DC Comics
Hardcover
160 pages
$24.99 (2008)
$14.99 (2009) TPB
ISBN 9781401219567
Contributors: Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Hi-Fi, and Randy Gentile
Reprints: Booster Gold #0, 7-10, and #1,000,000
Synopsis: Booster Gold was a self-centered superhero in the 21st century who originally time-traveled from the 25th century with future-tech to gain fame and fortune after being a loser in his own time. After the events of 52 he became the greatest hero you've never heard of! He now protects the timestream with Rip Hunter, Time Master!
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| OMAC plays with it's food |
Time goes haywire and events shift with Blue Beetle's escape from oblivion - Maxwell Lord is not stopped by Wonder Woman before unleashing his O.M.A.C. (Observational Metahuman Activity Construct) army against all metahumans in the world. Heroes and villains alike are killed, the Justice League falls, and it's up to the old team of Blue and Gold to save the day!
We get a retelling of Booster's origin before the two adventurers attempt to stop Maxwell Lord. Things don't go as planned as Max has enslaved Superman with his psychic powers. How can they possibly stop Big Blue? Maxwell Lord is just the tip of the iceberg as the true villains show themselves - the Time Stealers!
They include Booster's estranged father - Supernova!? What terrible secret does he hold (in his ear) and can Ted Kord possibly live with himself at the price of so many other heroes?
Pros: Rapmund's finished art over Jurgens is decent, great colors (probably the best thing about this book are the bright colors), nostalgia for Justice League International days, lively plot, great use of past storylines like Zero Hour and DC One Million, their friendship is touching (yet very ambiguously gay duo)
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| Okay, so it's not Maxwell Lord |
Mike Tells It Straight: I'm a sucker for any dystopian superhero alternate reality story (Age of Apocalypse, Kingdom Come, Earth X, JLA: Rock of Ages to name a few). Johns and Katz attempt their own version while pulling in hypertime from Zero Hour and the far-flung future with DC One Million tie-ins. I absolutely love the fact they used these old storylines with specially numbered issues.
Great (but highly unlikely) reunion of the JLI and Jurgens' drawings under Rapmund's finishes are mildly palatable. The colors really save the book and are very bright. I liked this second volume better than the first - more happened and it had a lot of explanations. Good continuation to the 52 storyline, but I'm really curious to see how long this book will last (as of this review I think it has ended) since Booster is a relatively unknown character.
If you liked 52 then you will continue to dig the exploits of Booster Gold in these pages. This second volume is better than the first due to lots of non-stop action without a pause (for the reader to question what the heck is going on). High energy, mainstream superhero fare. Incredibly shallow, but potentially addicting and a solid mid-range book.
TO BUY and Recommendations: