Booster Gold
“Destiny! Destiny! No Escaping That For Me!”
Volume 2, Issue 35, October 2010
Released August 11, 2010
Cover Price: $2.99
Guide Price: $3.00 (as of 2011)
Estimated Issue Sales: 19,104
Writers: J. M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen
Pencillers: Chris Batista, Patrick Olliffe
Inkers: Patrick Olliffe, Rich Perrotta
Colorist: Hi-Fi Designs
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Assistant Editors: Rachel Gluckstern, Rex Ogle
Editors: Michael Carlin, Michael Siglain
Cover Artist: Kevin Maguire
Heroes: Big Barda, Blue Beetle II, Booster Gold, Darkstar, Darkstar Phil, Mister Miracle
Villains: Hieronymous, P'Upik
Supporting: Queen Artemis, Skeets II
Setting: Unknown Planet, DCU, 20th-century
Cover Description: Clockwise from left, Blue Beetle, Big Barda, Mister Miracle, and Booster Gold struggle with several tentacles.
Brief Synopsis: Trying to free an enslaved planet, the Justice League may have doomed it instead.
Booster Gold's role in this story:
Featured (Booster Gold plays a prominent role)
Costume Worn: MARK I.v2 power-suit
Story Notes: The title of this story is a quote from the 1974 movie Young Frankenstein.
This story has been reprinted in:
Booster Gold: Past Imperfect (2011)
Page 2, panel 1
Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Mister Miracle, and Skeets stand aside as Big Barda single-handedly decimates the army of Hieronymous the Underachiever.
Page 7, panel 2
FIRST APPEARANCE: First appearance of the Darkstar Phil. His partner, unnamed in this issue, is introduced on the following page. Phil is speaking to a surly alien named K'Raamdyn, clearly an allusion to the character Ralph Kramden as played by Jackie Gleason on the 1955 television series The Honeymooners.
Page 8, panel 1
The Sorg's Donuts sign is a reference to the famous giant doughnut atop Randy's Donuts in Los Angeles, California.
Page 9, panel 4
HAIR CLUB FOR HEROES: Blue Beetle stops playing the fool just long enough to reveal that he knows that Booster Gold isn't the Booster Gold that he's pretending to be. This is a rare concession in comic books, which often play up adventures having taken place over time without actually admitting that the characters themselves age. In this case, Beetle confirms that Booster has matured both mentally, via a change in demeanor, and physically, via the thinning of his hair (first mentioned 2 issues earlier in Booster Gold #32).
Page 13, panel 5
While chasing P'Upik and the copy of the Book of Destiny, Booster and Skeets debate their predicament and their potential damage to history. In this case, Booster has a better grasp of the effects of time travel in the DC Universe than Skeets does. It is worth noting that the pair are discussing the effect of a using a powerful book of magic which is capable of far more devastating acts than simply modifying future history.
Page 15, panel 1
POWER UP: Skeets now has two arms, allowing him to grasp and carry objects. After two decades with no appendages at all, Skeets has developed quickly in recent years!
Page 16, panel 1
Booster Gold finally comes face-to-face with Hieronymous the Underachiever and his captive, Queen Artemis.
Page 19, panel 1
Mister Miracle is correct in his first word balloon: in their original Justice League International adventures, it was indeed generally Blue Beetle's fault. Mister Miracle does not fare so well in his second balloon: While the single parenthesis method employed here is casual and common enough, the parenthesis in letterer Sal Cipriano's chosen font is easily confused with the letter "J", thus turning "A)" into a very confusing "AJ". (Many grammar style guides would suggest that lettered list items should be fully enclosed in parentheses to avoid exactly this sort of confusion.) Letterers rarely get any attention at all unless they have done something poorly; sadly, this is one of those cases.
Page 19, panel 2
The previously mentioned dialogue's difficulty with grammar probably could have been avoided altogether: Booster Gold, Mister Miracle, and Big Barda are now in space, where even the signature sound of an opening Boom Tube is silenced. Just how are these characters communicating in a vacuum, anyway?
Page 21, panel 1
Booster Gold has his first meeting with Darkstar Phil and his as-yet-unnamed, blue-skinned partner.
Boosterrific Review: Giffen and DeMatteis know their formula: humor + character development + action = enjoyable read. While some may still feel that there is too much "silly," the only flaw in this issue was the nagging sensation that much of this issue's plot was recycled from Giffen and DeMatteis' 2005 Defenders mini-series for Marvel Comics. After the misstep with the art in the previous issue, it is worth noting that artist Chris Batista's work is well suited for the fantasy-setting in the bulk of the issue, while Pat Olliffe's art works great for the panels in space. Overall a lot of fun.
Boosterrific Rating: Worth Its Weight In Gold.
Average Fan Rating: (2 votes)
A improvement over last issue. Bardas' confession really added something special. A few jokes fell flat and Boosters' apparent error in judgement were negatives for me. Was it "silly"? At times, but Booster wasn't. While it wasn't as good as the writers first issue #32 it was an okay read.
A fun issue and I liked when Ted Kord stopped playing the fool and noted the changes in Booster. I do think Barda was a bit over the top here.
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