Booster Gold (2007 Series) #35

August 28, 2010

Title: Destiny! Destiny! No Escaping That For Me!

Writers: Keith Giffen & J. M. DeMatteis
Pencils: Chris Batista & Pat Olliffe
Inks: Rich Perrotta & Pat Olliffe
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Cover: Kevin Maguire
Editor: Michael Siglain & Mike Carlin
Publisher: DC Comics

Continuing his journey to the past, Booster Gold and his former Justice League teammates Blue Beetle, Mr. Miracle, and Big Barda, find themselves battling the dreaded Hieronymous the Underachiever for the future of an alien world. This book is wonderfully demonstrative of just how much Booster Gold has evolved as a character. Mr. Miracle and Big Barda both treat him as though he’s still the sort of buffoon he was back in the day, but his best friend Ted Kord can tell the difference between “his” Booster and the one adventuring with him at the moment. In both cases, that shift is pronounced.

The interaction between these four (well, five if you add Skeets) is plenty funny, but it also works extremely well as a character piece. Even if you didn’t read the old Justice League International series that featured these characters together the first time around, you can easily tell that Booster has grown up a hell of a lot since he interacted with these guys. Considering that the writers of this book are the same ones who wrote Booster back then, that says an awful lot for the people who have shepherded his development since then.

Chris Batista continues to prove himself a worthy successor to JLI artist (and this issue’s cover artist) Kevin Maguire, with a style that evokes the old days but still has a modern flair. Pat Olliffe steps in for a few pages that lead for a pretty dandy cliffhanger, and while the shift is noticeable, it’s not terrible.

If you’re not reading this, you’re missing one of DC’s best books.

Rating: 8/10