TITLE: Booster Gold: Day of Death
AUTHOR: Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen
ARTISTS: Dan Jurgens, Pat Olliffe, Norm Rapmund
COLLECTS: Booster Gold #20-25, The Brave and the Bold #23
FORMAT: Softcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $14.99
RELEASED: April 7

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

It’s hard out there for a time cop.

And that’s what Booster Gold is really, a time cop. It’s his job to maintain order in the time stream, and make sure no one tampers with the past. But the problem with that is, you tend to lose track of your current events.

So when Booster Gold (and his robotic companion Skeets) show up in the Batcave, and finds out Dick Grayson is now the man under the mask, things get complicated. And when the villainous Black Beetle shows up and alters the past so that Grayson died years earlier, things get even more complicated. Then when he tries to fix the problem and ends up in an alternate reality where the demon Trigon rules the Earth, well…that’s just a tough day.

Day of Death seems partially meant to be a dose of nostalgia for long time comic book fans, as Booster travels back to the days of the New Teen Titans (the era when Marv Wolfman and George Perez made it the number one book on the market). That may be Booster Gold‘s biggest flaw. The title relies heavily on past events in the DC Universe, which may sometimes leave modern readers in the dark. The Black Beetle is also revealed to have an accomplice later in the book, who readers may be confused about if they haven’t read many a DC title.

Dan Jurgens (the man who created Booster Gold in 1986) is able to keep it fairly relevant for more modern fans, primarily by keeping the focus on Booster, as opposed to the Titans. The alternate Earth story fell a bit flat for me, but maybe that’s because I’ve never been a big Trigon fan.

For yours truly, watching Dick Grayson/Batman interact with Booster was something of a treat. There’s a big talking scene between the two of them that contributes little to the story, except that it culminates in a nice little moment at the end of the book. Still, I enjoyed it.

Ironically, the best part of the book from a story telling standpoint is in a bonus story, originally published in The Brave and the Bold #23, in which Booster comes face-to-face with Magog, who readers may know as the villain from Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ classic graphic novel Kingdom Come. But in the present day, Magog is a hero (albeit one with anti-hero tendencies), and Booster must decide what to do about Magog, knowing what he might become later.

In a word, Booster Gold: Day of Death is decent. The banter between Booster and Skeets is always entertaining, and the time cop concept hasn’t gotten old since the title launched in 2007. But I wouldn’t put it at the top of my “To Buy” list.

RATING: 5/10

TITLE: Teen Titans: Child’s Play
AUTHORS: Sean McKeever, Bryan Q. Miller, Felicia D. Henderson, J.T. Krul
ARTISTS: Joe Bennett, Jack Jadson, Yildiray Cinar
COLLECTS: Teen Titans #71-78
FORMAT: Softcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $14.99
RELEASED: April 7

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Times are tough for the Teen Titans, in more ways than one.

For the past few years, this title has struggled to maintain a consistent roster of heroes. For whatever reason, a character (or characters) would leave the team, and inevitably another character would have to come in to replace them. It’s kind of like when Curly Howard had to leave The Three Stooges. Shemp came into replace him, then Joe Besser came in when Shemp died, etc.

This issue is painfully evident in Child’s Play (the graphic novel, not the movie). When we open the book, the Teen Titans consist of Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Miss Martian, Bombshell, Aquagirl, Ravager, Static, and the now-powerless Kid Devil.

During the first half of the book, a conflict arises which leads to Ravager leaving the team. Then we abruptly go into a story that’s interspersed with a series of foreshadowing funeral scenes. The three-issue-long story arc ends with the death of one of the Titans.

Then we transition into a third story, in which two former Titans return to the team, and Wonder Girl has to jockey for her position as leader. Finally, we go back to Ravager as she and her father (DC ultra villain Deathstroke) fight off a pack of zombies brought on by DC’s company wide event, Blackest Night.

So if you’re keeping score at home, that’s one Titan out, one Titan dead, and two Titans returned. Maybe the book should have been called Teen Titans: The Revolving Door, not just because of the characters, but because of the writers. Sean McKeever handled Ravager’s departure, then Felecia D. Henderson wrote the death story,  Bryan Q. Miller picked it up with the returns, and J.T. Krul spearheaded the zombie action. Their styles mesh together well enough, but there are so many swerves and changes that it’s a little mind numbing.

What’s more, the death story line felt forced. There was no reason to kill off that particular character (who for the sake of remaining spoiler-free, I’ll avoid pointing out directly). For my money, there were a lot of intriguing stories that could have been told, but they’ve apparently all been pushed aside.

The book does have its strong points, though. Henderson sends the Titans on a night on the town during her story, and even teases a love triangle involving Blue Beetle, which unfortunately goes nowhere (at least in this book).

J.T. Krul’s time with Deathstroke and Ravager is unquestionably the best content in the book. He plays up the family dynamic between Ravager, her father, and eventually her brother Jericho. It’s a nice, broad look at this dysfunctional family, which may be a bit more functional by the time the book ends.

Still, Krul’s work has the misfortune of being tossed in a book where there’s simply too much going on, and not enough time to embellish major plot points.

Where are Marv Wolfman and Geoff Johns when you need them?

RATING: 4.5/10

TITLE: Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn
ARTISTS: Frank Quitely, Philip Tan
COLLECTS: Batman & Robin #1-6
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $24.99
RELEASED: April 7

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

When readers open Batman & Robin: Batman Reborn, they’re entering a world where Bruce Wayne has (presumably) died, and his apprentices/extended family strive to preserve his legacy.

Collecting Batman & Robin #1-6, and picking up after the events of Batman: Battle For The Cowl, we now find Dick Grayson (who as a boy became the first Robin) wearing the mantle of the bat. Meanwhile, Damian, the moody and defiant 10-year-old son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, becomes the current Robin. This represents a radical shift in characterization, as Batman has historically been the darker, more brooding character, while Robin is his light-hearted companion. In this book, we’re following a lighter Batman and a darker Robin.

In the first half of the book, as both the characters and the audience grow accustomed to the new dynamic duo, Batman and Robin face a bizarre group called “The Circus of Strange.” Their leader Pyg, a deranged character wearing a pig mask, morbidly disfigures the faces of his victims.

In the second half, Dick and Damian face The Red Hood and Scarlet, the latter a young girl who was one of Pyg’s victims. The crimson duo serve as a more violent version of Batman and Robin, who have no reservations about murdering the criminals they fight. Fans who’ve read the bat-books over the past few years should have few problems deciphering The Red Hood’s true identity. Thankfully, that’s not the focal point of the story arc.

Reborn author Grant Morrison was also the architect behind Batman: R.I.P. and Final Crisis, the two stories which brought us this new status quo. Personally, I find that Morrison’s stories sometimes take a confusing and convoluted turn which leaves me scratching my head. Final Crisis was the perfect example. Luckily, Reborn is an intriguing tale, as opposed to a confusing one. As Morrison created the Damian character, there’s no one more qualified to write his transition into the Robin role. Damian’s obnoxious nature and lack of respect for Dick Grayson serve as good fodder for storytelling.

The first arc is drawn by Frank Quitely, who is renowned for his work with Morrison (JLA: Earth 2, All Star Superman), and he doesn’t disappoint this time around. The only true flaw I could find in his art is that in a few panels, Dick Grayson has a bit of a Jay Leno chin. I’m not sure if this was done intentionally to offset the iconic image of Bruce Wayne’s square-jawed Batman, or if it was simply an accident. In any event, it’s a bit awkward.

Philip Tan pencils the second arc. Simply put, some panels are stronger than others under his direction. Still, he gets the job done. Jonathan Clapion and Alex Sinclair’s respective work on the ink and colors is a beautiful sight.

My understanding is that Morrison originally signed on to do 12 issues of Batman & Robin, so fans can likely expect another B&R book with his name on it. Issues #7-9 are already out, with Cameron Stewart handling the art. And issue #10 was just released, with Andy Clarke and Scott Hanna doing the visuals.

Overall, Batman & Robin came out of the gate strong, thanks primarily to Morrison’s writing, but Quitely and Tan were no slouches. Does it get any better than this? Yes it does. But not much better…

RATING: 8/10

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

After almost a year of storytelling, and about six years of build-up, mostly by writer Geoff Johns, DC Comics’ blockbuster company-wide event, Blackest Night finally came to an end March 31 with Blackest Night #8.

When I was checking out at my local comic shop that day, the guy at the register saw the issue in my stack andhe  said something to the effect of: “It’s finally over.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Took ‘em long enough.”

“But at least it didn’t disappoint,” the man said.

Oddly enough, that little exchange kind of sums up my general feeling about the whole project.

Cover to Blackest Night #1. Art from dccomics.com

Blackest Night is kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. From a distance it looks pretty simple, but the closer you look, the more complex it gets. The basic premise of the story is fairly straightforward: A villain is bringing dead superheroes (and dead family/friends of living superheroes) back from the grave, and putting together a good ol’ fashioned zombie attack. And there was certainly no shortage of dead characters to work with. Among the undead Black Lanterns were Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Elongated Man, and the Earth-2 version of Superman.

Bringing a loved one back from the grave is an idea that everyone can relate to. Most of us have lost someone at one time or another, and if we haven’t, we know someone who has. It’s an easy concept to latch on to, even if you don’t know all the characters involved. This made Blackest Night very much accessible to new readers.

But it gets more complicated the further you venture into it. No matter how DC Comics markets it, Blackest Night is at it’s core a Green Lantern story. And when the story started, we didn’t just have Green Lanterns anymore. We had red ones and blue ones and yellow ones, basically a corps for every color (and emotion) on the spectrum. Assuming you started with Blackest Night #1, that concept isn’t initially crystal clear. But it’s something you would likely pick up on as the story progressed.

“Okay, so that guy’s a Blue Lantern…and Blue Lanterns are what? Oh, right. They’re hope. Got it.”

Granted, there was a Blackest Night #0 that outlined it all, which DC distributed last year on Free Comic Book Day. But casual readers might not have picked it up.

Another aspect of Blackest Night that might have been a double-edged sword, is that even though the event itself takes place within a single night, the scope of this story is enormous. It’s arguably as big as Crisis On Infinite Earths was in 1985. Because almost every superhero’s origin story involves some kind of death or tragedy, there could be a Black Lantern to attack almost all of them. That’s fodder for great storytelling, and DC took advantage of that. Three-issue Blackest Night iniseries’ were put out for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and the Titans. In addition, Black Lantern stories were run in Green Lantern Corps, Adventure Comics, Teen Titans, Booster Gold, Superman/Batman, among others. A few months ago, DC also “ressurected” some of its cancelled titles for one issue only, so they could tell stories with Catwoman, The Question, Black Adam, Starman, etc. All this, plus, you had Green Lantern weaving in with the Blackest Night miniseries, so to get the full story, you not only had to by Blackest Night for eight months, but Green Lantern too.

Depending on how much money you have, how invested you are in all those characters, and how into the story you are, that’s a big investment. In fact, this might be the widest-spreading event-comic I’ve ever heard of. It’s certainly the biggest since Infinite Crisis, also done by Johns, in the mid-2000s.

The storytelling is for the most part very good, and at times great. Fans have come to expect nothing less from Geoff Johns at this point. Over the years, I’ve noticed that Johns is very good at creating what I’ve come to call “Holy Shit” moments, i.e. moments that genuinely surprise or shock the reader, in which they can really feel the gravity of what has just occurred on the page. There are few of those in Blackest Night, maybe more than a few, depending on your perspective.

Panel from Blackest Night #1, page 1.

One of the characters that comes out of Blackest Night looking the best is Black Hand, who is the number one sidekick for the story’s big bad guy, who you learn about near the climax. At the end of every Blackest Night issue, Johns inserted a chapter from “The Book of the Black,” written by Hand. Johns tweaks with the villain’s origin, and really makes him into a creep job. Like, guy-who-does-weird-stuff-with-dead-bodies kind of creepy. Each of them served as a wonderful supplement to the issues. Black Hand’s inner monologues, and his interactions with the heroes are, for my money, among the best parts of the overall story.

Johns was also making a point to introduce some new characters into the DC Universe, which he was successful at. Larfleeze, the greedy sole member of the Orange Lantern Corps, was usually fun to read. Johns tended to sneak funny one-liners into his dialogue. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we saw a lot more of Larfleeze in the future, if for no other reason than his name is really fun to say (LAR-FLEEZE!). There’s also Saint Walker, the Blue Lantern Corps who refuses to abandon hope, no matter the situation. Johns and his colleagues have managed to make the Green Lantern supporting cast and rogues gallery a lot more meaty in the last few years. That’ll serve both the characters and the readers well long after Johns leaves the book.

I suppose my primary gripe with Blackest Night is that it ran a little long for my taste. About a month ago, I was ready for them to wrap it up and move on. DC’s already got a few other major story lines in the works, and it felt like this one had run its course. Nevertheless, it ended with a bang.

There seems to be a subtle moral in Blackest Night about the sanctity of life, and having a passion for it. But it seems to get lost amidst all the zombies and the heroes and the villains and the chaos. As moviegoers might say, Blackest Night delivers the popcorn fun. And with a story like this, that’s really what you want the most, isn’t it?

RATING: 9/10