Enjoyable nostalgia or a new direction for Booster?
The Booster Gold/Blue Beetle era JLA was the one I grew up with and I've always had a soft spot for the pair of rogues. They always add a air of fun to their books and I love the artwork by Dan Jurgans, so this should be a winner...however
Although I have found this series hugely enjoyable, largely due to Booster's antics always being able to muster a chortle or two, the writers, Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgans seem to be falling into that all too familiar modern trend with DC of meddling with past story lines (pesky kids). Both the 'Infinite Crisis' and 'Omac Project' stories get tampered with i this run of BOOster Gold. STOP THIS TINKERING DC BEFORE YOU RUIN A CLASSIC.
DC also seem unable to kill anyone off, please when you make a decision, stick to it. We not only meet 2 dead Blue Beetles in this issue, but the current one and one from the future!! I don't know about anyone else but all these alternate worlds, timelines and multiple heroes are beginning to all blur now. Get back to writing great stories without feeling the need to link them to any other storylines or publications (but then I guess thats how you sell books). Sorry rant over.
It looks like another Booster Gold will be joining the fray too if Rip Hunter has anything to do with it, he turns up at Boosters descendants home where he hands both a Booster uniform and a Supernova outfit out to Daniel and his girlfriend. I like Rip Hunter and I feel that Booster should have listened to him when he warned him at the start of the issue not to tinker with time and save Ted Kord. Rip is an expert on time travel after all and Booster is ..well...a bit thick, isn't he. Still Ted is his best friend and off he goes with the Beetles to save him. The future Blue Beetle explains away Rip's fears all very conveniently (I'm a tad suspicious of that one). Rip says that Kord's death is captured in 'solidified time' which can't be breached; Future Beetle says s'okay I have tech from the future that can make it malleable (a likely story). Off they pop for a showdown with the dastardly Max Lord (funny I never thought he was that bad back in his JLA days).
SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK YET DON'T READ THIS BIT. Needless to say Booster's interference saves Ted, he deflect's Lord's bullet making it miss Ted but gets hit himself. Luckily his goggles take the impact allowing Ted time to graciously 'stick the heid' on Max.
I'm sure that now the dynamic duo are together again action, and arguments are going to follow with hilarious results (BWAHHAHAHA), but I would like to see a writer like Gail Simone (The All-New Atom) or John Rogers (The Current Blue Beetle)handle the material which is bound to unfold in the next 'Blue and Gold' run. These writers know how to handle characters as big and round and loud as these two and would give the characters room to develop without losing their humour. I pray that this next chapter is unfettered by constant links to other storylines and alternate realities and that Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are allowed to have a free flowing and simple plot line because as any fan knows with these two it's them and not the story arc that truly matters, but I fear the worst. I guess all I want is for the dialogue, or banter between the two of them to take me back to those great JLA stories I grew up with.
Ohhh...I just thought...they have to introduce Guy Gardner to this book, the potential for mayhem could be tremendous!