Yesterday, TGB posted his strong dislike for the art in Booster Gold #34 on his blog, The Greatest Blog Youve Never Heard Of. His opinion is reflective of that posted earlier on the livejournal blog of erin_starlight, erin-starlight.

All of this outcry has to raise the question: how strong a role does art style play in the success of Booster Gold? Traditionally all super hero comics have been presented in naturalistic detail, and Booster Gold is no exception. Is Giffen's use of caricature such a dramatic departure from the norm as to be offensive to his audience? Or is it just too hard to maintain suspension of disbelief for a costumed melodrama when the adventures are rendered in a cartoonish style? Art appreciation is almost entirely subjective to the viewer, and I suspect that the discord that Giffen has struck in his audience has more to do with expectations than anything else.

These harsh criticisms put me in mind of much, much worse comic book art from the DC Brazilian Explosion of the mid 1990s. (Andrew Prenger just reviewed Extreme Justice on his blogspot blog, Booster Gold Fan Club. That, ladies and gentlemen, was bad art.) But maybe it was a style that was more palatable for its genre than what is found in Booster Gold #34.

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Earlier this month, Erin commented on a panel from Time Masters #2 (1990) that has in retrospect become something of an Easter Egg. The observation was so amusing, that I thought I'd bring it to the attention of a larger audience. That panel contains the following note tacked on a bulletin board behind Rip Hunter:

Of course what makes the note so amusing is that in the panel, Rip Hunter happens to be on the telephone with Booster Gold.

Two decades would pass before Hunter was revealed to be Booster's son in Booster Gold, Volume 2, #1,000,000. As Erin said, "See, he's always known about future events before readers." Now that's some retroactive continuity I can get behind! Everyone remember to call your dad and wish him a Happy Father's Day this weekend. (And thanks for bringing this to our attention, Erin!)

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This weekend I found two posts by bloggers who note Booster Gold's growing importance to the DC Universe. The first is by erin_starlight, who makes the case that Booster Gold is the leader of the reassembled JLI. The second is by Keith Davis, who has counted Booster appearances in June and concluded that the only character more relevant to current DC publications is Batman. Here's to unscientific studies that support the greatness of Booster Gold!

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The ink is barely dry on the first issue, and already people have made up their minds about Giffen's & DeMatteis' work on Booster Gold. Many think the humor is forced or over-the-top. Some think the setting is too dark. Others worry about the effect of overexposure from Generation Lost. And some people are already concerned about the fate of the new supporting cast, specifically the future of young Rani. Take a read of erin_starlight's Livejournal and see what you think. There are some valid point in there.

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