Justice League Quarterly

ARTISTS

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Ty Templeton
Inker: Karl Kesel
Colorist: Steve Mattsson
Letterer: Bob Pinaha
Editor: Brian Augustyn

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CHARACTERS & SETTINGS

heroes: Blue Beetle II, Booster Gold, Fire, Flash III
villain: Tattooed Man

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

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ISSUE SUMMARY

Cover Description: Booster Gold poses with energy crackling around his fists. Repeated endlessly in the background is the word "execute."

Brief Synopsis: Booster Gold, Fire, and Flash eavesdrop on Blue Beetle's latest date.

Costume Worn: MARK I power-suit

Story Notes: The events of this issue must take place prior to Justice League America #69.

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ISSUE ANNOTATIONS

Page 59, panel 1
Booster Gold, Fire, and Flash III have arrived at a restaurant in order to spy on the date of their friend and fellow member of the Justice League, Blue Beetle II. No one is wearing his/her costume.

Page 59, panel 3
Booster laments leaving his $48,000 car in the hands of an untrustworthy valet. In 1992, the average price for a new car in America was around $16,000.

Page 61, panel 2
Fire accuses Booster of having no soul for spying on his best friend's disastrous date. Of course, Fire could leave, or alert Beetle of Booster's eavesdropping, but she does neither. So Booster probably isn't the only person in the room with no soul.

Page 61, panel 4
Booster's car is a Romanaclef 5200. A "roman a clef" is a literary term for a story in which real persons or events are disguised with fictional names. It sort of makes you wonder what a Romanaclef automobile really is, doesn't it?

Page 62, panel 1
Flash points out to Booster and Fire that the Tattooed Man is present in the restaurant. The Tattooed Man was a foe of Green Lantern Hal Jordan and the Justice League for many years and was once a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains.

Page 68, panel 2
While (unnecessarily) trying to save Beetle from the Tattooed Man, Flash accidentally destroys Booster's car, which had the license plate number "8ET-459."

Page 68, panel 4
Fire uses her power on the drink of a fellow who has been sitting behind her in the restaurant since she arrived. Though it is never declared, this figure looks strikingly similar to artist Ty Templeton. (Roman a clef indeed.)

For more annotations from this story which occur at different points in Booster Gold's chronology, click here or click here

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ISSUE REVIEW

Boosterrific Review: For the second consecutive issue in this series, Booster Gold appears in half of the stories in this anthology issue. Of the stories without Booster, Flash is featured in the exceptional "Half an Inch," and Fire and Ice team-up in the goofy and poorly paced "Contested Friendship." Booster is the motivator in "Time and Chance," the issue's lead story. While Mark Waid's story is primarily concerned with building on the gambling angle of Booster's back-story, it is clumsy in execution with particularly weak characterization and art. If "Time and Chance" is an ungainly disappointment, "When Titans Date" is a sublime character piece played for humor. Booster and friends spy on the love life of teammate Blue Beetle, and knee-slapping hilarity ensues. This issue may be a mixed bag, but of quality, but odds are that there is something for everyone to like in this comic.

Boosterrific Rating:

• Currently 2.0/5 Stars.

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