The fifth Booster Gold adventure, Booster Gold volume 1, number 5, is the first time in this series that I really struggle to pick just one favorite page.

I love the confrontation on page 4 in which Booster Gold arrives like an angel only to have the Metropolis cops reject him because he "ain't Superman."

I also love the nearly wordless (but imperfectly rendered) emotional sequence with those same cops in the snow after Booster's apparent death on page 11.

And the panels on page 16 perfectly sell Booster's personal regrets about his mysterious past and give us a sweet Back to the Future-inspired emotional transition.

But forced to choose, I have to say that my favorite single page in Booster Gold #5 is Booster Gold driving the Boostermobile for the first time like those two parking attendants in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Drive it like you stole it, Booster!

In a story built to compare and contrast Booster to Superman, this page is all about Booster enjoying himself doing something no responsible hero would (granted that the always responsible Skeets is in a position to take the wheel if necessary), in a for-profit licensed product no less!

He jumps a car over an ocean liner. I'd like to see Superman do that.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: boostermobile favorite pages jeremy brysler skeets

Remember that time when the powers-that-be at DC decided to scrap (almost) their entire shared universe for another, new shared universe of unfamiliar characters in familiar costumes?

Yeah, okay. That's a little vague. We *are* talking about DC here.

Specifically, I'm talking about the relaunch 12 years ago, the "New 52." If you'll recall, sales were down, and something had to be done to goose them. That something was determined to be a line-wide reboot. However, before a new universe could be launched, the pre-existing universe had to be canceled. Which is how Booster Gold #47, released on this day in 2011, became the final issue of that series.

Sadly, it's not a very good comic book.

Most of the story deals with Booster's tragic but inconsequential misadventures in the Flashpoint alternate universe with doomed Alexandra Gianopoulos — all drawn by a fill-in artist who seems to be operating under an unforgivingly tight deadline.

But the issue ends with a Dan Jurgens-drawn coda teasing that perhaps Booster had returned to the mainstream DCU in time to continue his story in the incoming New 52 Universe, where all DC characters would be wearing new costumes designed by Jim Lee.

It would be four more years before it was clarified that the New 52 Booster Gold (introduced the following month in Dan Jurgens-written Justice League International #1) and the original, post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Booster Gold were not actually the same entity at all. (All was revealed in 2015's Convergence Booster Gold.)

It's that sort of confusion that made the New 52 such a frustrating experience for longtime fans. If the creative teams don't know what the new rules are, how can the readers?

Frankly, over a decade later, I'm still irritated. The less said about Booster Gold #47, the better.

Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: costumes dan jurgens jim lee new 52

Once a week, Brian Cronin asks Twitter for silly superhero suggestions for random artists to draw for his "Line it is Drawn" column at CBR.com. Last week, the topic was

That delightful exchange got the world this drawing, from artist Caanan Grall:

Brilliant! I think this is a masterful expression of everything I want in a comic book.

Thanks to Eskana for pointing this out.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: brian cronin caanan grall cbr.com eskana fan art werehawk

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

Whether you're chasing the Ethan Young 1:50 incentive variant cover or you're satisfied with one of the more affordable, Booster-less covers for this week's Dark Crisis #3, you'll want to know that our hero does get a small taste of the action inside:

It might surprise you that this is actually Booster's first meeting with all three of these villains. Raptor is relatively new to the DCU, but Crazy Quilt and Key have each been pestering DC's heroes for over half a century.

Personally, I admire their stick-to-it-iveness, if only because it means they've finally gotten their chance to have their butts kicked by Blue and Gold!

Buy any cover of this issue and make Skeets happy.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: blue beetle dark crisis new releases