Comic Book Review: Booster Gold #2

The Revolution loved the debut issue of Booster Gold. Johns and Katz did a great job kicking off this series and quickly earned a spot on The Revolution’s permanent pull list. It is great to see DC building off the momentum of 52 and giving Booster Gold his own title. There is no doubt in my mind that Booster Gold #2 is going to be another fantastic read. Let’s do this review.

Creative Team
Writers: Geoff Johns & Jeff Katz
Artists: Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Booster forcing Rip Hunter to agree to help him save Ted Kord’s life in return for Booster’s help. Rip does warn Booster to be prepared for the consequences of such an action.

Rip then briefs Booster on his mission. That the death certificate for Hal Jordan shows that someone is contaminating the time stream and trying to kill off each member of the Justice League. Rip then cries out that history is suddenly changing again and that Hal is not longer the greatest Green Lantern. That it is now Guy Gardner who is the greatest Green Lantern.

Evidently, Sinestro now goes to Earth before Abin Sur crashes on Earth. That if Sinestro interacts with Guy years earlier than he should then Guy will end up dying decades before he should from a yellow plague he contracts on the planet Ghera. That Sinestro will go renegade and build his Sinestro Corps years earlier than he should. That Sinestro conquers everyone. That this is all from Sinestro talking to Guy before he is supposed to. It is the Butterfly Effect.

Rip then leaves the Time Sphere to go time diving. That there are traces of abnormal chronal energy eight decades down and Rip is going to see if this will tell him who is behind these attempts to prematurely kill off the members of the Justice League.

We cut to Egypt in 1939. We see Dan Garrett and Luri successfully finding the blue scarab of Pharoh Kha-Ef-Re. Suddenly, there is a cave-in in the tomb. The blue scarab glows and transforms Dan into the Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle then saves Luri from the cave-in.

We shift to a young Guy Gardner in Pasadena, California where he has a ticket to go see the Rose Bowl. It is three days before the game and Guy gets on the phone and angrily tells his mother that he isn’t going to be home for Christmas.

We cut to Booster and Skeets watching Guy as he sits by himself drinking coffee. Booster is surprised at this quiet melancholy version of Guy. Skeets then alerts Booster that Sinestro has appeared on the scene.

Booster then flies over and tackles Sinestro and says that he won’t let him talk to Guy Gardner. The two men start brawling. Sinestro says that he was warned that someone would try and stop him. Skeets reminds Booster that in this era Green Lanterns are still susceptible to the color yellow.

Sinestro mentions how he was told by a man from the future that Guy would one day be his student and that Guy would do unimaginable things and surpass even Sinestro’s glory and reputation as the greatest Green Lantern. Sinestro says that such a thing couldn’t be possible and is here to talk to Guy and find out for himself. Sinestro then takes down Booster and flies on to Guy.

We hop over to Rip Hunter time diving. Suddenly, Rip’s handheld computer goes dead and a large shadowy spherical ship appears above Rip. Rip’s reaction is “Oh, sprock me…”

We cut back to Booster grabbing Sinestro just as Sinestro was about to approach Guy. Booster decides on a different tact this time rather than fisticuffs. Instead, Booster talks to Sinestro and appeals to his ego. Booster says that he is from the future and that in his time Sinestro is the Greatest Green Lantern who ever lived. That it will never be Guy Gardner. That Sinestro’s enemies were trying to trick him into thinking that it was Guy. Sinestro comments that the man who spoke to him wore a white uniform and a mask.

Booster convinces Sinestro that playing into his enemies trick would show fear. That Sinestro was afraid of Guy. Booster says that he came here from the future to remind Sinestro that he is the greatest and no one can replace him.

Booster sticks his hand out to shake Sinestro’s hand and claims that this meeting was an honor. Sinestro shakes Booster’s hand and notices the Legion flight ring that Booster wears. Booster says that everyone wears rings in the future as a tribute to Sinestro. Sinestro is curious about why the ring is yellow and asks what Corps Booster belongs to. Booster replies that he belongs to the Sinestro Corps. Sinestro is very please.

We zip forward to Booster then putting on some normal clothes and entering a sports bar where Guy is sulking. Booster sits next to Guy and asks if he is in town for the Rose Bowl. Guy mentions that he used to play for Michigan. Booster comments that he used to play ball, too. Booster asks Guy who he is thinking of calling since he keeps staring at the pay phone.

Guy mentions that he has a brother and a mother that he doesn’t care much for and a father who used to drink a lot and beat him. That Guy’s father is now dying of liver failure and has been begging Guy to come back to Baltimore to see him before he dies. That his father wants to tell him he is sorry.

Booster comments that his father was a crook and that Booster did a lot to try and get his father to accept him. That ultimately, Booster had to learn to accept himself. Booster says that his father never asked to see him and the truth is that Booster wishes he had. That nobody ever regretted having a chance to say goodbye.

Guy then hands Booster his ticket for the Rose Bowl and goes and picks up the pay phone and calls his father.

We cut to Booster and Skeets arriving back at the Time Sphere. The wormhole seals up as Booster successfully completed his mission. Skeets mentions that Guy spends a week with his father before he passes. That the day after Guy left to see his father, Abin Sur crashed in California. That if Guy had been there then Abin Sur would have chosen him and not Hal Jordan. That Booster’s talking to Guy may have put Guy in the number two position that he so strongly dislikes.

Booster then sees a flash of light from the death certificate for Green Lantern. Booster looks at it and now it is a death certificate for Superman. Suddenly, a battered and beaten Rup Hunter is thrown against the side of the Time Sphere. We see Supernova fly next to the Time Sphere. Skeets tells Booster that Supernova is not Booster’s relative Daniel.

Supernova then flies off and arrives in the Wild West. Supernova alters his appearance to fit in with the locals. He then enters a saloon and announces that he is looking for a gun for hire to kill a pair of rats. Jonah Hex looks up from the bar and says that for the right price he can be a killer. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Booster Gold #2 was another excellent read. Johns and Katz are moving this story along at a pleasant pace. It is nicely measured and gives the reader a good balance of action and drama. I appreciate that Johns and Katz aren’t rushing any of the plotlines in an urge to blow away the reader with tons of action with the first two issues.

This title is also strongly plotted which is no surprise since Johns almost always delivers well plotted titles. You can tell that the writers have a good long term vision and a definite purpose and goal for this title over the long haul. Johns and Katz do a good job giving the reader storylines that are all delightfully complex without being overwhelming which can sometimes happen when dealing with time travel and alternate realities.

Johns and Katz craft some excellent dialogue. All the characters are pleasantly developed and have their own strongly defined external voices. I also love the chemistry between Booster and Rip as well as between Booster and Skeets. The banter between Rip and Booster is always entertaining. And I dig Skeets’ role as Booster’s ever-present conscious that constantly henpecks Booster like a nagging mother.

Johns and Katz obviously have a great feel for Booster’s character. I’m glad that we are getting to see more of this “new” Booster Gold that we saw near the end of 52. Booster still has his sense of humor without being turned into a “Bwa-ha-ha” punch line. I dig that Booster still has his inferiority complex and his craving for fame and attention. But, those desires are now tempered by Booster’s heroic nature and willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Gone are the days of the ego-centric, shallow and money hungry Booster Gold. This is certainly the most nuanced and textured version of Booster Gold.

Johns and Katz do a nice job with Sinestro in this issue. And since Johns is handling Sinestro so superbly over in Green Lantern, it is no surprise that he handles Sinestro so well in this issue. Sinestro is wonderfully egotistical and haughty. The writers make it easy for the reader to see how Sinestro ends up to becoming the horrible villain that we are seeing over in Green Lantern.

The reader gets an excellent sense for Sinestro’s burning desire for fame, adulation and power. We see why the thought of a “Sinestro Corps” in the future truly appeals to Sinestro. Booster Gold’s story about how in the future everyone wears yellow rings and is a part of the Sinestro Corps in honor of the greatest Green Lantern was great. This fabrication by Booster may have inadvertently inspired Sinestro to create the Sinestro Corps.

Poor Booster, now he gets pegged with being the inspiration to form the Sinestro Corps. This was a cool move to show the reader how even the most casual and seemingly innocent actions by Booster while conducting missions in different time periods will have a profound effect on our present timeline. Nothing is insignificant.

I liked the version of Guy Gardner that we saw in this issue. This may have been the deepest and most intriguing version of Guy that I have ever read. It was a compelling look at a character that is now seen as a rather one-dimensional knuckle dragger with little to no feelings.

I liked the unexpected twist on Booster Gold’s mission for this issue. After the first issue, the reader assumed that Booster would be spending his mission trying to save Hal Jordan. Having the wrinkle in time make Booster’s target to save Guy Gardner instead made this mission a lot more interesting.

I enjoyed the final confrontation between Booster and Sinestro. It was an excellent move to have Booster eschew fisticuffs in favor of brains in order to succeed in his mission of keeping Sinestro from Guy. This was far more enjoyable than the generic and predictable slugfest that you usually get in this situation.

Plus, this scene emphasizes to the reader that Booster Gold is no idiot, despite how he may have been portrayed in the past. That Booster’s plan to appeal to Sinestro’s ego and arrogance was a stroke of genius. I dig that Booster is shown having some brains.

The scene at the end between Booster Gold and Guy was perfect. It was nicely emotional and showed Booster Gold’ more sensitive and insightful side. Once again, Johns and Katz show the reader that Booster is no idiot. That he has enough real life common sense and bits of wisdom to give good advice to Guy.

I also like the unintended result of Booster trying to help out Guy and his problems with his father. That despite Booster’s best intentions, he is the very reason that Amon Sur picked Hal rather than Guy, thereby dooming Guy to the number two position that he hates so much. I love it. It is great to see how Booster is becoming responsible for so many different occurrences in the DCU’s history.

The short Rip Hunter scene interesting mainly because he used the exclamation “Sprock.” This has been a long term exclamation used over in the Legion of Super Heroes. We all know that Rip has kept his real name a secret as well as his entire past including what timeline he came from. Is this a hint to the reader that Rip hails from the same timeline as the Legion of Super Heroes?

I loved the 1939 flashback scene involving the original Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett. I always like it when DC takes the time to honor its long and rich history and get new readers educated on the storied past of the DCU. This plotline is eventually going to blossom into the teaser scene we got in the debut issue of Booster Gold where we saw Dan and Booster saving Ted Kord from Maxwell Lord.

One cool aspect of travelling in the time stream and through multiple Earths are all the cool little extras that the creative team put into this issue for long time readers to spot. It is fun to try and pick out various obscure and minor characters in some of the different panels. Just like how we got to see Infection Lass from the Legion of Substitute Heroes make an appearance in one panel in Booster Gold #2.

Johns and Katz deliver a great hook ending to this issue. Booster and Rip now know that the person behind the plot to kill off the various Justice League members has stolen the Supernova outfit. We then get a teaser of Booster Gold’s next mission which will be to save Superman. Plus, we find out that next issue will guest star everyone’s favorite gunslinger in Jonah Hex. Booster Gold #3 should be a blast to read.

Jurgens and Rapmund supply plenty of solid artwork. The art isn’t anything incredible. However, it is very clean and straight forward and has a good look to it. The art does its job and doesn’t detract or get in the way of the story.

The Bad: No complaints with this issue. Again, with the amount of time travel and multiple planets in this title, the reader really has to be up on their history of the DCU. And if that isn’t the case, then the reader has to be willing to take the time and effort to learn a bit more about the history of the DCU to truly enjoy every single panel and scene in this title.

Overall: Booster Gold #2 was a blast to read. Booster Gold is exactly what comic books should be: fun to read. This title is one seriously wild ride with plenty of unexpected twists and turns along the way. Yeah, having a good working knowledge of the DCU will help the reader with this title, but it is not a prerequisite. Johns and Katz have done an excellent job making Booster Gold new reader friendly while at the same time throwing in enough extras and bonuses for long time readers. I definitely recommend giving Booster Gold a try. It is well worth your money.