Booster Gold #25
Back in the ';80s, the first time he had an ongoing series, Booster Gold—DC's hero from the 25th Century—was canceled at his 25th issue.
Granted, this week's Booster Gold #25 was technically the 27th issue of the comic's relaunch (counting #0 and #1,000,000, both of which came out during the comic's first year in print while it was being written by superstar Geoff Johns and film executive Jeff Katz), but it's still a boon for fans and creators; I've always thought of #25 as being a kind of landmark issue. If you make it there and aren't canceled, then your odds of long-term survival are decent.
Rip Hunter discovered who was working with the Black Beetle this issue, and Skeets found some new information that will eventually lead him to realize who the Black Beetle himself is. All the while, Booster was fighting Damien, having tea with Alfred and discussing the DC Universe's greatest secret with the new Batman. All in all, a pretty typical month for our time-jumping hero.
But not for the Gold Exchange, where we've got Eddie Argos, the singer from Art Brut, to kick off our monthly Q&A session with Dan Jurgens. In recognition of Booster Gold reaching #25—the same number at which the series was canceled last time around—Eddie went back in time to the period just after the Millennium crossover had rocked the DC Universe and dug out a question from Booster Gold (Volume 1) #25 for us. Dig it, and check out Art Brut Vs. Satan, the most recent record from the group, which features a song called "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes," which Argos told me "was originally called ';Boosterrific!' and was inspired by Geoff Johns' and Jeff Katz's work on Booster Gold."
Eddie Argos: The last time Booster Gold had an issue 25 didn't Martian Manhunter mention that Booster was an important part in the chain of humfan evoloution. What happened to that? Has that happened and I missed it?
Dan Jurgens: No, it hasn't happened yet, but I think we've been quite consistent with what was printed back in Booster Gold #25, volume 1. At the time we said that he would ascend to become a very important figure and that's clearly happening. It's also clear that it's early in the process.
Russell Burlingame: Is that first splash-page—the one where Booster appears to be standing in the snow—happening at the beginning of the issue or is he telling this whole story from the perspective of standing in the snow with Dick at the end?
DJ: He's telling the story from the perspective of being with Dick in the end. Page 1 is basically at the end of the story.
RB: A new chalkboard! I know that some of these are going to be real hints and some red herrings—and we've already talked about some of the near-future plans—but tell me: Will Rip get his Toaster Tarts? The suspense is killing me!
DJ: Toaster Tarts are a highly prized commodity in the DCU, far surpassing any benefit J'onn was able to derive from Oreos.
RB: In all seriousness, I feel like the "Armageddon 2011" tease has been on a previous blackboard or something—am I right? And is that a story we'll see in the coming year?
DJ: Could be. Sometimes the blackboard pans out, other times..., well, you know!
RB: Would such a story—hypothetically speaking—have to do with the fact that Hunter has written "Waverider still lives" on the board?
DJ: It would make for a perfect connection, would it not?
RB: Is Skeets' "skin" still made of Waverider? Is that canon, or did that version of Skeets get all blowed up at the end of 52?
DJ: In terms of how I approach the characters and series, that version of Skeets was blown up.
RB: So one of the series' enduring mysteries gets a pretty serious clue here: "Aunt Gladys?" That's, ahem, a name you don't hear all the time. But Booster seems followed by it! I know you had suggested to me an explanation for the "Gladys" references in Giffen and DeMatteis' I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League miniseries—want to float that for the readers?
DJ: Hmm...not yet!
Not to dodge anything, but we're saving that for print one day. We just need to find the right time for it.
RB: Now, if this "Blair" girl—Butler?—were going to turn out to be his mother, it seems unlikely that Rip would stand in the way of Booster's date. Is the Black Beetle really this important to handle right now or does he just maybe not want to think about his dad hooking up with someone who isn't his mom?
DJ: Whoa! You're getting way ahead of me here.
I don't think we're ready to tackle the concept of who, exactly, Rip's mother might be. There is a great deal more that needs to play out in terms of Booster and Rip's relationship first.
RB: What was the sense in sneaking into the cave to steal those photos, and keep them from Dick's ostensibly prying eyes, if Booster was just going to turn around and give it to him a minute later?
DJ: Ever started out on one path with every intention of following it only to change your mind, throw up your hands and essentially say, "What the hell?"
Remember that it was Rip who essentially told Booster to go get those photos. Booster wasn't as committed to seeing it through and when Dick showed up simply decided to come clean. That's quite consistent with his character.
RB: Hey, look at that! T.O. Morrow was totally my #1 suspect in the story I wrote a couple months ago!
DJ: How about that? We tried to play honest and concoct something that would fit together, which also means setting it up in such a way that people might figure it out.
RB: I like that Morrow noticed the hair. Is that something you've been meaning to write in over the last couple of years, but people who knew Rip well enough to notice are few and far between?
DJ: Yes. We also wanted to drop a couple more hints that Rip is clearly trying to hide his real identity from anyone who might be interested. As blond as his hair was, might someone not see him, Booster and Daniel together and say, "Hey! Are you guys related?"
RB: "Impossible!" -Are we to assume that Skeets now knows the identity of the Black Beetle?
DJ: No. We are to assume that Skeets has further insight as to who he might be.
RB: Simply because I know readers will ask: Where in the timeline does this Black Beetle relate to the Black Beetle currently acting up in the Blue Beetlesecond feature?
DJ: That will be addressed in an upcoming issue. But this story takes place AFTER his appearance in Blue Beetle.
RB: I like Dick/Batman's interpretation of Booster's cover as "like a secret identity." It seems like he's trying to break down this MASSIVE information into something he can relate to.
DJ: Yeah. I don't think Booster has yet grasped the level of importance he'll eventually have. How can anyone else?
Booster understands he's supposed to protect the timestream. But I don't think he really comprehends the magnitude of the job and where it will take him.
RB: I also really like the way Booster explains the old Hitler question to Dick. Clearly the use of Lex (by Jason Goldstein) for that same parallel was a little less convincing, partly because Luthor has been working on such a grand, global/universal scale for a while now, but certainly someone like Dick can understand both the temptation to "prevent" the Joker AND what's wrong with doing so.
DJ: It isn't a debate we want to get into repeatedly, but it's certainly a worthwhile notion to address every now and then. And, yeah, Dick is the kind of guy who'd understand.
RB: I know you had mentioned a Batman story to me at the New York Comic Con. Now that we've used the seeds planted in #24 to create a relationship of trust between Dick and Booster, what are the odds that we'll see the two of them pair up again before Bruce is back?
DJ: There isn't anything planned at the moment. We have other territory to mine!
RB: Dick's "reminder" is a great moment, but when Booster says Rip forbids things like that—he let Booster and Michelle do something similar at the Eiffel Tower! Is it just that seeing "yourself" is something Rip really isn't thrilled with?
DJ: I think Rip was okay with keeping it in the family, whereas doing it for someone like Dick takes it to a whole new level. Remember, Rip didn't even want Dick to know Booster's true mission.
Unless, of course, Rip knew Dick would interrupt Booster in the batcave and therefore made sure Booster was in place so things would unfold exactly as they did.
Right?
That's it for the 25th-issue festivities, folks! Next month Blackest Night descends on Booster Gold, and The Gold Exchange features not just Dan Jurgens, but Blackest Night writer Geoff Johns talking about "The Blue Versus The Gold."
Russell Burlingame is a journalist and columnist living and working in New York City. In high school, Russell interviewed Elliot S. Maggin for a review of the Kingdom Come novelization, and since then has worked consistently in and around the comics industry. He interned for Wizard magazine, and has freelanced for Wizard and Newsarama, in addition to a number of non-comics publications, Russell is currently working on a graphic novel based on Cap'n Internet, the comic strip that ran in his college newspaper; and a graphic biography of folk singer Phil Ochs with artist Marion Vitus.
Currently, in addition to his freelance work and his comics projects, Russell writes a number of columns for ComicRelated, including Conscientious Sequentials, The Gold Exchange, What's Perhappenin', Closing Statements, Reflecting 'Pool and To See or Not To See.
blog comments powered by Disqus