Showing posts 61 - 65 of 100 matching: batman
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
You'll find the third and final chapter of "The Gift" appearing in Batman #47 is in your Local Comic Shop today. CBR.com has the preview, demonstrating that Booster Gold has lost his mind and Bruce Wayne is a real bastard.
If you missed the beginning of this story — lucky you. But if you still want a copy, DC is releasing a second printing of Batman #45 today. The first printing sold out all 96,000+ copies. To put that in perspective, that one issue has already sold more than *twice* the number of copies of any single issue of Booster's recent 6-part "Booster Shot" story in Action Comics.
(Consider that Booster's first series was canceled because the character was rejected by 1980s audiences for being too immoral, yet the version of Booster that sells best in 2018 is a much, much bigger jerk than Dan Jurgens' original incarnation ever was. Go figure.)
Batman #47 isn't the only issue out today featuring Booster Gold and Batman. A more traditional interpretation of both characters can be found in Injustice 2 #26. Our hero doesn't play a big part in the proceedings, but at least he's easy to recognize. He's the only hero attending Batman's meeting wearing a t-shirt with his own face on it.
Who says we can't have it all? Booster boosters who like the beard can pick up Batman #47. And for those who prefer a clean-shaven hero, grab Injustice #26. Everybody's a winner today.
| | Tags: action comics batman cbr.com dan jurgens injustice new releases previews
Erin posted on May. 17, 2018 at 11:56 AM
Looks like King will be writing more of his version of Booster according to his Twitter.
mina posted on May. 17, 2018 at 2:51 PM
I am absolutely appalled by this representation of Booster Gold. I can't wrap my head around it. What does Jurgens think of all this, I wonder.
Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on May. 17, 2018 at 3:27 PM
Jurgens is far too polite to openly say anything despairing a fellow writer, but he did make some oblique comments a few weeks back about how some comics contain characters and motivations so opaque that they actively discourage new readers. I took that to be a criticism of BATMAN 45 (which, frankly, is a story that was written only for existing fans of King's personal Batman mythos).
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
My shopping list for today's trip to my Local Comic Shop:
· Action Comics Special #1. Will we see any Booster Gold? Who cares. I'd buy it for either Dan Jurgens or Mark Russell alone. Maybe I should buy two copies.
· DC Nation #0. Who can pass up a DC comic for a quarter?
· Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #5. No superheroes here, but Mark Russell again. 'Nuff said.
· Zero Hour: Crisis in Time reprint collection hardcover. Dan Jurgens introduction, updated timeline, new bonus material, and a guaranteed Booster Gold apperance? Yeah, I probably need to take a closer look at this.
Am I missing anything? Hmm. Anything? Oh, yeah. The follow-up to Batman #45.
As seen in the issue preview at DCComics.com, Batman #46 skips to "One Year Later" after the previous issue. What's Booster been doing in that time? Answer: growing a beard!
Looking good! But looks aren't everything, and, sadly, Booster is, if anything, dumber in this issue. The preview has him doubling down on his determination to duplicate "For the Man Who Has Everything" for Batman by telling him that in an alternate timeline, he loved Catwoman. So kill your parents and get the girl! *Sigh*
I sure am looking forward to that Action Comics Special.
UPDATE 2018-05-02: No Booster in the Action Comics Special. Yes Booster in Injustice #25. Not an ideal trade, but I'll take it. They're both way better than the mess that is Batman #46.
| | Tags: action comics batman dan jurgens dccomics.com injustice mark russell new releases previews
ariel_justel posted on May. 2, 2018 at 4:26 PM
Please, let me know the differences between this new Zero Hour edition and the original. I would like to know to decide if I should order it or not (I'm from Argentina). Thanks in advance!
Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on May. 2, 2018 at 9:44 PM
Ariel, the hardback is little more than a reprint of the original ZERO HOUR mini-series with a few bonus pages of behind-the-scenes production material thrown in. Personally, I looked it over and then spent the $30 on back issues of ACTION COMICS instead.
G-Man posted on May. 3, 2018 at 5:08 PM
I kinda digged the issue not gonna lie. I'll honestly take any form of booster in any way, even if it is a more dumb booster. I'm inclined to believe it's a booster from earlier in his life kinda like JLI days, instead of Booster from Booster Shot.
and the beard is just coooooool
Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on May. 3, 2018 at 5:37 PM
Hey, G-Man, I'm not telling you what to like. That's not my hobby. I'm just chronicling Booster Gold. And the reckless idiot who appears in BATMAN #45-46 under the pen of Tom King is not Booster Gold, at least not as he's ever been portrayed before. (This Booster cannot be rectified with previous incarnations. Pre-Flashpoint Booster didn't have this sort of power until he was responsible enough to use it, and post-Flashpoint Booster has never known Ted Kord.)
Not all stories are created equal. If as a reader you have to perform mental gymnastics to make a familiar character fit into a story, the problem isn't the character, it's the writer. I'm not going to ignore that failure just because I think Tony Daniel's art is pretty.
I prefer to hang out with my friends, not just people who dress like them.
ariel_justel posted on May. 3, 2018 at 7:39 PM
Boosterrific, thanks for your comments on the Zero Hour HC. Does it have glossy paper storck or the old TP newsprint quality paper? Cosmic Oddisey Deluxe Edition was a let down because the paper stock used was nothing compared with the original prestige format paper...
And by the way, I agree with everything you said about King and this "Booster". People usually forget that Booster was pretty competent in the original JLI. He was funny but the most intelligent and heroic part of Blue and Gold. All this was kind of reckon in the last decade or so to make it look like Booster was the buffon and Bettle was the serious one...
Erin posted on May. 3, 2018 at 8:36 PM
G-Man: Like what you like but I agree with Boosterrific. Booster was never dumb like this. Booster got in trouble for stealing a time machine BECAUSE everyone knew how terrifying it was if the wrong person changed time. In fact in Jurgens run he's given a death sentence without a trial because of this. The biggest changes he attempted to do before becoming a time master were hinted at trying to save Superman and Ted's lives by potentially dying in their place.
Why would Booster even attempt this "gift" since neither Bruce or Selina will remember it? Why couldn't he show them another timeline at Vanishing Point instead of risking all of creation for no solid reason?
Booster won't have access to a time machine in JLI as his was wrecked and later on Rip was involved. Regardless of who Booster is to him Rip Hunter would never give this Booster access to time travel.
Booster is actually very smart and has tricked Lex Luthor in the past. I don't know where King gets his information because there's A LOT of mistakes with his version including how time travel and their equipment works. King doesn't get the concept of solid time for example as I'm pretty sure it would be hard to change the past because of this and by now the changes should be permanent.
Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on May. 3, 2018 at 9:00 PM
Ariel, I'm sorry, I didn't pay much attention to the paper quality. I noticed that it's nicer than my original newsprint floppies, but I didn't pay much attention than that after I determined there was no real reason for me to spend money on something I already have.
(And sorry if it sounds like we're piling on, G-Man. We're just being protective of what appears to us to be character assassination of our hero. You keep right on liking what you like. The beard is pretty cool.)
Erin posted on May. 3, 2018 at 10:24 PM
G-Man: I was in a rush when I wrote that so sorry if I came across harsh. I'm just not a fan of King 's handling of characters
G-Man posted on May. 5, 2018 at 6:57 PM
No no you guys are right.
Completely right. I went back and read them, and then some classics from Jurgens run in 2007.
My "booster" goggles have blinded me. I still love seeing booster any time, any where. Just not in this dimension. Him being an idiot to protect the time stream and his cover is fantastic and one of the reasons I love him so much. "greatest hero you've never heard of" and all that. This isn't him protecting the time stream, it's him killing it. And not in the rad sense. In the bad sense.
I'm still gonna get the next issue though for the beard.
Friday, April 20, 2018
On Monday, I expressed my sincere apprehensions about what I was seeing in previews for Batman #45, released on Wednesday. Now that I've had the issue and read it multiple times, I am relieved to say that my worst fears weren't realized. Writer Tom King's version of Booster Gold isn't a monster. He's just an idiot.
It's easy to see what King was trying to do with the issue. Clearly influenced by the best deconstructionist superhero tales of Alan Moore and Frank Miller, he seeks to show us A) how the world is worse off without a Batman, and more importantly, B) how Batman isn't the same sort of hero as Superman. This comparison is overt, as Moore's "For The Man Who Has Everything..." from the 1985 Superman Annual #11 is specifically mentioned as Booster's motivation. (Is it mere coincidence that the issue was released the same day as Action Comics #1000?) Unfortunately, the clumsy execution of King's plan leaves a lot to be desired.
The biggest problem here is that while King's inspiration for the story might have been high art, his template for Booster Gold was a Saturday morning cartoon, specifically Diedrich Bader's performance in Justice League Action where the character has been stripped down into a two-dimensional jester. Sadly, what works in an 11 minute cartoon for kids doesn't translate into the traditional DC Universe, especially not in the heavy story King is attempting here. Booster's irresponsible attitude about a world gone mad — a world he created! — isn't fun. It's downright villainous.
Poor characterization isn't limited to Booster Gold. Frankly, Booster and Skeets are the only characters in the story given anything resembling depth. One-note Dick Grayson murders heroes. Jason Todd sells weapons. Bruce Wayne is a selfish fop. These aren't characters; they're paper dolls. Why? How? It doesn't matter. Like the graphic violence, characterization exist herein only for shock value. King explains nothing.
In a story celebrating comic book continuity and superhero motivation, there's no need for Booster be so irritatingly incompetent. With a little more effort, King could use Booster to accomplish all of the goals necessary to drive the plot without ignoring years of character development. And if Booster wouldn't work for where the story needs to go, there are plenty of other established characters in the DC Universe who King could have used to achieve the same ends without libeling Booster Gold's character. Anyone who has read Superman Annual #11 should be able to come up with a few. (Chronos, Per Degaton, Professor Zoom, Time Trapper, Doctor Destiny, and Bat-Mite come to mind off the top of my head.) Back in the day, writers were even known to create new characters when they needed them for specific tasks.
I applaud King's intentions. I would always prefer for a writer to aim high and miss than not try at all. But in this case, in light of his clear misunderstanding about who Booster Gold is in the DCU and his disinterest in exploring the characters he is working with, the best I can say about Batman #45 is "it could have been worse." I'm not particularly eager for the follow up.
| | Tags: batman tom king
Shawn posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 10:47 AM
Though I'm not as critical about Batman 45 as you, I get your displeasure with the issue. It's hard to see Booster act like an idiot when there has been so much character development before. This was the original synopsis for the issue: “THE TRAVELERS” part one! Booster Gold has come to Gotham City, and he’s enlisting Batman and Catwoman to go on a time-traveling mission to rescue…Booster Gold! It seems a younger Booster Gold has gone back in time to kidnap an even younger version of himself, and to rescue his own past, Booster must pursue both of his previous incarnations through Batman’s history to find out what is going on. While the issue turned out nothing like what they previewed, I'm hoping issue#46 and 47 do and we'll be dealing with an older more mature Booster trying to correct a younger idiot Booster's mistakes. But we'll see. Sidenote In another of King's comics this week a Booster Gold fan club T-shirt was worn by Scott Free in Mister Miracle #8.
Herb posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 12:40 PM
So now Skeets has a time machine? Man, if there’s anything that’s inconsistant with how writers handle Booster is how he travels through time. I’m surprised there isn’t any documentation writers can look up when they decide to use him
ariel_justel posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 1:04 PM
I'm dissapointed. When I knew King was going to write Booster I felt instantly worried. I don't understand all the fuss about King's writting... it's just meh to me.
Anyway, I was worried but Dan Jurgens told me he was confident that King was going to write a good Booster because they had been talking about Booster.
I can only hope that King has a nice surprise for Booster's fans in future issues. Otherwise, this will be a complete let down.
ariel_justel posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 1:12 PM
One more thing that troubles me: in a recent interview, Tony Daniel said: I didn’t have much experience with Booster Gold. I learned about him after getting the first script. ".
I mean, you're a comic book artist for years at DC and you don't know Booster Gold? There was a time when you had to have "minimum education and knolwedge of the comics medium" in order to work in comics.
I don't think Booster is that much of an obscure character . First post-crisis new hero, new hero paradigm, two comic book series, main protagonist of the first DC's weekly series, appareances in JLU, Justice League Action, Smallville, and so on.
Greg posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 1:31 PM
I absolutely agree with Shawn. This is a younger, more self centered Booster but he was never heartless. From Dan's original series and all through JLI he would never handle witnessing a death like that. In JLI 25 he and Beetle were so distraught over Caitiff's death/suicide that they did not claim the reward and here he just flies away from Hal's body? I don't think so.
shan posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 9:08 PM
agree with all the previous comments. booster was just plain out of character in this issue. I was cringing the entire time. booster is sometimes an idiot but he has always had a big heart (which is what drew me to his character in the first place-- he might not be super smart but he gives everything 110% which I can appreciate), something king obviously hasn't bothered to read about. this whole issue just screams of a half-assed idea that a) has been done a million times in DC comics... seriously how many times has someone 'saved' batman's parents only to have the entire world go to shit, and b) should have been done with someone besides booster if he wanted to just write an nonempathetic, irresponsible moron. Booster and Ted have always been the big bleeding hearts of JLI and to read this issue it's just.. incredibly disrespectful to both Dan and Booster's years of incredible character development. very disappointed.
shan posted on Apr. 20, 2018 at 9:11 PM
oh and did I mention the dumb amount of super basic booster info that they managed to get wrong?? booster has now apparently programmed skeets himself? skeets can time travel? it's like when artists get character eye colors wrong; just pure laziness.
Diego Segovia posted on Apr. 22, 2018 at 10:02 PM
Booster seems like he's a bit immature in this issue. Maybe he IS a younger version of Booster from the comics. But like Shan said, the amount of bullshit information they gave about Booster Gold just shows that they don't care about the character and he's just using him to further along the plot of this weird alternate timeline.
Erin posted on Apr. 23, 2018 at 6:41 PM
If King talked to Jurgens why doesn't he seem to know how time travel and the characters work? Was there a miscommunication? Solid time is supposed to be hard to mold and breaking it is supposed to cause bad things for the timeline. But Booster just decided to do it ?
I've seen it said that King writes for the tumblr crowd with those versions of characters and I tend to agree.
Monday, April 16, 2018
NO. Not even slightly awesome, you monster.
The above image was released late last week as part of the preview for this week's Batman #45. While I'm always reluctant to pre-judge a story before I've read it, I have to say that in all the years I've been tracking Booster Gold appearances, nothing has disappointed me more than what I've seen from this issue so far.
Before you read any further, know that I'm about to rant about what could be considered spoilers.
3...
2...
1...
Still here? As we knew from last week's released previews, this story opens with Tony Daniel's drawing of Hal Jordan blowing out his brains with his ring. Very violently. Very graphically. Even putting aside the moral issues of suicide, that's not the sort of thing I want to see in my DC Comics.
But now we have the dialog that goes along with those pictures, and Jordan's death is nothing nearly so disgusting as the words coming out of Booster Gold's mouth in reaction.
Watching a man shoot himself in the head IS NOT AWESOME. Not a little bit. Not kind of. Never.
At no point in the published history of Booster Gold has the character ever expressed such an ugly sentiment. The character is a hero, yes a hero who has made many foolhardy decisions over the years, but never has he willfully allowed harm to come to someone else or glorified such violence or death in any way. To see those words coming out of the mouth of Michael Jon Carter literally turns my stomach.
It only makes matters worse knowing that this sort of shocking vulgarity isn't in a standalone Elseworlds book, but in Batman, DC's best selling ongoing title. I haven't purchased an issue of Batman in years, but I cringe at the thought that some parent might buy this to introduce Booster Gold to their kid. (As if shooting violence wasn't commonplace enough in schoolyards in 2018.)
If I sound like a sanctimonious prude, maybe I am. Maybe I'm overreacting because it's my hero espousing something I'd expect to hear from an ISIS recruit. But what would fans of Batman or Superman think if their idols said such things? In the DC Universe, Booster is a celebrity. In the real world, if a Kardashian reacted this way, how would their fans respond? I doubt there'd be much applause.
To be fair to issue writer Tom King, I haven't read the full story, and perhaps this is a trick. Maybe that's not Booster at all, but someone wearing his skin. Maybe it's an alternate evil timeline with a Booster Gold too immature or psychologically damaged to understand the callousness of his words. Maybe this takes place inside a simulation, and Booster's comment is a clumsy response to a well-crafted high-definition computer generated hologram. Maybe the Cosmic Cube has turned my hero into a Nazi. Weirder things have happened in comics. Still, I find it revolting that any DC Comics character should be implied to think such thoughts, much less give them voice.
Batman #45 gets the benefit of my doubt. But even if King and Daniel find some way to redeem the story, I doubt I'll be recommending anyone buy it. Personally, I don't think anyone needs a comic in their collection that shows Green Lantern's brains falling out of his skull while someone else laughs at it.
| | Tags: batman death tom king
Erin posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 1:52 AM
I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. Admittedly I only checked a few places but I haven't seen many people upset about this. I did think about how horrible it is that this is potentially the first time someone is reading the character. Given what King said in interviews I don't have much hope. I personally haven't been a fan of most of his work I read.
Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 2:27 AM
On the up side, Erin, you're the first person to use the latest mathematical Captcha revision, so now I know it works. Thank you for your shared outrage!
Shan posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 4:28 AM
THANK YOU!! I felt the same when I read the preview, yikes! Even if it is some kind of trick honestly it's done in such poor taste and obviously only for shock value. Booster would never say someone committing suicide is anything less than absolutely tragic, god knows how many thoughts he's had like that himself in his past, and not to mention that Hal blowing his brains out on the left side of his head is painfully similar to how his best friend was killed. Not very happy with Tom right now.
Boosterrific [Official Comment] posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 5:52 AM
It's not just King's fault. Daniel didn't have to draw a head wound so explicitly. And, ultimately, DC editorial reviewed, approved, released, and promoted it. There's plenty of blame to go around.
ariel_justel posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 6:49 AM
We still have to read the issue but I don't have to much hope on King. I don't know why his Batman run is so highly regarded... For me it is an ugly thing from the beggining.
The first time I heard King was going to write Booster three things came to my mind: he won't write Booster properly and we are going to have suicide/murder and psicologycal issues a plenty.
Still, I hope King proves wrong... For once!
Erin posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 10:18 AM
Even if it's a trick it's played as a joke. A suicide and Booster's reaction is played as a joke. It makes Booster look like a sociopath. I keep thinking of this take vs. Generation Lost when Booster was horrified that people thought Ted killed himself. I wasn't hopeful given how King has written other characters.
Really? Well that is good news. Glad it works.
CDN posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 11:11 AM
Get enough people to @ him, DC, and Suicide Prevention Foundations and DC will retcon this out of existence in a heartbeat
JoFridman posted on Apr. 17, 2018 at 7:50 PM
I have to say, he did not pass the pages of Hal killing himself and Booster watching him, but I feel that it is a pretty big turn of the character that I like, maybe it's because in my country Chile in general there are no massacres or this kind of problems, and in English-speaking countries take these issues less lightly
Anyway, I'm very interested, besides, just for having those pages of Hal committing suicide I would buy it, it's a picture as shocking as seeing it become Parallax, oh, and I forgot this was a BG blog...
ElGrandePadre posted on Apr. 18, 2018 at 5:07 PM
Just read the issue. It's Booster all right, just written completely and utterly out of character. Tom King is a hack.
Monday, April 9, 2018
I gave you the new cover to Batman #46 Friday, and the DC Batman Panel at C2E2 this past weekend gave us some exciting news about what you might find behind that cover.
Fair warning: the following post has light spoilers for next week's Batman #45, so cover your eyes if you don't want to know too much before you have the issue in your hands.
3...
2...
1...
Still here? Ok. One additional warning! The preview images DC has released for this issue that can be found at any of the following links are uncommonly violent. (I might be getting prudish in my advancing age, but golly gee, maybe the Comics Code wasn't such a bad thing.)
Now, as I was saying, according to Newsarama's coverage of C2E2, quote
DC Comics has confirmed during their Batman panel panel at Chicago's C2E2 convention that the Booster Gold team up arc starting in April 18's Batman #45 will take place in an alternate world where Booster Gold has gone back in time to save Thomas and Martha Wayne - and inadvertently prevents Bruce Wayne's birth.
That news seems to come directly from writer Tom King himself. Rich Johnson has more detailed spoilers at BleedingCool.com for those of you who really want the dirt.
The rest of us will find out what the big deal is next week when Batman #45 will be in our Local Comic Shops. I advise reading it on an empty stomach.
| | Tags: batman bleedingcool.com c2e2 conventions newsarama.com rich johnson
