World Famous Comics: Showcase Presents: Booster Gold, Vol. 1
Showcase Presents: Booster Gold, Vol. 1
By: Dan Jurgens, John Byrne Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 624 Publication Date: March 26, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: March 26, 2008
Product Description: Over 500 pages of classic adventures are included in this value-priced volume! From thedistant future comes Booster Gold, one of the heroes of 52, in this massive graphic that collects his 1980s solo series.This former football star comes to our era accompanied by his computerized companion Skeets, aiming to use Skeets knowledge of history to make himself famous and wealthy.But Boosters motives ulimately make him a hero. This volume features appearances by Superman, the Justice League of America and more heroes.
The golden boy of DC Comics Nowadays, if superheroes are your cup of tea, you can find ones with nearly any personality quirk you could think of. But a couple decades back, this wasn't as much the case, so a hero like Booster Gold had a nice original feel. In particular, Booster was one of the shallowest heroes around: vain and interested primarily in money and glory. He was perfectly willing to save the world, but he wanted everyone to know he did it, and that he did it well.
Written and drawn by Dan Jurgens in the post-Crisis DC Universe, Booster Gold was introduced in issue 1 of the magazine of the same name. Though this is his first story, Booster is already an established hero in Metropolis, trying to take over Superman's territory. He is assisted by a small flying robot named Skeet and initially is fighting a mysterious group called the 1000. Within a few issues, we go back to the beginning of Booster's story: he is really Michael Carter, a disgraced football player from the 25th century, who has traveled back in time with some high tech devices to give him his powers. His first real adventure averted an attempted presidential assassination, giving him a good reputation right off the bat.
Other issues deal with additional fights with the 1000, a trip back to the future and tussles with Superman and Lex Luthor. All the while, Booster has other things to cope with: movie deals, commercial endorsements and the like. In these efforts, he is assisted by his agent Dirk Davis and loyal assistant Trixie Collins. Booster's saga in his own comic would end in issue 25, so the entire run is in this Showcase volume, though he would still hang out with the Justice League.
Perhaps the great strength in these comics is that Jurgens doesn't play Booster for laughs, though his personality could lend itself to humor. Instead, this is regular superhero fare, and this only emphasizes how shallow Booster really is. This is good, but not great material, and its not surprising that Booster Gold never really took off: despite his spotlight seeking, Booster will never get out of the shadows of the DC greats like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. But if you want to read the stories of a slightly change-of-page 1980s superhero, Booster Gold is a decent read.
Fun from start to finish In his introduction, Booster Gold was considered not-your-normal hero. He was in it for the fame, fortune, and girls. While other heroes might disappear after a good deed, Booster Gold would stick around as long as it took for the reporters and television to arrive. Not your normal good guy, his flippant yet fun attitude made his comics different. This collection holds Booster Gold issues 1-25, along with a single issue of Action Comics where he met up with Superman again.
The stories here are fun, and there is this mysterious quality about him for a while as his origin is slowly revealed. Who is he? How did he get a Legion flight ring? Was he some other hero in disguise? The answers come quickly, but the fun keeps on going. I keep stressing fun because it's important you understand this isn't some dark brooding Batman comic. This is a hero who doesn't take himself seriously very often, and wants the glory for every good deed.
The artwork throughout is nice, but naturally the best issue is the one penciled by John Byrne. Still, there's not a shabby page in the bunch. Oh yeah, and Skeets is in there too!
I hope they release the next Showcase volume soon. With Booster's recent more serious turn in his new series, it's interesting to see his lighter side when he first started out.
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