Jordan N. posted on Sep. 9, 2020 at 9:25 AM
Pizza is definitely better than Dark Nights: Death Metal. You are probably better off!

Eskana posted on Sep. 9, 2020 at 11:21 AM
I was a little miffed that neither Booster nor Beetle showed up in Max's flashbacks... you'd think that murdered former friends/teammates would leave more of an impression. It's funny that, over time, it seems they consider Max more of a Wonder Woman enemy since she's the one that killed him. As far as I'm concerned, he's a JLI, if not Blue/Gold enemy.

Kevin posted on Sep. 9, 2020 at 4:38 PM
Eskana, I agree with you. I feel that a strong case could be made to name Max Lord the Archnemis of BG.

Erin posted on Sep. 9, 2020 at 7:18 PM
Generations Shattered has new Booster material written by Jurgens. But since this was an event pretty much everyone was fearing I'm not as excited as I normally would be.

It looks like an early Booster costume, not just because he has the collar but also the star design.

Erin posted on Sep. 7, 2020 at 5:11 PM
I've seen a number of people feeling this way about current comics lately and talked about it some. I do think a big part of it is lack luster writing in general, I'm reading old back issues and noticed a big change. Relationships between characters aren't nearly as close, take the bat family for example. Ever since the New 52 I've never got the impression their a group of people that actually like each other during events. Most of the time (with the exception of a few solo issues that actually have on panel bonding) I get the impression they barely function as a unit. I'd love to see them just hanging out, watching a movie or even eating dinner together. To have them work on their problems together instead of ignoring them.

More storylines get affected by editorial mandates to the point many plots under one title are dropped even though it makes no sense in the story. Beloved characters are tarnished with little reason besides apparent bias (Wally West comes to mind.) Fan favorites (like Harley Quinn) are given a big push even if the new direct doesn't make sense because there's not nearly enough build up.

I've heard that DC will invest more in digital comics and reduce prices. Which would be awesome if it's true. I don't get as many comics and I'm considering dropping altogether after next month. At least until I hear something that might interest me with the rumored big change happens next year. If it involves writers who's style I don't care for I'm not picking anything up but if not I might give it a change if it sounds interesting enough. I was disappointed by Marvel to the point I became apathetic to it and dropped everything. I'm getting close to that with DC.

Bea posted on Sep. 8, 2020 at 2:23 PM
Your comments definitely match how I've felt recently. I don't feel like I've given up on comics though so much as they've given up on me.

Admittedly, its been a while since comics were probably aimed at my demographic as I got into comics in my early teens around the end of the original Crisis (my first DC Comic was actually Booster Gold #6 - it had an origin story and Superman in it so seemed like a good starting place) but I'm not sure who they are aimed at now for the most part. It doesn't often feel like kids given some of the stuff going on in them. DC in particular seems to be going through a prolonged phase of everything must change/break down/be bleak with no status quo or direction. The stories I had hoped for with Rebirth DC's aim of making things more hopeful and fun again were only with us for a short time. We had an excellent Superman by Tomasi and Jurgens that was fun again with some nice Booster guest appearances where Booster acted like Booster. We had the return of friendship in the Titans with Wally West back. That's all gone now it seems and its back to no one trusting each other and a dash of 90s darkness from what I can see from the few I've purchased. I really struggle to justify the expense of buying new comics these days given most times it just set me up for disappointment and with no local comic shop where I am anymore it makes it harder to flick through one on the rack and find something that appeals. I have to take a risk from a write up as to whether to order it online. As for digital, they are definitely overpriced and maybe I'm a luddite but I do miss that feel of a new comic book in hand. The alternative of buying collected editions from the Bronze Age and post-Crisis age do at least offer satisfying stories though I do worry about the pricing structure for some of the collections. At least we had a great Booster collection out recently and at the start of the year we did get the Conglomerate in a nice collection.

I do really enjoy your blogs and this website. Hope the mid-year crisis blues pass for you and all of us soon. It's been an odd 2020.

Jordan N. posted on Sep. 8, 2020 at 6:17 PM
You are definitely not alone. I resonated with what Bea and Erin shared as well. I haven't bought a brand new comic in years it feels like (maybe not since Booster's appearance in Action). That will change though with his upcoming appearance in Batman Beyond. I spend most of my time buying collected editions being put out reprinting older material or digging through back issues to fill in gaps in my collection (been grabbing a lot of JLI & JLE issues that I was missing). I especially like finding DC Comics from the 70's and 80's. This not especially easy to do here in the Philippines where I currently live. I sure miss walking into my LCS back in the US!

I think may Bea makes a good point that so much of comics today don't seem to be aimed at children, but they also aren't aimed at the older fans who grew up with comics. The decision-making is perplexing, and their continual chase after the elusive "new fan", although necessary for future survival, often seems poorly thought out, ironically short-sighted, and editorially strangled to death. And it feels like most of the pros who've worked in comics for the past couple of decades have been slowly weeded out, often in favor of celebrity hires from other mediums, rather than slowly raising up and honing new writers from within the comics community. I tend to keep my nose in the back issues because when I look at the current rack, it is abysmally depressing. Heroes don't act like heroes, characters don't act consistently with their historic portrayal, and continuity has largely been jettisoned.

But through it all, we will always have Booster to look back to and enjoy. He really should be a model for comics today of how to introduce a new character who stands on his own, how to grow that character over time, and how to even shift his status quo without losing what makes the character special or ignoring his history. Truly Booster Gold is the best character find from the past 35 years.

Cort posted on Sep. 2, 2020 at 3:22 PM
The collection is awesome. It perfectly splices in the important bits from Millennium that allows for the reading of that end of the volume to flow very well. Its significantly thicker than the last volume too. Its very worthwhile. And I actually prefer it ending on the note of the JLI Secret Origins. It helps kinda show Boosters growing friendship and hijinx with that group.

Hope you get yours soon.

And I thought the same thing when I read that in Strange Adventures that someone showed me. King really doesn't understand/like Booster Gold at all. Shame.

Ah well, atleast we have some Jurgens Booster coming up in Batman Beyond. That's exciting.

Kevin posted on Sep. 2, 2020 at 7:57 PM
I pre ordered mine after you first announced Future Lost. Can't wait for my comic shop to call me!

Steven.palchinski@gmail.com posted on Sep. 2, 2020 at 9:22 PM
Sigh, I am more and more beginning to dislike the work of King. I don't want him messing with continuity anymore.

Erin posted on Sep. 7, 2020 at 1:37 AM
I always think "who'd pay for that" when I see HIC. I pre-ordered Booster Gold Future Lost and I'm just waiting for it in the mail. King doesn't get a lot of characters and he seems to like trolling fans of said characters. He was especially famous for riling up bat fans.