In find it interesting that people are so sceptical that Booster is really from the future. Did anyone ever question that in the old DC?

And more Skeets!

Plus, OMAC! I loved that comic so much and am so sad that it got canceled. Maybe Maxwell Lord will follow OMAC over from his series.

http://io9.com/5905338/in-this-preview-of-justice-league-international-guy-gardner-still-cant-catch-a-break

Metal Woman

Yay, Skeets! What's it going to take to get him back on panel, Jurgens???

Back in the first volume of BG, Booster was coy about his origin, and the subject of the plausibility of his future-origin never really came up with the public. By the time he joined the Justice League, it was common knowledge that he claimed to be from the future, and it wasn't especially uncommon that people would be skeptical that Booster was from the future.

I always thought that a bit odd: the DC public had no problem that Superman was from an alien planet and could fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes, but a man from the future? That was too far-fetched fetched to believe! I guess IRL people believe all kinds of contradictory things despite the evidence to the contrary, so why shouldn't DC citizens be reluctant to believe despite evident facts.

Maybe the suggestion is that because of his celebrity and snake-oil salesman reputation, Booster's creditably is low with the public. He is like the Kim Kardashian of the DCU. (Although, he has done far more to deserve his fame than any Kardashian.)

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The interesting points:

Guy does not know what an OMAC is..Booster's reaction will be interesting and provide another clue if he remembers the old DCU.

And, like arleady mentioned, public perception about Booster's origin. Would be interesting to know if what Batman says is his true opinion or simply the version meant for public ears.

The rant:

The issue shows 25% of the finished comics, but again has very little actual content. That what was shown could have been done in 2-3 pages...
It is not simply that the stories have suddenly become lackluster, there have always been hit and miss, even in ones favourite titles, but now when you encouter a story that is not very entertaining you are stuck with it for up to a half year before the title finally moves on and there is no guarantee that the next one will be better. Even worse, a story that might be actually okay suddenly feels much worse because of the drawn out pace.

I'm totally with you on the pacing gripe, M. I can't tell if the snail's-pace decompression is a DC-wide phenomenon or an issue specific to Dan Jurgens because the only "New 52" book I'm reading regularly is BOOSTER GOLD. It is very irritating to pay $3 and feel like I'm getting so little content.

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If I would not save about a third of the cover price thanks to the strong € I would have dropped JLI, or at least switch to TPB.

The decompression that comes from writing for trades is one of the worst trends to come around in comics in recent years. Fortunately some comics in the DCnU seem to have quit that trend. One of the reasons I loved OMAC was because every issue was "one and done". I think Scott Lobdell's trio of books (Superboy, Teen Titans, Red Hood) has also managed to avoid long drawn out stories (although that is changing a little with The Culling crossover). Flash started very decompressed, but the writer mentioned that he later realized that was a problem and has fixed that in recent issues.

Metal Woman

OK, it's only 5 pages and it's not ALL bad, but the more I looked at it the harder it was for me to find much good to say about this "preview" intended to entice readers to buy this book. The cover's nice, which supports the old adage I guess. Anyway...

The Art- The first page looks like a tryout page from an aspiring artist who will later be told to go home and practice some more. The splash isn't much better, I've seen that swipe TOO many times, usually starring the Incredible Hulk. The rest of the 5 pages is little better, I know Aaron Lopresti isn't the best at facial expressions, but really. Page 5 is the worst, what are those people in background supposed to be doing? The guy in the trench coat is the most interesting thing in panel 1, I was almost expecting him to pull out an uzi or something and start shooting (which might have improved the story). Batman looks like he's retaining water, Batwing looks like something you'd find in a Happymeal, and don't get me started on Booster's stupid Jim Lee designed costume AGAIN. The garish crayon coloring doesn't help matters, I begin to see what Boosterrific has against Hi-Fi. I may be biased but, Booster's facial expression actually does look good when he's talking to Skeets. As to the final panel, Batman is either meant to "appear" to be keeping an eye on Booster, or he's realized that he just washed his cape and can't do a thing with it. Seriously, what's going on with Batman's cape in that panel?

The Writing- What there is of it (Oh look, an extended fight scene), Lady Godiva, the uncertain newcomer out to prove herself has about the only real dialog during the fight scenes. And what does she have to say? "If you helped kill my teammate, you must be stopped". Wow, what pathos, what emotion, better slow down there sister before someone actually starts to think you're in this story. OMAC's response,"you're wasting my time" pretty much sums up this preview. As for the other characters, Jurgens must not spend a lot of time writing Guy Gardner dialog, because Guy almost sounds like he wants to have a group therapy session with O.M.A.C. (does he really spell it out like that?). And frankly, I don't care what Batwing believes about Booster being from the future. Batman serves as the boring exposition deliverer while Booster has the only real role in these first 5 pages, of monitoring, via Skeets (YAY!), "emergency services" for the next... wait for it ...extended fight scene (I'll bet).

Do I sound P.O.d? Maybe, I think Booster deserves better than this "it won't be long till the title gets cancelled if this keeps up" kind of story. The creators need to stop phoning it in, and start putting in a hard days work if they expect to keep getting any of my money.

Do I see any hope in this issue? A little, Batman's over the shoulder glance at Booster speaks volumes... or it could mean absolutely nothing.

The one benefit to digital comics? Less chance of future civilizations finding this comic and judging us based on it.

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Come on Grimmy, tell us how you really feel.

Seems like we all are on the same page and the only difference is how much the current issues bug us. Though..did you guys realize that we are not even halfway finished with this storyline?

Sorry M, I know I kinda went overboard there. I just want this book to succeed, because if not, I see Booster relegated once again to guest appearance hell.

It's not like we expect very much, just something entertaining, after all it's just a comic book. I'm a fan of the 1930s and 40s pulps, Doc Savage, the Shadow etc. and those are not great literature by any means. The writing could be formulaic and repetitive, but it could also be creative and original. The writers went to lengths to develop entertaining character relationships and creative situations, all in the form of cheap, disposable, entertainment.

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Oh don't worry, I share the same opinion and have expressed the same fear about Booster's future.