It’s a comic book. It’s funny. It’s weird. This week, DC continues its mash-up crossover with a bizarre tale where our resident time-traveling hero, Booster Gold, attempts to save future Gotham from an invasion by a reptilian race through convoluted storytelling of a familiar and common trope: going back in time to stop the problem before it happens.
This takes Booster and buddy Skeets way back to a time where Fred Flintstone and some of his pals dwell. They do not seem to take up a major part of the issue, but enough where old fans of the Hanna Barbera can appreciate the Stone Age humor while newer readers will either think “this is weird” or perhaps find something to appreciate with their own version of science and technology.
The part where Booster contacts other time agents is a bit of a head scratcher, but his meeting with a certain member of the Bat-family sets the stage for a very entertaining finale.
My take is this tale is channeling a Justice League International version of the blue and gold hero, as this one is full of goofs and guffaws. There is even a part about erections. I wasn’t sure whether to stop reading or to keep going to see if the envelope was being pushed even further. The comedy factor is turned to max in this comic, which isn’t always a good thing. There is funny, and then there is “brick-to-the-face-hey-look-this-is-supposed-to-be-funny-so-laugh-why-aren’t-you-laughing-yet” funny. This one narrowly escapes the latter, but comes close on some clichéd occasions. Booster finding out how is more of a problem-maker than problem-solver is well-done.
Speaking of well-done, the secondary Jetsons story is pretty mind-bending, and clearly DC is going to take this family of the future in a clear different direction than what old timers are used to. This is an origin story of sorts, and while I enjoyed this bold new take, others might feel it is a bit off-putting.
Call me batty, but I enjoyed the artwork. The faces in particular of Barney and Fred. Humanlike, yet I can still see an outline where humankind is still a race in development. Whether this was the intent of Rick Leonardi, penciller, Scott Hanna, inker, and colorist Steve Buccellato, I’m not sure, but for me it works well. Art is a big deal for me, and the creative staff did a solid job of bring the story written by Mark Russell to life.
