DC Bonus Book

ARTISTS

Writer: David Levin
Penciller: Dean Haspiel
Inker: Dean Haspiel
Colorist: Matt Webb
Letterer: John D'Agostino
Editor: Joe Orlando

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CHARACTERS & SETTINGS

heroes: Blue Beetle II, Booster Gold
supporting: Maxwell Lord

Setting: 20th-century New York, NY, USA

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ISSUE SUMMARY

Cover Description: Maxwell Lord is tied to a chair between two irate pistol-wielding soldiers. (No Booster Gold.)

Brief Synopsis: Maxwell Lord is kidnapped, and Booster Gold and Blue Beetle must aid negotiations.

Costume Worn: MARK I power-suit

Story Notes: This story was a free insert in Justice League International #24. It was published as a means for DC to test prospective talent, similar to the theme behind the series New Talent Showcase. The events of this issue likely take place between the first and second stories contained within Justice League International #24.

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ISSUE ANNOTATIONS

Page 1, panel 1
While on monitor duty, Booster Gold passes the time watching The Amazing Colossal Man on Maxwell Lord's portable television set. Lord's comment, "Who's watching my Watchman," while referencing the handheld Sony Watchman portable TV, is also a pun on the slogan for DC's landmark Watchmen comic, published in 1986. The television that Booster is holding is clearly not a Sony Watchman; it looks more akin to a Sinclair Microvision Pocket TV. As for the movie, The Amazing Colossal Man was released in 1957 and concerns the mutation of a man exposed to radiation. The title character of the film looks similar to Wandjina, who fights Captain Atom in Justice League International #17.

Page 6, panel 1
Booster receives a telephone call from Lord's company, Innovative Concepts, Inc, who give him the news that Lord has been kidnapped. The kidnappers demand 500 million dollars for Lord's return.

Page 14, panel 3
After the incompetent mercenaries struggle to contain Lord, Booster negotiates to be paid in order to take Lord back. It is worth noting that Lord negotiates with the kidnappers without resorting to his new mind-influencing powers granted by the detonation of the meta-gene bomb in Invasion! Book Three.

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ISSUE REVIEW

Boosterrific Review: It's a good thing that this is a "bonus" book, because I can't imagine anyone ever paying for it. The art is stilted and inconsistent; the writing is cheesy and disingenuous. If this issue were not already embedded in another comic book, it would have no value at all.

Boosterrific Rating:

• Currently 1.0/5 Stars.

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