Booster and Beetle’s new venture, Blue & Gold Restoration, is open for business. In a promotional exercise, the boys meet a TV reporter.
Getting on to the subject of how the boys became friends, the accounts differ.
They do, though, agree on who they were facing.
And that’s the set-up for a thoroughly enjoyable issue of the mini-series. With ‘Splittin’ Image’ writer Dan Jurgens flashes back to the glory days of the Bwaa-Ha-Ha Justice League, with a script that demonstrates our heroes’ peculiar dynamic was there on Day One. Their chalk and cheese ways complement one another perfectly.
And you’ll have noticed that the different versions of the story are brought to life by different artists. Jurgens pencils, and longtime partner Norm Rapmund inks, the story told by his creation, Booster. Ryan Sook looks after the modern day sequence and the cover. And original JL artist Kevin Maguire illustrates Beetle’s tale – wanna make somethin’ of it? The artists’ styles mesh well and Sook adds consistency by colouring the whole issue – he’s especially adept at skin tone.
Beetle never looks more right than when Jurgens is drawing him. Maguire is the master of smart facial expressions. Sook came up at DC around the same time as Maguire and is equally adept at action and comedy.
This is a seriously good looking superhero comic.
I’ve moaned – sorry, provided thoughtful feedback – previously that the ongoing social media Greek chorus isn’t my favourite device, but this time, if you pay attention, you may see a surprise coming. I wasn’t that smart. But I was delighted.
And towards the end, there’s one of the best comedic splashes for a long time.
With so many different voices this time, letterer Rob Leigh has his work cut out for him; happily, he’s a master craftsman, giving everyone their own colourful – yet readable – treatment and still finding time for a first-rate title design.
Even if you’re not reading this Brittany Holzherr-edited series you could buy this issue as a super-spiffy done-in-one. And I bet you’ll then go back and buy the previous numbers!
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I’d like this better as a fun series if they weren’t both portrayed as idiots. It’s not as bad as King’s character assassination but the fact Jurgens is writing Booster as g=dumber than when he created the character seems weird. Jurgens wrote Booster once as a time expert Superman respected. Here, you need suspension of disbelief to believe he can tie his shoes!
And you might as well spell out the easter egg tweet since I can’t bear to open the book again…
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Aw, it’s a shame you’re not enjoying it. I do see your point about Beetle being less smart here than in his last ongoing, but I’m just looking on this as a different take – look at all the different Batman tones over the years.
As for the hints about the surprise guy, he’s one of the tweeters/chirpers commenting, I never noticed his initials or the very specific reactions to the interview, until I went back.
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