Another review for you, this time from forum member “Tom Mix”. Thanks for the review Tom.
Booster Gold is easily one of my most favorite superheroes in the DCU (although I will admit that it wasn’t until 52 that I learned to really LOVE him). Anyway, inspired by Mike’s great Warlord and Action threads (and I hope he doesn’t mind the blatant copy-catting) I give you a thread dedicated to our own Micheal Jon Carter….
Booster Gold #1 February 1986
Created, plotted and written by Dan Jurgens
Inks by Mike DeCarlo, colored by Tom Ziuko
Lettered by Agustin Mas
Edited by Janice Race
We begin our story at the offices of Blaze Comics in Metropolis, where managing editor Skip Andrews is bemoaning falling sales figures and late books. He wonders how to give the company a boost, when his eyes catch the headline of the Daily Planet, about Metropolis’ latest hero – Booster Gold.
Cut to Metropolis gym, where Booster is working out while negotiating a big movie deal. He changes into full Booster Gold get up while demanding that the sequel to his movie should be called “Booster Gold: The Legend Lives On”. Everyone seems to love Booster, greets him – one guy gives him a stock tip. Booster replies that the company in question will be bankrupt in a year. He knows. How does he know? Hmmm…
This is Booster’s first appearance anywhere. Created by Dan Jurgens.
He stops for a health drink, and as he leaves, a shady character collects his glass. Booster gets into his limo, where Skeets is waiting, and chiding him for his lack of knowledge of local language and customs.
This is Skeet’s first appearance as well.
Booster is on the phone with his agent, trying to set up a meeting with the Justice League, who he is sure will want him, when the limo is run off the road by an armoured car. Booster and Skeets take off – literally – in pursuit. The armoured car crashes, and its occupants appear and start shooting at Booster. We see his costume seems to be totally bulletproof, and Skeets is able to knock bad guys out with a ray attack. They think they have taken down all the bad guys, when a much bigger bad guy appears and introduces himself as Blackguard. A big battle ensues.
This is also a first appearance, and so also a creation of the mighty Dan Jurgens. That’s Blackguard on the cover.
“Meanwhile, at one of the most exclusive office and residential buildings in Metropolis…” the shady guy from the gym is meeting with someone we see only in shadow. The glass from the gym is for fingerprints of Booster Gold. But back to the fight. Booster shows off his ‘mass dispersal’ power, and Jimmy Olsen shows up to cover the fight for tv.
Jimmy Olsen first appearance in Action Comics #6, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Booster lures Blackguard on to a power terminal (whatever that is!), where the high voltage fries Blackguard and he’s down for the count.
We cut to the offices of Booster Gold’s agent, who is busy finding new ways of making money with Booster, when a call comes in from Skip Andrews and Blaze Comics. Yes, don’t forget the exciting ‘comic sales are dwindling’ plot line… Anyway, Booster is flying to S.T.A.R. labs to return the gizmo Blackguard was stealing. We get a close up of his hand which reveals he is wearing a Legion ring. That’s odd! He returns the device to STAR labs in the full glare of the media, which upsets STAR a bit, when Booster is hit by some type of beam, which knocks out all the news cameras as well. When the coverage is restored, Booster is paralyzed on the ground, and a strangely clothed woman is making off with the STAR gizmo. What a cliff-hanger!
The letters page is used to give an interesting insight into the genesis of Booster Gold, the character and the book.