Today you'll find Astro City #6 on the shelves of your Local Comic Shop. It has no ties to Booster Gold. It doesn't even take place in the DCnU. It isn't even published as a DC imprint: it's a Vertigo book! In spite of this — or maybe because of it — this title gets my vote as the best super hero comic on the market today.

In fairness, I've been a big Astro City fan for years. I consider Kurt Busiek's poor health (the reason the title is published so sporadically) to be the biggest tragedy in comics in recent years after Booster's extended absence from the DCnU, of course. Astro City consistently manages to capture the awe and hope of super hero comics that is missing in the DC and Marvel Universes, what with their constant civil wars and forever evilness. It's just fun to read comics where the good guys not only win, but also manage to avoid billions of dollars in property damage and hundreds of thousands of collateral casualties.

If you're still interested in reading comics but don't care for a DC Universe without Booster Gold, consider giving Astro City a read. I think you'll be glad you did.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: astro city reviews

Whenever Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite get together, things have a tendency to get out of hand. For instance, take their meeting in Superman and Batman: World's Funnest, released 13 years ago today.

When Mxy accidentally kills Batman, Bat-Mite retaliates by killing Superman. Things only go downhill from there. Soon they've destroyed the Phantom Zone, Earth-2, Earth-C-Minus, the World Trade Center (seriously), Jack Kirby's Fourth World, and Rip Hunter's Time Sphere and the Blue Beetle's Bug (both on the same page!). Even Booster Gold can't avoid the destruction.

That tiny panel behind Mxy's hat above is Booster's (and Skeet's) only appearance in this issue, but don't let that deter you from enjoying this parody of traditional DC Comics stories throughout the ages, assuming you can find it in the back-issue bin of your Local Comic Shop.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: bat-mite history mr mxyzptlk reviews

If I told you I'd found a comic where a would-be hero from the future traveled back in time to 1986 to use a high-tech suit and flight powers to fight crime, what comic do you think I might be talking about? No, it's not Booster Gold.

That premise familiar to Booster Gold fans is the foundation for Rocket Girl, a new comic by Brandon Montclaire and Amy Reeder. Teenage future-cop Dayoung Johansson travels back in time to investigate past crimes that may be responsible for disturbing her utopian present. It's hard to tell where this is going from the first issue, but it feels to me a little like Top Ten meets Time Cop.

The first issue was released two weeks ago, but you can download a digital copy at ImageComics.com. You can find a preview on ComicBookResources.com Fans of time travel stories — and Booster Gold fans looking for something to read these days — might want to take a look.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: amy reeder brandon montclaire image reviews robot girl

The Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told" was first broadcast nearly a decade ago, but the AV Club is just now getting around to reviewing it. I'm doing much better: I waited only a week before reviewing the review.

Regular AV Club contributor Oliver Sava opens his review by comparing the episode to the Tom Stoppard play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Sava doesn't follow through on this reference, instead turning his attention to other, stronger influences on the episode. However, once mentioned, this comparison becomes worthy of at least a brief exploration.

If you've never seen Rosencrantz — it's a favorite of mine, and I recommend it without reservation — the play is a meta-textural, existential tragicomedy. The misadventures of its protagonists, minor supporting characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, are informed by the audience's knowledge of their fate in their original source material. By comparing what the audience knows about the protagonists to what they think they know, Stoppard is able to ask a variety of questions about the meaning (or lack thereof) of life. Honestly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is the highest form of fan fiction.

In a similar way, "The Greatest Story Never Told" is a more enriching episode if the audience is familiar with the character of of Booster Gold. Writer Andrew Kreisberg uses Booster, a character generally perceived as infuriatingly selfish, to define heroism within the DC Universe. What does it mean to be a hero when a common house fire is insignificant compared to a reality-warping magical disaster? Is heroism objective or subjective?

Sava's AV Club review doesn't explicitly call "The Greatest Story Never Told" recommended watching, but any time a televised cartoon for children can introduce deeper subjects for its young audience's consideration, it deserves a look. If it can do so with Booster Gold, it becomes must-watch television.

You can find the full review at AVClub.com.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: avclub.com justice league unlimited oliver sava reviews television

Since Booster Gold had saved Superman's life in their last co-adventure, it was only fair that Superman return the favor when a murdering time-traveler came hunting Booster Gold. (That sort of thing happens all the time in Metropolis.)

Booster's past/future deeds began catching up with him when the Linear Man seized and tortured Skeets in Adventures of Superman #476. Fortunately for Booster, Superman was ready and willing to get involved. Unfortunately for Superman, some forces of nature are best left unchallenged.

For his trouble, Superman found himself amnesic and lost, indiscriminately bouncing from era to era through time. In the present, Booster promised Lois Lane that he would seek out help for Superman, but readers never saw him follow through.

Did Booster ever contact Kilowog as promised? It is hard to imagine that Booster wouldn't keep his word, even though Superman did ultimately find his way home without Booster's assistance. Sometimes, it really is the thought that counts.

Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Tags: reviews superman