to skip that crossover, but now I'm getting concerned that this title won't make sense if I don't get it! It does seem the writers have set up something with that slowed-down aging too, that's an interesting new power for Booster.

Chris Batista has drawn the Legion before, and it shows. He's got a great take on the team, and of course his Booster is smug and hilarious.

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #23

UGH. I'm sick and tired of OMACs. Haven't we gotten enough of them since they started this whole Infinite Crisis thing? I mean, seriously. Max Lord's master plan is to make a bigger, fatter OMAC with Max's voice. That's the big reveal. C'mon.

There's some sort of little warp that separates the most powerful JLI-ers from their buddies (leaving Batman, Power Girl, and Captain Atom behind). The remaining folks can't really compete with the OMAZO robot (he starts using the JLI's powers during the fight), but it's almost worth it to see Booster Gold actually go after Max Lord. There is still a chance that this series could end strong. If Booster delivers some comeuppance to Max, if the Martian Manhunter shows up in the nick of time, if Batman pats the JLI on the head and tells them they're good kids after all. But it's going to be hard to justify this series if the big reveal is a fat OMAC.

Fernando Dagnino's art is fine, but I'm still confused why we couldn't have gotten a bit more of an original JLI feeling from this book.

Average

Justice League: Generation Lost #22

Look, I'm happy that Judd Winick is able to tie Wonder Woman into this arc, but let's face it, we need the Martian Manhunter. I keep waiting for J'onn to make a triumphant appearance as Professor Ivo or someone else that Max Lord has mistakenly trusted, but now I'm just holding out hope that J'onn shows up for the finale. He really needs to take a stand with his old team.

Winick does a nice job bringing Bruce Wayne and Power Girl into the mix. They were both very important to the JLI, so linking them up makes a lot of sense. And this team was already great. The new Rocket Red gets three or four laugh out loud moments, and seeing the Blue Beetle's reaction to his team was wonderful. I loved that he was totally befuddled seeing Captain Atom being so happy. Good stuff.

Joe Bennett does love drawing Fire and Ice, and as always, I have to say he's good at it. He still does his best work on the two of them and Blue Beetle; I still don't love his Booster or Cap Atom.

Fair

Booster Gold #42

Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis connect with me a lot better when they bring the funny. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this issue, but calling someone the Perforated Man is a silly element in what is supposed to be a tragic story. It's hard to take the drama too seriously, although due to the structure of the story, I suppose we can assume that Booster turns out ok.

The title is a bit shaky at the moment, with the current creative team about to step away to let Dan Jurgens come back and tie in to Flashpoint. I'm still not sold on the Flashpoint concept. I just don't care about reading about Aquaman with short hair for three months, then everything pops back to normal.

Chris Batista is still doing a wonderful job. He deserves more time on top titles, in fact, he'd be a great penciler for a new JLI title!

Fair

Justice League: Generation Lost #21

I knew it. There was no way Judd Winick could pull that off.
This issue is pretty slow, much like last issue. We've been sitting around for a little while now, just sort of waiting for the climax to this series. I think Winick has some good stuff planned, I know I certainly got a chill on the last page as the JLI starts to gear up to take on Max Lord. I'm just saying that I think this might have been 16 issues of story (tops) stretched into 24. We still need to have Power Girl, Batman, and hopefully Martian Manhunter and Guy Gardner show up, right?

Winick has an interesting take on Captain Atom, doesn't he? Cap A is an immortal, essentially, and it was nice seeing Ice give him that vote of confidence. I'm also pleased to see Fire and Rocket Red get together, this is a pretty dark book and the characters deserve whatever happiness they can find while in this protracted campaign.

The art has been fairly average in this book. I think Aaron Lopresti's stuff has been strong, but Joe Bennett and Fernando Dagnino are too firmly entrenched in the current DC house style to bring a lot of uniqueness.

Fair

Justice League: Generation Lost #20

So this is the secret origin of Max Lord. Judd Winick does a nice job showing us how Max went from fairly normal kid to high-powered manipulator. Max's Dad was rubbed out by powerful corporate interests. While Max took it hard, it seems it really messed up his mother. She holds Max to a pretty high standard that clearly affects him. A lot of the drive that we've seen from him over the years seems to stem from her.

While I did appreciate seeing this side to Max, I'm not sure it justifies his actions. The problem is that Max has been an almost understandable villain who has done a few horrible things. Shooting Ted Kord and now Jaime Reyes is just SO evil. It's a whole step above trying to control Superman or take over Checkmate. I suppose his OMAC army is another really evil act that almost doesn't scale with his other actions.

I will chime in about Jaime again too. There is no way he's dead. The current Blue Beetle is way too big a character to get killed off like this. He's got to star in the new JLI book that will surely follow Generation Lost!

Joe Bennett does a solid job, as he has from the start on this title. I still wish there was someone who had a bit more of a JLI-feel, but Bennett is pretty good.

Fair

Booster Gold #41

Goldstar! This whole issue is worth it just because Booster's sister shows up back in costume. I love the idea of a brother and sister team fighting crime, so I'm happy to see her back in her battle suit. (Where did she get it again? It isn't stolen like Booster's, right?)

It's great that even when Doctor Nishtikeit successfully attacks Rip Hunter's time lab, Booster still doesn't take him seriously. I can't imagine this villain will stand out too much, and Booster is already willing to forget him. It's a wonderful contrast that the Doctor is no one to Booster, but Nishtikeit considers Booster his arch-foe. It makes sense that the Doctor only takes up half the issue, the other half puts Booster in prison, serving time for his original theft of his hero gear. I can't believe no one has done this with the character before, actually.

Rip Hunter needs a better costume, by the way. Chris Batista's pencils are still wonderful, but the t-shirt and slacks aren't doing it. Booster's prison uniform is cooler than Rip's costume! I don't like Rip just hauling around a big rifle either, surely he's got some neater time-devices with a bit more original design?

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #19

It's pretty funny when creators can play around with the history of their shared universe to get an immediate response. Max Lord's murder of Ted Kord is such a huge moment in DC history that the cover for this issue of JL:GL immediately filled me with worry for the new Blue Beetle. I'm a huge Ted Kord fan, but I really do like Jaime Reyes too; I don't want to see the current BB going out like this!

I liked that most of the issue was filled with Jaime being a tough guy, standing up to Max Lord and refusing to give up. The rest of the team does their best, but this issue is really Jaime's show. That's why I just don't believe that things are as bad as they seem on that last page. DC can't pull this off, the trend for killing characters surely hasn't gone this far. Assuming it turns out the way I think, this was a great issue.
Can I hope that Power Girl is going to come back with some more JLI-era help? Guy Gardner, Metamorpho, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Batman would be really nice about now.

Fernando Dagnino does a better job on the ladies than he does on the dudes. Power Girl, Fire, and Ice all look great. Actually, Blue Beetle and Rocket Red look good too, but Booster, Max, Captain Atom, and the other males all have heavy, round-looking heads.

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #18

I'm glad to see Power Girl join up with the JLI. She was an integral part of the team back in the 90's, so not having her here has been a big hole on the team. (Martian Manhunter is conspicuous by his absence too).

Judd Winick does a good job building up PG before she actually joins the team. Thanks to more mind control from Max Lord, PG sees the JLI as a new, evil version of the JLA. It's a neat twist, since she sees Captain Atom as Superman, she's not holding back against him at all. She thinks she needs all of her strength in play, so she spends the issue wailing and Captain Atom something fierce. The rest of the JLI don't fare much better, she takes them all on and is able to more than hold her own.

I'm hoping that PG is actually joining the team now. Between this title and her own book, she's almost come around on the Max Lord thing three or four times now. It's going to be pretty old if she snaps back under his control after this issue.

Aaron Lopresti does a nice job with Captain Atom; he looks like a classic hero, and somehow the colors on Cap's boots and gloves really shine this issue. I like Ice's new costume too, it's a good update. I do have one regret, though, and that's that we don't get a better view of Captain Atom's sweet mullet in the JLI flashback that opens the book.

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #17

What a cover! I love this theme, but man, the new Blue Beetle really is a fantastic design, isn't he?

Max Lord kidnapped Jaime Reyez last month, and we still really don't know why. I think it is interesting that this series started with Max Lord ALMOST explaining his position; he was still bad, but you could almost see his rationale (except when he killed Ted Kord, of course). Now Judd Winick has morphed him back into being a full-on villain. Not only is Lord kidnapping kids, mind-controlling soldiers, and teaming up with super-villains, but now he's upping his game. Lord reveals himself as Janus, the obviously-named newcomer to Checkmate. I was surprised to see what happened to Taleb Beni Khalid-Isr, the Black King of Checkmate. It certainly seems like that organization is going to be pretty poorly off once again.

This issue closes with a nice cliffhanger; I can't wait to see Power Girl go up against Captain Atom. I could really see either one of them winning that fight.

I always say that Joe Bennett does a great job with Blue Beetle III, and he proves it again here. Jaime looks awesome. I still say he has a better handle on some characters than others; now with Power Girl joining the book, I'd say he draws her pretty well too.

Good