Just about any way you slice it, the back half of Booster Gold Volume 1 is a downer for our hero. And them comes Millennium to take what's left of our hero's fortune, family, and reputation. What a bummer.

The big reveal of Booster Gold #24 is that the Manhunter who betrays Booster is the same "friend" who betrayed Booster before. If this seems unsatisfying to the reader, rest assured that it was also unsatisfying to the issue's creator (as I detailed in my 2015 post "The True Story of Booster Gold: 30 Years of Character Development").

But just because the story is ultimately unsatisfying doesn't mean that the comic doesn't have its moments. Lots of them, in fact. Big, dumb deathtraps are always fun, and Ty Templeton's inks make everything better.

Crushing walls are a pretty old-school trap. I'm glad Booster got a chance to play the classics on his way out.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: dan jurgens dirk davis favorite pages ty templeton

In many ways, Booster Gold volume 1 number 4 is exactly what you might expect from a Bonze Age DC comic: two disparate heroes are forced to team-up to have a fist fight with a would-be world conquering super villain and his minions. However, the story has several elements that make it unique, not the least of which is that after several issues subverting heroic tropes, Booster Gold gets to play the role of the prototypical hero and be morally contrasted with Rose, a "hero" who shuns attention.

That said, I actually prefer the pauses the story takes to show us Trixie Collins feeding her fish or Skip Andrews trying to get a comic book off the ground. And I cannot tell you how excited I get every time I read the final page of the story, which promises Booster's next big foe: the Internal Revenue Service!

I am always disappointed that this subplot is eventually resolved off-panel. I think it would be interesting to meet Booster's bookkeeper.

Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: dirk davis favorite pages taxes trixie collins

I am not deluded enough that I would call Extreme Justice a great comic series. But comics don't have to be great to be enjoyable, and I certainly enjoy Extreme Justice.

Which is why I was so pleased to see a recent article in support of the much maligned series last week on ComicBeat.com.

Article author Deidre Freitas points out many of the things wrong with the series (though I think she undersells just how bad the art is), but she specifically (and correctly) singles out Booster Gold as one of the better parts.

One thing about this series is that it seems to be discarded as a byproduct of the '90s, and its certainly of its time, from its Extreme label to the outfits, hairstyles and even mannerisms of the characters. But beneath the lingo and fashion choices, there are some genuinely good storylines in this book.

Booster Gold, who had nearly died at the end of Justice League America, is kept alive by a suit that Blue Beetle made him. He lost an arm, and his vitals are only stable because of the alien technology surrounding his body. For all intents and purposes, Booster is disabled for much of this run. Several times in the series he questions his own usefulness, wondering if all of this is worth it. Booster even goes after his former manager, spiraling into a dark depression and anger because the man embezzled all of his money.

Yeesh. Without a doubt, the "Extreme" era of the 1990s is the longest, darkest period of Booster's long career, though that was probably true for most of the DCU. Is that darkness why Extreme Justice is so derided? Who wants to see heroes at their worst?

Extreme Justice #6

On second thought, don't answer that.

Just know that it gets better, Booster.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicsbeat.com deidre freitas dirk davis extreme justice

Westfield Comics has posted an article detailing the origins of Booster Gold Volume 1 in advance of the reprinting of those issues for the upcoming Booster Gold: The Big Fall hardcover.

The article was written by Robert Greenberger, a former DC editor who worked on the Who's Who series. Greenberger spoke with Booster's creator, Dan Jurgens, for a first-person take on the occasion. Most of what was said will be familiar to long-time Booster boosters (much of it is corroborated by what Jurgens had previously told me in my Secret Origin interview) but it's always interesting to hear Jurgens speak of the old days at DC.

Writes Greenberger:

Jurgens pitched the idea to Giordano and was surprised at how quickly the series was picked up. "At the time, DC was a remarkably fun place to work," Jurgens recounted. "They were very, very open to new ideas and concepts. The company was committed to trying new things.

"I was at a convention in Dallas that Dick Giordano and Pat Bastienne were also attending. Dick was always highly encouraging and always said if I had anything in terms of a project idea, to bring it to him.

"We had breakfast before the Con started and I pitched him the basic concept of Booster—where he came from, what motivated him and what would make him different. At that point, I didn't even have the pitch written out. I believe I had a preliminary sketch.

Booster Gold being born in Dallas makes perfect sense. There are few times/places more associated with American capitalism than Dallas, Texas in the mid-80s. (Booster Gold versus J.R. Ewing!)

Speaking of villains, Jurgens also admits to a lingering affinity for Dirk Davis. Maybe one day Booster's selfish agent will get a shot at redemption. Until then, you can relive his glory days in Booster Gold: The Big Fall when it is released this September.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: dallas dan jurgens dirk davis interview robert greenberger westfieldcomics.com

Great minds think alike. No sooner had I finished writing Friday's bio on Dirk Davis than I clicked over to Ross Pearsall's delightful Super-Team Family Presents... blog and found that he's also got Booster Gold's agent on his creative mind.

Mojo is an X-Men villain from another universe who, like Booster Gold, debuted in the mid-1980s as a commentary on American celebrity culture. In Mojo's case, he's a parody of a television network executive whose only desire is to get great ratings at any cost. In other words, he's a natural foe for popularity-obsessed a Booster Gold!

Great job, Ross.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: blogspot.com fan art mojo ross pearsall super-team family